It’s just past midweek—how many times have you stepped out of your home office? Have you stayed hunkered down at your desk all week, or have you made time to interact with other professionals? Many freelancers fall into the trap of working nonstop, just in case the next project isn’t forthcoming. But if you’re practicing due diligence with your marketing and querying efforts, chances are that the next project will come in short order. And if you don’t ditch the rut and come up for air every once in a while, you can experience burnout. So whether it’s a physical or a virtual social break, remember to take time for it as often as you need to. Otherwise, you can wind up your week feeling like a freelance hermit,... [Read more]

To be successful as a freelancer—or as an entrepreneur of any kind—you have to stand out from the pack. It takes ingenuity, creativity, dedication, and perseverance to turn the run-of-the-mill into a stand-out-in-a-crowd business. Over the years, businesses along the “Mother Road,” also known as the old Route 66, have learned about flourishing in the good times and persevering through the bad. Pops Arcadia, Oklahoma Whether they call it pop or soda or “coke,” the 66-foot-tall neon bottle makes Route 66 travelers call time out for a pit stop just northeast of Oklahoma City. Technically, Pops is a gas station with a restaurant in it. But there’s nothing ordinary about this place, from the futuristic gas pumps... [Read more]

No matter how you’re trying to make a living right now, it’s a good question—we’re all in a state of meanwhile. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary gives two meanings for the word as an adverb: 1) during the intervening time, and 2) at the same time. Call me a word nerd, but I find this particularly relevant to today’s “new economy.” Full-time freelancer or full-time employee, it’s a good time to be thinking about the space in between two periods of time. As we watch the concepts of steady clients and job security erode, we’re all experiencing some form of what you might call “meanwhile.” Either you’re literally in between jobs or gigs, or you’re looking for... [Read more]

Identifying potential clients is a considerable research project. Regardless of the industry in which you’re freelancing, it’s likely that you have many obvious prospects. But what do you do when you have mined those for all you can at this point? The answer: keep digging.   The most successful freelancers are those who have an uncanny knack for searching in all the right places. They are dedicated and tenacious, hunting down potential leads in places that may not occur to the less committed. To sum it up, I guess you could say that a successful freelancer needs to be an investigator of sorts, with research skills parallel to none.   We have so many tools at our fingertips today, search engines being among the most powerful. See... [Read more]

How can you quickly get and keep the attention of a prospective client? Managers who have freelance work to dole out are busy, trust me. I used to be one of them, and I had the opportunity to handle quite a few freelance queries. It’s a process that a lot of folks may enjoy—I know I did—but the fact is that they simply don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to it. If it occurs to you that the above sample isn’t heading in the best possible direction, you’re on the right track. Here’s an approach to making your one shot count with a potential client. Do your research. Locate companies that may be able to use your particular set of skills, experience, and topical interests. Learn everything you can about a company... [Read more]