Displaying All Posts in the Freelance category

5 Questions To Make Starting Your Own Business Easier

I had worked at the company since I was 20 years old as an intern.

I had a great relationship with my boss Nick, who was also one of my close friends.

Together we had grown the business from running out of his living room into a real company.

I had just told Nick I wanted to talk about my future, but as soon as we sat down at the Starbucks in Hollywood, I knew I was going to quit.

Before he arrived I quickly checked my notes to re-affirm the reasons I needed to run my own shop. I had been going back and forth before then about whether I really wanted all the responsibility of being the boss or not.

On my notes I had written out five questions about why I wanted to start my own company. The answers to those questions were all I needed to know I made the right decision. Click Here to Read Article …

5 Reasons Entrepreneurship Isn’t as Risky as You Think

Rob Kornblum 21st August Business 10 Comments

Have you been mulling over the idea you have about starting a business?

You think, “I could really start a company. I see these folks on Shark Tank. I could do that.”

You know that your corporate job is slowly crushing you, bit by bit.

But then you read somewhere that nine out of 10 new businesses fail, and it scares the hell out of you.

When you talk with your family and friends, they focus mostly on the risks, reinforcing your concerns.

You’re right to have some concerns, but there is no need to be scared, because you can beat the odds. Being an entrepreneur isn’t as risky as most people think, and here are five reasons why. Click Here to Read Article …

How Anxiety Brings Out Our Best Writing

Jeff Maehre 5th August Creativity Leave a Comment

This is not a guide to dealing with anxiety.

It’s not an article on why anxiety is evil.

I’m not going to tell you why we should feel good all the time.

This article is about the various anxieties I’ve felt as a freelance writer and how I’ve negotiated them.

It’s about how these anxieties often produce better material as a result.

There are three types of anxiety I most commonly have as a freelancer: Click Here to Read Article …

Are You on the Right Sleep Schedule?

Jeff Maehre 17th July Freelance Leave a Comment

How common is it for people who run their own businesses to sacrifice sleep?

Do a lot of us get three or four hours a night?

Have you ever pulled a full all-nighter, and it wasn’t for a chemistry exam back in college?

Getting that exalted eight hours is something I’m here to recommend. And yet …

Here are some bright-eyed and bushy-tailed thoughts on some alternatives to a traditional night of sleep for those of us who either have too much to do or who just have a hard time operating on a traditional timer. Click Here to Read Article …

5 Ways Freelancers Can Deal With Isolation

Jeff Maehre 13th July Freelance 3 Comments

Freelancers don’t have to drop coins into the office coffee fund or attend largely pointless meetings.

Many of us can work in a library or a coffee shop, or on our backyard deck, where the only sound is chickadees or mourning doves.

But as nice as these things are, they can cause loneliness and isolation.

For some, this might mean a long day before the significant other comes home; for others, a feeling of just not being connected.

Sometimes this can mean feeling like freelancing isn’t “real” work or that one is cut off from the industry (accounting, graphic design, writing) at large.

So, here are some ways to cope if you’re feeling isolated in a bad way, rather than free in a good way. Click Here to Read Article …

Stop Relying on Rewards for Motivation

Jeff Maehre 26th June Freelance 2 Comments

It isn’t hard to find articles on motivation for a freelancer.

It’s only too easy to find five or 10 obvious steps to get goin’ on that approaching deadline (“picture the job already done” or “have a comfy work environment”).

But there’s a deeper philosophical issue at stake, and all too often these articles ignore it.

You don’t want to take just any advice on motivation techniques — some recommendations can hurt more than they can help.

From my experience, you really need to consider what type of motivation a particular strategy would speak to.

While some extrinsic motivators might work in a pinch, you don’t want to build up the habit of relying on them. Instead you need intrinsic motivation. Click Here to Read Article …

How to Create a Resume When You’re Self-Employed (Part 3/3)

Jeff Maehre 17th June Freelance Leave a Comment

Dear Reader: This is the third in a series of posts on properly showcasing your freelance experience on a resume.

In previous posts, we’ve established first that freelance work can be regarded with suspicion.

We also learned it’s possible to combat this by demonstrating the skills you’ve developed during your freelance career.

Today, we’ll firm up ways to do this, looking, specifically, at the functional resume, and comparing it to the chronological resume. Click Here to Read Article …

Wanna Be a Freelance Writer? Be a Brand Journalist

Jeff Maehre 12th June Creativity 1 Comment

Companies once reached their audience by saying, “Buy Arco pancake mix. It makes good pancakes.”

And then came television commercials that promoted a lifestyle.

Then there was complex marketing research.

By the time Web 2.0 came along, the marketing intelligentsia on various brands tended to feel that any traditional advertising was a thing of the past and that telling a story was the way to reach people.

That is what brand journalism is all about, and it opens doors for freelance writers. Click Here to Read Article …

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