Welcome to inaugural issue of Freelance Chi. I’m your host, Eric Davis.
A bit about what to expect. Every week you’ll get a new issue with resources, videos, podcasts, links, and whatever else I find on the Internet that would be useful for freelancers and consultants. Freelancing is a very personal business so I’m also going to include resources that aren’t strictly “for freelancers”.
As an experiment, I also decided to record a simple podcast for this issue. I thought it might be helpful if you’d like to listen to what’s included in this issue.
One last thing, if you have any questions or feedback please email me. I’m very approachable and I don’t bite. I swear.
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The Freelancers’ Show 133 – Running a Successful Newsletter with Peter Cooper (devchat.tv)
The Freelancers’ Show has on Peter Cooper (@peterc) to talk about his weekly email newsletter publishing business. This show was the final motivation for starting Freelance Chi.
Freelancing 101: Watch for commitment flags early on (freshbooks.com)
Before any project comes together you need to make sure you’re talking with the decision maker who controls the finances. A verbal Yes can easily turn into a dead project.
What To Do When You Can’t Guarantee An ROI (doubleyourfreelancing.com)
One form of value-based pricing I’ve learned from Brennan is to calculate how much a client can get from a project (ROI) and use that to position your services. In this article, Brennan talks about guaranteeing a specific return-on-investment for a client.
Hope is not a strategy: Get a plan for your next business year (curtismchale.ca) SPONSOR
Once you start freelancing you’re no longer a developer or a designer: You’re a business owner. Learn from the experiences of Curtis McHale in his “Hope is not a strategy” course.
Reach Your Business Goals with These 3 Financial Checklists (bidsketch.com)
For years I’ve doing my bookkeeping every weekend along with a monthly review to monitor my business finances. Going into the fourth quarter for 2014, it’s important to start getting your finances in order.
Not 100% happy: On accepting the parts of the job you don’t like (freelancersunion.org)
Accepting that you won’t always be happy with every part of every project is an important lesson. One technique I use is to focus on at least one part of a project that I enjoy.
Is it time to quit freelancing? Here’s how to tell. (thefreelancery.com)
Sometimes freelancing isn’t for you. This article presents an interesting test to see if getting a full-time job would suit you better.
5 Types of Bad Consulting Clients and What To Do About Them (consultingsuccess.com)
What’s better than a list article about bad clients? How about one that proposes solutions to transform each one into a good client?
5 Ways to Build a $200,000 Consultancy (glennstovall.com)
An interesting take on how to reach a revenue goal based on the size of clients you focus on.
What to do when you’re completely overwhelmed (freelancersunion.org)
Feeling overwhelmed is a good friend of mine. I’ve gotten better when he shows up at my door but it’s always useful for having new techniques to combat him.
Alan Weiss on Value Based Fees (1 of 3) Part 2 Part 3 (youtube.com)
I’m a fan of Alan Weiss. His advice helped take my business from “busy” to “successful”. This three-part interview is a great way to see how an accountant applied value based fees to his business.