Be a Boss Day 3: The Stress

This post is part of the Be a Boss series. To see more posts in this series, check out the list on this post. They’ll be linked as they are posted!

By now, you should be used to stress. Any freelancer will tell you that this is not a job for the weak of heart, because little issues arise every single day. There are a lot of people who can handle those issues without getting super stressed, but as a freelance boss, those issues are multiplied. So without further ado, here’s a down and dirty list of things you can do to reduce the stress on your as a boss:

• Hire an editor or schedule time to edit every single article yourself. You just can’t rely on writers to do the editing. Even the best writers will have typos. You should also review each article to make sure that the file opens, it hits word count, and the articles you send are all formatted the same way.
• Make an account on CopyScape.com and use it. You don’t want you entire company to be accused of plagiarism because one of your writers used text that was similar to another website. It can happen innocently, since sometimes there isn’t another way to word something. I’ve also been accused of plagiarism when one of my own sites was pulled up on Copyscape. No, I wasn’t recycling work. I just happened to write about the same topic twice and because of my voice, I used some of the same phrases without realizing it.
• Don’t schedule more than one project due on the same date. Stagger your due dates, since it is easy for the wrong articles to go to the clients when you have two or more different groups coming in and going out the same day.
• Give people second chances, but not thirds. Everyone makes mistakes, and if one of your writers isn’t cutting it, give them the benefit of the doubt and ask them to improve. Don’t give third chances, though. Low-quality writers, plagiarism, and not following directions can all totally stress you out and cause you to lose clients.
• Look for projects that fall in line with your writers’ interests. They’ll turn in better work and be more willing to take work from you if they like the project.
• Have a “second in command.” If, for some reason, a writer can’t get into contact with you, have a second in command that can make decisions on your behalf. This should both be someone you trust and someone who knows at least a little about writing. This person should also be able to contact you when you’re out of town (so, someone who has your personal cell phone number and hotel info).
• Leave enough time between the writers’ due dates and the project’s ultimate due date. That way, you can do the work yourself if you have to. If Writer A doesn’t turn in his/her 10 articles and you have three days until the deadline, you can finish up the work yourself. If you only have three hours, though, you’re out of luck. Of course, you can’t always schedule time to completely do a project yourself, but assume that at least 10% of the articles will, for some reason, not get done as planned.

You’ll still be stressed. Trust me. But with the tips above, you can at least cut some of the major stress factors from your business.

Remember, if you have any questions, I’ll be answering them all at the end of this series. Feel free to leave a comment or email me at allison@abcontentonline.com with your “Be a Boss” question.

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Image via Flickr by rick