Don’t Be a Feast or Famine Freelancer

I recently saw a post in freelance group I’m a part of that said: I don’t have time to market my business when I have a ton of clients, but then I don’t get any more clients because I’m not marketing. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen this statement and problem among freelancers, even … Read more

3 Ways To Get New Clients When You’re Just Starting

You’ve decided to start freelancing. First of all, congrats! Freelancing is the quickest and easiest way to dip your toes into working for yourself. You know what kind of skills you have and you have an idea of what kind of services you want to provide. It’s time to start building your experience and portfolio … Read more

How Your Soul-Sucking Job Can Make You a Better Freelancer

If you’ve had a bad job, a bad boss, or bad coworkers, now or in the past, raise your hand. (Hint: you’re not alone. I, Sara, am raising my hand high and proud.) I’ve been there. I’ve had mundane jobs that made me wish I could go back to my 12-year old paper route. I’ve … Read more

How to Prepare Your Freelance Business for Location Independence

Freelancing is the passport to freedom for most of us here. For me, building this life of freedom started with an intense desire to travel and live abroad. I realized, if I built up a business that was location-independent, I could live and work from anywhere I wanted. I’m writing this from our current home … Read more

Why You Must Beta Test Your Product or Service

When I first decided that I wanted to become a business consultant I was terrified. I didn’t have an MBA and you would never catch me wearing anything fancier than my fanciest pair of jeans. I was CLEARLY not your typical consultant and yet I had started, run and sold my brick and mortar skin … Read more

WaveApps Bookkeeping Basics for Freelancers

WHY WAVE? There are a bunch of different online bookkeeping options available, but the reason I’m sharing about Wave is because it’s completely free. You’re probably thinking, what’s the catch? There are some sidebar ads on the site so that Wave can make money, but they aren’t in your face and I’ve actually learned to tune … Read more

Why I Don’t Have Set Prices: A Different Way to Freelance

There are other models of business being used out there in this wild world, beyond value-based-pricing and productizing services. I’m going to explain one that I used, why I did so and then show you how. The gift-economy is one such model. WHAT IS THE GIFT ECONOMY? Gift-economy is a term that brings subjects to … Read more

Review of 17hats for Freelancers – Updated!

I recently received a Tweet from 17hats letting me know that they have added several new features to their client management system for solopreneurs. They more than hinted that maybe I would like to update a post that first appeared on Freelance to Freedom November 2014 in which my good friend Morgan of A Little Creative reviewed and compared … Read more

How To Get an Extra $58k This Year

Getting a brand new client is one of the best feelings a service-based business can experience. But you know what’s better than a new client? A new client that was referred to you from someone else! Although I know a lot of my business comes from referrals (I ask where people found me on my … Read more

I’m a Chronic Under-Pricer

Hi. I’m Mark, and I’m a chronic under-pricer. When I launched my services as a Budget Nerd (which means I act as bookkeeper and CFO for consultants and agencies), I set my retainer at $200 per month. I DIDN’T MEAN TO UNDER-PRICE — I PROMISE. I estimated I’d need about an hour per month per … Read more