Tag: freelance

  • Freelance as a Career Choice

    CollabMiami recently got invited by Miami International University of Art & Design to present to the student body freelancing as a business model. We cannot express the honor (and fun) it was. Presenting alongside five top creatives from the CollabMiami community, we took students from starting a freelance business all the way to billing for work done.

    Younger generations of workers are now choosing to steer clear from the traditional employer/employee work environment, to a less traditional, freelance career or what some call “micro-entrepreneur”. This trend seems to be a lot more common for the millennial generation. According to research commissioned by the Freelancers Union, 53 million Americans now freelance in some capacity. Of that, 38 percent are millennials, compared to 32 percent of non-millennials (i.e., people over 35).

    This choice was the subject of a recent workshop, The Business of Freelancing that took place at Miami International University of Art & Design in collaboration with CollabMiami featuring six panelists from different industries discussing their experiences in making freelance a career choice. The panelists included…

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  • Tips On Collaborating With Other Freelancers

    Successful creative freelancers build a business not just a place to exercise a skill. In this interview Amanda Abella interviews George Cuevas, founder of CollabMiami and discuss pressing creative business issues. Give it a listen and be ready to take some notes.

    Who are you? What’s your background? 

    George is the founder of CollabMiami, a group in Miami, Florida that is made up of creative freelancers. They get together once a month for meetups and work out of different different spaces all over Miami.

    George was born in Miami, and is of Cuban descent. He has freelanced since he was in high school, and he graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in design. After graduation, he found himself back in Miami and decided to change the way freelancers worked with ad agencies.

    With years of experience building creative teams, George decided to bridge the creative networking gap and created CollabMiami. Over the last two years, he has connected with hundreds of freelancers in the community.

    Check out the rest of the post.

  • So you want to freelance?

    Having founded CollabMiami, I’m often approached with questions concerning freelancing. Many just seeking guidance for the very next step in their freelance journey. Well, following are some observations that you might find helpful as you consider striking out on your own.

    Freelancing is a business
    Big revelation, huh? You’d be surprised how many treat freelancing like a hobby. A pet project. Now, that is not to say that a hobby cannot turn into a serious “business” venture. It certainly has been an entry point for many. Yet, for a freelancer to thrive they must have business processes in place to get work in the door and put money in the bank. Consider the process, beginning to end, of someone wanting to use your services. From the first phone call to final delivery, what steps need to be taken?

    A skill does not a business make
    Though you might be brilliant in a particular skill, that alone will not suffice when establishing a freelance business. Why? Because now you will have to wear hats you never thought you would. Remember those math classes you hated so much? Well, you better get good at numbers really quick because now it’s called estimating and invoicing. You want to pay the rent? Welcome to your accounting department. Thankfully there are plenty of amazing online services that can help with the processes that you might not be the strongest at. From marketing to accounting seek to automate areas that will allow you to dedicate more time to your higher-value strengths.

    It’s all your responsibility
    We all have aspirations to be responsible and in charge of something. Nothing wrong with that. But if you are easily offended by criticism, emotionally afraid to express your thoughts or to timid to say “Hello!” to someone you just met, it’s going to be a rough ride. As a business owner everything is your responsibility. There is nowhere else to pass the buck. So be prepared to humbly receive praise and responsibly take blame.

    It’s not all about you
    Freelancing is challenging and demanding. It will put a strain on you and all those around you. Before you kiss your full time job goodbye, make sure you have total support from those that are significant in your life. I’m not talking about an encouraging “Yes, honey, I believe you can do it.” sentiment but a full on, buy-in. Meaning, are they ok with you not having a regular paycheck… for a while? Not having extra expendable income… for a while? Working late… for a while? Asking them to help you for free… for a while? This venture is a family affair. Do not underestimate the positive encouragement close relationships can have when things don’t seem to be going exactly as planned.

    Trying is not the same as committing
    If you want to “try” something, try on a pair of shoes. If you want to freelance, you’re going to have to commit. Most of the successful freelancers I know had no Plan B or Exit strategies. They had a vision and adapted their circumstances to whatever opportunities where presented. None of them had concrete answers or a perfectly paved road before them. They did have a commitment to see their vision thru while using freelancing as a mechanism to get there. So if you’re giving freelancing serious consideration, follow it up with serious commit.

    Lastly, don’t let fear of the unknown keep you from taking your next step. Take comfort in what you do know and take the next reasonable step. Yes, it might seem crazy, intimidating and even rebellious, but then again, that is what makes freelancing such an adventure.

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  • How to Sell Your Services to Past Freelance Clients

     

    Selling Services to Past Freelance Clients.

    Having a pipeline of potential business always seems to be a concern for most freelancers. We tend to focus on the task we got hired for and neglect the sales part of our business.

    Well for the professional freelancer keeping a healthy flow of potential projects on the burner is not an option. We can seek to continually find new clients or we can back up and resurrect our prior clients that might be waiting in the wings.

    Break out your modern rolodex and start searching for any clients that slipped through your fingers the first time.

    For most freelancers, that means email. Hopefully, you archive all of your email conversations for future reference. Alternatively, if you save project files locally or on a cloud service, search through past clients folders and look for names you may have forgotten.

    Read the rest of this awesome article on FreshBooks

  • Why I Stopped Calling Myself A “Freelancer”

    As you introduce yourself as a freelancer what reaction do you get back? How do you position your freelance business not to come off as a person in between “real” jobs? Freelancers are real business people having to deal with the entire business process. Consider the following as you introduce yourself the next time the opportunity presents itself.

    THE TROUBLE WITH “FREELANCER

    “The words you use influence others’ perception of you. What’s your first thought when you hear the word “freelancer”? Do you picture a college kid working out of her parent’s basement? Many people who call themselves freelancers don’t exactly think of what they do as a business. But they should.

    Saying you’re a freelancer doesn’t signal to others that you’re a know-what-you’re-doing, take-no-crap professional.

    That bias may be unfair, but it’s a reality. Clients too often see freelance arrangements as low-cost line items rather than strategic partnerships.

    Read the rest of this awesome post on FastCompany

  • The Best Invoice Payment Terms to Avoid Past Due Invoices

    Invoice payment seems to be the stitch on every freelancer’s side. When to do it. How to do it. What terms are best?

    Being clear as to how to get paid is an important step in actually getting paid on time.

    When you send out an invoice, you’re telling your client how much money you expect in return for the work you’ve done. The payment terms specify when that money is due and how it should be paid.

    So the most important aspect of the payment terms is the timeframe in which you expect to be paid.

    But as part of the payment terms, you can also specify what will happen if people don’t pay: perhaps a penalty or interest to be applied after a certain date. Or, if you want to be more positive, you can offer a discount to anyone who pays early. You can also specify payment methods.

    We’ll look at how those options work in the next section, as well as examining which ones work best.

    Read the rest of this awesome post on Envato Tuts+ Business Tutorial

  • 5 skills you need to ensure your freelance survival in the future of work

    Many are considering freelance as a way to make a living more than ever. Those that make the jump, quickly find out that there are unforeseen hurdles that puts one at a decisive precipice. Is the personal challenge worth it?

    Increasingly people are seeking the autonomy to do what they want to do when they want to do it, and they want their work to have meaning.

    This very desire for autonomy with a purpose is manifesting itself in a number of significant ways not least of which is the rise of the next wave of freelancers that is expected to increase to 70 million by 2020.

    Welcome to the world of First Name, Last Name Inc.

    Individuals are their own companies and their own brands. Yes, your reputation precedes you. The walls are

    Read the entire post on Freelancers Union

  • How to create a simple 2-page business plan for freelancers

    Writing a business plan can be a daunting proposition. It conjures up images of a giant multi-page document with charts, numbers and information you have no idea where to get.

    Though not everyone feels the need to create a business plan, admittedly it is a good idea to at least have a cursory idea of where you’d like to take your business.

    What Problem Do You Solve?

    Freelancers can do many different things. You can be a freelance artist, a freelance consultant, a freelance writer, designer, producer, filmmaker, wedding planner, photographer – the possibilities are endless. When people ask us what we do, as freelancers we tend to just say that we are “freelance ____ (insert noun here)”. But in your business plan, rather than defining what you do, drill down on exactly what problem you solve.

    Read entire post on:  Freelancers Union

  • Stabilize your freelancer rollercoaster income

    One of the most difficult things to a freelancer is how to stabilize their rollercoaster income.

    It seems like the fluctuation from month to month is sometimes to much to bare. It also makes running a home budget nearly impossible.

    No matter how new or experienced my creative entrepreneur clients are, one of their top worries is how to manage inconsistent income.It’s easy to find personal finance and business planning tips on how to control your expenses or increase your income, but to truly develop a well-oiled system for achieving financial stability, you need to tackle both sides.

    Check out these 5 steps to start creating a more stable income.

    Read full post on Millo.co

  • How to Overcome the 5 Biggest Obstacles to Business Growth

    2015 is almost behind us. As freelancers we already need to be looking back and planning to move forward.

    If your business is ready to grow, check out these tips for dealing with some of the factors that frequently thwart small business growth and putting them to your advantage.

    Trust Your Gut, But Pay Attention to Business Indicators

    Your gut instinct is a great catalyst for growth, but don’t rely on it alone or you may find yourself going down the wrong path. Instead, look to your business reports to assess growth opportunities.

    Read entire post on FreshBooks Blog