Deliberate Freelancer

On today's show I am going to go over several networking tips that will be particularly helpful to introverts. But I also know extroverts who don't love networking, so I think you extroverts out there will find these tactics useful as well. Let's be clear: I am an introvert. In this episode, I tell you about my solo adventures in Europe, where I enjoyed being alone with my thoughts and experiences...

On today's show I want to help you go through a series of 5 questions so you can evaluate the services you offer clients and think about focusing on the services you LOVE the most—and also think about diversifying your services. You know I believe you need to think like, act like and BE a business owner. And that includes evaluating the services you provide now and figuring out how to diversify yo...

Today's guest is Laura Poole, a freelance editor from Durham, N.C. Laura has been a freelancer for about 22 years, almost her entire career. She provides copyediting for scholarly nonfiction publishers and training for editors and freelancers. She is also a trained, certified life coach. In this episode, Laura talks about creating work-life balance while running a freelance business. Laura explain...

Today's show is a micro-mini, teeny-tiny episode because I'm on vacation and decided I had to give myself a break. And that meant I didn't have time to finish the guest episode I was planning for this week. I am the first one to preach that we need breaks and vacations. I especially need a complete break from email. But I did that thing that most of us do at some point as freelancers. I underestim...

Today's guest is Phaedra Brotherton, a career branding and job search coach in the Washington, D.C., area. She helps mid-career and executive professionals who work at nonprofits transition into more satisfying jobs or new careers. She offers career coaching, resume writing, LinkedIn profile writing, and job search coaching services. Phaedra is certified as both a career coach and a professional r...

On today's show I help you visualize your absolute perfect work day and then help you figure out how to make that happen—providing tips and tactics. I believe you need to visualize your perfect work day step by step so you can start to implement systems, processes, habits and goals to create that type of day. Let's daydream to start: How would you wake up on your perfect work day? What would you d...

Setting higher rates, better rates, and asking for more money takes confidence. There's so much emotion and self-esteem wrapped up in what we charge. It's often fear that keeps us from charging more. So I'm here to give you a pep talk and then explain why you should start creating project rates and stop offering an hourly rate. But, every freelancer should have their own SECRET minimum hourly rate...

It's July Fourth—a great time for a little diversion from our regularly scheduled programming. This week I recommend my favorite books I've read so far this year. I've read 20 books as we hit the year's halfway point, but my goal is 52, so I need to get a move on! Turns out, my personal favorite book genre is literary fiction in which I completely fall in love with the characters and want to hug t...

Daniel and I talk about our love of reading and books, including a mutual love for V.C. Andrews. Learn how Daniel and his friend Sean Tuohy started the Writer's Bone podcast in 2014 and how their original idea changed and grew to what it is today, which is primarily interviews with both well-known and lesser-known authors. Next, Writer's Bone grew into a podcast network, adding the podcasts Novel...

Summer is here, summer is here! It's my favorite time of the year, but for many people it's the slowest time for their freelance business. It depends on the industry, but oftentimes your clients and potential clients are taking time off in the summer. The summer slowdown has begun for some of you. But even if summer isn't your slowest time, you probably do have slow times throughout the year. Thes...

Today's guest is Christy Batta, a freelance graphic designer I know in real life. Christy works primarily with nonprofits, creating or freshening up their brands, designing logos or print materials, and developing event materials. Christy was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, or MS, when she was just 23. A few years ago, when people were debating health care in this country, she remembers hearing...

Today's guest is Andrena Sawyer, president of P.E.R.K. Consulting, an advisory firm for small to mid-sized nonprofits and businesses. Andrena works actively to mobilize and empower others—and that is exactly what she does in this episode. Andrena walks us through how to set better goals for our business, using the SMART formula. But she goes deeper than that, providing brilliant advice on how we s...

This is a "tough love" episode. Many of us are feeling overwhelmed, anxious, distracted and too busy. I think a lot of that can be alleviated by decreasing your smartphone usage and fighting against social media and digital addictions. It's time to take back our lives. It's time to take control of our schedules. In this episode, I lead you through several steps to cut back on digital distraction,...

I like the term anchor client because an anchor on a boat keeps you steady and secure and is something you can rely on. We should all have a couple of anchor clients that provide just that—security and a steady income. I aim to find anchor clients on social media and via email referrals, but I also spend a lot of time meeting up with people in real life. I think many freelance business owners, esp...

Today's guest, Megy Karydes, lives in Chicago and has owned her communications and marketing consultant practice for the past 12 years. Megy is all about systems and structure. She is very disciplined about sticking to a set schedule throughout her work day. Megy uses systems like time tracking and knowing her peak productivity time to create this discipline—and it's a system to be admired. Hear h...

What kind of money personality do you have? This is important to know as you handle your finances for your freelance business. DELIBERATE FREELANCER SHOW NOTES My budgeting goes all the way back to childhood and my $2 allowance. Hear about my huge money confession and tax mistake. I immediately implemented two things to prevent that mistake in the future: I take 30% of my monthly income and place...

Working at a content marketing agency for two years and now hiring subcontractors has helped me learn what freelancers can do to make their clients' jobs easier. I learned what I DON'T want to do and what I COULD do to make myself stand out from the crowd. In this episode, I dive into five areas where any freelance business owner could help make their clients' jobs easier. DELIBERATE FREELANCER SH...

Today's guest, Michelle Garrett, has been a freelancer for 20 years. Michelle describes herself as being at the intersection of PR, content marketing and social media. She is a public relations consultant, content creator, blogger, speaker and freelance writer. She is also the host of the weekly tweet chat #FreelanceChat, which she launched in September 2018. Michelle has grown her freelance busin...

Soon after I started my freelance business I quickly realized how much I loved going to conferences. It has become an investment in my business—a way for me to learn new skills, find clients, bond with fellow creative types and get inspired to try new things. I'm always invigorated after conferences, buzzing with fresh new ideas and excitement about things I want to try with my freelance business....

"Busyness is laziness." Raise your hand if you reply "busy!" whenever someone asks how you are. Let's get rid of that hectic, way too busy, frenzied feeling. Time tracking can help. Time tracking can show you how you're spending your time and set you on a better course.        DELIBERATE FREELANCER SHOW NOTES   1:13 Learn about the research that shows how being "busy" has become a high status symb...

Today's guest, Jennifer Goforth Gregory, is a six-figure freelance content marketing writer who has firmly embraced the business mindset. Jennifer, who wrote the very useful and praised book "The Freelance Content Marketing Writer," will only work with clients she deems nice. And she trusts her gut to figure that out. She also looks at each potential client as a partnership between equals, not as...

Stop hustling. Stop flying by the seat of your pants. Host your own solo business retreat and take a step back to analyze your business and where you want to go—and how you can get there. SHOW NOTES 3:14 Where to hold your business retreat. 4:26 The supplies you need for a retreat. 5:13 Why you need a retreat agenda. 5:40 Six things you can consider doing during your one-day business retreat. 12:3...

You are uniquely brilliant. It's time to laser in on that brilliance and make THAT the focus of your business. When my workshop coach drew a simple quadrant on a piece of paper, I changed a huge part of my business and began outsourcing parts of my life. SHOW NOTES 6:01 How to use a simple quadrant on a piece of paper to determine your incompetence, competence, high competence and unique brillianc...

I believe that freelancers can only succeed when you embrace a fundamental fact: You are a business owner. Stop thinking of yourself as "just" a freelancer. Say goodbye to the hustle and the feast-or-famine cycle. Instead, build a business. SHOW NOTES 1:01 The dream of being a freelancer vs. the reality. 3:29 Four fundamental beliefs I have about being a freelancer. 4:20 Learn more about me, your...