Archive for May, 2008
I’ve got a number of freelancing blogs that I read and enjoy during the week, links to some of which you’ll find in the sidebar. But I’m always on the lookout for more.
If you’re writing about your freelance career and experiences, blogging about starting up your business, working online, then I’d love to hear from you. These kind of things are of great interest to me - watching people take an idea “from the page to the stage” so to speak.
Leave a comment with your link or RSS feed, bag yourself a new reader of your works (and possibly a link on the sidebar as well).
Popularity: 21% [?]
If you were to ask Wikipedia what the term ‘brainstorming’ meant, it would tell you that “Brainstorming is a group creativity technique designed to generate a large number of ideas for the solution to a problem.”
Generating a large number of ideas can often take up a large amount of space. Some people go for whiteboards, flip charts, large mindmaps, post-its on a wall. Me? I go for envelopes, your standard letter (1/3 A4) size in white.
It is a small quirk, but I’ve launched one or two blogs off the back of planning on an envelope or solved entire project problems by working off an envelope.
It happened by accident the first time. I had been standing in the bank, queuing to make some lodgements when an idea hit me. I had my lodgement book, a pen, and an envelope containing a statement. With the envelope being the only viable thing to write on, off I went from top to bottom and fit everything on it - the initial problem, all the workable options and the final solution as everything flowed into space.
The first time was maybe a year ago. Now when I look at my desk I’ve got a neat stack of envelopes with a massive amount of information and ideas on them. I had actually turned around on the phone last week asking my business partner for an envelope so I could jot down ideas flowing into my head off the back of the call I was taking.
Why an envelope?
I think it’s a space issue. A letter envelope isn’t bulky, folds neat into your pocket and I also happen to have a massive carton of unused ones so maybe there’s a paper-saving plan in place. Everything fits into a much more manageable space that’s highly portable and when compacted (in comparison to using a large whiteboard or post-its) feels much more approachable. There is an element that you’re restricting the space you’re working in, so you’ve got to be a bit more thought out before the pen hits the paper.
Other people go the notebook route, a refill pad, maybe a trendy moleskine, but I choose envelopes.
Have you any quirks when it comes to brainstorming or getting an idea on paper? Beer mats? Loo roll?
Popularity: 13% [?]
I read this guest post by Alan Johnson recently on spreading yourself too thin. One of the key points to the post is that we’re only human and no matter what way you look at it, there’s only 24 hours in a day and as such “acting accordingly is definitely a must”.
Subsequently, time (as in hours and minutes) to a blogger and freelance work is extremely valuable and too little time or misuse of available time can be costly.
This is particularly evident with myself when it comes to blogging. I was quoted in a magazine recently as being a serial blogger, something which isn’t far from the truth at all. At one point in the last year I counted myself as being an active author on new fewer than a dozen blogs on a range of topics.
Keeping that kind of momentum going though is crazy. I found myself eating into my lunch hour (pardon the pun) with blogging or researching a post, cutting and hour or two’s sleep out of the night in order to get publishing, staying up later, neglecting certain offline duties, all to make the blogs work.
Analyse and delegate, that is the key.
Making The Change
At the turn of the year I decided a change was most definitely needed, a change backed by a conversation I had at a blog awards night in March of this year (a few weeks prior to the launch of this blog) where it was highlighted I was definitely spreading myself too thin. The same can be said of my activities in the offline world where I run my own web design business, take freelance work, look after the day-to-day running of a theatre company, work actively to promote homegrown and independent music (also on a daily basis).
So, when it came to blogging, I put the virtual pen away on a number of blogs, including one of my personal favourites (favourite thanks to the community of readers had been building and revenue it would bring in on a monthly basis), instantly creating more time for the 2-3 blogs I decided to keep.
The decision to cut certain blogs wasn’t taken lightly though, but in analysing the situation (as raised in John’s post) it was likely the best move to make.
Delegation Is Key
While cutting down the number of blogs I maintain and author on certainly frees up time in the day to tackle other things online, or to increasing my posting activity on my main blogs, it doesn’t do much to make any changes in the offline world.
This is where delegation comes into play, more importantly knowing when to delegate.
There is the old saying that “if you want it done right, do it yourself” but at the risk of burning yourself out and losing all run of yourself timewise, you have to know when to delegate and realise that it is in fact okay to delegate tasks to others.
Whether it is making a phone call, writing and sending out a press release, posting an invoice, doing a run to the shop… you reach a certain point where although you want to do everything yourself, it’s just not possible.
So, tasks in work got managed better, tasks for the theatre are managed better and slowly but surely, things are changing in terms of how promotional activities for the music are working.
While, for a time, it can feel great to take on a lot of things at once, I’d rather take on a smaller number of activities and devote more of myself to seeing those prosper.
I’m learning to change though…
Popularity: 18% [?]
Judging by feedback online, the Going Solo conference for freelancers, held in Switzerland on Friday, was a great success.
A Daily Motion video channel has been created and contains some of the key talks and panel discussions from the weekend, check them out here if you’ve got the time.
Should I find myself available this time next year and the conference goes ahead again I know I would certainly like to attend, especially to meet up and talk with those working in mainland Europe and compare the working market to that here at home.
If you can’t travel out of the country for big events, you should try and keep an eye out for any BarCamp-style events near you. I’ve mentioned before about how you can get connected at BarCamps and PodCamps (having had an organising hand in a few events in the last couple of months), so if you spot one on the calendar in a city near you - make the trip 
Popularity: 19% [?]
Shoestrings… bootstrapping… plenty of references and analogies through footwear when it comes to financing your business or freelance startup. Mike Smith at the Bootstrapping Blog has a nice article (spotted yesterday) on bootstrapping your freelance career.
Bootstrapping, in essence, is to start or fund your business idea without any real external assistance or financial input. You’ve got little or no funds to start your idea and you’re doing all the footwork yourself. However, there are a number of things you can do to get yourself started. While they may seem common sense to some, they could be an eye opener to others.
Click here to see Mike’s 10 steps in detail or see the list below.
- Study your market.
- Study your competition.
- Outline your plans.
- Get a website.
- Get promotional materials.
- Call call call.
- Email email email.
- Delegate (when the time is right).
- Expand (giving yourself room to breathe to watch your business flourish).
- Reward yourself.
These are a pretty much a step by step guide to getting going. Having been through the process before and currently going through the process again, you can never underestimate the early steps. Going into any type of business, particularly freelance, you should know what opportunities are out there and who your competition is. How can you approach things differently, how can you offer more value in your service (we’re talking value for money, not to be confused with lowering your prices).
The planning stage can be quite tedious but it is something you must go through and something which can save you an awful lot of time in the long run especially when it comes to dealing with finances, advertising, future expansion - have a plan for everything.
If you’re stuck for free advertising ideas, why not read my post from earlier this week on How Do You Advertise Yourself Online?
I’ll be looking at some of these aspects in my blogging for beginners talk next week, especially when it comes to getting a website (a blog can be the perfect, and free, solution) and promotional materials.
While the 10 steps can’t guarantee success, they can certainly put you on the right track and save you a few pennies along the way.
Popularity: 17% [?]
Anyone who knows me as a blogger will tell you that I’m prone to changing my blog design a lot - or at least the colour schemes anyway.
With ProFreelanceBlogger.com, things are no different. As we’ve hit the start of the summer and the start of the good weather, I’ve decided to ditch the darker colours and opt for something a little bit lighter.
Comments or questions on the new theme’s look and feel are welcome.
Popularity: 12% [?]
FreeAgent is a streamlined money management tool for busy freelancers. It takes care of your money, letting you get on with running your business.
This one was flagged to me today as I continue to explore options on managing your finances and billing as a freelancer. While I’m quite content continuing with FreshBooks, a service I’ve spoken about in the past, it is always good to keep the options open.
FreeAgent Central will certainly be of more assistance to those based in the UK as the online software caters for
- UK VAT Returns
- UK Balance Sheets
- UK Corporation Tax (if you’re in company mode)
- UK Income Tax
Having gone through the tax and accounts cycle in recent months, I can tell you that every little bit of assistance helps when it comes to working out your taxes for the year!
As an accounting solution, FreeAgent keeps track of the money coming in and going out. You get access to an invoice timeline, account statements, time tracking on projects, out of pocket expenses and more. You can also create a log in for your accountant to enable them organise information needed when it comes to filing for your end of year accounts.
There are a few price plans, the first available being US$20 per month for a universal account (the UK accounts have different settings when it comes to tax etc.) but your first 30 days are free. If, like me, you’re continuing to explore options on managing the finance end of your freelancing business, then give FreeAgent a look.
You’re not tied into any contracts either so if you decide to cancel after a month, or two months, you’ll only pay for what you’ve used.
If you’re already a FreeAgent user, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment below or feel free to drop me an email.
Popularity: 14% [?]
I’m in a bit of a sticky spot.
I would like to get away on a holiday. In fact, I know that I need to get away on holiday. Alas, working for myself, coupled with freelance projects, promotion activities and the theatre, finding the time to get away proves tricky.
For one - it costs money to get away somewhere. The further you go, the more expensive the trip gets (thanks largely in part to ever increasing fuel surcharges on long haul flights). Secondly, it costs time to get away. While it’s great to get away, you might find that you’re stuck for funds to pay your way for a holiday, or that the time you take for the holiday is possibly time you could devote to completing a project or maybe evening running a short project from start to finish.
I fall into that category. When it comes to holidays or breaks longer than a weekend, I’m the eternal procrastinator. So much so that the holiday I’ve been promising myself to this year (Canada in August), I’ve already put off until October and unless I act soon I’m at risk of putting it off until later in the year. This is a trip that I was supposed to make *last* October.
But it is necessary to make the break and when October hits, I’ll be making a serious break and I’ll enjoy every minute of it.
What I want to know is what do YOU do for a holiday? Or have you, as a freelancer, ever taken one? The last trip I went away on for more than a 4-day stretch (which would involve a weekend anyway so my work downtime would be limited) was November 2006 and prior to that was possibly 2001, due largely in part to work commitments.
As a freelancer are you bothered by holidays? Or would you see a holiday as something completely avoidable when it comes to generating income for yourself? Do you set goals for holidays and extended breaks or like myself, keep moving the goalposts?
Don’t be shy and leave a comment, let me know what you think.
Popularity: 14% [?]
Something I’m often asked to explain to those interested in blogging or maintaining a blog is “what is RSS”?
If you’re using Internet Explorer or Firefox you will notice in the address bar of this blog that there is an orange RSS icon to the right of the address bar. On many a blog or news website you will find the universal orange-coloured RSS icon, indicating that there is a content feed that you can ’subscribe’ to. This feed provides a URL or address you can enter into your web browser, email browser, RSS reader or mobile phone to recieve the latest updates from that site without having to visit the site again.
See this video…
RSS itself stands for Really Simply Syndication, and it does exactly what it says on the tin.
And RSS feed contains certain information on a news post such as
- The title of the post
- A link to the original article
- The actual post content
- Publishing date
- Authors name
This information is gathered from the feed and presented in a readable formatin a feed reader or aggregator e.g. Google Reader.
Every time the original blog or news site updates, you can use your chosen feed reader to see those latest updates (this is usually automatic) without having to visit the site again. For you, subscribing to RSS feeds means that you could track 5, 10, 50, 100 blogs or news sites all from the one application (again, like Google Reader).
Popularity: 11% [?]
If there’s one thing that puts people off from maintaining a regular blog it’s doing it all from sitting in front of a computer.
Picture the scene.
You get home from work or town, you pull out the laptop, full of the best intentions to write a blog post. You’re not sure EXACTLY what you’re going to blog about but you know it will come to you. You log into your blog admin area, call up the create a post page and then… nothing.
You look to the left, look to the right. You put in a title, remove it again. You get the first few lines in, file the post away to drafts and never come back to it again.
Some people call it ‘bloggers block’. I just call it part of the process.
We all draw inspiration from a wide variety of sources. Some people get in the zone as soon as they sit in front of a computer. Others come up with terrific ideas for posts and blog entries when they’re out on the town, out amongst friends, just off a phone call in the office, driving from a to b. What you need to do is be able to take that inspiration and your new thoughts and get them to your blog.
Hence, the power of the pen.
I can’t travel anywhere without a notepad and a pen or two. Something small mind you, just enough to fit in your back pocket or coat pocket, or one that slides easily into your bag.
No matter where I am, even if it’s just a quick thought I’ve had - a one liner - or two to three pages of ideas that just start leaking out, the pen and paper are there to catch them.
Next time you sit down at the laptop to write a blog post you’ll just need to reach for your notebook and unlock a real world of ideas and thoughts.
Popularity: 10% [?]
