Guerrilla Freelancing

Building your freelance design business with only $25.00

Many of us who are full time freelancers did so after saving 6 months living expenses (myself excluded – but that’s another story). We also spent a lot of time wondering where to begin, what we needed, what was the essential items for starting our freelance design business. This could also apply to writers, illustrators and other freelancers as well, but for this article I want to focus on the web design freelancers like myself.

Would you think it’s possible to start your freelance business for $25.00 only? What would the excuses be for not jumping into the freelance business if starting was no longer such a large hurdle? Would knowing how to get started for only $25.00 help you to feel more relaxed about getting your freelance business off the ground? When you’re guerrilla freelancing, it’s all about thinking outside the box and approaching things from a different angle, and that’s exactly what this article does; it approaches a seemingly big problem and turns it into one that costs the same as lunch and a coffee. read more

20 freelance stereotypes: from personal to work life

As freelancers we face many obsticals and opposition. Unfortunately, the majority come from our friends and family. Stereotypes of freelancers is definitely nothing new, but when you really look at this list, you’re going to notice a “not so nice” thought process that most people have when it comes to our livlihood. Regardless of it being from jealously, admiration, hatred or any other emotion they’re expressing, the stereotypes can apply to almost every freelancer out there. I know you’ve heard at least 5 of these. If you haven’t, please let me know because you are a rare breed So check out the list and let me know in the comments what you think – and if you’ve got more to add, feel free to let me know. read more

Welcome to Guerrilla Freelancing

Hello fellow freelancer! Welcome to the new freelance resource website – Guerrilla Freelancing. If you’re reading this right now you probably fall into one of three categories:

• Full Time Freelancing – Deep within the trenches of freelancing, you’ve left behind all back up and have nowhere to go but forward. This is the boat I am in and I personally find it full of excitement (albeit sometimes a bit rocky). I know I am not the only one and I hope that all of you do stick around this site and leave comments on articles you can weigh your valuable input on.
• Part Time Freelancing – You’re either part time freelancing while working a regular day job or you’re in a position to be able to work only part time as a freelancer. Maybe you’ve got a significant other that works full time which allows you the freedom to work as much, or as little as you want. You might also be part time freelancing in order to get your feet wet and make sure you’re able to go full fledge into the freelance world.
• Thinking about Freelancing – So you’re working a full time job (or maybe you’re currently unemployed) and you want to find out how to get into the wonderful world of freelance. You’ve been looking online and in book stores to find out what you need, where you can find jobs, ect. But somehow, things just aren’t clicking. It’s ok, we’ve got you covered here. Everyone starts from the beginning and I can assure you that we’ll be building from the bottom up to show you step by step on how to build your freelance career. read more

10 great places to promote your designs online

How many portfolios do you have? How do you cater to specific groups of potential clients other than lumping everything together on your own domain? Are these even things that you consider when you begin promoting your work online? I ran into these questions recently when working on a redesign of my portfolio and thought I’d put the list of 10 great places I found that you can promote your designs through – for free.

Not only do you get the added promotion, but you can also connect and network with some other great designers. I’ve had designers who were too backed up with work pass some along to me through twitter and a couple other social media networks, so I can honestly say that it will help your design business. Don’t go into it looking for handouts and you’ll get a much better response. read more

20 branding tips using only social media

As a freelancer, you probably do not have the multi-thousand dollar budgets that other corporations have in order to hire a marketing/branding agency to do all of the work for you. The good news is that freelancers do not need it. When you’re a guerrilla freelancer, you can get things done – on your own, on a low budget and quite possibly more effectively than the big agencies you’d otherwise be hiring.

Branding yourself and/or your business is a great way to build yourself up as an expert and build up your business in the eyes of the masses. But what if you don’t know where to start on branding yourself online? Would you jump all over the idea of someone giving you 20 branding tips using only social media sites? Would that be something you’d like to share with your network you’ve built? I think so, and thats why I’m writing this article today. I want to show everyone who is reading this, and everyone you link to this article that social media branding is a straight forward process that anyone can conquer with the right time and energy invested. read more