Jon Phillips

Twitter | Website
When I got started I used to do everything myself, it worked for a while till I realized that I could outsource a lot of the thing I didn’t enjoy doing and then spend time on stuff I enjoy. I wish I had known that when I started out, it would’ve saved me a lot of time and probably some headaches, too

Andy Sowards

Twitter | Website

• There are only 24 hours in a day. And you are most likely going to need sleep.
• Taxes Suck.
• Personal Project time suffers.
• No income is Guaranteed.
• When you have a big project to work on, your internet gives you issues.
• Having said all of that, I still love freelancing

Steven Snell

Twitter | Website
I wish I would have known that clients tend to not take a project very seriously if they are paying low rates. When I started out I knew that learning and getting experience was more important than making money at that stage, so I did some very cheap projects. I worked with several people who wanted a website, but it seemed that since they were investing very little into it financially, they just didn’t take it seriously and put in the effort on their end that is needed to have a successful web presence. Not only did that make it more difficult for me to do a good job, but it really did a dis-service to their business because their websites weren’t as effective as they could have been. I’m not sure exactly what I would have done differently because my services weren’t worth a whole lot at that point, but I wish I would have at least understood that people tend to not value or prioritize things that are cheap. I should have done a better job communicated with those clients that if their website is to be successful and useful for their customers/visitors, they must be involved throughout the process.

Sean Baker

Twitter | Website
Things I wish I knew before starting out as a freelancer

Tax Write-Offs
You’d be amazed at the amount of things you can write-off on your taxes being an independent designer. Aside from business expenses like hardware, programs and everyday tools like fonts, there’s a whole world of things that may qualify as “research” to your business. For example, your music/MP3, movie, magazine and coffee purchases are creative outlets that may be considered for exemption if they pertain to your business or a particular project. No kidding. I was always skeptical and afraid of potential audits when I did my own taxes, so I sought a local CPA to assist me in the handling of receipts. For a CPA in your neighborhood, check out http://www.accountantsworld.com/. Save all your receipts and don’t be afraid to ask questions come tax season — you may be pleasantly surprised at how much you can claim!

Strategizing Your Time
You’re closing up your meeting with a potential client. Everything went smoothly and you think you’re about to land the job. Said client asks for your hourly rate, in which you give and explain. Unless you’re underselling your talents greatly, their next question will almost always be: “Great, and how long will it take you?” Suddenly you’re in a corner… and you’re panicked. You don’t want to scare them away, so you feel implied to answer immediately, usually shorting yourself on time simply to appease. Congratulations, you’ve just pigeonholed this project. From here you’ll either be doing some free work or you’ll run the client off once they see a higher rate than you originally gave.

It’s critical to never give a time estimate without digesting and sleeping on the specs of the project. You need time to unwind and assess the details on your own. If a client asks for a final gauge in your FIRST meeting, cordially advise them that you need time to review in order to give a fair evaluation. Tell them you don’t want to jump to conclusions and “over-shoot”. They’ll respect the fact that you’re trying to keep money in their pockets, even if all you’re really doing is watching out for yourself. From here, follow up within a few days with a “thank you” and a working estimate/contract.

Amber Weinberg

Twitter | Website
When I first started freelancing, I wish I would have known that it wasn’t as insurmountable as everyone makes self-employment out to be. I spent a lot of time at a job I hated to save up enough money for “just-in-case” and once I went out on my own, I spent a lot of sleepless nights the first month and a half, freaking out because I had zero work. After that, it’s been a lot of hard work, but it hasn’t been nearly as scary as they want you to think.

Brian Yerkes

Twitter | Website
I wish I would have known (and been prepared for the fact that) not every client is going to like your designs / concepts / ideas. I’ve been freelancing for over 4 years now, and I still struggle with hearing “We don’t like it.”.

The problem is that when it comes to being a freelancer, you tend to put a serious amount of effort and personal pride into your work, and every time you complete a concept or idea for a client, you are confident that it is the the correct one. When a client says that they don’t like it, you have to understand a few things.

1. That the client is not always right. Seriously. They just aren’t. If I was having a house built I might ask my builder to use Play-Doh. Obviously, this would not be a good idea, and as the customer, I would be terribly wrong! The builder needs to step in and tell me what correct option is. That’s why the builder is a builder and I’m not. He/She is the expert at what they do. So, sometimes when the client says that they don’t like your work, you may want to consider having the cojones to discuss the reasons why they are wrong. Often, a professional client will appreciate your confidence and your dedication to the success of their project, but unfortunately there are times when a client will just get even more upset with you and continue to tell you that you are wrong. It just takes some good judgment on what way to respond to each situation.

2. Sometimes your work just doesn’t hit the mark for what the client is looking for and what is needed for the project. This can happen for many reasons, but the important thing is to recognize it, understand the value of it, and move forward to developing better concepts. Decent clients are able to tell you why your concept doesn’t work, and why they don’t like, and this may give you an even clearer brief from which you can work from for the next concept. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and clients need to understand this.

and finally

3. You have to ensure that you don’t take it personally, ever. This is the biggest thing that I personally struggle with. When a client emails to tell me that they aren’t happy with a design, it puts me in a bad mood for a few hours. It’s the number one thing that I try to deal with better every time it happens. Fortunately, 99% of the time, my clients are happy with my work, but you can never win them all.

So, to sum up, I wish I would have known that not every client is going to love your work. If I had known that, it would be a lot easier to deal with it internally when it happens!

Chris Spooner

Twitter | Website
I wish I had known how to put across my ‘professional’ opinion as a designer. In my early days if a client wanted a change or didn’t like a particular element. I’d simply cave in and agree, then I’d not feel as happy with the final design. Nowadays I don’t think twice about offering my opinion in return, and explaining how I think my solution would work better. Often a client will agree once they hear the underlying reasons behind a particular element. At the end of the day the client has a better end product and I’m happy and satisfied with the outcome.

Brian Hoff

Twitter | Website
Having started freelancing I wish I would have known and planned out better organization and maintaining a structured work flow. Its something that I still struggle with from time to time being a one-man-show. Often when you start freelancing you only thing of how to organize your actual design work that comes through, not details such as a better system for replying and saving emails, making it easier and more efficient to get contracts/proposals out the door, saving client information that show interest in your work, as opposed to those you only work with, in additional to other areas such as schedule time to market online using Twitter, Facebook, commenting on blogs, starting a blog or writing guest articles, etc — the aspects that you overlook many of times when it comes to online marketing, but can go a long way. I actually detailed a full article on some of the ways I organize my business that has helped in recent years, titled How to effectively organize, manage and maintain your freelance design business.

Sneh Roy

Twitter | Website
Things I wish I knew when I started freelancing.

1. Thou shall always create a logo in vector format
2. Thou shall not jump through hoops for a client.
3. Thou shall not be afraid to say “No”.
4. Thou shall not crumble, falter and surrender to your client’s whims and fancies.
5. Thou shall set a wide, comfortable time line for project completion.
6. Thou shall not have a life, or evening off, or proper eating hours in the first few months.
7. Thou shall never let someone else present your work.
8. Thou shall never bow down to corporate red tape.
9. Thou shall not be afraid to increase your hourly rates.
10. Thou shall not succumb to “Just make this one change, I promise that is the last one!”

Rob E. Bowen

Twitter | Website
I wish I had known before I started freelancing that there was such a rich and active community that existed online waiting to be engaged. A community ready to help with learning and invaluable advice. Collaborations and varying degrees of other opportunities woven within this expansive base of people all a part of a larger whole. It was really cool, and a little unexpected. The community made the entire undertaking more approachable and not as maddening as I had anticipated.

The community has played a large part in my freelancing growth and success, and I think that the trepidation that slowed my entrance into this forum would have been eased considerably had I known how inviting and welcoming the waters were. So much so, that the community actually altered my initial mission that I entered with. I initially got into freelancing for the opportunity to work for myself, and I found instead, that I am working for the community. Now what I mean by that is, that I found a purpose that fit and served me better. Not that it was like the community demanded it.

So I began to focus more on working to give back to that community, and along the way, ventured in directions that I thought followed in suit with those desires, but that actually were only in that vein on the surface. So I would have to re-adjust my course from time to time, always trying to be aware of what could best serve and give back to this amazing online collective. And allowing myself to evolve and be as fluid and dynamic as the community itself. This is something I never thought would happen before I started freelancing.

I never saw this job, evolving and changing me in ways. Becoming a career of communal collaboration and inspiration. And that inspiration reaching beyond the ‘job’ part and into my creative personal work and life as well. I never knew that freelancing was more of a way of life than simply another job where the boss wasn’t as much of an asshole as I was accustomed to.

Kostandinos

Twitter | Website
I don’t take on many “freelance” projects, but I wish I would’ve known that even with a signed contract, you still have to go through the court system and pay all kinds of fees to get the ball rolling if something terrible happens… like say a client cancels a check. After $160 in court/paper costs or so and no response from a loser client, I also wish I would’ve trusted my instincts. Which leads me to this: Don’t be afraid to say “no” to a project. If I could only pass along one small piece of advice to kids starting out, and even to those who’ve been at it for a while, that’s it. Sometimes it’s really not worth it… in more ways than one. Have a bad feeling about a client? Trust your gut and walk away.

One more thing: Sometimes the most important and best projects are the ones you do for yourself, including working on your portfolio and re-branding yourself. The devil is in the details… get out your pitchforks.

What do you wish you would have known?

Let us know in the comments if there’s things you’ve learned along the way that you can pass along to the first time freelancers who may be reading this post. I know we can always learn something new – new freelancer or old, knowledge never stops.

Additional Reading: Computer Arts has an awesome article, asking 11 freelancers (freaky, huh?) what their freelance secrets are. It’s really in depth and worth checking out. Read it here

I wish I would have known: Answers from 11 top freelancers is a post from Guerrilla Freelancing For our regular subscribers, we've got a relaunch in order in the next week or two. Keep your eyes peeled :)

Lets get to it.

This is an easy job and I can do this myself, but…

Really? You could really do this yourself, but you just so happen to want to give the pleasure of doing your work for you to someone else, for a much cheaper rate and, why? Because you don’t have the time? Because you don’t like doing these types of tasks? I know there are those of us out there who do outsource some work, but I can guarantee you that these words have never been said by someone with an actual skill set.

What they’re really saying: I’ve never done anything like this before, but I need to make myself look smart because I think that by doing so, you’ll be scared to give me your real prices and, well, I want to make this entire process as hard on you as I can – as long as it’s great for me.

If you can hook me up this time, I’ll send you all of my future work

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that this one is what freelancers as a whole see most often – the good old ‘hook me up’ phrase. You’ve got to be cautious of this type of client because they’re never out for your best interests – they’re only looking out for their own.

What they’re really saying: Well, I don’t have much money and I don’t really know anybody, but I’m going to lie and tell you I have both because I want to get something for nothing. Are you dumb enough to fall for it? The lint in my pocket sure hopes you are.

This is the perfect project for your portfolio

Here’s a good one. This is the one where the client seems to think he knows what’s best for you and your portfolio. They just know that the work you’ll do for them will be so fantastic that you’ll want to feature it in your portfolio. This is wrong for a couple of reasons.

One, this is a red flag that they’re the type of client who thinks they know what’s best. Trust me, it only gets worst from here. This is also a red flag because they’re going to be expecting the type of work you’ll want to feature – killer work, but they’ll rarely have the budget to go with it.

What they’re really saying:Hey buddy, I know that you’ve got a good portfolio but I want you to bleed over your keyboard in order to make my work the best you’ve ever done. Oh, and did I mention that my budget is about half of what you’re used to? It’s ok though because the website will look really good in your portfolio.

It should only take an experienced person an hour

This is one of the things I see most often. I’m guessing there’s an unwritten rule somewhere that states you must put this in your job listing or initial contact email in order to ensure that you’re getting the best price possible.

What they’re really saying: I don’t really know anything about what I need done, but what I do know is that I want it done for really cheap, so I’m going to convince you that it’s only a small project – even though you know better.

I don’t have a large budget but I can help promote your site

This one is kind of a two-for-one when it comes to buzz kill phrases. They’re usually said all at one time like this, but don’t let them fool you if they’re said alone (I don’t have a large budget) and (I can help promote your site) are both individual phrases that should be avoided at all costs.

What they’re really saying: I want to get my work done for really cheap and in order to get that done, I’ll tell you that I know people and/or can get you tons of exposure.

What do you think?

Are there ones we’re missing? Let me know in the comments if you’ve ran across any of these buzz kill phrases before or if you’ve got some that aren’t listed – I know there’s got to be more.

5 Dreaded buzz kill phrases every freelancer should avoid is a post from Guerrilla Freelancing For our regular subscribers, we've got a relaunch in order in the next week or two. Keep your eyes peeled :)

This article is going to cover everything from the initial idea that I had inside of my over active creative mind, to the point of launch (just a few hours ago) and what I envision for the future of the start up. If you’ve launched a start up in the past, I would love if you could shed some light on your process in the comments and for those of you who haven’t launched a start up yet, any questions you have would be awesome to see in the comments.

The initial idea

Around June of last year I wrote a post on WP Guerrilla about the top 10 wordpress theme providers and mentioned that I was tossing around the idea of a wordpress theme site myself. Realistically, I had been thinking about it for about a year prior to that. I am a freelance blog designer and the transition into a wordpress theme start up seems like a logical move in expanding my revenue, so I thought about it; then quickly stopped thinking about it. A few months went by before I actually started really thinking about it and putting plans into action.

The brainstorming and planning

When I really started putting things into a notebook and started hammering out the details, I felt like I was on top of the world. I had a lot of ideas and a lot of special ways to make my site ‘different’ than the other theme sites. I bought a moleskine notebook and started using it – a lot. I planned out the domain name, which was an extension of the Guerrilla network I was trying to build. The original domain name, GuerrillaThemes.com was purchased, set up and had a splash page put onto it within a matter of a few minutes.

And then the waiting began. I got caught up in client work and lost sight of the site again. A month or so went by and I started really putting the marketing together. I planned a huge launch for January 1st 2010 and promoted it heavily via twitter, facebook and email. And then I got a twitter message that asked me why I was copying Gorilla Themes.

The first road block

After thinking things through and even though the Guerrilla Themes name was built off of the brand I was trying to establish, I realized that in general conversation, the two names were identical, regardless of spelling. I talked it over with Brian Gardner and also spoke with Carlos from Gorilla Themes and decided to make a transition into a new theme company name. After all, I hadn’t launched yet and there wouldn’t be much trouble moving things around.

I wrote a post on the WP Guerrilla site detailing my move from the old name to the new name and made sure to detail my reasons why. If you’d like to read more about that, you can head over to read it.

The (almost) early ending

After I set up Giant Themes and got the ball rolling with it, I slipped back into the normalcy of client work and forgot about Giant Themes. When the deadline of January 1st came closer, I realized that I wouldn’t have the time to launch properly – so I didn’t. January 2nd rolled around, and the 3rd, 4th and 5th. After the first week of January, I started rethinking it totally. I felt beat down. I felt like I lost any steam I had built up previously and started daydreaming about other projects. If this sounds crazy to you, you should read the comments on the over active creative mind article I wrote on Spyre Studios – I am not alone in this.

The rejuvenation & those who helped

After breaking down one night from all of the pressure and talking with my girlfriend for about 3 hours, just venting all of my frustrations and fears, I felt a lot calmer. It was a great feeling. I knew what I had to do at this point and Giant Themes was definitely a part of it.

After that evening, I spoke with Jon from Spyre Studios through email and vented a bit more – and I have to thank him for not laughing at me or calling me crazy, because I’m sure the emails I sent off to him were a bit haywire. After 5-6 back-and-forth emails, I had a 100% clear plan in mind. I had around 80-90% of the Giant Themes site done and knew that a good day’s work on it would complete it. So I did it.

The launch

I officially launched Giant Themes at Midnight on February 8th 2010. It was a great feeling. When I sent out the tweets and facebook messages, I immediately got feedback – all of it positive. It was an amazing feeling, one that I cannot describe to you. Within the first 12 hours, I’ve had 500 hits to the site and the page views are over 3 pages per person. I’m happy with this result. I didn’t expect 10,000 visitors in one day. I’m right where I expected to be.

The one thing that did kind of set me back emotionally was the fact that not one sale has been made up to this point. I know it’s a numbers game, and the more people who visit your site, the more chances you have of making a sale, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping for a sale or two today.

The future…

My plan is to continue to grow the site, grow the available themes and also use the blog to generate traffic by releasing freebies (texture packs, icon sets, ect) and also writing tutorials for wordpress and xhtml/css in general. I’m hoping that this helps the traffic keep flowing and the sales start coming in.

If you haven’t checked it out yet, I’d love to know your thoughts on Giant Themes and the iSocialize theme that I’ve got for sale.

It’s one hell of a ride, but one that I wouldn’t give back. The only thing I’d change is that I would have done this all a hell of a lot sooner. Lesson learned – if you want to do it, do it. It’s that simple.

The ups and downs of launching your first startup is a post from Guerrilla Freelancing For our regular subscribers, we've got a relaunch in order in the next week or two. Keep your eyes peeled :)

The topics covered are of a wide variety (business, marketing, designing, networking, ect) and should be saved for a time you can sit down and read through them. They’ve given a lot of readers some valuable information and I want to bring them back to the forefront today to showcase them for the new readers here (and those of us who may have been here for a while, but have forgotten about them).

And now, for the list (in no particular order).

145 Must read FREE business related e-books

49 Motivational quotes to kick yourself in the ass

20 Branding tips using only social media

20 Freelance stereotypes: From personal to work life

Building your freelance design business for only $25.00

10 guerrilla marketing tactics for designers

15 draw backs to working as a full time freelancer

15 benefits to working as a full time freelancer

Marketing tips from Adolf Hitler

Information Overload: When is it time to start DOING and stop THINKING?

10 must have blackberry apps for web workers

Marketing tips from Charles Manson

The high school freelancer: $30K per year before graduating?

Profitable Passion: Getting paid to do what you love

10 things your college degree won’t do for your business

Business Basics: Managing your clients and money

10 guerrilla marketing tips using your business cards

Get paid more (per client) and work less hours

8 things you should know when starting your freelance business

5 similarities between freelancing and weight lifting

What’s your favorite?

Did I miss one that you liked, or is there one in this list that stands out the most to you? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from the readers here about what you’d like to read more of – so let me know what I need to write more of

Top 20 Guerrilla Freelancing articles from 2009 is a post from Guerrilla Freelancing For our regular subscribers, we've got a relaunch in order in the next week or two. Keep your eyes peeled :)

Do you have a spouse that has no interaction with what you do on a day to day basis? Maybe they have their own job, or maybe you’re the sole provider. In my case, I am the sole provider. My girlfriend has severe anxiety, which causes her to not be able to work, so I provide for us. I love it, and honestly, even if she was able to work, I wouldn’t want her to. I love the fact that we can spend so much time together. But, what would she do if I died tomorrow? Would she be able to pick up where I left off and keep the business going?

What I think we should do (at least, what I’ll be doing myself soon) is put a packet together of resources and information for our spouse in case something goes wrong and we don’t make it. Now, I know it’s a bit weird thinking about dying, but lets face it, we’re all going to go sometime, and I know personally that I’d much rather have the comfort of knowing my spouse is taken care of and can move forward without me. So in today’s article, we’re going to go over items of importance and put together some ideas on what could be inside our ‘business from beyond’ packet (yes, that name is just a lame joke – sorry).

Lets break a few things down first (I’ll use my girlfriend as an example, just fill in the blanks for your spouse as needed, adding extra items you feel they’ll need to know).

• She has zero experience with photoshop
• She would go crazy looking at any form of coding (php, css, html, ect)
• As far as client interactions go, she’s really polite and level headed so I think she’d do well here
• Invoicing and accounting would be a lost cause
• She would have no idea where to begin, or login to any of the apps/programs I use

So, now that I have a base for what she could and couldn’t do, I have to lay out a plan that will detail to her the ever step that it takes to run the business, get clients, fulfill jobs for clients and keep everything running smoothly, as if I never left.

Not knowing photoshop is ok – coding too

I am not suggesting that you try to teach your spouse how to code, design and create websites, logos or print material. There’s really no need to. There are tons of killer designers and coders already out there who could do that for him/her, and allow them to focus on the more important aspects of the business – the money.

Here’s how to invoice and keep up with accounting

Most of us (I will assume – let me know in the comments section if I am wrong) use invoicing software like Freshbooks or Invoice Machine, and since these apps are really kick ass products, they tend to have a “how to” video or two lying around that your spouse could look over. You could even have them sit down one night and show them how to do it, or watch over your shoulder as you handle these things. The same goes with accounting. Find some how to videos for them and pile them together for your spouse to look over.

Things they’ll need to know

First things first, your spouse is going to have to know the following:

• Where are all of the logins for the business (email, paypal, invoicing, project management, ect)
• Where can you find awesome coders, designers and writers to outsource work to
• Where are the places to best find work at (job boards, forums, ect)
• Where do you keep up with industry news and information?

Breaking things down, it starts to get a bit clearer on what would need to be explained and how things could keep moving forward, even if we weren’t here. Lets tackle the first item on the above list and see how much easier we can make it on them if we weren’t here.

Business logins

I’d suggest making a quick and simple list, similar to the one below that details how to login to each of the places your business has accounts. From emails, to invoicing, project management, payment processors and social media profiles. All of them are important, and all of them are parts of your business that your spouse will need to know.

• Email: http://www.gmail.com – user/pass
• Payments: http://www.paypal.com – user/pass
• Project Management: http://www.37signals.com – user/pass
• Invoicing: http://www.invoicemachine.com – user/pass
• Twitter: http://www.twitter.com – user/pass

Add as many items to that list that you need. Obviously there will be more, but make sure they’re all listed and easy to get to.

Outsourcing all of the work

Now comes the part that you really need to put some thought into. If you’re like me, you know of a bunch of kick ass designers, coders and developers who you chat with on a regular basis and know that if needed, they’d be able to do what you do, if your spouse contacted them. Get their names and information together, put it into it’s on section of the packet and make sure things are as detailed as possible. I’d even advise contacting these people to let them know you’d like them to be on the list, and if at any time they get a new job, or wouldn’t be taking freelance work anymore, they should contact you to let you know (and if you’re cool with them and chat with them on various sites and through email, you’d probably be able to know these things anyways).

What I do for a living is mainly wordpress websites. Not just simple blogs, but full blown wordpress websites that have magazine style home pages, options panels and various custom php functions. So, places like elance and sitepoint forums won’t be of much help. What I’m going to do is custom cater my needs, find a wordpress coding company (or freelancer, who just runs a “company” site) and keep their details on file. I’ll have a few, and will make sure my spouse knows to shop around.

I’ll also need a kick ass designer who can create killer website designs. The same as above applies for this as well. I’ll get a list together, make sure my spouse knows to shop around and will make sure I’ve got a few different people on the list.

Where can they find new work?

Being honest with yourself for a minute, if your business has been running for a year or more and still doesn’t get new clients through word of mouth or through search engine rankings you’ve acquired, you are doing a few things wrong and should be reading other articles first. But lets say that even if you’ve got a steady flow of repeat customers and referrals, your spouse wants to keep growing the business, where do they find new work?

Job boards are a gold mine of job leads. It’s like heading to a lake to go fishing and knowing that all of the fish are under this big rock – all you have to do is cast your bait and at least one of them will bite. I wrote about job boards in the last article here on Guerrilla Freelancing, so I’d just use that as a reference for this point.

Forums are also a great place to find work. Places like the Freelance Switch Forums and Sitepoint are perfect places to check out and have links to (remember, we’re adding lists for each of these sections in the packet).

I also make sure that in my twitter profile, I have 5-6 saved searches that allow me to see who’s talking about work that I could be doing. If you do this (items like “need a copywriter” or “php developer” are good places to start – with ” ” marks around it), make sure you let your spouse know, and write up a brief example of how to contact them and keep it from seeming like a pitch (even though they may be asking for one, it’s best to not pitch).

How to keep up with the industry

I have an rss feed reader that has over 1,000 different websites in it, in varying categories. Now, this may be overkill for your spouse, so I’d suggest getting the top 5-10 websites in your niche and make sure they’re listed and easy to find. Let your spouse know about places that discuss trends and places that will give out warnings on bad products or how to spot a real, legit product from a rip off that someone is selling without permission.

For me, these are the ten websites I’ll make sure my spouse knows about.

• Spyre Studios – not only because the content is awesome, but because Jon is a great person and is also a person on my oursourcing list
• Smashing Magazine – I think this site is listed for obvious reasons. It’s a killer resource for designers.
• Seth Godin – For marketing, there’s no one better to listen to. I’ve got numerous books by Seth in my office and my spouse has read a couple as well.
• Freelance Switch – One of the original websites focused solely on freelancing, FsW is a staple in the industry and my spouse hears me talk about them a lot
• Web Design Ledger – Henry is awesome, the content is killer and it’s one of the few blogs I actually read every article from.
• Zen Habits – Lets face it, dealing with the job I have, she’s going to have to keep herself calm somehow
• Chris Brogan – Another insightful person who really knows what the hell he’s talking about. Definitely a must read
• WP Tavern – This is a website focused solely on wordpress, which is what I base my business off of, so it’s on the list for obvious reasons.
• Men With Pens – For copywriting and marketing, I’d suggest this site to anyone. The information is always useful, and every person there, from the staff to the community, is awesome.
• Woork – This is a killer blog, with a gigantic amount of web design resources. It’s showing up last in the list, but it’s definitely not he least important.

Anything else?

Are there any other things you can think of that you’d add to the packet? Maybe you can note how you use gmail for business email and that you’ve got 3-4 saved canned responses for job leads and follow ups? Or maybe you can mention how you can outsource ghostwriting services to get articles for submission on larger blogs so you can keep links and traffic coming to your site? What is missing from the packet, and what would you add? Let me know in the comments, because as long as I’m alive, I’ll be refining my packet to ensure everything is up to date and has the largest amount of information possible.

Business From Beyond: If you died tomorrow, could your spouse continue your business? is a post from Guerrilla Freelancing For our regular subscribers, we've got a relaunch in order in the next week or two. Keep your eyes peeled :)

I want to discuss the similarities between building your business and building your physique. Maybe it will give you more drive to hit the gym or maybe it will give you more energy when sitting at your desk because you know your business is benefiting from it. Regardless, I hope the article opens your eyes a bit and sheds some light on freelancing and the art of hustling to get to where you want to be.

Success doesn’t come overnight

Just like weight lifting for a day won’t turn you into a gigantic size monster in the morning (see pictures at the end of this article for examples), blogging for a day, contacting 4 potential leads or only designing for 1 hour will not turn you into a mega company with clients banging down your door. It’s a process – get used to it, because in the long run it will definitely be worth it.

Both require small, consistent steps

You won’t jump into the gym and be able to bench press 400+ pounds your first go, but you can get to that point if you take the small steps required. I’ve been digging into a workout program called Stronglifts 5×5 and in it, you start with a specific weight and add 5 pounds every day that you work out in order to grow your strength.

In your business, take those small steps and build your business by building the foundation under it – contact 3 new potential clients each day, design 1 icon/wallpaper for release each week, sketch 1 new layout wireframe each day. No matter what it is, just do something and do it consistently.

The longer you do it, the easier it gets

If you’re lifting weights for the first time, it will be hard. The weight seems heavier than it actually is and the re cooperation time afterwards will feel like torture. But the more you do it, the easier it becomes. Lifting twice as much as you started with during month three will feel easier than the weight did in month one. So remember when you first dive into freelancing that it may seem rough and hard to get a grip on, but in the long run, your business will become a smooth running machine.

A support system will always help

One of the main reasons I am so on and off when it comes to weight training is the fact that literally no one I know does it and I don’t go to gyms (anxiety issues keep me in my house on most days). I have no support system around me and I get bored with it very easy. The same will happen with your freelance business. You will talk the ears off of everyone around you and undoubtedly, they’ll get annoyed and not want to listen to how you just rewrote 40 lines of css code which helped your website load times drop by 50%.

One way of combating this is to join forums where you can chat with others in your niche. Freelance Switch’s forums is a great place to check into because there are people there with massive amounts of advice and they’re all downright cool to talk with – plus, they actually like listening to people talk about codes and designs and apps and social media

No pain, No gain!

In the gym, you won’t become a healthy, strong and have a bodybuilder physique if you don’t put the time in. You have to know beforehand that it will be hard and you will have to sacrifice things like free time, fast food and soda (soda pop being the one thing I can’t seem to kick yet – I’m addicted to Mountain Dew).

Your business will be no different. If you’re trying to start a freelance business while working a regular 9-5, prepare yourself to have zero free time because from 6-12 every night, you’ll be building the most kick ass business possible. Make sure your friends and family know that you won’t be there at their every call. There’s work to do in order to make it to where you want to go – but in the end, I promise you that it is all worth it.

and now, to show you how the two look meshed together in picture format

If Gary Vaynerchuk were a bodybuilder…

If Chris Brogan were a bodybuilder…

5 Similarities between freelancing and weight lifting is a post from Guerrilla Freelancing For our regular subscribers, we've got a relaunch in order in the next week or two. Keep your eyes peeled :)

After my recent post about how you can manage your clients and manage your money for little to no cost, this app fits that mold perfectly. Regardless of the free subscriptions we’re giving away, the app itself is only $5.99 per month. So if you’re in the position of just beginning and do not have the cash to spend on the 37 signals apps or any other big business apps, keep reading because we’re going to be giving away 3 free 1 year subscriptions to an equally awesome project management app.

Some of the things I (really) like about Subernova

I’ve only been checking Subernova out for a few days now, but I have to admit that there are a lot of really awesome things about it. Besides the fact that their support is kick ass, the app itself is amazing. The interface is really easy to use and is very visually appealing. Adding clients, milestones and projects is really easy. They even have a built in timer so you can bill your clients per hour (put your hourly rate in, hit “start timer” and when you stop the timer, subernova automatically adds the amount of money owed to the total amount in the project – how cool?).

You can also schedule emails to be sent off to your clients as well as email reminders about due/past-due invoices. Oh and did I mention that they have an air app for your desktop so you can run subernova straight from your desktop? It’s how I’m using the app right now and it’s super smooth to run. They also have an iPhone app that was the Apple staff pick in the productivity category in the apple store.

How you can win

There are two things you need to do in order to enter this contest. We are requiring both to be done in order to weed out those who don’t really need the app and are just going to enter because they ‘want something for free’.

• Leave a comment on this post with a reason why you’d like the free 1 year subscription to subernova, as well as your twitter username so we can verify you’ve sent out the tweet.
• Send out the following message as a tweet (you can send out unlimited tweets – but please don’t spam in the name of trying to win)

Enter to win a free 1 year subscription to @subernova (via @gfreelancing) – http://bit.ly/104K41 #guerrillacontest

And thats how you enter. Pretty easy right? We’ll be running the contest from today until Friday at midnight (eastern standard time). On Saturday morning I will be announcing the winners of the contest and will send your email addresses to Ben over at Subernova so he can set you up with your accounts. Please make sure to leave a comment with a proper email address – if you win but do not reply within 48 hours of Subernova contacting you, we’ll pass your winning subscription on to another reader.

Three winners will be chosen, so – Good luck

EDIT: WINNERS HAVE BEEN CHOSEN

The winners are

• Alexia
• Mario Awad
• Dan

Thanks for all of the entries. I wish you all could have won. There’s another contest coming up this week (Monday), so keep an eye out for that.

Guerrilla Contest: Win a free 1 year subscription to Subernova is a post from Guerrilla Freelancing For our regular subscribers, we've got a relaunch in order in the next week or two. Keep your eyes peeled :)

College is pushed on almost every high school student – but does it really benefit those of us who want to freelance? In this article I am going to point out ten things that your college degree won’t do for your freelance business. If you can think of any more, feel free to leave a comment and let us know.

It will not get you clients

So you’ve got a piece of paper that says you passed some classes – now what? That piece of paper is NOT going to just instantly grant you access to clients, you’re going to have to get out there, pound the pavement and get in their faces and let them know who you are, why you are great at what you do and why they should hire you; the degree will not do that for you.

It will not be your portfolio

Your college degree might look good (and even be required) if you’re applying for a full time job, but this is a freelance site, so I am assuming you won’t be. That piece of paper means ZERO when it comes to applying for a freelance job – they want to see what you can do, not that you’ve taken some classes.

It will not pay your bills

You need paper to pay for your bills – but not the type of paper that your college degree comes on. No matter how many classes you’ve taken or what type of degree you have, without actually doing client work, you will never be able to pay your bills.

It will not build a solid network

You will meet people in college, so technically, the college experience will build a bit of a network, but you are not guaranteed to build a network of people who will be able to help you grow your business – they might just all be in the same position as you, working hard to get ahead (do you see the pattern of ‘work’ in this article yet?)

It will not market your business

Thinking outside the box and creating edgy marketing campaigns will not happen just because you’ve got a college degree. You are born with that creativity and out of the box thinking.

It will not give you stability

Over time, building a solid client base and referral (word of mouth) base is what will build the stability in your business. Your college degree does not promise stability, jobs and a steady paycheck as a freelancer – the hard work you put in does.

It will not give you instant credibility

You want to build a name for yourself in the community you are working in. How do you do that? You guessed it – hard work, great customer service and transparency. The college degree will NOT give people a sense of security when working with you, so make sure you are not banking on that to happen.

It will not make you rich overnight

A college degree would work well if you were looking for a full time job, but again, we’re discussing what it can do for your freelance career – and it will definitely NOT make you rich overnight. There are a lot of people who believe that a college degree means instant success and riches – here, in the real world, it does not.

It will not set you apart from others in your field

Nowadays, everyone has amazing design skills, creative logo designs & highly intellectual writing abilities. What will that college degree do for you to help you stand out from them? If you cannot compete with them, the college degree is NOT going to help you out at all.

It will not do the work for you

Yes, you went to college for four years (or two, or six or however many years it was). Yes, you have a college degree. That will NOT open up photoshop and design websites for you. It will NOT open up open office and write articles for you. It will NOT open up illustrator and design logos for you. YOU are the person who has to put in the hard work. You can put in the hard work with or without the degree – but without the hard work, the degree means nothing.

10 things your college degree won’t do for your freelance business is a post from Guerrilla Freelancing For our regular subscribers, we've got a relaunch in order in the next week or two. Keep your eyes peeled :)

Are you a jack of all trades?

Are you like me? Do you hate knowing you do not have 100% control over things to be done just exactly the way you normally do them? I have that problem. I have found a great stride in doing this and can even go as far to say I am actually productive and focused when I am the jack of all trades – Accounting, Invoiving, Client Relations, Designing, Coding, Troubleshooting, ect. It’s something that has grown on me and something that I have come accustomed to.

However, I am toying with the idea of delegating some of these tasks to others who solely focus on these types of tasks so I can focus on what I like best – designing creative websites. I have to loosen up the grip I have on my freelancing control and let someone else help out – and it scares the hell out of me. Anyone else out there like that or know how to fix it? I’d love your input.

Are you a master of (n)one?

Yes, the (n) is supposed to make it read as NONE and ONE at the same time as I figured we’re all a master at at least one thing. Some of us are amazing illustrators while others are coding wizzes. But is that one skill enough to keep your business afloat? I have never been on this side of the fence so I am hoping that others can chime in and we can get some general ideas of each side in the comments.

If you’re a master of one thing, you’re able to do the one thing you love all day long. But does it feel weird not knowing how the other parts of your business are running (assuming you haven’t gone through the tasks of running everything yourself first and switched over to the one task master later)?

Speak your mind

Drop a comment and let me know what you’re best known for – who knows, maybe you’ll fall into one of the categories that I need to delegate for Besides that, it’s always good to brag every now and then, so feel free to do so in the comments.

Jack of all trades & master of (n)one? is a post from Guerrilla Freelancing For our regular subscribers, we've got a relaunch in order in the next week or two. Keep your eyes peeled :)

Freelance Stereotypes in your Personal Life

1. We only shower once/twice per week - come on, we care about personal hygeine just as much as the 9-5′er.
2. We sleep all day - Unless we’re working all night, we’re generally not sleeping all day.
3. We drink enormous amounts of coffee - I can speak personally and say that I do NOT drink coffee … monster energy drinks is another story though
4. We are loners and do not have friends - For the most part, not true. We generally laugh at our friends at 3pm when we’re drinking and they’re still at their cubicle
5. We watch television all day - I know a lot of freelancers who do not even have a television in their house. I generally watch 1 hour or so per day on average.
6. We play video games all day - similar to the above, except a lot of people I know do not even play video games at all.
7. We are “starving artists” - Not true. I can personally say that my freelance business brings in more than both of my parents who both work full time jobs making around $15.00 per hour each – and I work 20-30 hours per week on average
8. We have highly unhealthy eating habits - I used to fall into this stereotype but after talking to a few fellow freelancers, I am now on a 5 day per week work out regime.
9. We are stressed and/or depressed - I love what I do for a living and I love the freedom of my life. The stress comes during low times, but generally speaking, I know a lot of freelancers who are extremely happy.
10. We use the word “Freelancer” as a cover for “Unemployed” - I had my aunt tell me that she got business cards for her “job” and when I showed her mine, she asked “what are these?” and I replied “THESE are for MY JOB” and she got really quiet. Why do people think we’re unemployed? Unintelligent thoughts I guess.

Freelance Stereotypes in your Work Life

1. We work in our underwear every day - lets be honest, it’s only three/four times a week  
2. We are undereducated - this is mainly in regards to how a lot of freelancers do not have college degrees
3. We only work 1-2 hours per day and “skate by” - some of us actually do work 1-2 hours per day while most work 8-14 hours per day
4. We do a lot of spec work and only get paid “sometimes” - any quality freelancer will speak with me on this and say NO SPEC WORK!
5. Freelancing is just a code word for “get rich quick” - no, it takes hard work to get going and learning all of the ropes. No get rich quick here
6. We need to find venture capital in order to start our businesses – In most cases, your freelance career can start for $25.00 and a few hours time (more on this soon in an  upcoming article)
7. We have the easy life and our jobs are “super easy” - Again, please refer to #3 for the general hours per day that freelancers work
8. Freelancers are 100% web workers – False. Starting your own business without a computer is totally feasable (ie: child care, meals on wheels, cleaning company, ect)
9. We are “smooth criminals” and “steal from the government” - In most cases, freelancers have proper documentation, tax information, accountants, savings accounts, and so on. And we do not rob, steal or rip people off to make money!
10. Anybody can be a successful freelancer - note: i said “successful”. You can freelance, but being successful and profitable is an entirely different story.

So there you have it, 20 freelance stereotypes that I personally have seen/heard. Do you know of stereotypes that aren’t on the list, but you’re personally dealing with? Please let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear some of the other rediculous things people say about us

20 freelance stereotypes: from personal to work life is a post from Guerrilla Freelancing For our regular subscribers, we've got a relaunch in order in the next week or two. Keep your eyes peeled :)