Creative professionals are in a strange, unique and interesting position. We’re not plumbers or electricians who show up with parts and tools to fix your emergency. Nobody has a design or content emergency (not that they know of, anyway). How do you price a service with intangible value? What is your personal philosophy about money,…
Tag Archive: business
Multitasking
“Wait, you went to the hair salon during business hours? Wow. The life of a freelancer!” There’s an illusion that freelancers don’t work as much because most of us aren’t locked into a schedule. But before you get all jealous of my glamorous life, let me point out what I did while I was at the…
All or Nothing
Freelance work is inherently cyclical. Colleagues in corporate jobs often ask if the cycles make me crazy. The answer is no, but that answer has come with time and experience. Rather than fight the cycles and worry about when they will start or end, I’ve learned to relax and ride it out. January is a…
The Importance of Titles
I’m at that age and level of experience where, if I had stayed in corporate, I could very well have ended up as the director of something. As I look at business cards from freelance colleagues, I notice a theme: they all want the big title. People who work as writers or graphic artists or…
The Frozen Yogurt Phenomenon
I didn’t see it coming. They crept up on us, stealthily, and suddenly every storefront in town was invaded. My town already had six ice cream shops and a TCBY. Was there really a need for more frozen desserts? For several entrepreneurs, the answer appears to be yes. The first frozen yogurt shop, Blush, appeared…
Why? Because We Like You.
Last week’s Creative Freelancer Conference reinforced something that I’d long suspected: you don’t have to be the best, but you do have to be the kind of person that people want to work with. Likable, responsive people get the business and the referrals. The idea was reinforced on the drive home from the airport. Listening…
Creative Freelancer Conference 2008
Last week, I attended the first-ever Creative Freelancer Conference in Chicago. I tend to be a little bit skeptical about conferences in general because they require a pretty significant financial investment in travel and conference fees, take you away from three days of billable project hours, and you never really know how much you’re going…