One of the hardest things for a beginner freelancer is to come up with rates that are both good for him and the clients. These rates would allow the client to receive top quality for a good price (don’t fall into the trap of thinking all clients want you to work for pennies), while the professional can earn a good revenue, while working on something he loves doing. Very small rates can mean starvation, while too big rates might also lead to starvation, since the clients might choose someone who does a similar job, but at a more competitive price. … Continue reading →

Since I have personally started doing well as a freelancer, many asked me how can they enter this business. And many were wary to do this because, even if they are currently studying or already have a diploma, there’s still no portfolio for them. Landing that first client is difficult, especially when you haven’t had a previous one to showcase your work. Does this mean you can’t start? 1. You can do without a portfolio. I have talked to some people who were able to land jobs even without a portfolio. It doesn’t happen too often though, so please don’t … Continue reading →

When starting out as freelancers, or even when we need some “residual” income, we bid for jobs on one of those famous sites: RAC, Elance, oDesk, Guru, iFreelance etc. For an established professional, with a good reputation on the site and an excellent portfolio, getting jobs is pretty easy. Let’s say that after 8 months on Elance, I work mainly on invitation jobs, than having to scour through the listings to try convince people of my worth. I am very highly ranked in my niche, I have an excellent reputation and quite a portfolio. But I have started FROM ZERO … Continue reading →

Guest post by Alex Toll from ResearchWritingCenter.com The term freelance worker refers to a person performing tasks for an individual or corporation without an employment agreement extending beyond the completion of the job. The term freelancer also implies a person working solely for himself/herself. As his/her own boss, a freelancer is, of course, in complete charge of their scheduling, and allocation of effort and resources, including to high tech devices. Successful freelancing is often associated with competence in riding the current wave of technology to hasten work and broaden mastery. It is clear that the Internet is a vital time … Continue reading →

Starting freelancing is not an easy decision. The first weeks / months of a fresh freelancer are far from being a walk in the park. You have to build a portfolio, learn how to schedule work, accept lower rates sometimes (to build that portfolio in the first place and get the first clients), come up with new expenses, at the moment your wallet doesn’t look too “good” either. And, on top of all these, uncertainty. Doubting yourself. You read countless articles about freelancing, you see portfolios with good looking young men (there are a lot of women freelancing, but mainly … Continue reading →

One of the questions I get from many people who know I am currently making a living from web freelancing is: “but I don’t know how to do web design. What can I do?” Well, freelancing doesn’t mean programming or web design, even if many web freelancers are involved in these 2 main job categories. For a person who’s not so web savvy, making a living from these 2 types of jobs is almost impossible. Still, there’s more to freelancing than just C++ or WordPress design. I’ll try to give you some ideas, who knows maybe some of you can … Continue reading →

I have started freelancing in July 2009. It was a shocking change from the advantages or having a fulltime job as a radio DJ and then being fired. Unemployment wasn’t an option for me, getting back in the media business meant having to accept a very very low wage. I wasn’t interested in this so I tried my hand in freelancing. READ MORE!

My activity on the blog was pretty scarce lately so you might not know about my new professional situation. 3 months ago the radio station I have worked for the past 3 years closed its local studio and I was fired. Recession is serious in Romania too and mass-media is one of the most affected areas. I got a possible job invitation at another radio station for half the wage and double the workload. Not pretty at all. Find out more