Just a thought, but is there something in the summer air that causes the number of leads and phone calls looking for work to increase in the summer months?

We’re in the second month of my summer period (I would count June through to August as the summer) and I’ve found the number of people looking for my services on the increase, something which I hadn’t noticed before and something which doesn’t seem to follow the trend of my professional work (as opposed to freelance work).

Working as a full time freelancer, can you see or say that your work is seasonal? Would you find yourself inundated during the summer months yet clawing for work in the winter months?

Popularity: 17% [?]

I’m still loving Freshbooks, the online accounts / invoice / time tracking solution that’s saving me a good bit of time this week when it comes to invoicing.

Having toyed around with the free version for long enough, I’ve decided that I can divert some of my monthly advertising revenues from other blogs (namely those sporting Text Link Ads) to cover the small sum of $14 per month to allow me increase my client count online.

The free version of Freshbooks limits you to three clients while the entry level solution at $14 expands that to 25 clients. As it happens the three clients I had been storing in Freshbooks for the past few months are all quite active this month along with new clients I’ve picked up of late so rather than deleting existing ones I’ve opted to upgrade to the entry level account.

Of course, there are options available for everyone whether you’ve got up to 25 clients or 5,000 and counting. For ease of invoicing, providing quotes and estimates for work and keeping track of revenue generated from freelancing during the year I’m glad I made the choice to go with Freshbooks.

If you want to try it for yourself, you can sign up here for free (free up to 3 clients).

Popularity: 27% [?]

I was reading a post over at Direct Creative yesterday which echoes one of my own sentiments when it comes to work life, primarily that success begins with mindset.

Having been working for myself for a few years now, one of the most important things you’ll learn is that to be successful at the things you are doing, you’ve got to be in a successful state of mind and if this is something you’re not used to, you’ll need to find the way to put yourself in a successful state of mind.

That means approaching your work with confidence, visualising the route to the solution and visualising the rewards, whether personal or financial, that await you at the finish line.

There’s a post-it at home that someone (not me) left on my fridge. On it is the following, repeated many times around the world.

As you think, so you are. As you dream, so you become. As you create your wishes, so they create you.

If you think you will struggle as a freelancer, think that you will worry about the bills, worry about clients, obtaining work - then you will. But if you’ve got the confidence in your abilities to make that important move and go out on your own then you’re already a step ahead of the rest. If you believe that you will be successful at your work and you have the skills to make it happen then you’re further ahead again.

Yes, it can be daunting going out on your own and there’s times in the past where I’ve wondered how things will be looking 2-3 months down the road, or thought about where the next job is coming from. But I never changed my outlook on things that the road I was taking would be a successful one, again with great personal and financial awards.

As Dean says in his post, success begins with mindset, all you have to do is get yourself in the successful state of mind.

Popularity: 16% [?]

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% [?]

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.

1. Study your market.
2. Study your competition.
3. Outline your plans.
4. Get a website.
5. Get promotional materials.
6. Call call call.
7. Email email email.
8. Delegate (when the time is right).
9. Expand (giving yourself room to breathe to watch your business flourish).
10. 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% [?]

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% [?]

Going Solo takes place in Lausanne, Switzerland, this May 16th and registration is now open for the event. Going Solo is a one-day educational conference for freelancers and small business owners from all over Europe.

While the main event takes place from 8am on the 16th (Friday), there is also a BarCamp taking place on 17th (Saturday) as well as a Seesmic users meetup.

Some of the sessions confirmed at present include

• Marketing and taking care of one’s social capital
• The Joys of Tax and Finance (How not to mess up)
• Tools and Methods to Save Your Life
• Solo in a Networked World
• When Passion Becomes Profession (Balancing Work and Life)

You can also find details of some of the speakers here.

Although located in Switzerland, the entire event will be delivered through English and will be hosted in the hotel Albatros-Navigation. Online registration is open at the moment but will close within a week of the 16th. Tickets are priced at 600CHF (roughly €375, £275 or $545). Walk-in prices on the day are 700CHF.

Visit Going Solo for more details.

Popularity: 35% [?]

While I had mentioned on Friday that I’d just come off a lengthy stretch on a project, I certainly hadn’t anticipated the weekend being just as busy!

An interview Saturday morning, a project meeting Saturday afternoon, a gig Saturday evening (delivery, setup, sound checks, strip down etc. - a group of us cater for music acts on available weekends), mixing Sunday morning, Sunday afternoon meeting, dinner Sunday night…

Then you go straight back to the office.

However, this morning, I said “no thanks”. After a few days on the go, I’ve booked a few hours off this morning - caught up with some Seinfeld, Scrubs, King of Queens, mostly anything Paramount could throw at me for morning TV.

Working for yourself it becomes very easy for your weeks to blend into your weekends and if you feel it slipping away, then book a few hours for yourself on the couch, shut off, charge the batteries and get yourself back on track. Do something some way unrelated to your work - if you’re a writer, why not watch a DVD? If you’re a designer, switch off your laptop or computer and open a book. On the plus, you may find something inspirational in what you do but the main thing is to make some time for yourself.

There’s nothing wrong with allowing yourself to switch off once in a while.

Popularity: 26% [?]

Outsourcing work has become almost commonplace in the design industry. Larger, busier companies have started outsourcing design and writing work to freelancers or smaller companies, creating the ability for them to take on more work and bolster their own portfolio. People have started outsourcing their personal workload (shopping, bills, getting dry cleaning done) as they don’t have time for day-to-day tasks thanks to their workload.

On the other side, taking outsourced work is another gateway of income for freelance designers, myself included.

I’m a web designer by trade who has a hearty passion for graphic design and branding. I offer graphic and identity design services to new clients and customers. Firstly, because I enjoy doing it and have always delivered results the client wanted but secondly, the job gets turned around a lot quicker.

While I might be happy to outsource part of a web development or design project, given past experience, I don’t think I would take an outsourced web development or design project. The reason being is a question of control.

One project springs to mind where I found myself completely in the middle, the company who outsourced the work demanding their own taste, twist and designs be put into place, something which left me thinking “well, if you want it done your way then why did you come to me in the first place?”.

Plus there’s an element of too many links in the chain. When I’m taking on new web work I like to meet and deal with the ultimate end user, the one who has the vision for the company and the vision for the website. Not the follow a chain of director to manager to sales person to front office person to design company to designer, down the outsource path, to me. It takes too long for feedback and too long to produce a result. In that situation, you’ll find that the project you budgeted six weeks for is now running at eight weeks, or ten weeks, or beyond.

However, when it comes to graphic design, the approach is different. I aim for a three day turnaround, depending on the scope and brief of the design, plus current workload, though the first drafts are usually presented within a three day window.

As you’ve got the visual goods at hand and something tangible to review and approve within three days, the flow of feedback is usually quicker and the end result turned around faster.

I guess it depends on the structure put in place first. If you’re allowed an element of direct contact, or full contact, then all the better, but as a creative mind it is nearly impossible to keep a designer in the dark, wouldn’t you think?

Have you had any joy in taking outsourced web development work? Or any horror stories as a result?

Popularity: 31% [?]

Some people argue that there are great differences between being a freelancer and being an entrepreneur. Some say freelancers are only concerned with the short-term while entrepreneurs are looking at the bigger picture.

However, speaking with my entrepreneurial hat on, I feel that working for yourself or going freelance share similar results, and as such the results are driven by similar characteristics in a person.

The Characteristics Of A Freelancer

I was interviewed recently about my business, one of the questions asking me to define what characteristics are evident in me as a person when it comes to business, and what characteristics are needed when you decide to work for yourself. These represent the characteristics of an entrepreneur, but on a whole I think they can be mirrored by those of a freelancer.

• You are a risk taker
  An entrepreneur will often take risks and must take risks in order to advance in business. These risks are often calculated. Working as a freelancer you are taking risks on clients (particularly new ones) and risking the uncertainty of future income. You must be able to take that risk in order to make the first step.
• You are passionate and enthusiastic
  I’ve met more people and have more friends who are “bored” with their jobs, working 9-5, five days a week, for some random large company. The happier of the bunch are those doing things for themselves. They’ve found something they love and are enthusiastic about and they’re making their living from it - designers, writers, film makers, advertisers, marketeers. Being both passionate and enthusiastic about the work you are doing is what gets you out of bed in the morning. If you can’t find those two vital ingredients then perhaps you need a change in direction.
• You are determined
  If you are freelancing part time I will make the bold assumption that you are balancing your income with another job or source of finance. If you are freelancing full time then determination plays a big factor - determined to succeed, determined to make your mark, determined to seek new work, determined to develop your skills and keep yourself on the top of your game.
• You are organised
  Organisation is a skill earned through practice. Organisation as a characteristic of one’s nature is also vital when working freelance. You are now responsible for setting and meeting deadlines, client appointments, paying the bills, paying the relevant taxes and juggling your self-employed workload. You need to be organised.
• You are a decision maker
  I’ve got a post in the pipeline titled ‘Procrastination Is A Freelancer’s Nightmare’. You need to be a decision maker and some times you’re going to need to make those ‘edge of the knife’ type decisions. It’s part of the entrepreneurial mindset and it is part of the freelancing mindset.
• You have a vision
  An entrepreneur without a vision is one without a path on which to travel (you can quote me on that one as well). Working for yourself isn’t just about going job to job, client to client trying to make ends meet. You’ve got to have a vision both for yourself now and where you want to be. Is your end goal to turn into a fulltime freelancer? To use freelancing as a means of getting a high-paid job at a big firm? Are you looking to eventually develop a small business of your own, a large company of your own?

  The vision is the key, it is what takes the drive and determination, the passion and enthusiasm and combines them into one, helping you to succeed at what you do best.

Would you agree with me? Have you got long term plans in your freelancing career or are you looking at a stop-gap between jobs, something to bring an extra few dollars or euro on the side? If you are looking at things on a full-time scale, then what characteristic do YOU feel best represent the freelancer in you?

Popularity: 18% [?]