Freelance Confidential - Amanda Hackwith [0]
Envato.com
© Rockable Press 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or redistributed in any form without the prior written permission of the publishers.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Meet the Experts
The 2010 Survey: Portrait of a Freelancer
Identity: Who is Freelancing
Career and Income
Experience and Education
Client Work
Answering the BIG Questions
Six Realities Every Freelancer Faces
Reality #1: Success is a personal goal.
Reality #2: The majority of any business is not the creative work, it’s the business maintenance, and it’s just as important.
Reality #3: Being a freelancer is being in the business of selling yourself.
Reality #4: The best kind of “marketing” is activity and quality work.
Reality #5: Diversity is the best kind of security.
Reality #6: Freelancing can be a springboard to other opportunities.
Know the Myths of Success
The Myth of Security
The Myth of Income and Satisfaction
The Myth of Work-Life Balance
The Myth of… Happiness?
Defining Your Own Success
Learning from Myths
Expand with Engagement, Not Marketing
Marketing is Not the Enemy…
… But Do Less Marketing, More Engaging
Improve Your Portfolio
Use Social Media to Engage
The Bottom Line
Expand Your Business by Diversifying
Diversify to Succeed
Your Clients
Your Projects
Your Skills
Next Steps for Diversity
Just Get Started!
Expand with Passive Income
Selling Stock
Direct Sale Products
Build Your Blog Into a Brand
Building Support: Family and Colleagues
Family and Loved Ones
Colleague Support
The Future of Freelancing: An Interview with Collis Ta’eed
Freelance Survey Results
Work Experience
Clients and Projects
Income and Compensation
Additional Income Statistics
Conclusion
Thank You
Appendix: Further Reading and Resources
Books
Conferences
Organizations
Notable Tutorials, Blogs, Sites
Stock Marketplaces
eBook Publishing
Podcasts
Communities
Job Boards
Design Galleries
Portfolio Services
Endnotes
About The Author
Introduction
What this Book's All About
Freelancing is a solitary pursuit by nature. Frequently, you are working in isolation from a home office (or the occasional coffee shop). Even if you are contracted to work on site, freelancers are often relegated to outside the community of the workplace. We're transitory, temporary. We're "other."
As Editor of FreelanceSwitch, one of my most rewarding experiences has been to witness online spaces where communities of freelancers can share experiences, advice, and questions. It is important to have spaces where freelancers are no longer an "Other." Instead, they're "Us."
Frequently, in these discussions, the same questions always come up. "How much do you charge?" "Where do you find your clients?" Freelancers want to know. We need that information. We want to see how we're doing compared to others and how we can improve.
This book aims to answer some of those sensitive questions and use the experience of experts and our survey respondents to show you how to expand your business. FreelanceSwitch asked freelancers of varying backgrounds and experience to anonymously answer frank questions about every aspect of the world of freelance. Over 3,200 members generously responded. Their answers gave us the straight numbers on freelancing, including:
Rates, how much you charge, how much your local colleagues are charging.
How many hours you work, how many hours you bill.
Where you find most of your paying clients.
How freelancers really feel about their profession.
The future of freelance business.
In the first part of the book, we'll look at what those numbers mean for new and experienced freelancers, and we'll also look at how those numbers reflect any change in the freelance landscape since the original 2007 survey. For the full survey results, be sure to check out the appendix at the end of the book.
In the second half of the book, we'll build on those numbers with advice from our experts and suggestions for growing your business in key areas—things you can do