Some days it seems like everyone has an opinion on how you should work. They tell you – don’t take it personally, but you need to work smarter. Well, do take it personally and they’re right But, ignore them if it doesn’t work for you Only you know what working smarter means for you. Three Smart Steps When I started my own business in 2008, I had
Here’s a lesson I’ve been trying to teach my almost-four-year-old: you have to plan for tomorrow today. Of course, I keep it age-appropriate for her, especially since the concept of today and tomorrow are still kind of vague. You know, if you eat all the goldfish today you won’t have any to eat tomorrow. Let’s lay out your clothes tonight so they’ll be ready tomorrow.
Yesterday, I spent the day out of my office meeting with potential clients. While it took up several hours, in the end it was well worth it as I closed a couple of deals. During my time in the car, driving from one appointment to the next, I began to think about what I really needed by my side and what I could have left
As we discussed in the comments of another recent post, every freelancer has a different ideal office situation. Usually we just have to make do with something less than desirable for a time, especially if we’re trying to play mom while also enjoying a home career. Personally, I’ve had a long-time dream of a cozy library style office, but it didn’t seem to be coming
Over the years, I’ve become increasingly more frugal and more DIYish. I blame self-employment for enabling me to figure out just how much I can do on my own. I never buy frozen dinners because, besides the health factors, I can make the same meal for less money. I have decent sewing skills and I’m always passing up clothes because I think I can make
When you work as a freelance writer, you run a business. And when you run a business, market research is essential to your continued growth. Yet I often see freelancers make rash decisions about their businesses with no market research whatsoever to help them make those choices. They just wing it. First, why is that? Are they simply not serious about their businesses (maybe treating them
If you are a writer, chances are good that you already understand that relationships in this industry matter. If you want to write for print, this can actually be a subject that is even more vital. When you write for an online publication it is fairly typical to never meet the person you are working with. Most contact is established via e-mail and subsequent information/instructions
As a freelance writer, most of your time will be spent writing. That being said, you need to save time throughout the day for other tasks such as sales and marketing. Even though you may have enough work right now to keep busy, you never know when things are going to slow down. For this reason, marketing your services should be an ongoing task. But
It’s a mistake authors make all the time. They labor away on their manuscript, editing and re-editing; they even hire someone else to help them. And when they’re done, they tentatively put it up for sale. Without thinking about the one thing that can make or break a book: the sales copy. Your content will determine if they read the book all the way through
This morning, as I worked with my kids at school, I realized just how often subjects and verbs get complicated and mismatched. This happens most frequently when you have more than one noun in the subject in the sentence. Consider the following: One of the boys jump over the fence. One of the boys jumps over the fence. Which one is correct? Let’s dissect them