Freelance Finance

Lawyers follow this dictum, otherwise known as ABB, and so should you. Once your work’s submitted, submit an invoice immediately. Sure, there are going to be revisions, but if the clients know they’re going to use your work, they may very well go ahead and pay. On some occasions, I have actually been paid before […]

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It is important and necessary to do everything in your power to satisfy your clients. But you must have the courage to limit unreasonable demands. You cannot drop everything for two days to help someone hand-wring over the website you’re designing for them, nor should you volunteer endless revisions of your work. For many years, […]

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The phrase “keep your nose to the grindstone” took on new meaning for me Friday, when Mire and I attended a woodworking class given by master craftsman, author, and self-employed worker Andy Rae. Though the class was about sharpening woodworking tools, I couldn’t help finding a double meaning in much of what Rae said.
I […]

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Another remarkable freelance friend—a brilliant writer and researcher—has, just yesterday, taken a full-time job. This comes after years of very successful, but tiring, work on her own. She will be performing the exact same kind of duties, except she will be performing them for a law firm. I am happy for her. Why? Because she […]

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There is no reason why you should subsidize the incomes of your clients. It’s customary in many fields for a customer to a deposit or advance for the work they want you to perform. The advance indicates that they are serious about the project. Up to 50 percent up front is reasonable, but you should […]

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Are you outraged about the price of mobile phones? You should be. If you go over your allotted minutes, your carrier hits you with fees. If you stay substantially under your allotment, you’re wasting money. Yes, yes, I know some carriers offer carryover. But if you haven’t used those extra minutes this month, what makes […]

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Personal finance for freelancers is, essentially, what this site is about. But in truth, “freelance” is much too limiting a word for the audience that this site seeks to serve. It offers personal finance musings (and, we’d like to think, some useful advice) to anyone who does not have the financial advantage of a salary […]

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How to save money fast…10 ways to get out of debt now…How to become a millionaire….and so on and so forth and blah, blah, ad nauseum, BLAH. With all of this free information available about personal finance, you’d think that Americans would be walking around in stellar financial shape. But alas, mon frere, you would […]

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Last week we did some traveling, sharing the Freelance Finance System with some new friends and acquaintances. One question that came up often: Will people really be disciplined enough to save money this way? The question is rooted in the notion that people are by nature bad savers, that they will routinely spend their cash […]

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Once, when I was just starting out as a freelancer, a colleague asked: “How is your freelance life going?” Without missing a beat, I replied, “Great! I’m very busy!” She responded: “It’s easy to be busy. But are you actually making a living?” She was more right about this than I was willing to admit […]

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