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ONLINE BANKING: List of Internet Banking Articles, Tips, and Advice for Freelancers

May 13, 2008 – 9:44 pm

ONLINE BANKING: List of Internet Banking Articles, Tips, and Advice for Freelancers

The eventual movement towards online banking was done in the last 10 years due to the need of customers to perform transactions in a safe and quick manner. Online banking or also Internet banking as it’s often referred to allow customers to conduct financial transactions on a secure website operated by the primary branch of a bank. Easy and quick transactions are very important traits to those professionals in the freelancing world.

The following list of links focuses on all of the aspects of online banking from a basic description to security issues:

PC World Online Banking Article

This PC World article explores the risks of online banking and necessary precautions to protect accounts and personal information.

Digital Trends Online Banking Article

This article offers reasons to use online banking as an alternative to the traditional way of banking from the author.

Wikipedia Online Banking Article

This Wikipedia article offers a good general description of online banking with a variety of related links at the bottom of the webpage.

Microsoft Online Banking Article

This 8 page article from Microsoft examines online banking for the small business owner.

Online Banking Report Subscription

This site offers a subscription of online banking updates with a basic subscription rate of $1195 for a single user (1 year) and higher from there.

Online Banking Lesson

This link offers an online lesson to follow that explains what online banking is and reviews the pros and cons of online banking versus traditional banking.

Two-Part Online Banking Article

This link examines the demographics in two parts on online banking in the United States.

Bank of America - Online Banking Articles

This link offers a wide variety of online banking articles developed by Bank of America.

Safe Online Banking Article

This article discusses the safe way to do online banking around the net.

Informedbanking.com Articles

Informed Banking includes online banking and finance topics, banking software and bank technology reviews, as well as accounting software reviews.

MSN Money - Online Banking Article

This MSN – Money article discusses the features to look for in online banking, and the top 10 online banking sites.

Online Banking Reviews

The Star Reviews site does the work, and enables the freelancer to easily compare the best online banks.

About.com on Online Banking

This About.com guide focuses on online banking, with a variety of other article links throughout the webpage.

Allbusiness.com - Online Banking Articles

This link offers a wide variety of related online banking articles throughout its main web page.

[tags]online banking, online banking tips, online banking articles, online banking advice, online banks, security online banking, internet banking, on line banking, online bank accounts[/tags]

By Posted in Freelance Finances, Freelance Resources, Lists, Uncategorized 1 Comment

Balancing Work, Kids, and Family Life When Working From Home

May 6, 2008 – 8:44 pm

Balancing Work, Kids, and Family When Working from Home as a Freelancer

Balancing Work, Kids, and Family Life When Working From Home

By Christy Tanner

One of the harder aspects of freelancing from home is balancing work and family. Balancing work, kids, a spouse, chores, and everything else is not an easy task. Work and family are both very important to us and finding a balance is sometimes hard to figure out how to do. It isn’t like it used to be when the wife would stay at home while the husband would be the bread winner. In fact, in 50% of family households, both parents work. There has been research to show that once a child is born into the family, men and women tend to move towards a more traditional lifestyle. In other words, once a child is born, women tend to be the one to stay home and the men are usually the one to go back to work. However, if you truly want to successfully balance multiple roles in your family, then you will need to become even less traditional than most families.

Obviously, as we add more roles to our repertoire it becomes even harder on us and adds stress to our lives. This stress comes from two sources, known as role strain and spillover. Role strain comes from the responsibility of one role interfering with other roles that you are performing. Let’s say you are working on a project, but then you child comes to you needing immediate attention. This is called role strain. It occurs when you have to stop one thing because you are being pulled towards another role. Spillover happens when relationships and conditions from one area of your life affects another area of our life. Perhaps you have a difficult client who wants to call you numerous times every day to change a project around. This constant disruption affects your family life because you are spending more time on the client than you are with them. Constant customer disruptions can make it difficult to balance your family and work life. However, when either role strain or spillover occurs, you can work through them.

Four Ways That You Can Balance Kids< Work, Marriage and Home Life

Following are four ways that you can work to balance your work and family life:

- Clarify values

- Set goals that are realistic

- Manage time and priorities correctly

-Understand control and how to let go

It is very difficult as a freelancer to find the right balance of a successful career, happy kids, a happy husband, happy friends, happy family, a clean house, clean laundry, and every other item in your life that has to be managed correctly and efficiently. If you follow these 4 rules, then you will be on your way to easily balancing your work and family life. The rest of this article will discuss how to achieve these 4 steps to achieve a happy and successful balanced life.

Clarify Values

Clarifying Your Values

Values are our guides to our actions that normally result in a better life experience. In order to clarify values, we need to manage our family and work demands properly. What exactly is a value? A value is “a principle, standard, or quality considered worthwhile or desired”. The fact of the matter is that we don’t really know what all our values are. Some values are unconscious and unknown, and in deed will stay this way throughout our lives. The only time that we really question a value is if we are taking on a new role, or perhaps experiencing a conflict that will bring the value to light. However, most of the time, the unknown values are the ones that cause us the most stress. In order to ease our daily stress, we should become more aware of all of our values.

At times we even have values that conflict, such as going to work early, but feeling guilty that the kitchen wasn’t cleaned first. This guilt might give you daily problems, depending on whether or not you cleaned the kitchen. Or, maybe when you wake up late, you get stressed out because you wanted to start working on a project early, and now you are running behind. You can ease role strain by modifying or even prioritizing your values. We may not be able to get completely rid of stress from values, but we may control it easier.

How to Set Realistic Goals

Set Goals That are Realistic

Goals are very important to us; they help us define how our time is used. Goals may be ideas such as “I want to be a football player”, or “I want to freelance”. Values are part of our goals. In fact, values underlie a goal, giving us an extra push that we might need to reach a goal. We also have relational goals, such as “I want to have a good relationship with my child.” we may ease stress by putting some of our goals on hold, while we reach other goals. We also need to be aware of expectations, attitudes, and perceptions they can affect the way that values and goals are achieved, and how we handle the balance of work and family. Also, You should try to set goals in which you will have the most control over the outcome. There is nothing more disappointing than failing to achieve a personal goal for reasons that are beyond your control.

Manage Time and Priorities Correctly

Manage Time and Priorities Correctly

It is very important that we set our priorities correctly so that we can manage our time effectively. It is difficult to work at home, get what we need to get done, and then take care of our family in a way that will make everyone happy. Even our friends need to be factored into this whole layout as well. We need to find time for friends if we want to keep them in our lives. At times, there seems to be no time for leisure, and you just can’t imagine where you could find that 30 minutes to call a friend. We can learn to be more efficient in using our time, as long as we learn how to schedule our lives more effectively. When you don’t schedule the activities that move you towards your goals, especially the relational goals, your goals will be harder to reach at times.

Ways to Manage Your Time Differently … First Define Goals, and Then Ask the Following Questions:

Ways to Manage Your Time Differently … First Define Goals, and Then Ask the Following Questions:

Another way to change your life around a bit is to try a different approach to managing your time. Think outside the box and create another way to work out your life tasks.

- Do my expectations foster or interfere with reaching a goal?

- Do I balance my concrete and relational goals?

- How can I tell when I reached a goal?

- How do I reach this specific goal today?

Understanding Control and Letting Go

Understanding Control and Letting Go

A lot of people feel like they are in control when they do everything themselves. But we may be holding ourselves back from reaching our goals by pushing everyone else away. Think about spreading out work so that you can accomplish your needs. Even though it may be tough at times to do so, try to delegate and prioritize work as it will help you in the long run.

Communication is Important When Changes are Being Made. Here Are Other Ways to Balance Work and Family:

Communication is Important When Changes are Being Made. Here Are Other Ways to Balance Work and Family

- Have family meetings

- Make a weekly or monthly schedule that will show both concrete and relational goals

- If something doesn’t work then revise your plans

- You need to understand what you can control and what you can’t control

- Make sure that you always have your sense of humor

- Effective management is not static, but an evolving process.

Balancing both your family and work life is not always easy.

Balancing both your family and work life is not always easy. As a mother and freelancer myself, I understand how hard it can be at times. But I know one thing that is true, I wouldn’t give it up for the world. I have been lucky enough to watch my children grow up so far. I didn’t have to drop them off at daycare, instead I learned how to schedule my life in a way that I could always be there for them. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with going to work and putting your children into daycare. I just knew from the first look at my child’s eyes, after touching his little fingers for the first time, or the first time he caressed my arm while I was feeding him, that I didn’t want to ever go to work and leave him with someone else. I DID land up having to go back to work for a little while, but I figured out how to start my own business, and then I was able to be back with him within a year. Working from home, especially with little kids all over the place, is a very difficult task. But it is also the best decision that I have ever made. As long as you always keep your positive attitude, you will be able to overcome the hurdles that you encounter. Good luck.

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By admin Posted in Mixing Family And Business, Stress Management, Time Management No Comments

How to Deal with Difficult Clients - A Guide for Freelancers

April 27, 2008 – 9:13 pm

How to Deal with Difficult Customers - A Guide for Freelancers
By Christy Tanner

No matter where you work you always have customers or clients who are difficult, making the job you need to do even more challenging. In this article, we will discuss the different ways that these clients pose problems for you. Also we will discuss the best ways to handle these clients with ease. Because the truth is that you can’t just avoid these customers, you must take them on and handle the job at hand, otherwise you will end up not having any clients.

A difficult client can be noticed by any or all of the following characteristics:

A difficult client can be noticed by any or all of the following characteristics

- A difficult customer will continually change the project specs.

- A difficult customer trusts you, but not without doubts. They will make sure that they tell you this every chance that they get.

- A difficult customer will constantly bug you with e-mails, even though there is no problem and the e-mails are not needed.

- A difficult customer may continually ask you for updates even though your original schedule was for the updates to be done every 5 days.

- A difficult customer may constantly complain about your fee and tell you that they should have hired someone else for the project

- A difficult customer may constantly point out things that you have done correctly, but could have done better.

- A difficult customer may continually say that they are looking for another freelancer to take over the project, restating their lack of trust in you.

- A difficult customer always seems to be too busy when you ask for needed information.

- A difficult customer wants to control the entire project even though you are the real expert.

So what do you do to handle a client like this?

How Do You Handle a Difficult Client - What Should I Do with a Difficult Customer

- Write down every interaction you have with the client, dating and putting specific interactions and decisions that came about due to the meeting.
- Develop a specific way you handle every customer and always stick to it. Don’t change any part of this protocol … no matter what.

- Transform your self-image into one of an authority figure. You are the boss, and the one who is in charge. Always come across this way to your customers.

- It isn’t possible to take on every single customer that comes your way. If you have enough work to pay all of your bills, then turn down customers who seem as if they are going to be difficult. Be strong, and refuse these projects as a difficult client can turn your entire world inside out.

With these steps you should be able to handle the most difficult customer that you come across. Also keep in mind that you may have more rules to add to the list after you increase your experience with customers. Also when you deal with these nasty clients, keep in mind that they may be difficult, but they also are the ones who are indeed paying the bill if you have accepted their proposal. Think of it this way, if you do a good job and show them that you are above their behavior, then you may indeed get more projects from them, and possibly a good word to other possible clients. However, you can also decide to turn down any future projects from this customer.

You also might want to keep in mind there are some people who are just unhappy, miserable people. These people like to make others as upset as they are. It’s best to treat these people with a careful eye. You need to be forceful enough to get your point across, but yet not too forceful that the client decides that they don’t want to deal with you anymore.

Take the Path that Leads to Wealth and Happiness

Remember that you control your own destiny, and be sure that you follow the path that will lead you to the most wealth and happiness. Once in a while you will have to deal with a difficult person, but you can do it!

[tags]freelance, freelancers, clients, customers, difficult clients, difficult customers, dealing with difficult customers, dealing with difficult clients, customer services, business, home business, small business, freelancing, consulting, consultants[/tags]

By admin Posted in Client Relationships, Freelance Projects, Freelancing & Self Employment, Working From Home No Comments

How to Handle Stress and Burnout for Freelancers & Home Business Owners

April 22, 2008 – 2:17 pm

How to Handle Stress and Burnout for Freelancers & Home Business Owners - Learn How to Deal with Stress Before it Turns into Burnout

By Christy Tanner

One thing we all deal with on a daily basis is stress, and if we don’t deal with it promptly you may also experience burnout. As a freelancer, your stress will come from clients, lack of time to meet deadlines, balancing family and work, as well as many other reasons. Every person in life at one time or another experiences stress in different ways, and everyone has a different way of coping with their stress. This article will help you figure out how to identify what type of tension or stress you are being exposed to, and how you can handle it in a more proper way. Not all stress is bad, in fact, it depends on what type of stress it is. Read on to find out how to identify and deal with stress and burnout as a freelance professional.

How to Handle Stress and Burnout for Freelancers & Home Business Owners

You should be able to identify the following:

What causes stress

Impact of negative stress on you

How positive stress helps

Methods to reduce your stress

What are the signs of burnout

How to prevent burnout

How to measure you level of stress

Firstly, we will go over the difference between positive and negative stress. Yes, believe it or not, there is such a thing as positive stress.

Each day we are exposed to life situations that will cause us to feel tension and alter our normal balance in life. This is called stress. To figure out if it’s positive or negative stress, we will review a few examples. Lets say that in school you are given a project which you have to finish within three weeks. As the deadline date comes closer and closer, you start to feel more tension. Your stress level starts to rise, your blood pressure increases, and you might also lose some sleep. However, when you meet the deadline you become elated and happy. Positive stress is a perfect catalyst you can use to succeed. We get extra energy from positive stress, thus helping us to meet deadlines. But if you are in the middle of a project that is getting closer to the deadline, you probably would feel out of control and a negative stress will overcome you. This stress will cause such things as stomach problems, fatigue, loss of sleep, depression, headaches, and even chronic pain. Many times we are the true cause of negative stress and we need to learn how to handle our stress the right way.

How to Handle Stress and Burnout for Freelancers & Home Business Owners

The following are some of the hugest causes for stress in our life:

Long hours at work

You messed up a project

Moving or getting ready to move

Marriage and Family Troubles

Debt

Job Loss

Divorce

Death in the Family

Serious Illness or Injury in the Family

Behavior Problems with Your Children

Stomach Problems

Money problems

You or Spouse is Pregnant

Getting Married or New Relationship

Unhappiness in Current Job

New Baby

Death of Close Friend

Job Change

Spouse Infidelity

You can handle these stressors by talking to a friend, counselor, or anyone who you can trust to keep your secrets in confidence. This person will be able to:

How to Handle Stress and Burnout for Freelancers & Home Business Owners

Listen to you and maybe even share in past experiences

Lead you to the proper perspective of whatever situation you may be in

Help you find a solution to your problem

Help you think more clearly about your situation

Help you to remember that there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

Use stress for positive results in your life

Decide how you can control things, and that you can’t control everything:

You must learn to work on what you can control, and put aside what you can not change

Remember you need to know when to pull back from the situation

Your perspective should be kept positive

Take up interest in other things that are completely different from what has caused your stress:

Help out other people with their problems

Take up hobbies, such as reading or knitting

Watch mindless tv shows and sitcoms on television

Join a club or a church group

Take up some sort of sport

Relax and laugh

Sleep and eat at regular times

Exercise, such as walking, or jogging

Start reading self-improvement books

How to Handle Stress and Burnout for Freelancers & Home Business Owners

Now we must keep from becoming burned out due to stress and emotional exhaustion. This will happen when a person continually misses goals, or expected rewards are not obtained at work. You can tell that you are becoming close to being burned out when you start to feel apathetic, irritable, and disappointed. Take this seriously. Don’t just blow it off, don’t over rationalize the situation. Make your expectation reasonable. Remember we can’t all accomplish tons of things, in fact we need to ensure that we set our goals at a positive level. Reorganize goals to help lessen burn out. Change your routine and try different lunch times to change things up a bit. It could be this little change in your life that will become catalyst that helps you avoid a burn out. Try out new activities, be it cross stitch or some sport. Maybe change your career all together, this worked for me. Learn yourself inside and out, make sure you know exactly what makes you happy, and what makes you sad. In the same sense, get to know others as well. Learn to congratulate yourself for a well done job. Take up breathing exercises to learn how to relax. Another idea is to learn to take a long walk every day. Walking is very relaxing and will take the edge off the day. You might even lose some weight, which also lowers stress.

Relax and don't be stressed

Keep a positive attitude, reduce stressors in your life, and you will be a happier freelancer, as well as a happier person in general. Good luck with your journey to a less-stressed life.

More Articles Online About Handling Your Stress

Stress Kills

Recovery From Stress, Overwhelm and Burnout

How Dandy: The Anti-Stress Benefits of a Dandelion

Stress Is Inevitable

Conquering Stress Eating

Six Ways to Relieve Stress Now

Ways To De-stress Yourself And Control Your Anger

S is for Stress

Workplace fixes - Create a work routine for a stress-free week

Yoga for stress tips - Frequently Asked Questions Explained

Yahoo Job Stress Tips

Dr. Goldberg’s Tips on Stress & Health

Tips for Startup Stress from Mahalo’s CEO

10 Tips on How to Reduce Stress

Dr. Michelle’s Stress Tips - Part 1

Dr. Michelle’s Stress Tips - Part 2

[tags]stress, handle stress, handling stress, stress management, burnout, avoiding burnout, freelance stress, freelancing and stress, home business stress, business stress, avoiding stress, dealing with stress[/tags]

By admin Posted in Freelancing & Self Employment, Stress Management, Working From Home No Comments

When Clients Come to Your Home Office - How to Appear Professional in Your Home Office When a Customer Comes to Your House

April 17, 2008 – 10:59 pm

When Clients Come to Your Home Office (how to appear professional in your home office when a client comes to the house).

When Clients Come to Your Home Office - How to Appear Professional in Your Home Office When a Customer Comes to Your House

By Christy Tanner

When you set up your home office, you need to make sure that you do it the correct way. When a client walks into your house for a meeting, they are gaging you by what your home office looks like. You need to make sure that you organize it the best way possible. Make sure that your computer is going to fit on your desk, that your desk isn’t too small. You should also make sure that your desk isn’t too big or it may just become an eyesore. Also have a paper tray to keep your paper in, to hold work that you have finished. You don’t want the tray too full or to have a mess of papers held in there haphazardly. A cluttered desk looks very unprofessional and is not the impression that you want to give your client.

Internet Access

Internet Access of Course

You will need to have the Internet to access jobs, research, and for several other things. Look into the different Internet providers (ISPs) available in your area, and try to get the best deal. Remember that more money doesn’t always mean faster, more reliable Internet access. Make sure to set up an email account that will allow you to have plenty of storage for your incoming emails so that you may receive emails reliably from your customers. You might want to create a separate account for your personal emails to differentiate different types of emails. This way, you can also manage your time better by avoiding personal mail during office hours.

Telephone and Voice Mail

Telephone and Voice Mail

Another way to make your home office appear more professional is by placing a telephone on your desk. You will also want to purchase voice mail for when you are not there to answer your phone. Most, if not all, phone companies offer voice mail as one of their services. Also, get call waiting or even multiple lines as one of your purchased business phone services. With this service, you have less of a chance of missing a client’s call because they won’t get that pesky busy signal. Missing calls also means losing you potential freelance work. Make sure that the message you have recorded on your voicemail is professional and not in bad taste. Now is not the time to burp your voice mail message. An unprofessional voice mail message will scare off potential customers and confuse existing ones as well.

Some other things to follow when setting up your home office are:

1. Location of Your Home Office.

Location of Your Home Office.

Where you put your home office is very crucial to the success of your freelance business. Many people who set up a home business make the mistake of choosing a little corner of a tiny room to use. They don’t have enough space and end up spreading their work all over the room, making the office look busy and messy. If you pick a more central location, then you can conduct business in a more efficient manner and then function even more productively. Additionally, If your home office is in a central location and well organized, it is hard to lose receipts and your paperwork. It should give you enough space to prepare your projects, keep everything organized and receive and make business calls in a calm manner (instead of that claustrophobic, stressed out feeling that you are used to having when you are working in your cluttered home office). The best size that a home office is recommended to be is 10 by 10 feet.

2. The Size of Your Home Office.

The Size of Your Home Office.

Remember that the size and set-up of your home office will depend on the number of people you have working in it. Sometimes you may bring on someone else who will help you in your office, perhaps answering the phones, or even helping with your freelance projects. Make sure that your home office has enough room for the desks you need, chairs, and perhaps even file cabinets. You made need books for research, and thus bookcases to keep them on. If you have the extra room you could even set up a conference room to meet with clients and have the area to spread out your projects that you may be working on at the time. If you are a graphic artist you might need that extra room. Ensure that you keep your children and any toys out of the office area. Nothing is worse then a client coming in and tripping over toys. This will take away that air of professionalism that you work so hard to create.

3. Your Home Office Design Budget.

Your Home Office Design Budget.

The ever popular budget will determine exactly what your home office will look like. If you have a minimal budget, then you will not be able to afford fancy modular office systems. You will need to stick with the sale items, and maybe even used items that you find at yard sales and second hand stores. If you need to go buy used office furniture, make sure that the furniture that you buy is still in good shape or that it is able to be refinished. Grubby looking furniture will only take away from the professional look of your home office. Friends are always great to find out about local sales. I recommend that you ask your friends and see what they might know. It is always worth a shot, and you can sometimes come away with a close to brand new item.

4. Make Sure That You Choose the Right Lighting for Your Home Office.

Make Sure That You Choose the Right Lighting for Your Home Office.

Make sure that the lighting in your home office is good. If you have poor lighting, then you will cause yourself eyestrain, and get headaches every day. Get some lighting that will make it easy for you to see, and avoid putting any light that will cause a glare on your computer screen because this also will cause headaches. If your computer is near a window, them make sure that you have blinds or drapes to cut down on the glare. I also recommend that you try to use fluorescent, or incandescent lights to brighten your room.

5. Pick an Easily Expandable Area of Your House for Your Home Office.

Pick an Easily Expandable Area of Your House for Your Home Office.

Where you pick to put your home office should be an area that is easy to expand. Make sure that you have the minimum needed equipment for your office when you are just starting out. But keep in mind if business is booming and you need to expand, you will need more space. If your home office is situated on the outside of the house, then it should be easy to expand. You will just need to contact an architect and see if they can expand your office. Of course, you will need to pay for a permit and the equipment need, so keep this in mind when figuring out your budget on this. After you have expanded your office, you may need new equipment or at least more equipment. Make sure you get what you need and don’t waste your money on anything that isn’t needed.

Setting up a professional office isn’t really difficult if you just keep focused on what you need to do. Remember, not everyone can afford the top of the line furniture or computer equipment. And at times you don’t need the expensive items anyways. Expensive doesn’t always mean better. Don’t let the process discourage you either. At times we can’t get everything we need right away and it’s best to take small steps when this happens. You can create a professional office that will impress all of your clients very simply by make it homey, but not too homey. Make sure to have some of your work around to display for those potential customers. You can can display positive letters from past clients stating how well you handled their project. All this will go far in impressing those home office visiting clients.

[tags]professional home office, home office, home office design, professional image, freelance, freelancing, freelancers, consulting, consultants, create a professional image, how to design home office, home office decorating[/tags]

By admin Posted in Home Office Design, Working From Home No Comments

The Freelancers Guide to Setting Deadlines

April 14, 2008 – 7:36 pm

The Freelancers Guide to Setting Deadlines

By Christy Tanner

It’s a struggle as a freelancer to try and gauge your deadline in the best way. Creating a deadline that is possible to keep is harder than just picking a date. Lots of factors go into projects, and figuring how long they might take is quiet difficult. The harder or more difficult a project is makes figuring this deadline that is realistic hard. Have you ever seen a contractor finish the construction of a house on time? It’s rare to find believe me.

No matter how long you have been a freelancer, there is no way to plan for every delay or problem you might come across. Odd and strange things happen when dealing with deadlines. Just like you can not predict the weather, you can not say everything will go smooth and easy when trying to finish a project on time. Believe me problems do happen. But you can still create a deadline that is possible.

To create a perfect deadline you must have the following 3 factors: Complete understanding of the project you are doing, be realistic of the assessment of what skills and tools you will need, and of course proper allotment of your time. Following are some way to assess your project and giving yourself ample time to finish.

Completely Understand the Project

Completely Understand the Project before setting your deadlines

Know the specs of your project inside out.

If you know everything that you need to be done on your project that is an absolutely critical point. Make sure everything that is to be done is agreed to by the client previous to starting work and think about a time frame. Getting this done before starting clears up any confusion that may happen later on.

What Skills and Tools do you Need

What Skills and Tools Do You Need - Setting Deadlines

Leave no stone unturned this is such an important step, always be sure to do it. If you get to know a client some this will be so helpful in deciding whether or not you want to work with them, but you can also get to know what they prefer. You can create a client worksheet; this will allow you to get that deep understanding of who you will be working with and what they expect. Never feel like there is too much information to gather, that is not possible you want everything.

Give Yourself Plenty of Time

Give Yourself Plenty of Time - Setting Deadlines

Overshoot your estimates. If you don’t give yourself some extra “wiggle-room” it would be crazy. How often do you get on a project and not run into a hitch? None, if you have your one of the lucky ones. Always there will be something that is unexpected that will go wrong, anything getting sick to your computer messing up on you. Give yourself plenty of extra timing when planning your deadline. You client and you will be glad that you did.

Be pessimistic only when you make your deadlines though. The worst thing for you to do is be optimistic when you are planning a deadline. If you think of something off the wall that may happen, plan for it. Better that you are surprised when it goes ok, instead of not being prepared.

Plan everything even the smallest detail.Don’t miss any detail when you’re planning. If you miss a small detail, it might be the one that is the hitch in your plan.

Continually review what needs to be done.It’s easy at times to miss little steps throughout the duration of your project. But if you’ve planned everything to the smallest detail, it’s harder to miss the small items. It will also ensure that everything gets done in order.

Make smaller deadline for yourself

By doing so you create project milestone, this will ensure that you get the work done without much procrastination. Otherwise you might drag your feet just enough to make the project deadline impossible to reach.

Following these steps will surely help you to create a good deadline that is easy to reach. Creating less stress for you during the project.

[tags]set deadlines, setting deadlines, deadlines, make deadlines, freelance deadlines, time management, freelance time management[/tags]

By admin Posted in Freelance Projects, Freelancing & Self Employment, Time Management No Comments

How Freelancers Utilize LinkedIn to Successfully Network Online

April 11, 2008 – 3:47 pm

One of the most difficult things about being a freelancer is that you are constantly seeking out new work. Even when you have a steady stream of regular jobs that can meet your financial needs, you keep an eye out for additional work because the nature of freelancing is such that those steady jobs may end at any time. The job search is one that can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. Establishing a regular routine for finding new jobs helps to de-stress the situation. And making use of the numerous online resources that are now available can make finding freelance work significantly easier than it ever was in the past.

One of the ways that many freelancers have started obtaining new jobs is through social networking. And one of the most popular sites for doing that on is LinkedIn. That’s because LinkedIn is a professionally credible site which allows freelancers to highlight their skills and meet others who can make use of those skills. Almost every type of business needs a writer and/or web designer. That’s especially true now that companies are regularly hiring web news writers and bloggers to maintain their online presence. LinkedIn allows freelancers to connect to new industries and fields and offer these kinds of services.

To successfully networking on LinkedIn, freelancers should create a professional profile which emphasizes their writing strengths. Use the “current positions” location on the profile to note that you are a freelancer. Use this same field or “past positions” to show off some of the more lucrative jobs that you have had. Don’t forget to include a link to your professional website and note somewhere that samples can be seen on that link (which is hopefully something that you’ve already set up). Creating a strong online presence on the site and amongst your other sites will assist greatly with networking for freelance jobs.

Freelancers who regularly receive work through their LinkedIn connections are the ones that put themselves out there and say that they’re always seeking new opportunities and freelance projects. This is where the networking comes in. Target a few key fields that you want to work in and begin contacting people on LinkedIn through those fields. For example, if you are interested in doing press kit writing for musicians, you should be targeting musicians and publicity companies on the site. You can do this by using the search functions that LinkedIn makes available for this purpose. Invite these people to link to you on the site. When they see from your profile that you are interested in them for this reason, they’ll let you know right away if they have a need for your services. And even if they don’t have an immediate need, you’ll have made an impression in their minds so that they’ll think of you for the next freelance job they might require.

Finally, make sure to stay in regular contact with your LinkedIn connections. This is how freelancers get regular and ongoing work. Consider creating a monthly newsletter about your job and asking your LinkedIn connections if it’s okay to add them to your mailing list. Also make use of the message system on the site to send an update to your network of contacts about the work that you’re doing and the fact that you’re available for jobs. Freelancing is a great opportunity to do what you want to do for a living. But it means that you have to get out there and let others who can help you know that you’re available for hire!

LinkedIn is considered to be one of the best social networking sites for professionals in nearly all industries. It draws none of its attention from teenagers and young college students (except for those who are industrious and entrepreneurial) as so many of the other social networking sites do. This has lent it a kind of credibility among professionals that other social networking sites don’t share. For this reason, LinkedIn is one of the best sites to use for trying to obtain a new career or a job promotion through online networking.

How to Successfully Find a Job and Network on LinkedIn:

The first thing you’ll need to do is go to the site and set up a profile on linkedin

The first thing you'll need to do is go to the site and set up a profile on linkedin

Fill out your profile completely. Treat the fill-in-the-blanks spaces as though this is a resume that you are submitting to your dream job. Edit and revise until you have a profile that you would be proud to hand is an application. Add a photograph because people on social networking sites want to see who you are; make sure it’s a professional photograph, of course.

Link yourself to existing professional contacts through the LinkedIn site.

Link yourself to existing professional contacts through the site.

LinkedIn allows you to search your email address books to find people who are already on the site and to invite others to join. The best way to develop your network is to start with those people that you already know. Even if you aren’t open with co-workers about the fact that you are seeking a new job, you can connect with them on the site in a limited, professional manner.

Begin making contacts with people on the site that you don’t already know.

Begin making contacts with people on the site that you don't already know.

You want to network with people who are in fields and positions that are of interest to you. If you’re seeking a career in publishing, for example, you will want to find people in the editing and publishing fields and connect with them online. When you contact strangers, you can be honest about your intentions. You don’t have to say that you’re writing because you’re looking for a job. After all, subtlety is good sometimes. But you can feel free to say that you are hoping to use LinkedIn for professional networking opportunities and that you believe that you and the other person could benefit each other in this way. Always share what it is that you bring to the table.

Regularly check the site and respond to all messages that are sent to you.

Regularly check the site and respond to all messages that are sent to you.

Many headhunters and hiring executives are starting to look through LinkedIn for employees. Someone just might contact you about a job before you’ve even gotten active on the job search yourself. If your profile reflects your talents and skills, there’s a good chance that you’ll get hired as a result of being on the site.

LinkedIn is just one of the social networking sites that is available for you to use in a professional manner. However, it is the one that is currently on the top of lists for employers seeking to hire someone. That makes it the one to spend the most time on if you’re serious about using social networking to get a new job.

MORE ARTICLES ONLINE ABOUT LINKED IN AND CAREER ADVANCEMENT FOR FREELANCERS USING SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES LIKE LINKEDIN

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Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn

INside LinkedIN

Etiquette for LinkedIn and the Professional Networking World

My LinkedIn Network: 1 Million and Counting…

LinkedIn Profile Extreme Makeover

The New LinkedIn Platform Shows Facebook How It’s Done

Recruiting via my LinkedIn network

How we would like to work with LinkedIn and their upcoming API

The Art of Networking

Your Network Updates’ Personal RSS Feed

Five ways IT managers can get more out of LinkedIn

LinkedIn Networking Groups: A great way to stay connected!

5 Ways To Use LinkedIn Networking Groups Effectively - By Zale Tabakman

If You’re Not Using LinkedIn You’re Missing Prospects

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The Home Officer Asks: Linked In Anyone?

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[tags]linkedin, linkedin.com, networking on linkedin, social networking on linkedin, freelancers on linkedin, social networking and freelancing, freelance social networking, freelancers, freelancing, freelancing, careers, career networking, freelance networking, networking online, career advancement[/tags]

By admin Posted in Client Referrals, Networking Online, Online Self Promotion, Self Promotion 1 Comment

List of Ways to Win Freelance Projects on Freelance Job Boards & Bidding Sites

April 8, 2008 – 8:20 pm

List of Ways to Win Jobs on Freelance Job Boards

List of Ways to Win Freelance Projects on Freelance Job Boards & Bidding Sites

With the technology available to job seekers these days, gone are the times of the want ads in the newspaper as many more individuals are becoming Internet savvy and utilizing the World Wide Web to find jobs. This is especially true for freelancers. Today, there are a multitude of freelance job boards which offer individuals the chance to bid on specific jobs over the Internet and have the client choose the best offer from the bidders. There are a few ways to make it much more likely that you will win that job as opposed to seeing it go to your competitors.

Follow the Bidding Rules of the Freelance Job Board

Follow the Bidding Rules of the Freelance Job Board

First and foremost, one who uses these job boards to obtain jobs must be sure to follow the bidding rules on the board. This is one of the main reasons why individuals who utilize this type of job acquisition forum do not get the job. For example, if the bidding rules say bid on a per article basis and the individual bids on the entire project, the client may misunderstand and give the job to someone else as the bidder’s price seems too high. Prior to using a freelance job board, make sure that you understand the rules and bid accordingly.

Don’t Bid Too High on Freelance Bidding Job Boards

Don't Bid Too High on Freelance Bidding Job Boards

It is also important that those who bid on jobs do not make the bid too high. There is a lot of competition on these job boards and many of these jobs can be completed by those who offer a better price. Therefore, make sure that the bid is reasonable enough so it is worth your while but don’t make it too high where those who post the jobs will pass you by for another who bids a much lower price.

Don’t Bid Too Low on Freelance Bidding Job Boards

Don't Bid Too Low on Freelance Bidding Job Boards

On the other hand, those who bid too low may find themselves passed up as well. As many believe that you get what you pay for, those who post the jobs may feel that one who offers too little to complete the job is either not that good or not sure of themselves as a freelancer. Again, when bidding on a job make sure that it is worth your while and not too low as to turn off potential customers who may feel that your price reflects your ability to perform the job.

Gain Credibility on The Freelance Job Boards That You Frequent

Gain Credibility on The Freelance Job Boards That You Frequent

Many of the freelance job boards have a rating system attached to them. Therefore, those who complete jobs for individuals found on the job board will be scored and rated by the clients. The rating system may include a number score or perhaps written comments stating the type of job which they performed and whether the client will use them again. A good way to gain credibility via these forums is to write for a few different clients, do a fantastic job and get a great rating from the client.

Keep Bidding to Increase Your Chances of Winning Freelance Jobs

Keep Bidding to Increase Your Chances of Winning Freelance Jobs

An additional way to increase your chances of winning jobs on these freelance job boards is to bid a lot. Every time you see a job which you are interested in and so long as you have the time available to complete the job, put in a new bid. The more jobs that you bid on, the more likely it will be that you win them.

Here is a large list of Freelance Job Boards - and here is another list of almost 150 freelance job boards.

LIST OF MORE ARTICLES ABOUT WINNING CONSULTING JOBS ON FREELANCE JOB BOARDS

Here is a List of Articles About Finding and Winning Freelance Projects Online from AllFreelanceWork.com

Should You Use Elance to Sell Your Freelance Services

How to Win Projects on Freelance Job Boards

101 Ideas to Get More Freelance Work and Generate New Client Leads

How To Win Jobs On Freelance Job Bidding Sites

Win More Clients, Projects and Freelance Jobs By Making Three Small Changes

How NOT to Apply for a Freelance Position

How to win your freelance projects

[tags]winning on freelance job boards, winning on freelance job sites, win freelance bids, winning freelance bids, freelance job boards, freelance jobboards, freelance job sites, ways to win jobs, win jobs, win bids, how to win jobs[tags]

By admin Posted in Freelance Projects No Comments

Setting Your Rates and How Much for Freelancers to Charge - The Ultimate Guide

April 4, 2008 – 9:52 pm

Pricing and Positioning Your Rates Amongst Other Freelancers and Businesses

Setting Your Rates and How Much for Freelancers to Charge - The Ultimate Guide

When running a business, there will be many factors you will have to consider on a daily basis. One such concern which needs to be addressed from time to time relates to pricing and positioning amongst others. Since there are often a great deal of competitors on the consumer market in a variety of business fields, it is important to ensure that your prices and offerings are fair when compared with others yet still fair enough to yourself as a business owner. There are a few factors you should consider when contemplating pricing and positioning amongst others.

Price Your Services According to Your Level of Expertise

Price Your Freelance Services According to Your Level of Expertise

No matter what job field you are involved in it is always a good idea to price your services based on your level of expertise. Those who are more well versed in a particular area of business can get away with charging more for their services. Therefore, when pricing your services and determining your positioning amongst others be sure to consider your expertise level when doing so. Although your prices may be a bit higher than other businesses it may be due to your higher level of expertise in the field.

Make Your Prices Fair

Regardless of what other businesses in the local area are charging, you must ensure that the prices you choose are fair in nature. A business who charges a fair price is sure to rank higher amongst competitors in the eyes of local consumers. Choosing a fair price for services can be dependent on level of expertise, services offered and added benefits which you include with the total cost of your business offerings.

Consider the Size of Your Business

Consider the Size of Your Business - How Big is Your Business

When contemplating pricing and positioning amongst others, make sure that the size of your business is factored into the equation. For example, if you find that your rates differ from competitors in the area, this may be due to the fact that you are either a larger or a smaller business than your competitor is. Therefore, when considering pricing and positioning amongst others take note of how big the other businesses are with regard to customer base, number of employees and amount of business locations.

Determining how much to charge for your services is often one of the biggest challenges for a new freelancer.

If you charge too much you won’t get hired and if you charge too little you’ll starve. Take the time to read this article and you will figure out what you need to charge to thrive. If you are a new freelancer, you have probably searched the Internet trying to look for average rates of professionals in your field. Don’t even bother. I will let you in on a secret. now that the Internet is here, there aren’t any “average” rates because demographics are too widespread. The United States has banned competitors from discussing rates amongst each other based on Antitrust laws. This is why you are having such a hard time finding rate surveys, there aren’t any. Instead I will show you how to figure out what your rates should be by using a formula.

Start by figuring out what you want your annual salary to be.

Start by figuring out what you want your annual salary to be to figure out your freelance rates

To determine your salary, you might want to pay yourself what you earned as an employee or take a look at salary.com to find out what an average salary for your profession is.

For this formula, you will need to figure out what your overhead is.

Overhead is an expense that cannot be found billable to a client, it is just a cost incurred by running your business. Please fill out the following form. If you aren’t sure what your overhead is, then look back on last year’s credit card bills and checking account statements.

MONTHLY OVERHEAD:

Rent
Income Taxes (Use 45% of your annual salary)
Utilities
Office Supplies
Marketing
Postage and Shipping
Telephone
Accounting / Legal
Travel
Office Furniture
Dues & Memberships
Licenses
Health Plan / Medical Insurance
Disability Insurance
Retirement Savings
Multiply by 12 to get yearly Overhead

WHAT ABOUT NONPRODUCTIVE TIME??

There are duties that must be completed for each client that are not productive towards completion of the project. Figure out the actual work hours are spent on the following duties. You will need this total later, so keep the number handy.

Sales
Phone Calls
Meetings
Training
TOTAL

MAKE A PROFIT - HOW TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE CHARGING ENOUGH

Now you will need to figure out how much of a profit you wish to make. Profit is the amount that you make over expenses. I recommend 20% in order to make an acceptable profit margin. Profit is necessary for a successful business so make sure to count profit into your formula.

VARIABLES

There are always variables that you will need to take into consideration when figuring out what you will charge. You must take into consideration the following:

1. What does your competition charge?

2. What is your niche?

3. How many years experience do you have under your belt?

4. What skills do you have?

5. What clients do you want to attract?

6. Are you working online or local?

FORMULA 1

Follow these steps to figure out what your hourly rate should be.

1. Subtract nonproductive time from Annual Hours to get Billable Hours.

2. Add Salary and Overhead Together

3. Multiply Total By Profit Margin (10% - 20%)

4. Add Total (1) and Total (2) Together

5. Divide Total (3) by Billable Hours (the amount from #1)

For example, if the following is true:

1. Salary = $30,000

2. Annual Hours = 2,080

3. NonProductive Time = 500 hours

4. Profit Margin = 20%

5. Overhead = $15,000

Then this is how you figure out the freelancer’s hourly rate:1. 2,080 - 500 = 1,580

2. $30,000 + $15,000 = $45,000

3. $45,000 X 20% = $9,000

4. $45,000 + $9,000 = $54,000

5. $54,000 / 1,580 = $34 / hour

FORMULA 2

This formula is the easiest of them all. However, I don’t recommend this formula unless you are a very established professional. This isn’t the way to start out your freelance business, only very skilled freelancers can get away with this.

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. How much money do you want to make on this project?

2. How many hours do you want to work?

Now all you need to is Divide these two numbers. Its that simple, you now have your hourly rate.

FORMULA 3

Use the following formula if you are interested on how to set the rates for your entire business.

Add up all costs to run business on an annual basis (including profits) by annual hours (2,080). This will give to you your pay rate.

1. Salaries + Overhead = Annual Costs

2. Divide Annual Costs by Annual Hours

So For example, if the following is true:

1. Salaries = $60,000

2. Overhead = $50,000

3. Annual Hours = 2,080

Then this is how you figure out the hourly rate:

200,000 / 2,080 = $52

FORMULA 4 - PRICING BY ORDER FORM

This method is the order form method.

The reason I call it this is because you use an order form to add up all ingredients of the project. This would be how you figure out how much to charge for your work. I don’t recommend using this method unless you are only designing simple sites that all have the same basic ingredients. Otherwise, there are too many variables to use an order form. Here is an example of an order form:

Purchase Order # Customer # Company Name Domain Name Your Name Address State Zip Code Phone Number Fax Number Email Address
# of Photographs
# of Illustrations
# Custom-made Animation
# Forms
# Pages of Flash
# of Scripts (What Language)
Other
TOTAL

FORMULA 5 - ESTIMATION BY PROJECT

Most clients are going to want to hear how much the entire project is going to cost. Even if you have an hourly rate already, probably this isn’t going to be acceptable to your future clients. It takes practice but you are going to need to learn how to break projects into individual tasks in order to estimate how long the project is going to take. Make sure to find out what responsibilities the client expects you to take care of. If the client expects you to do everything, then take this into account. If this is the case break up the project into the following phases in your mind:

TASKS	# Hours
Administrative
Purchase Server / Domain
Storyboarding / Mockups
HTML / Programming
Create Prototype
Make Site Live
TOTAL

Now Visualize how many hours you feel each stage of your project is going to take. Add up all of these hours.

Multiply your hourly rate (figured out from one of the above formulas) by the total estimated number of hours for project (from above). This amount would be how much you bid on the project.

So For example, if the following is true:

1. Hourly Rate = $30

2. Total Estimated Project Hours = 50

Then this is how you figure out how much to bid on your freelance project:

$30 x 50 = $1,500

Make sure that your client is very clear on what the scope of the project is.

You should write a clear contract to make sure that the outline of the project is written down in clear terms, otherwise the client may take advantage of you.

The bottom line to your freelance business is that you want to make a good living. If your hourly rate seems too low then raise your rate till you feel comfortable with it.

If several clients are way too eager to hire you as a freelancer, rethinking your hourly rate might be a good idea. On the other hand, if clients are very interested in you at first and then stop communicating with you after they hear what your hourly rate is, then you need to lower your rates. In other words, feel customers out to see whether your fees are correct or not.

If you have determined that your fees are too high then you might need to lower your overhead in order to lower your fees. Try cutting some of your unnecessary expenses in order to make ends meet. When you make the change over to freelancing, sometimes there is a little suffering at first. Don’t worry; it doesn’t usually last long if you know how to save when times are good.

Good Luck.

Check out AllFreelance.com’s list of articles for freelancers to figure out their rates “¦ and also check out AllFreelanceWork’s list of articles for figuring out your rates.

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List of Ways to Win Freelance Projects on Freelance Job Boards & Bidding Sites

Setting Your Rates and How Much for Freelancers to Charge - The Ultimate Guide

Setting Your Rates and How Much for Freelancers to Charge - The Ultimate Guide

Price Your Services According to Your Level of Expertise

Make Your Prices Fair

Consider the Size of Your Business

Determining how much to charge for your services is often one of the biggest challenges for a new freelancer.

Start by figuring out what you want your annual salary to be.

MONTHLY OVERHEAD:

WHAT ABOUT NONPRODUCTIVE TIME??

MAKE A PROFIT - HOW TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE CHARGING ENOUGH

VARIABLES

FORMULA 1

FORMULA 2

FORMULA 3

FORMULA 4 - PRICING BY ORDER FORM

FORMULA 5 - ESTIMATION BY PROJECT

The bottom line to your freelance business is that you want to make a good living. If your hourly rate seems too low then raise your rate till you feel comfortable with it.

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