Among the amorphous goals that many of us have for our freelance business, "I want/need to make more money" often heads the list. It's often joined by other amorphous goals such as "I want/need more work," or "I need some better clients." The problem with "I want/need to make more money" is that … [Read more...] about How to make more money without having a breakdown
Money
Analyzing your own tendencies
Here's a 30-second summary of this post: as a freelancer, you'll find that some things feel effortless and some things feel like pushing a cement mixer up a hill. Analyze the difficult things and figure out how to make them less difficult, and your life will be much easier. This post was inspired … [Read more...] about Analyzing your own tendencies
Sub-optimal rates: "better than nothing," or not?
"The rate isn't ideal, but it's better than nothing." "It's not what I'd like to be earning, but you have to start somewhere." "I wasn't thrilled about the rate, but working is better than not working." Stop me if you've heard this before... But the real question is: is this a valid way of looking … [Read more...] about Sub-optimal rates: "better than nothing," or not?
To break out of the low-rate market, change these three things
Stop me if this sounds familiar: I really needed work, so I decided to take whatever came through the door. I decided that applying to mega-agencies/advertising on Fiverr/racing to the bottom on translation job boards was the fastest way to get full-time freelance work. But now I'm stuck; I have to … [Read more...] about To break out of the low-rate market, change these three things
Negotiating on factors other than price
There are a lot of reasons to avoid negotiating on price: Once you take on the lower-paying project, what happens when a higher-paying project comes in? Lowering your rate shows the client that, at least some of the time, you're willing to work for less than your stated rate. Lowering your rate … [Read more...] about Negotiating on factors other than price