For freelancers, getting paid on-time is of the utmost importance. A clear and detailed invoice encourages timely payment and provides an important financial record for both you and your client. It also lets clients see exactly where their money is going, decreasing the chance of misunderstandings and payment disputes. An itemized invoice can help you […]
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When working for yourself you want to make the best use of all the benefits technology can bring. This includes communication with prospective clients, especially during that all-important first contact. Project quote request forms are a good example of technology helping to automate and speed-up these new client interactions. These small web page forms allow […]
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How business teams coordinate and the technology they use to interact changes rapidly each year. 2017 is definitely not the exception, as teams look for innovative ways to keep tasks on time and meetings productive there are a host of new technology features and new collaboration philosophies that will come in handy. Let’s dive into […]
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Invoicing Tips for Small Business Owners Among all the hats a small business owner wears, some become so heavy to hold up that they crunch down on the neck of the business owner. It doesn’t matter how fancy the hat is, it can really start to feel it is taking away from the part of […]
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The Freelancer’s Guide to the Home Office If you’re working as a freelancer, chances are you got your start working from home. The home office comes with its own special set of ups and downs: in general, it’s more comfortable than going out to a shared office or co-working space, but it can also encourage […]
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Are robots, artificial intelligence platforms and automation tools on the brink of rendering you obsolete? The jury’s out on that tricky question, but until tech reveals that it’s out to get us, it has plenty of help to offer. As time goes on and the tools advance in their capabilities, automation is becoming increasingly useful […]
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You aren’t like the others. You take pride in delivering top quality. It’s important to you as a freelancer to do your best work – to do the best work. You review, revise, incorporate oh so many contradictory pieces of feedback, and when you are done, you have a perfect deliverable. But along they way, […]
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The month you launch your new freelance business, you’re likely to be (or have been) a jittery, double espresso-fueled, intimidated mess. But you’re also so high on adrenaline that you can crush that initial wave of projects like breakfast cereal and network successfully at conferences, Meetups and happy hours in the same day. You’re inhaling […]
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Twenty-first technology makes working remotely much more feasible than it used to be. The speed of email, instant messaging, project management apps, screen sharing and remote meeting software all make telecommuting possible. According to Forrester Research’s US Telecommuting Forecast, http://www.wired.com/2013/06/the-new-workplace-reality-out-of-the-office/ 34 million Americans work from home. And this number is expected to reach 63 million […]
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Finding new clients is a time-consuming and expensive proposition. Online marketing, conventional advertising and strategic planning can drain your resources. It takes you away from doing what you do best – creating a superior product or service. Large companies can afford to hire marketing teams, but most small businesses need to concentrate on other priorities. […]
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When you work as an employee, getting paid is a no-brainer. You sign some forms when you join the company, and your salary comes on a regular basis. But once you leave the comfort of the corporate world and strike out on your own, getting paid becomes your responsibility. Not all clients are quick to […]
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Relationships with clients must be nurtured carefully so that the clients come back to you for more work and refer you to others for similar projects. The success of the services you deliver is often measured by the emotional connection the client has developed with you. Unfortunately, the client-business owner relationship can be damaged, sometimes […]
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Working from home is a dream come true for many of us. It’s one of the biggest perks of being a freelancer. No more commuting, no boss looking over your shoulder, and no need to get dressed up, or at all, for work every day. No more expensive cafeteria lunches or brown bagging it. No […]
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It takes a special type of person to take the plunge and start a company from thin air. It takes a whole lot of vision, faith, innovation and drive. You have to believe that what you’re working on is so distinctive and great that no matter how tough things get, it’ll all pan out, and […]
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Remember the gold old days, back when the internet was just a dream among science fiction aficionados and clouds were nothing more than fluffy white things in the sky? Those were the days when freelancers issued hand-written or word processor-generated invoices. So why can’t you keep invoicing the old-fashioned way, creating invoices on your desktop […]
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