Tag: freelance | Page 10 | Artisan Creative

Putting the We in Teamwork

Tuesday, January 8th, 2013|

We recently came across an article that said that teamwork is a dying art. And although we agree that recent years have made it more difficult for teams to function efficiently, with fewer people doing more work and wearing more hats, teamwork skills are still important and employees and candidates who can demonstrate those skills bring great value to the roles they fill.

What makes teamwork more difficult?

Fear–With the job market so precarious, people are more likely to take sole credit for successes to shore up their own credibility with upper management.
Time–Brainstorming takes time: coming up with ideas, analyzing them, and culling them down to the best ones is a process. It’s quicker to just make a decision or solicit one from a manager and get started, especially when each member of a team is in charge of more aspects of a project than they used to be.
Distance–Telecommuting saves fuel, time, and overhead costs, but it can make it harder for people to work together.
Impermanence–Using freelancers can bring fresh energy and ideas into a company, but contract workers may not invest in developing relationships the way permanent employees will.

How can you make it easier?

Support each other–What goes around comes around and the credit you give your co-worker for a job well done will come back to you when it’s your turn.
Make time–Maybe the whole team can’t get together at the same time. Have a tag-team email chat brainstorm. Start a chain and have each member add an idea or suggestion.
Create Space–Just because you are all working from home doesn’t mean you can’t have a meeting. There is some great technology out there for virtual meetings where you can even share videos, presentations, and other media. Use it!
Invest–If you are a freelancer, make a concerted effort to create relationships with the other members of the team, even if you are only there for a short time. Every gig is an opportunity to network as well as a job. If you take the time, you will reap the rewards.

One of my favorite quotes from Napoleon Hill: ‘It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.” At its simplest, teamwork is helping each other accomplish a goal so that everyone can be successful. No, there’s no “I” in teamwork, but “U” can be the one who turns a bunch of “I’s” into a “We.”

Wendy Stackhouse for Artisan Creative

LOOKING TO HIRE

LOOKING FOR WORK

Getting Away: Tips for Taking a Real Vacation as a Freelancer

Tuesday, December 18th, 2012|

Time management is always something that can be improved and keeping to a routine with scheduled breaks is essential to working at your peak as much as possible. But sometimes you need a more extended break from work—no, not a whole hour. I mean a real vacation.

Taking a vacation, say a week or two, can be anxiety-producing for a freelancer. After all, what if a new client tries to get in touch while you are gone? What if a current client has an emergency? What if the best contract comes and goes and you’re not there to have a meeting?

Breathe.

Here are some things to remember when you are considering taking a real vacation:

Your clients (and potential clients) take vacations, too. They will get it. Let them know well in advance when you will be away and stick to it. Take the time to contact long-term clients and meet with them about upcoming projects before you go so you know you have something in the pipeline for your return.
It’s only a week or two. It’s not forever – even if it seems like that to someone who only takes 20-minute breaks. Set up an out-of-office email response explaining when you will be back on the grid.
Plan ahead. Being out of the office doesn’t mean your marketing efforts have to stop too. Schedule Tweets and Facebook posts for the time you are away to make sure your social media outreach doesn’t also take a break.
Re-entry can be worrisome. Build an extra day at the end of your vacation to be home but not “in the office” to give yourself time to relax from your trip and attend to non-work related items.

The holiday season is a great time to take a vacation, visiting family and friends, or regenerating your creative energy. I know you can do it!

Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative

LOOKING TO HIRE

LOOKING FOR WORK

Is It Time to Quit Your Job and Launch Your Career?

Thursday, December 6th, 2012|

The end of the calendar year is a time when many people re-evaluate where they are – and where they are headed. Are you one of them?

You may have recently done some hard thinking about what you are thankful for, but if that process led to a list of what you would like to change about your job or life (link to article on work/life balance), don’t limit yourself to the small stuff.

Maybe it’s time to quit your job and start your ideal career.

How can you tell?

Is your unhappiness at work affecting the rest of your life? No one is happy at work every day, but if your job is leeching the joy out of your personal life, it might be time to make a move.
Do you want more control? One of the biggest reasons people move into freelance work—and of the things that makes it most satisfying when they do—is having more control over their personal lives.

How afraid are you to fail? If your fear of failure pales beside your fear that you will never have a chance to succeed, go for it! Make your own opportunities and think of failure as a chance to learn how to do better next time.

“Start today, not tomorrow. If anything, you should have started yesterday. The earlier you start, the more time you have to mess up.” – Emil Motycka

And the more time you have to enjoy your success!

Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative

LOOKING TO HIRE

LOOKING FOR WORK

I’d Love to, But I Can’t: 6 Tips for Saying No

Thursday, November 29th, 2012|

Being a freelancer brings many benefits especially the opportunity to control your work/life balance. Success breeds success and eventually you may find yourself unable to take on any more clients without either the work or the life suffering. Here are some tips on saying no to new work without burning a bridge with a potential client:

Don’t give an excuse—As tempting as it is to claim another commitment and make it specific, it could be an opening for negotiation that you don’t want. Just not being able to fit it in is fine.
Say thank you—Even if you can’t or don’t want to take on a particular project, it’s nice to be asked. Don’t let “thank yous” fall through the cracks.
Be firm—Some clients will be extra persistent and if they get a feeling that you are not sure, they will keep asking, especially if they are looking for spec or pro bono work. After all, they really need someone to say yes. Stick to your guns.
Stay on a schedule—Detailed planning is a big help in deciding whether to say yes or no to a project so make sure you have planned out the next month ahead of time. It’s much easier to know whether you have an open 10 hours if you know where the rest of your time will be spent.
Refer a friend—A great referral can get you a lifelong client if it works out. Don’t be afraid to send the project to a talented friend you trust.
Not now, but soon—If you just have too much on your plate right now, a delay might make all the difference. If you really want to do the project, see if you can schedule it for the near future.

At the beginning of your time as a freelancer, it is easy to say yes to too many projects, but the longer you freelance, the easier these questions are to answer. You have a better idea of how many projects you can handle in how short a time and what workload is too much for you to do your very best work. And don’t forget to schedule a day off now and then!

Wendy Stackhouse for Artisan Creative

LOOKING TO HIRE

LOOKING FOR WORK

How Freelancers Really Feel? Pretty Good!

Tuesday, November 20th, 2012|

If you are considering making the leap into freelancing from full-time work, we thought you might like to know how freelancers feel about making that decision:

Did they get what they expected? A plurality of freelancers made the change from permanent employment to gain flexibility and freedom in their daily lives and that flexibility is one of the top three factors making them happy.
Are they optimistic? A majority of freelancers expect their job satisfaction to grow over the next year.
Would they go back? The longer people work as freelancers, the less likely they are to change their minds and go back to a permanent job.
Are they making enough money? Most freelancers expect to make more money in 2013 than they did in 2012.

Clearly, freelancing can bring many rewards, but can also be a source of anxiety, especially if security and predictability are important to your happiness. You may not know what you will be doing from month to month or exactly what your income will be. But if you are willing to risk some uncertainty to gain the ability to pursue your goals both inside and outside of work—whether they be family, education, service to your community, or something else—your personal satisfaction can overcome short-term worry.

There are definitely pros and cons to freelancing and freelancing isn’t for everyone. But for some, it is a choice that can feed your creativity while allowing you to achieve both work and personal success.

Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative.

LOOKING TO HIRE

LOOKING FOR WORK

More Work? Yay!

Tuesday, November 6th, 2012|

If you work at a traditional job, this might not be your natural reaction when someone gives you a new project, but if you are a freelancer or an entrepreneur—or think like one—a day when you get more work is a day for smiling.

Why is more work better?

Well, to begin with the obvious, for a freelancer, more work = more money, but there is more to it than that. When you are developing your own business and a client list, every project is an opportunity to:

Deepen your skillset
Use your creativity to solve a problem
Prove yourself
Enhance your portfolio
Make valuable network connections
Get free word-of-mouth advertising

A busy freelancer is a happy freelancer. Probably also a tired freelancer, but the benefits of working long hours are greater than the costs.

How to get busier?

Stay connected—don’t let relationships with past clients lapse. Even if they don’t have a new project for you, maybe someone they know does.
Keep your portfolio up-to-date and easily accessible—you never know when or where someone will ask to see your work.
Register with a recruiting company which places freelancers—a recruiter can help you broaden your client base while making it easier to get paid on time.

Being a freelancer makes me happy every day: it suits my family, my temperament, and my skills. And more work always makes me smile!

Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative

LOOKING TO HIRE

LOOKING FOR WORK

Freelancing: What Do You Charge?

Thursday, October 11th, 2012|

Conversations with potential clients often begin with the bottom line: what do you charge for your services? It may feel odd, but by putting off the cost issue until you’ve established your value, you can actually put yourself in a better place to negotiate.

Your potential client, of course, is trying to rule out vendors who charge more than their budget can bear. However, they may not understand what your services include or what you think they really need. When clients ask the money question – be sure to tell them that you will answer the question, but that you need more information to provide the right answer.

Find out why they are calling you. Then sit back and listen actively. Express empathy with their frustration and understanding of their issues. Empathy and understanding will help build a relationship with you and not someone else.
Ask questions to clarify what they require, find out where they are in the process and what kind of timing and resources would be needed. Answers to these questions help you determine the value of this opportunity overall. Remember, what you charge isn’t always about the numbers. Sometimes growth potential, client partnerships, new technology or timing could play a factor in what you are willing to charge.
Tell them about a similar problem you solved for another client. Establishing your experience with a story will build your credibility. This is also a great way to sell the client on other benefits you can provide without sounding “sales-y.”
Tell them what you would do to solve their problem. At a certain point in the conversation, you should have a pretty good idea what the client needs and what you would do to solve their problem.

Now it’s time to talk rates and negotiate.

If you have done your job correctly, the client has seen that you understand their plight and have the experience to deal with it. This puts you in a great position to ask for the fees that you deserve with confidence.

Wendy Stackhouse for Artisan Creative

LOOKING TO HIRE

LOOKING FOR WORK

5 Tips for Managing Your Inbox

Tuesday, September 18th, 2012|

Are you getting email alerts on more than one device? All-day long? Do you read them right away? Do you answer them right away?

Stop!

As important as effective communication is, it is probably not the most important part of your job and is certainly not the most important part of a freelance project, especially if you are working on a deadline. But we’ve all had those days when email alerts seem to interrupt us every couple of minutes [ding!–that was mine] and everything seems urgent when it’s in a popup window.

Here are some tips for not letting email be the only thing you handle in your workday:

Use Filters. Route emails regarding a particular client or project into its own folder so that you can deal with them all during the time you have set aside for that client in any given day. Have it bypass your regular Inbox and go straight into that folder to wait until you are ready.
Set a Timer, Not an Alert. Set aside a certain length of time–15 minutes is good–to deal with email and when your time is up, stop. Turn off all those alerts on your desktop, your phone, your laptop, and your tablet. Don’t look at your email except when you have it scheduled. Really. No pings, no popups. Many of us have a rather Pavlovian response to these alerts and cannot resist the lure.
Avoid the Unnecessary. Be brief and to the point, without being abrupt. Make sure your emails have real content and achieve a communication goal. Don’t send “Thank you” or “Okay” emails and you can even add a “No reply necessary!” message if an issue has been resolved fully. Make your subject line clear to help your co-workers and clients know when it’s important to deal with your message quickly and when they can let it go for a little while.
Take a Breath. If you are angry or emotional, write your message and save it to reread later when you have calmed down. If you are unsure about whether a message is going to achieve what you want it to or whether an email is the right medium for your message, give it a little time to percolate. You might want to use the phone or meet face-to-face.
Read It. Take a moment to check your email for tone of voice, style, and for typos. You only have so many chances to communicate clearly and make a good impression with your communications. Email is forever, don’t take unnecessary chances. It takes a lot longer to fix a miscommunication than it does to communicate well the first time.

We’ve all hit “Send” too quickly at some time or another. Take a bit of time over your email communications but don’t let them eat your whole day!

Wendy Stackhouse for Artisan Creative

LOOKING TO HIRE

LOOKING FOR WORK

7 Freelancing Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make

Thursday, September 13th, 2012|

A few weeks ago, we posted a link to an article on InspiredMag, 5 Unforgivable Mistakes in Freelancing which it turned out a lot of people were interested in reading. We have some comments on those mistakes and a few more to add.

Inspired’s Mistakes:

Stubbornness. You know what you’re doing and, rightly, feel that the client should trust you to know how to do it well. However, it is important for your client to both be listened to and feel that he or she has been listened to. You know your business, but he knows his. He really does have insight that you do not. Use your EQ and practice active listening.
Lying. Oh, dear, no. Transparency is essential. If you make a mistake, let the client know, preferably after you’ve fixed it, of course, or have a good strategy for fixing it if not. When (not if) a client finds out that you have not been truthful, you have lost that client forever and your reputation with their network which could be catastrophic. Owning up to a mistake could lose you a client, but it won’t lose you everyone they’ve ever met.
Overpricing. Getting a lot of money from a naive client is a short-term benefit with a long-term consequence. That client won’t be a newbie forever. Your bid should be fair and pay you a living wage. Build in the costs of phone calls and meetings and your overhead. Make a profit. But don’t take advantage. Gain a lifetime client, not a one-time windfall.
Lack of Communication. You don’t want to interrupt your work on your project to send emails, but you need to. Progress reports and check-ins are a way of reminding your client you are on the job and alert to her needs. Give her a chance to ask questions and keep her informed of how the job is coming along and she will support your process.
Apathy. If you, like me, love freelancing because of the creativity of the work, the flexibility of the schedule, and the control of your life it gives you, keep that love at the front of your mind when you get deep into the weeds of your project. Not every task on every project is creative and stimulating, but keeping your mind on the big picture can keep you motivated, even during the duller stages.

We would like to add a couple more:

Underpricing. You might be new to freelancing and not know how to price your work or afraid that the client will choose another provider, but you must make sure you are earning enough money for your project that it is worth your time. It’s easy for apathy to set in if you feel underpaid and overworked. As above, do the math and charge what is fair for both you and the client.
Poor Time Management. Getting the work done is important and so is taking breaks. Especially if you are working on multiple projects, take the time to schedule your day or your week in clear blocks, including time off. It will keep you focused on the task at hand and make sure you take the time to recharge that all creatives need to do their best work.

If you’ve been reading my posts for a while, you know that I love freelancing for the reasons laid out above. Avoiding these mistakes should help you add success to the list of joys that freelancing can bring!

Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative

LOOKING TO HIRE

LOOKING FOR WORK

The Elements of Happiness

Tuesday, September 4th, 2012|

What makes us happy at work? Money? Stability? Lack of stress? Not really, it turns out, but these are elements that we might think of if we were asked.

A recent article in Forbes talked about the elements of our employment that really impact our happiness and the author was surprised. Are you?

Autonomy–Having control over what you’re doing and when you are doing it is a huge boost to happiness at work. Whether you are most comfortable having a predictable routine and knowing when you are finished for the day or whether you like to have an individual plan for each day and vary the pattern, having a choice is empowering. And that empowerment affects your productivity and your work product.
Mastery–When you start a new job, it is such a relief when you finally feel like you have your feet under you. It takes about 90 days. Before that time, there is no reason to be concerned about not quite having it all together. But after that, when you’re trained and acclimated, what makes us happy is continuing to learn, to improve our skills, to bring more innovation to our work. If your employer doesn’t offer “continuing education” opportunities, seek them out yourself. It will increase your value–and your happiness–to keep learning.
Purpose–We need to feel that we are contributing to something larger than ourselves. This is where we can all benefit from thinking like an entrepreneur. Even if you work for a large corporation, if you think of yourself as your own business, everything you do is contributing to a bigger goal. You really aren’t just a cog in a machine, you are a living, breathing, growing business. If your employer is committed to giving back, even better. Get involved in community service projects and you will have a higher level of commitment to your job as well.

Your job can be stressful, it can be uncertain, it can even pay less than an ideal salary. But if you have control over your life, can be actively learning, and see a purpose in your work, stress feels more like excitement, uncertainty like spontaneity, and even money is less important than making a difference.

Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative

LOOKING TO HIRE

LOOKING FOR WORK

Previous 91011 Next