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Today’s guest is Lynne Testoni, from Sydney, Australia. Lynne is an editor, journalist and content producer who’s worked in high-level editorial positions and as a freelancer for a range of corporate clients. She has been freelancing for only four years, and she specializes in a very specific niche of home design, interior design and food, writing both content marketing and journalism.   Lynne is also the co-host of the podcast The Content Byte, with Rachel Smith.   Lynne earned less than six figures as an employee and wanted to make sure she earned more as a freelancer. She hit the six-figure mark about a year and a half in. Each year she sets a financial goal and a “stretch goal,” and she has since hit her stretch goal every year.   She was inspired by Australian writer Lindy Alexander who writes The Freelancer’s Year blog and who made freelancing and earning six figures seem like achievable goals.   Lynne began to earn more money after she “niched down,” focusing on home interiors. People began to notice her work and came to her, rather than her needing to look for clients. She also was referred a lot by past clients. And because she was in demand for that particular niche, she was able to set her own rates.   Lynne’s advice: Never work for free (unless you’re volunteering your services for a charity you believe in). There are better ways to build a portfolio, and clients that ask you to work for free never end up paying you what you’re worth.   Lynne is generous with her time, mentoring and helping other writers, such as through her podcast, The Content Byte. Giving back, besides making you feel good, often leads to new work too.   Cash flow can be one of the biggest challenges as a freelancer. Try to build a nest egg as you go along so cash flow won’t be a problem down the road. You also have to remember to market all the time, even when you’re busy.   Lynne is a morning person who begins her day with a run or Pilates and then a walk with her dog. She does most of her best work before lunch and saves the afternoons for editing and administrative work.   Lynne thinks in “billable hours.” She works about 40 hours a week, but only about 20 are billable hours. The rest are for administrative tasks, marketing and similar tasks. Her salesman husband taught her a tactic in negotiation: It’s all about the silence. Whenever someone asks for your rate, tell them and then just stay quiet. It’s hard to do but powerful. They will usually agree or come back with a lower rate, but the negotiation has begun.    If a client wants to pay her below what she’s asking, she’ll begin to negotiate the scope of the project. She also knows her own internal rate and how fast she can work on a type of project.   Lynne outsources some things, like transcribing, which she hates to do herself. She also collaborates with photographers and stylists and pitches projects as a team. She usually serves as the project manager and submits one pitch and includes the photographer/stylist rate without a markup on their rate. But she may add a fee for her management of the project.   Require a 50% deposit upfront on projects when working with companies, especially for smaller companies. If they question paying your deposit, that’s a red flag, because you may have to chase down the deposit or the final payments. Lynne says that shows they don’t value your work or contribution.   Lynne is a fan of Facebook groups both for finding clients and building her freelance community. Other freelancers are colleagues, not competitors.    Biz Bite: Use a cloud-based invoicing system.   Resources:   Lynne’s website   Lynne’s podcast, The Content Byte   Lynne on Instagram   Lynne on LinkedIn   Lindy Alexander’s The Freelancer’s Year blog   Find a Finder’s Fee — the name of local Facebook groups that advertise freelance jobs; look for one in your area.

Today’s guest is Laura Pennington Briggs. Laura is a teacher turned entrepreneur, two-time TEDx speaker and freelance writer. She’s the author of the award-winning “How to Start Your Own Freelance Writing Business” and the Amazon bestseller “Six-Figure Freelancer” and the founder of Operation Freelance.  Laura started as a freelance writer and virtual assistant in 2012. Now, she continues to write but also does book marketing and book launch strategy for authors. She started out as a part-time freelancer. But after 18 months of freelancing—only six months of that as a full-time freelancer—she hit the six-figure mark. To get to that financial goal, Laura tracked her income and financial projections on a legal pad.  Freelancers are often told not to go on Upwork, but Laura used Upwork to build and scale her business. In fact, she earned over $450,000 through the site over the years. But she points out that it’s important to have a strategy when you are using Upwork. When she was a new freelancer, she aimed to get Upwork jobs primarily for the feedback, not necessarily the fee, so that she could build good ratings on the site, opening the door to better and more work. She called these her “fast, cheap and simple” jobs to deliver the service easily and quickly to get a fast five-star review. She now has more than 200 positive ratings on Upwork, which lands her good work. You also have to know what the red flags are, such as clients with ridiculous expectations and a very long description for a simple, short project. Also, when clients tell you they’ve worked with lots of other freelancers before and it’s never worked out, that’s a red flag! You can also read other freelancers’ reviews of clients. Trust those reviews. The two ways that have worked best for Laura to find new clients have been Upwork and emailing cold letters of introduction (LOIs). Laura says if you send 50 LOIs and only one person responds, there’s something wrong with your LOI or your strategy. It’s important to take the time to research the client and explain why you like that company. Make the beginning of an LOI personal and hook the person. Don’t use a standard template for the entire LOI, which is a common mistake. Great tip: Laura emails an LOI, and then about 30 minutes later she connects with that person on LinkedIn saying, “Spoiler alert: I just pitched you via email.” Remember: Your perspective clients don’t really care about you, only that you’re qualified. So keep that part of your LOI to about two sentences and focus instead on how you can help them. Sending LOIs is also a numbers game—you need to send a lot to get responses. You cannot just send a 1–2 LOIs a week and expect to get a bunch of new clients. Laura recommends sending five pitches a week for three months, tracking them and seeing how people respond. Make it a weekly habit. Laura is a morning person. She works in batches based on the type of work, not the client. For example, she spends time on pitches for different clients during the same time slot, not focusing on all tasks for one client before moving on to another clients’ tasks. When it comes to pricing, Laura recommends newer freelancers take on smaller projects and try out their rate, rather than committing to a rate and a long-term contract. You should try out your pricing and make sure you feel comfortable with it. Experienced freelancers should examine their pricing every six months. Clients are paying not for your time, but your years of experience and expertise. Laura does not commit to pricing over the initial phone call. She tells potential clients she will get back to them by email. She may be nervous to quote over the phone, but she may also actually need the time to consider all aspects of the project and what it may truly cost and entail. Remember that you can negotiate everything, not just price. You can negotiate length, deadline, scope of work and the amount of communication (no phone calls, no strategy sessions unless they pay more). You can also give a discount if they sign a long-term contract. Laura advises that you have to get comfortable with calling the shots. You might feel like you’re pitching yourself as a freelancer to a client, but you have to believe that you’re a CEO too and you get to decide what your company policies and deal breakers are. Laura tried to be an agency owner for a year, outsourcing her writing to subcontractors. And she hated it. You do not have to outsource your client work if you don’t want to. Instead, if you want to scale, you can outsource certain pieces of the process, like marketing, administrative work, invoicing or LinkedIn outreach. Biz Bite: Hire a virtual assistant   Resources: Laura’s website: Better Biz Academy Laura’s book “The Six-Figure Freelancer” Laura’s podcast: Advanced Freelancing

On today’s show I am going to outline 10 micro habits that you can consider implementing in your life to improve your work-life clarity. Building habits into my life helps me commit to work-life clarity. Micro habits are tiny, incremental things you can start to do that seem so incredibly easy that you might just continue to build them. And, if you find they are working for you in some way, they might grow into larger habits and eventually habits you don’t even think about. Not all of the micro habits I’m recommending are directly related to your business. Your life and your business are intertwined. Plus, I think we should all be focusing on our health. So, some of these will be healthy micro habits, and some will be things that will lift your energy and put a smile on your face. I’m not recommending you implement all 10 of these micro habits. It’s better if you start small and just try a few of them. Plus, some of these might not be relevant for your individual life or may not interest you. But I hope they will spark your own ideas of what micro habits you can try out. 1. Brush your teeth after dinner. I first heard about this micro habit as a recommendation on the Happier podcast with Gretchen Rubin. The idea is if you brush your teeth after dinner, you will be less likely to eat again that evening. 2. Set an alarm for bedtime. 3. Listen to a podcast in the morning. 4. Take a lunch break—and do it without your phone. 5. Play with your pets. 6. Learn something new in five minutes a day. 7. Text one important person in your life each week. 8. Drink one glass of water in the morning. 9. Meditate for one minute each day. 10. At the end of your work day, take 5 minutes to write down how you felt about the day. Biz Bite: Download Restaurant Apps The Bookshelf: “Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones” by James Clear Resources: Happier podcast with Gretchen Rubin Duolingo language app

Today’s guest is Alicia Chantal, from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She is an editing and writing consultant and the owner of Fresh Look Editing. Alicia is passionate about helping individuals and small businesses create messages that resonate with an audience. She specializes in non-fiction copy editing and proofreading and has a background in public relations.   A couple of cool projects Alicia has worked on lately include two articles that she wrote for the Alberta Cancer Foundation’s summer issue of Leap magazine. And she recently proofread the first book from Laberinto Press, which promotes diverse literature and world lit in translation. That book is “Beyond the Food Court,” an anthology that explores the intersection of cuisine, geography, politics and nostalgia. I know Alicia from Twitter, but I also saw that she was recently selected as a featured volunteer of Editors Canada, and that’s when I realized how new she was to freelancing. She only started freelancing in 2019, and yet she has already built this great networking community by getting involved in various volunteer opportunities and taking advantage of social media.   In fact, she is the co-coordinator of the Edmonton chapter of Editors Canada, and she is a member of Editors Canada’s Task Force for Statement of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.   Alicia began freelancing in 2019 after her father died and she realized life is too short and that she should be doing something she loves.   As a new freelancer, one of the biggest challenges was trying to find a consistent time to work at her desk. That only increased during the pandemic when all three of her sons were now at home after schools shut down in-person learning. This fall, her children are back in in-person school, which allows her to focus on her business during the day again.   Alicia loves having a career that lets her focus strictly on editing and writing. She has discovered that she loves getting to know clients, figuring out what they need and helping them put their best words forward.   Alicia is surprised she’s a freelancer. She never envisioned being her own boss and having a head for business (Melanie can relate!). She did as much research and planning as she could before she launched her business, researching how to set up a business in her province and tapping into local business resources.   She has a tendency to second-guess herself, but reaching out to other freelancers for advice and building her freelance network has been helpful. She also finds podcasts about freelancing helpful.   She took an editing certification course and, through that, she took advantage of a business course for freelancers. She said that solidified what direction she was heading in because she had to create a business plan and think through how she was going to find clients.   Alicia is involved in Editors Canada, similar to ACES–the Society for Editing in the U.S. She joined because she thought the organization would be great for both professional development and building her network.   She wanted to be a volunteer for Editors Canada, not just a regular member, to gain more editing knowledge and experience. Fellow editors there encouraged her to join Twitter to connect with editors across the world. That worked and was even more helpful when the pandemic lockdowns began and she couldn’t go to editing conferences and events.   She has found so many editing resources and a community on Twitter. (See Resources list below.)   Alicia joined Editors Canada’s Task Force for Statement of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). This is a newer task force that was started to provide recommendations to Editors Canada’s national executive council on ways the group can meaningfully implement the EDI statement, which was approved in 2019.   She and the other four task force members are currently researching what EDI barriers members may feel exist in the organization. She says you need evidence to make recommendations, not basing them on gut feelings or guesses or by talking to only one person of color.   Alicia says that while the membership of Editors Canada may not be that diverse, there are diverse editors who may be unknown to the organization.   Alicia is a Black woman and a first-generation Canadian and says that as a member of the BIPOC community, she believes that being able to make effective change starts at home. (BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous, Person of Color.)   Freelancers can bring about change on issues of diversity and inclusion in their own industry and in their clients’ work. And you don’t have to be a writer or editor to make a difference through content. You can talk through these issues with your clients, such as whether you should capitalize black and/or white when talking about race.   Consider the images you and your clients use, such as on their website. Melanie talks about how one association did an audit of the diversity of their content, sources, writers and images. One thing they discovered is that a lot of stock art shows hands and those hands are almost always white. So, switching up stock photos to show other skin tones of hands is one “small” way to make a change.   As Alicia considers how her business can grow, she wants to post more often to her blog (a common tale!) to use it partly as a marketing tool. She is researching how to make her blog work better for her business.   She also wants to figure out how to automate more of her processes, such as accounting tasks.   If you’re considering becoming a freelancer or are fairly new to freelancing, Alicia recommends just diving in, not putting it off. That said, she doesn’t recommend saying yes to every project because that will lead to burnout. Also: reach out to others, learn from your successes and don’t be afraid to reach beyond your comfort zone.   Biz Bite: Make work fun.   Resources: Alicia’s website, Fresh Look Editing   Alicia on LinkedIn   Alicia on Twitter   Editors’ Association of Earth Facebook group   Editors Canada Facebook group   Editors Canada website   ACES–the Society for Editing   Grammar Girl   Outside the Book on Twitter: interviews editors of color and discusses how to increase the number of people of color in editing.   Editors of Color on Twitter

In episode #6 of Deliberate Freelancer I talked about how to make the most of conferences. Well, we’ve all had to pivot, and I cannot go to the 4–6 in-person conferences I typically go to each year. So, I’ve learned to embrace virtual conferences, which may be around until at least summer 2021.   Here are a few tips to make the most of these events: Commit to a virtual conference like you would an in-person event. Block the time off on your calendar and don’t do other work during the event. It can be tough to sit in front of your computer all day, so have some fun with it. Buy some favorite snacks, put on a nice shirt — but with cozy sweatpants and slippers. And switch up your location. You don’t need to sit at your desk all day. You can sit outside if it’s nice or find a cozy spot in your house. Prepare for the virtual event ahead of time. Look over the schedule and make note of what you want to attend. Because a lot of virtual conferences don’t have conference apps, I have been printing out the schedule to give myself a “program book” that I can mark up. It’s easier than toggling between tabs. Look at the schedule and know where the breaks are and how long they are. In person, you kind of go with the flow and it’s obvious when the breaks are, but it’s not as intuitive online. So, prepare ahead. Check out the conference social media. Is there a hashtag? Live tweeting is one of my favorite things to do at an in-person event, but it seems more important now because it connects me more to the other attendees. Anything you can do to improve the networking of a virtual conference is important. Ask on social media or in your network who else is attending. It can be fun to connect with friends at the special networking events or in the online networking rooms during the in-person event. Watch as many sessions in real time as you can. In a lot of virtual sessions, you are watching a recorded video, and you will likely be sent the link later. But we all know, when we sign up for something and are sent the link later, it’s less likely that we will actually make the time to watch the entire thing. Tell yourself these are not recordings and watch them in real time. This allows you to connect with other attendees in the live chat going on during the session. And you can usually send questions to the presenters, and there is often a short Q&A after the session. Take part in all the networking! The one thing that seems to be the hardest in these virtual environments is replacing the in-person networking. You aren’t going to just randomly meet people in line or because you sat next to them in a session. In person, I rarely go to happy hours or evening events unless I know a lot of other attendees. But in the virtual world, I have made myself go to every networking opportunity available during the virtual conferences. Some have been great; some have been not so great, but I am trying to connect with as many people as I can. Set goals for your conference and follow up afterward. What do you hope to get out of this event? Is it just to be able to connect with other people who are not your family? Or, are you looking forward to learning new things through the sessions or by connecting with exhibitors? Set a couple of goals so you have a focus for the event. And then, the next day — put it on your calendar — recap for a few hours: What did you learn? What lessons do you want to implement? Who do you want to follow up with? What new products or services do you want to check out? Do this the day after or you will probably not do it.   Biz Bite: Get a flu shot   The Bookshelf: The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia Eat a Peach by David Chang A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik   Resources: Episode #6 of Deliberate Freelancer: Make the Most of Conferences   Episode #24 of Deliberate Freelancer: Networking Tips, Especially as an Introvert   Episode #33 of Deliberate Freelancer: 5 Lessons for Freelance Business Owners from She Podcasts Conference  

On today’s show, I want to talk about some core principles you’ll need to run a successful freelance business — these are ideas I have come to believe strongly in over the past seven years: Core principle #1: You are a freelance business owner. Changing your mindset and truly believing you are a business owner and the boss of you helps both the way you look at yourself and the way others perceive you. Embracing that mindset creates a fundamental shift in how you think about being a freelancer. Tell yourself in everything that you do that you need to base your ideas, plans and actions on how a business owner or entrepreneur would think. That can mean creating a business plan, creating a marketing plan, setting financial and other goals, tracking your money, figuring out how to charge better, having the confidence to ask for more money and increase your rates, and setting boundaries, office hours and a work structure. Core principle #2: Take charge of your finances. You could be great at what you do. You may even be charging great rates and bringing in the cash. But if you aren’t handling and tracking your money well, you could be losing money and gaining stress. Do you have a yearly financial goal? Do you have monthly or weekly financial goals? Basically, do you have any idea how much money you are earning and how much you are spending? When you set your rates or a project fee, are you accounting for taxes or other expenses as part of the rate you set? Are you tracking monthly income versus expenses? Do you have a separate business account, not co-mingling your money with a personal account? I finally got a separate business account and a business-only credit card last year. I started using a 12-month cash flow projection spreadsheet in Excel. This was particularly helpful during the pandemic so I could see if I was earning enough to pay my bills. But that sheet also encouraged me because the numbers kept increasing over the summer as I kept striving to add more clients to those columns. By August, I could see that I had reached my pre-pandemic income level. And perhaps the most important part of taking charge of your finances: Are you setting aside the right portion of your income for taxes? In the United States, that’s about 28–30%. You have to tell yourself and truly believe that that percentage is not your money. It was never your money. Don’t ever think of it as a safety net or part of your savings. Once you believe that, set up a system to make that easier to follow. I have a separate online savings account that is only for taxes. I named it Pay My Taxes as a reminder not to touch it. At the end of each month, when I am paying my bills and invoicing my clients, I figure out my monthly income, minus expenses, and take 30% of that and transfer it to my tax account. Core principle #3: Be stubborn. Be confident. I know this is easier said than done for some people. This often comes down to personality, but I think we can continue to grow and learn and change and improve parts of ourselves that we struggle with. For example, I know that I do not like conflict, and I see the most basic disagreements and conversations as “conflict.” I know this is a challenge I struggle with, but being aware of it can be helpful so that I can work around it. So, I have created systems to boost my confidence. One way I do that is by emailing first instead of picking up the phone — at least for that initial conversation — when there is a disagreement, communication or misunderstanding. I have also come to understand that I suffer from impostor syndrome at times. I didn’t think I struggled with this until I had guest Kristen Hicks on episode #67 and she described the various aspects of impostor syndrome. I struggle sometimes with raising my rates or sticking to a project rate or scope creep. That falls under impostor syndrome too because deep down I’m really thinking, “Who am I to ask for this or to demand this?” To me, being stubborn means sticking with your principles. Know what your goals and your non-negotiables are in your business. Know the kind of ethical work and philosophy you want to work from. Stick to your principles and be stubborn. Don’t lower your rates. Don’t work for free. Don’t agree to scope creep that makes you uncomfortable. Be stubborn. Core principle #4: You have to embrace marketing. This is where reframing comes in handy because many of us don’t like the idea of marketing or networking. You’ve likely heard me say this a few times, but I have reframed marketing and networking into “relationship building.” You always have to market and network. That saved a lot of us in the pandemic when we lost clients. We reached out to our network and said we had availability. We increased marketing efforts that we had already tried. We weren’t starting from scratch. Marketing doesn’t have to mean ads and being on every social media platform. But I would encourage you to get to know fellow freelancers, perhaps in your local community or through Twitter or Instagram, or a Facebook group. And then do some sort of marketing by at least having a presence on 1–2 social media channels and keeping your website and/or a portfolio up to date. Core principle #5: You have to spend money to make money. This can be challenging, especially if you are new to freelancing. And I don’t want you to buy all the things when you start out. But, you will come to a point where you have a little bit of money or you need to take that next step or you’re struggling in an area you need help with, and you need to spend money to make money. I’ve often talked about the economic concept of “opportunity cost.” Opportunity cost is when you have a situation with more than one choice. You make a choice and go a particular route. The opportunity cost is the loss of what you did not gain by making the other choice. I often think of opportunity cost in terms of time. Time is very valuable to me. Money is important and necessary, but time is critical. My goal is to create an efficient freelance business that maximizes the amount of money I can earn in the smallest amount of time. You can consider this in both your business and personal life. So, for example, if you hire a virtual assistant (VA) to take care of some of your administrative work, you are gaining time to work on client projects. This earns you more money. Core principle #6: Keep it simple. This means both for the services and businesses you create, as well as the business systems and structure you set up for yourself. There is a temptation, especially early on in freelancing or at a moment when you are growing your business, to buy all the tools, download all the productivity apps, and use a bunch of fancy systems to do certain things for your business. I have certainly fallen into that trap, especially downloading a variety of apps that I thought would be helpful to structure my business. But, I realized that it is much more efficient and productive and less stressful to streamline my systems and structure. I use what works for me, not what every other freelancer says I have to have. Keep it simple and use what works for you. A good way to test this out is if you are feeling overwhelmed or feel like things are too busy or chaotic. Ask if you need all those tools. What really makes your day better and your business more efficient? Invest in those and ignore the rest. Core principle #7: You can’t work 24/7. You need to set the hours and structure that is best for your business, your productivity and your mental and physical health. The problem I see is freelancers who don’t know when to end their day and just keep on working until they suddenly realize it’s time to eat or their kids are home from school. It’s also not healthy to check email all night long. Even just a glance at work email can be stressful and put you back into work mode, instead of relaxing or spending time with your family. Everyone needs downtime, and it is not healthy to be on the clock 24/7. This goes for weekends also. I know freelancers who like to work weekends because there are no distractions from clients and they can get a lot more done. That is fine, except I would argue that you need two days off a week, no matter what those days are. That means no emails, no client work and no check-ins. And if you can put down your phone, and unplug completely, that’s even better and healthier for you, especially in these pandemic times. All of this means you have to set boundaries. This is easier to do once you truly embrace self-care and recognize that burnout is a real concern. Biz Bite: Outsource on a whim   The Bookshelf: “Eight Perfect Murders” by Peter Swanson   Resources: Episode #39 of Deliberate Freelancer: Raise Your Rates—Without Emotion   Episode #28 of Deliberate Freelancer: Take Charge of Your Finances, with Pamela Capalad   Episode #29 of Deliberate Freelancer: 3 Big Financial Changes I Made This Week   Episode #30 of Deliberate Freelancer: How a Virtual Assistant Can Help Your Business, with Cat DiStasio   Episode #67 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Fight Imposter Syndrome, with Kristen Hicks   Episode #68 of Deliberate Freelancer: Yes, You Need to Build a Personal Brand, with Hilary Sutton   Episode #62 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Prevent and Deal with Burnout, with Alan Heymann   Episode #45 of Deliberate Freelancer: You Need to Set Boundaries   Episode #19 of Deliberate Freelancer: Visualize Your Perfect Work Day—Then Create It   Episode #22 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Create a Better Work-Life Balance, with Laura Poole

Today’s guest is Sarah DeGeorge, a digital marketing specialist who lives in Philadelphia. Sarah works in paid and organic marketing, public relations, and social media marketing and management. She helps small- to mid-size businesses find their authentic voice for their audience.   Sarah started freelancing as a freelance writer while still in college. As she was nearing graduation, she got sick and had trouble doing in-person job interviews, so she turned to freelancing as she started to feel better. She slowly built up her business and learned new skills. Freelancing allowed her to deal with her illness (she feels great today) at the time, which would have been more difficult with a regular 9-5 employee job.   Sarah recommends we consider “mindfulness in marketing” as we look to grow our freelance businesses. She points out that a lot of marketing looks at past performance or future plans—but not the present time. Being mindful means being in the present. So, consider how your marketing is working and how you feel about your marketing right now in the present. (You can use this same idea with your clients when you work on marketing-related projects with them.)   Sarah breaks mindfulness marketing into three pillars:   Start with yourself: What are your mission and values? How is your marketing plan working right now? How are you feeling about these efforts?   Now, consider your customer base. What marketing materials and efforts do they expect from you (certain social media interactions, live video, weekly newsletter)? What is resonating with them? What is not resonating with them?   Finally, look at the data. This could include your website’s Google analytics and Facebook insights. (This could also include client feedback and previous successes.) Connect this with yourself—are you enjoying working on a specific social media platform? Maybe the data shows that you’re not as engaged with a particular platform; maybe you could phase out that particular effort.   This type of analysis will help you figure out what marketing efforts you may need to stop, cut back on or ramp up and what new things you could try.   Sarah came up with the mindfulness in marketing concept during a serious period of burnout. We need to take that moment to check in with ourselves and not just go full-speed ahead all the time.   You do not have to be on all the social media platforms. Focus on what you like and where your clients are. If those two things don’t overlap, perhaps hire a virtual assistant to help you market on a platform where your clients are but that you don’t enjoy as much and aren’t as good at because of that.   Once you’ve analyzed those three pillars and connected the dots of what is and isn’t working, brainstorm how you can make the efforts that are working more robust. Consider how you can pivot and migrate certain efforts, such as changing from a blog to a video, moving from Facebook to Instagram.   Video can be a fun new marketing trend to try out. It doesn’t have to be your own face on video. You can create a short instructional video with slides, based on a blog that you already wrote, and post that on YouTube. YouTube is more of a search engine than a social media platform. So, making a searchable video on YouTube that directs back to your website can be an effective marketing strategy.   A podcast is another good way to market yourself and share your knowledge with your clients.   Biz Bite: Use pen and paper.   Resources:   Sarah on Instagram   sardegeorge@gmail.com   www.sardegeorge.com   Episode #14 of Deliberate Freelancer: Freelancing with a Chronic Illness, with Christy Batta   Episode #67 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Fight Imposter Syndrome, with Kristen Hicks   Episode #62 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Prevent and Deal with Burnout, with Alan Heymann    

Today’s guest is Wudan Yan, an independent journalist in Seattle, who covers science and society. She has written for National Geographic, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Elemental, Harper’s and MIT Tech Review. Wudan also writes for brands and is a fact-checker. She is the co-host of The Writers’ Co-op, a business podcast for freelance writers. Her co-host is Jenni Gritters, also based in Seattle, and the two describe their podcast as an “audio handbook for freelance creatives.” In summer 2019, Wudan self-published an article on Medium called “I was owed about $5,000 from late-paying publications. I tried to hold them all accountable. Here’s what happened.” The article hit a nerve with freelancers and went viral. Wudan wrote the article after she returned from a two-week vacation and none of the $5,000 she was owed by clients was in her bank account. She freaked out. But she was also fed up with clients’ excuses about not paying on time. She had read a social media post from a photojournalist who added a 20% late fee to client invoices. Wudan messaged her to learn more and then began researching laws around late fees. She learned that in 2017 New York City passed the Freelance Isn’t Free Law, which says freelancers must be paid within 30 days of invoicing. It also says that freelancers are entitled to double damages if payment is late. It only covers freelancers who live in the city or clients based in the city. Although Wudan doesn’t live in New York City, one of her clients is based there, which meant she was covered by the law. Wudan decided to go for a 10% late fee, not double damages, since this was her first time fighting this. She also sought the help of a lawyer. All three clients had different responses. One major media company kept replying that they don’t pay late fees, but Wudan kept sending her updated invoice. They finally agreed to pay a late fee simply to resolve the issue “amicably.” A second client said essentially, “We paid you for something else on time, so we won’t pay a late fee for this,” which made no sense. The third publisher said the issue was pushed to the CEO of the company and he didn’t like the situation, and the company said if Wudan charged a late fee, they would never work with her again. She eventually received late fees from all three clients, but she has never worked with any of the three again. Wudan says she became a journalist, in large part, to hold people accountable. And that goes with her own business. Calling out the publishing industry’s poor practice of late payments was her way of holding the industry accountable. She also wanted other freelancers to know that charging late fees was possible. Wudan wanted to “flip a switch” in freelancers’ minds from being passive and just waiting on late payments to acting like a business and going after late payments. After Wudan wrote the piece calling out the publishing industry, she stopped working with clients who paid her late in the past. She also gained more confidence to charge late fees. Wudan advises freelancers to try to get a late fee built into their contract. Ideally, add in: “Client will pay the contractor 30 days after receipt of invoice. Invoices paid after this timeframe are subject to a XX% late fee.” Specify that the late fee is compounded monthly. You may want to choose a 10% or 20% late fee. While publishers don’t like the late fee clause, in Wudan’s experience they often agree to that first part: “Client will pay the contractor 30 days after receipt of invoice.” Even if that’s the only part they will agree to, she still includes on her invoices: “Client will pay the contractor 30 days after receipt of invoice. Invoices paid after this timeframe are subject to a XX% compounded monthly late fee.” If they reply that they only pay 45–60 days after receipt, then Wudan builds interest into her fee. Wudan uses Google Sheets to track when she filed her invoices. She hired an assistant, who reviews the invoice sheet at the end of every week. If an invoice is almost due or past due, she writes Wudan an email with that list of clients. Wudan set up a separate “bookkeeper” email, and her assistant sends clients notices about late payment through that, which shows more of an appearance of a business. You can create this separate email address yourself, even if you don’t have an assistant. Chasing down money is emotional labor. Wudan hired an assistant to chase down payments so that she wouldn’t be angry every time she had to write those emails. Wudan usually goes straight to accounts payable and doesn’t get her editor or direct client involved. Wudan’s final advice: Freelancers need to push for late fees and on-time payments. Clients often tell Wudan no one has ever asked them for a late fee before, which is indicative of freelancers being more passive when it comes to payment. Maintain good relationships with your editors and clients, and they may be able to change the system from the inside and advocate for freelancers. You can also refuse to do more work until payments are caught up.   Biz Bite: Calendly app   Resources: Wudan’s article on late payments (originally published on Medium): “I was owed about $5,000 from late-paying publications. I tried to hold them all accountable. Here’s what happened.” Freelance Isn’t Free Act in New York City Wudan’s podcast, The Writers’ Co-op Wudan on Twitter Wudan on Instagram WudanYan.com

Today’s guest are Kim Kavin and Karon Warren, two longtime freelance writers who have built successful freelance businesses. Both are active in the fight against the national PRO Act. Kim was active fighting against a similar state bill in New Jersey, and Karon heads up the national efforts to defeat the PRO Act through the grassroots organization Fight for Freelancers. The PRO Act (Protecting the Right to Organize) was introduced in Congress in late 2019. The initial intent of the bill was to protect workers who are misclassified and give them the ability to join a union. However, the bill was amended to add a classification test taken directly from California’s disastrous anti-freelance bill (now law) known as AB5. That test is called the ABC Test and was written in the 1930s for factory workers. The way the ABC Test is currently written prohibits most independent contractors from working with clients. It doesn’t matter if you call yourself a freelancer, consultant, an agency, whatever — if you are a W9 independent contractor, this affects you. The rest of the PRO Act does not harm freelancers, so freelancers need to focus their efforts on getting the ABC Test part of the bill changed. The push for this bill is union funded, and Democrats —including presidential candidate Joe Biden — support the bill. Kim was involved in fighting a copycat bill in New Jersey. A co-sponsor of the bill told her if she wanted to make changes she needed to negotiate directly with the AFL-CIO. That shows who is controlling and pushing these bills. In California, legislators “weaponized” the ABC Test by deleting some of the original language. The ABC Test has three prongs (A, B, C) that independent contractors must pass in order to do business. It’s the B part that is the problem. B originally had two parts: Part 1 says you can’t be in the same line of business as the company that is paying you to do the work. But Part 2 negates Part 1 if you do all of your work off company premises. Most freelancers can pass Part 2. However, California deleted Part 2, leaving only the part that says you can’t be in the same line of business as the company paying you. That went into law in January 2020 in the state and destroyed careers of all types of independent contractors, who could no longer work for companies in their industry. This included respiratory therapists and other medical professionals who contract with various hospitals — they lost work when they were needed the most during the pandemic. Other careers and industries affected include journalists, content writers, editors, real estate appraisers, comedians, theater workers, symphonies and orchestras, truck drivers, translators and more. In fact, California has found more than 300 industries hurt by AB5. California freelancer writers managed to get an exemption in the law that capped their submissions to 35 a year for each client. The exemption partially helped some writers, but it also had a lot of problems — for example, content writers, blog writers and newspaper columnists could quickly and easily hit 35 submissions, ending their work for that year for that client. Forbes, Hearst and New York Times were among those who have stopped hiring California freelancers. In December 2019, the AB5 copycat bills started popping up in Democrat strongholds (blue states), including New York and New Jersey, where Kim lives. The bill was introduced in New Jersey with about six weeks to go in a lame duck session. New Jersey freelance writers organized quickly to educate lawmakers about the damage to freelance careers. In New Jersey, lawmakers seemed to pay attention when the writers explained that they were “career professionals,” who earn anywhere from $50 to $300 an hour from clients. They compared themselves to specialized accountants and attorneys. They told individual stories that showed that they were professionals, not victims. At one hearing, a lawmaker said they were going to protect the freelancers from “nefarious” companies. Kim yelled at a New Jersey senator to stop calling her clients nefarious and exploitative. The pandemic has helped lawmakers understand how many independent contractors are out there because we got attention when we became eligible for unemployment benefits and the Paycheck Protection Program. When AB5 went into law in California, the American Society of Journalists and Authors (a membership organization of freelance writers, of which Kim, Karon and Melanie are members) filed a lawsuit with the National Press Photographers Association challenging the new law on First Amendment and other Constitutional grounds.  Karon got involved at that part, even though she’s in Georgia, a red state where a copycat bill does not exist. But Karon knew she needed to fight against the federal PRO Act, which would affect independent contractors in all 50 states. If the PRO Act passes, companies will begin outsourcing work to people outside of the U.S. The movement created the Twitter hashtag #IRSNotABC, which represents that the IRS standard is a better standard than the ABC Test. We should advocate for the PRO Act and state copycat bills to change their language to follow the IRS standard, not the ABC Test. The IRS standard already exists. It was written in the 1980s and has been updated since. The standard has about 60 questions to evaluate the relationship between a person and a company. The IRS website says, “The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if the payer has the right to control or direct only the result of the work, not what will be done and how it will be done.” Unlike the B part of ABC, the IRS standard allows independent contractors to work in the same industry as their clients. Most legitimate independent contractors can pass the IRS standard. Laws already exist to protect exploited freelancers, and individuals can file a report with the IRS if they believe they have been exploited, like if they were hired as a “freelancer” but the company required them to work a full-time schedule and on the premises. That is not freelancing. The U.S. Department of Labor in both the Obama and Trump administrations have prosecuted cases against companies who have misclassified employees. Some freelancers have said that the PRO Act or a state version doesn’t affect them for various reasons. Let’s go through some of these myths to debunk them and let independent contractors know they are in jeopardy:   Myth 1: “I’m protected if I’m an LLC or S Corp.” Not true. While the test says “established business,” you must pass the B prong of the ABC Test to be able to work as an independent contractor. New Jersey advocates asked lawmakers to amend the bill to state that being an LLC or S Corp would exempt independent contractors from the law, but they would not add the language.   Myth 2: “This is a partisan issue and those fighting against it are all Trump supporters or Republicans.” Not true. Karon explains that advocates are not taking political sides; they are talking about fixing this piece of legislation. It’s just a fact that Democrats, including presidential candidate Joe Biden, support the PRO Act and the ABC Test. Therefore, it’s critical to educate Democrat lawmakers about why the ABC Test is harmful to freelancers.   Melanie’s opinion: If you are a Democrat like me and have Democrat representatives and senators, I think it’s even more critical we speak up because it’s the Democrats’ minds we have to change AND we are their constituents and members of their party. Both Democrats and Republicans can educate their Democratic lawmakers and also ensure their Republican lawmakers know about the PRO Act and will work to change it or vote against it.   Myth 3: “Those vocal against the PRO Act are paid by anti-union operatives.” Not true. These are all independent contractors who have created grassroots organizations out of necessity to save their freelance careers. This myth makes it even more important that individual freelancers explain their business and their success to legislators so they can understand who we are.   What You Can Do: Educate yourself about the PRO Act and how to fight against it. See resources list below. Contact your U.S. House representative and your two state senators. Ask to speak to them directly or email them. You can gather a small group of freelancers in your state and request a Zoom meeting. Tell your lawmakers your individual freelance success stories and the benefits you get from freelancing. Explain how much you are contributing to the economy. Then, ask them to change the PRO Act so that it uses the IRS standard, not the ABC Test. You can share data that shows most independent contractors want to remain as such. However, keep in mind that your individual stories affect lawmakers more than a bunch of statistics do. Share the message widely with other freelancers. Write op-eds for your local newspapers. Share on social media and retweet #IRSNotABC tweets and posts.   In September, the Freelancers Union (which is a nonprofit, not a union) held a webinar with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York who supports unions and the PRO Act. However, Schumer acknowledged in the webinar that he recognizes the problems AB5 caused in California and said he is willing to work with freelancers on the PRO Act. This was a huge acknowledgement. (See press release in resources below.)     Resources:   www.fightforfreelancersusa.com   Fight for Freelancers USA Facebook page — this is where you will find the most updated information and how to organize   Fight for Freelances USA on Twitter   #IRSNotABC on Twitter   Fight for Freelancers press release “US Senate Minority Leader Acknowledges Major Problem in PRO Act”   Freelance Forward 2020 — Upwork’s latest research on freelancing (statistics to use)   NPR article “Jobs in the Pandemic: More Are Freelance and May Stay That Way Forever”   Contently article “Does the ABC Test Already Exist in Your State, and Could It Harm Your Career?”   Wrapbook blog post “Employee or Contractor? The Complete List of Worker Classification Tests By State”   IRS.gov’s information on independent contractors   Fight for Freelancers New Jersey   The chaos in California  

Today’s guest is Anthony Moore, a writer, speaker and coach in California. He is one of the top 100 writers on Medium.com, where he writes about personal growth, self-improvement and writing.   I had trouble trying to name this episode because there were so many things Anthony talked about that I wanted to call your attention to. So, I hope you find all the areas we discussed helpful in your freelance business.   As a freelancer, Anthony has several income streams: writing, coaching, online courses, affiliate links, book sales.   Anthony has been freelancing for about seven years but didn’t make any money the first four and a half years. He decided it was time to get serious about his freelance career and has since amassed over 100,000 email subscribers and 50,000 followers on Medium and will earn a six-figure income in 20202.   Anthony offers courses in both writing and self-improvement. He sells them through webinars and email marketing. He’s failed a lot, and that has shown him what works and doesn’t work. He says one of his “superpowers” is not being afraid to look stupid. That stopped him from trying new things for a long time.   Anthony makes a lot of his income through courses, which, once created, is an online passive income. Then, he upsells to one-on-one coaching.   Anthony gets 100–200 new subscribers to his email list every day. Part of that is due to writing on Medium, where he has 200,000–300,000 views on his articles a month. Other blogs pick up his Medium articles, amplifying his content. He always includes a call to action in his articles to lead readers to his website. He has about a 6% click-through rate to his site, which is where people sign up for his email list.   Anthony’s call to action focuses solely on getting email subscribers. He no longer asks for social media likes and follows because the income he earns comes through his email list, not social media.   On Medium, Anthony focuses on personal growth and self-improvement. The key has been to be vulnerable and share his own stories, including his past issues with addiction and other challenges in his life. He posts only two to three articles a week now, but his content is evergreen.   Anthony shifted his mindset from being a freelancer to being a business when his article views on Medium skyrocketed. He likes a quote from Jay-Z: “I’m not a businessman; I’m a business, man.” Once you shift your mindset, you stop holding yourself back. Then, you can ask yourself: How far can I take my business?   Anthony asked himself what a professional business person would do, and he began to invest in his business by taking writing courses and buying business books.   Anthony spent a lot of time learning how to sell properly without seeming sleazy. He learned that give away a lot of freebies and then every now and then offer something for sale that is aligned with the customers’ values and would be helpful to them. He uses ClickFunnels for his sales funnel system.   He studied up on sales psychology, such as the “star, story, solution” structure or “hook, story, offer” structure. He encourages people to research how to sell your services and products properly.   To grow your email list, in your blog posts or other content, you need a short call to action to send people to your email sign-up. You need to create a landing page and a freebie to give to people who sign up. Your freebie should not be your weekly newsletter; it needs to be something that will be helpful to them, like a free book chapter, worksheet or checklist.   Once you gain email subscribers, you have to focus on retaining them. Tell great stories and continue to give out relevant freebies to keep them engaged.   Anthony calls for freelancers to embrace “radical self-investment”—learn how to sell, market and run a business.   Biz Bite: Use Evernote app to write down your ideas on the go   Resources:   Learn how to be a remote freelance writer with Anthony’s free one-hour video training: FreelanceWriterStarterPackage.com   Anthony Moore on Medium   Anthony Moore on LinkedIn   “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki   “Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World” by Gary Vaynerchuk   ClickFunnels (sales funnel system)   Mailchimp (for email lists and landing pages)  

On today’s episode, I am sharing three experiences in which I failed and the lessons I learned from those situations. Hopefully, you’ll find a few takeaway lessons here and it will also lead you to analyzing your own failures to see what you can change or learn from moving forward. The idea is not to beat yourself up; we are not perfect, but to learn from our failures and to know that all freelancers make mistakes. Failure No. 1: I had written two articles for a newsstand magazine that went really well. They didn’t pay as much as my content marketing clients, but I liked the topics and having my stories on newsstands. The magazine offered me a third article, a feature that was a little controversial. I had not done the type of traditional journalism in which people were skeptical about you since I was a newspaper reporter years ago in Indiana. The story required experience and connections in a type of reporting and in this community that I did not have. And I didn’t really have the time to dive into this story. My failure started because I let my ego get in the way. I liked this client, and two editors were telling me how great I was and how they really wanted me to do this article. I let their flattery cloud my judgment. I should have trusted my gut. Instead, I worked on the story and had difficulty finding the right sources, finding sources that would trust me and getting an “official source” to even answer my repeated calls and emails. I did not have the time for this along with all my other work—work that paid much more than this journalism story. I weakly expressed some concern to my immediate editor, and she gave me a few pointers, but it could not save the story and I did not speak up more at that time. So, I trudged on—not because I was stubborn as much as I did not want to tell my editor I was failing. A few MONTHS went by, and I finally got so fed up that I wanted to quit. I didn’t even care about getting paid for the work I did because it was unusable at that point. So, I emailed my editor and explained why the story was not working out and that I needed to stop working on it entirely. She was gracious and that was that. The big lesson here? Do not let a client talk you into a project. Do not let their flattery and your ego get in the way of what you know to be true. You know what you’re good at and what you’re not good at, what you have time and energy for and what you don’t. Listen to that knowledge. Failure No. 2: I was working directly for a content marketing agency that I had worked with before and really liked. They had a new client. The challenge was that that client wanted me to pitch story ideas, which I rarely do. But I came up with a few ideas and they accepted one. It was clear that my agency contact was more excited about that story than the actual editor was. This should have been a red flag. But, I found the sources, wrote the article and submitted it. The editor had numerous queries, more so than I’ve received on any article in years. But I addressed the edits and sent back my second draft. Then, I received more edits late on a Friday afternoon, and the editor wanted to call me right then. I relented, only so I wouldn’t stress about it all weekend. She only wanted to go through the edits line by line, which was a complete waste of time. I also recognized that some of her edits were actually questioning the science in the article. That’s when it became clear that she did not respect the basis of the pitch or the research behind the article. She should have either rejected the pitch or put her aside her own feelings instead of continuing to ask me to change the article. I delivered those edits and cc’ed my agency contact on that email. Then, I emailed the agency person separately to tell them what had happened and that I’d gone above and beyond with multiple rounds of extensive edits and that I was done with the article. My contact was gracious, and the agency paid me the full amount (even though the editor never ran the article). The lesson here? I should have contacted my agency person sooner. They were my direct client, and I should have let them handle the situation—or at least help me walk through the issues. They also needed to be aware of what was happening. The overall message here is to speak up sooner rather than later. Failure No. 3: A new client and I had a misunderstanding over the scope of work. I had emailed a proposal outlining the scope of work that we both agreed on, and we had had multiple phone conversations. I thought we were on the same page, but I then received several assignments that seemed to be outside the scope of work. Here’s what I did wrong: In the proposal, I was very clear on the scope of work involved in my two primary responsibilities. But the client had mentioned a third service, one that wasn’t my expertise, but I agreed to help with now and then. I thought I was being helpful, but in my proposal I described that third service as “as needed.” That was way too vague and would be defined differently by me and the client. I reached out to a freelance writer friend, who helped me figure out what to say to the client. I also agreed to a phone conversation with the client to work out our issue. (I sent an initial email so as not to blindside her; then we got on the phone.) My “tough love” lesson here is do not be wishy-washy in your proposals! In my effort to be helpful, I was vague instead and caused a misunderstanding. Other lessons I learned: Ask for advice from your freelance community and get on the phone to talk through sticky situations. Email was not the answer. Those were three of my big fails—certainly not the only mistakes I’ve made! It’s important to know what your weaknesses are and figure out how to improve upon them or work around them. It’s also important to learn from your failures. What projects and clients stand out to you that make you a little sick to your stomach? Did you learn anything from them or have you repeated the same mistakes over and over? Take a few minutes to think about those situations and what you have learned or should have learned from them. Maybe there are a few lessons that you could embrace going forward. Biz Bite: You are already living your worst-case scenario. Tip from Gayneté Jones: If you are procrastinating on a new service or something to propel your business forward, you’re getting nowhere by not doing the thing. That’s your worst-case scenario. You can only go up from there.   Gayneté Jones is a millennial mentor and keynote speaker. She is founder of G.A.M.E. Changing Industries and creator of Cubicle Ditch Academy.     Hear Gayneté Jones in episode 333 of the podcast Online Marketing Made Easy with Amy Porterfield.     The Bookshelf: “Recursion” by Blake Crouch   Resources: Episode #36 of Deliberate Freelancer: Spotting Red Flags and Scope Creep   Episode #45 of Deliberate Freelancer: You Need to Set Boundaries   Episode #67 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Fight Imposter Syndrome, with Kristen Hicks   Episode #70 of Deliberate Freelancer: Techniques to Deal with Anxiety from My New Therapist

I am not a therapist or a doctor, but on today’s show I want to share with you several techniques that I learned from my new therapist that have been very helpful to me, and I hope they will help some of you as well. I also want to help dispel the stigma that comes with mental health issues. Yes, I needed therapy. Yes, I’ve been experiencing more anxiety than usual. So, I sought out help. And that is OK for all of us. A few months ago, I started to realize that all of the things I used to do to turn off my brain from worrying about things were no longer working. I also realized I was getting really angry at the world at times. It all came to a head one night when I was worried about a leak in our basement. The spinning thoughts in my head would not stop, and I tried to explain my anxiety to my husband. He suggested I reach out a therapist acquaintance we know to ask for therapist recommendations. The therapist I knew sent me two names. I Googled them and emailed one of them. In our first appointment, I felt like my new therapist was a good fit right away, if only because I was comfortable talking to her through video chat. That was a good start. I explained to her how I was feeling, and because I am a “let’s fix this” person, I told her that I needed tools to use when I started feeling like that, techniques I could use to calm my mind. She gave me several that have been quite helpful, both before I start feeling anxious and when I’m in that anxiety-ridden moment. Therapy was also beneficial because it meant someone objective was validating my feelings. She validated that I am going through a loss—a loss of a way of life, that I am grieving something, even if I am lucky enough to have not been directly affected by COVID-19. But the upheaval and the uncertainty can definitely create anxiety. Here are a few techniques I now use regularly: Name your worrying thought. What worry are you feeling? Now ask yourself two things: Is that thought accurate? And, is it helpful? It may not even be accurate. You may be exaggerating reality based on your anxiety. And even if the thought is accurate, is it helpful to think that way? Probably not. Instead, reframe that thought into something helpful, like, “I have lost work during the pandemic. That means I need to do extra marketing each month to get more work.” Breathing. I know taking deep, long breaths helps calm your mind and body. But my therapist reminded me how to breathe properly: Take a long deep breath in through your nose—you should feel your belly expand—and then breathe out for a few seconds longer than you breathed in. I like to breathe out through my mouth (when I’m alone) because it feels like I’m pushing out the air more. One thing my therapist added was that when you breathe out, think of a word and think of pushing that word out and away from you. Typically, this is a negative word like “anxiety” or “stress.” But if you want to just concentrate on the word, you can pick a positive word instead to focus on. If you pick a negative word to push out, you can have fun choosing the word. I like to say “freakin’ pandemic.” Visualization. Pick a favorite outdoor location—do you like the beach, the mountains or the forest? Choose your spot. It can even be specific. I choose a specific hidden beach in Key West, one of my favorite places. Now, use your senses: What does it feel like, sound like, smell like? That alone can help calm you down. But you can go farther and imagine a nearby body of water. Then, cup your hands together and put all your negative thoughts and feelings that you want to get rid of in the cup of your hands and throw them into the water. Watch them until they float away and disappear. These next two suggestions aren’t from my therapists, but are good reminders to myself. This one might seem like a no-brainer, but it often needs repeating: Cut back on social media and the news. There’s a balance between being an informed citizen and obsessively tracking the news all day long. You can even quit some platforms or certain groups. I left a bunch of Facebook groups that made me angry too often. I’ve both unfriended people and unfollowed people. When you “unfollow,” you’ll still technically be friends, but you won’t see their posts. This is an easy way to get out of the situation without creating controversy over unfriending a relative. I heard a podcast guest talking about leaving the Bookstagram community on Instagram not because it made her angry but because it felt like too much work right now. Accept that this year and the pandemic is just one part of your life. I’m less anxious when I think of it that way, instead of it as something to just get through, something to just wait out. THIS is my life. THIS is part of the journey. It helps me to be thankful for the little things and to focus on those small things: when my cats make me laugh or get super snuggly, watching and feeding the birds and squirrels in my backyard, waving and thanking delivery drivers, smiling at kids who ride past our house on their bikes. I have to hang on to those small moments when the big moments seem so dire and overwhelming.   Biz Bite: Chunk your projects   The Bookshelf: “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration” by Isabel Wilkerson   Resources: Psychology Today Find a Therapist tool Psychology Today article: “Can You Reduce Anxiety and Stress by the Way You Breathe?” Episode #48 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Cope with Coronavirus Anxiety, with Therapist Mira Dineen Episode #52 of Deliberate Freelancer: Embracing Self-Care without Guilt, with Acupuncturist Rachel Brumberger

On today’s show I am recommending nine nonfiction and business books that have helped me create and grow my freelance business: “Atomic Habits” by James Clear For the past two years I have read this book at the beginning of the new year, which might become an annual tradition because it sets me on a good habit course for the year. One quote from the book I really like is “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” That means if you don’t put a system and habits in place for each of your goals, they’ll just be floating out there with no structure or plan to actually achieve them. You need to create a step-by-step plan for how to achieve each of these goals. And you need to start with baby steps. Another quote I really like is “Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.” That means you will not notice an improvement the first time you start a new habit; you may not even see improvements week after week. Transformation takes time. One of the concrete things James provides in his book are the four simple steps to building better habits. These steps are: Cue Craving Response Reward “Deep Work” by Cal Newport “Deep work” is that cognitively demanding work, work that requires concentration and creativity and deep thinking—which means no distractions. For me, this is writing. What is it for you in your business? I am not an effective writer if I’m trying to squeeze writing in in between meetings, checking email and posting on social media. Instead, Newport helps you figure out how to concentrate, minimize distractions and focus deeply on your work. He warns you about the different types of distractions that might pop up and how you can develop strategies to fight against them. “Make Time” by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky This book provides time, productivity and focus strategies that are tactical and helpful. This book is a lot breezier to read than the other two books I just recommended, but that doesn’t mean it’s fluff. It has silly illustrations and a fun, conversational tone. There are 87 tactics in this book that you can try to focus better and be more productive. A couple of the tactics that have helped me: Pick a highlight for your day—the one thing that you must get done—and then zero in on getting it done. The book calls that “laser focus.” Pick a soundtrack for your highlight. Choose one song, the same song, to play whenever you start your highlight for that day. I do this now whenever I am going to start deep work like writing. I have one song I play every time, and I’ve become Pavlov’s dog. Any time I hear this song I know that it’s time to buckle down and do a project. It’s my cue to get to work. It really works. Skip the morning check-in. At the end of each day, I go over my calendar and tasks and write out my to-do list for the next day. I choose my highlight for the next day. Then, when I wake up the next morning, I get straight to work on my highlight. I don’t check email or social media. Or, if I do check email, I check only for emergency emails from clients. I don’t respond to regular emails or even read them. Setting a timer for about 10 minutes can help you from getting sucked into email. “Off the Clock” by Laura Vanderkam This book, by a productivity and time tracking expert, was so much more than I thought it would be. It's not just a quick-read, “here are a few tips” productivity book. Vanderkam teaches us how to live life with more intention, to “linger” and “savor” and to invest in your happiness by being mindful of how you spend your time and how you WANT to spend your time. Laura talks about “letting it go”—how not to obsess over certain goals and how not to be so hard on yourself when you don’t hit perfection. She talks about little ways to invest in your own happiness and to appreciate the small things in life. Incidentally, these are all concepts that might really help during the pandemic. “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking” by Susan Cain As an introvert, I wasn’t sure what I could learn from this book. I know how I am and what I like. But I loved this book. It was way more in-depth and researched that I expected—not a fluffy, self-help book at all. This book explains in detail how being introverted can manifest in the real world, which has really helped me explain to other people why I like the things I like and do the things I do. The book also dives into the history of introvertedness, explaining when the U.S. started treasuring extroverts more. The author explains the values treasured by Eastern versus Western cultures and gives a ton of tips for living with and working with introverts and for raising kids who are introverts. “Better than Before” by Gretchen Rubin Rubin is probably best known for her book “The Happiness Project,” which I also liked. But “Better than Before” is where Rubin first introduces us to her framework The Four Tendencies. She argues that everyone falls into one of four categories based on how we respond to expectations from ourselves and from others—internal and external expectations. She has written a book called “The Four Tendencies” and you can also take a quiz to find out which of the four you are. Knowing your tendency helps you figure out how to use the right habit creation techniques that work for you. For example, I’m a questioner, and Gretchen helped me realize why “accountability” doesn’t work for me. You hear so often in business to form accountability groups or if you make yourself accountable to others, you’ll get things done. This could mean, if you sign up for a class, and especially if you pay for it, you’ll definitely go. But that doesn’t work for me. “Better than Before” will help you get to know yourself better and teach you what techniques work for you best. And then, Rubin provides a ton of habit formation tips to help you get things done. “The Freelance Content Marketing Writer” by Jennifer Goforth Gregory This book is gold for content marketing writers, whether you’re brand-new to this type of writing or have been doing it for 20 years. There is also a lot of tactical advice on how to get clients that can be helpful to non-writers as well. Gregory talks about how to use LinkedIn effectively and shares her template for a very short, to-the-point “letter of introduction,” which she compares to a pickup line. As she explains, you’re just trying to get a date with the person; you’re not trying to build an entire relationship with that first LOI. She also talks about how to price your projects, why freelancers need to talk about money with each other and how to find anchor clients. “Secrets of a Freelance Writer: How to Make $100,000 a Year or More” by Robert Bly This was one of the first freelance books I purchased. It’s a little dated, but the bulk of the book contains really helpful information, especially for newer freelancers or those who need to set themselves up as a freelance business rather than just flying by the seat of their pants. I gained a lot of confidence from reading this book. For example, Bly talks about how freelancers offer professional services and should not be shy or apologetic about their fees, but simply state them matter of factly. It’s that type of tone and tips that helped me believe I was a freelance business owner. And while the book is for writers, there is some information in there that would help any freelancer, like how to set your fees, how to network and brand yourself, how to deal with client problems and how to generate sales leads. “The Money Book: for Freelancers, Part-Timers and the Self-Employed” by Joseph D’Agnese and Denise Kiernan This book is also a bit old, but it’s a good staple, especially for those who need to get a better handle on your income and finances. The book provides a lot of advice about how to rethink how you use, earn and spend money. It can help you with debt and savings and getting your spending under control. It’s one of the few financial books I’ve seen that is written specifically for freelancers. Biz Bite: Take care of your future self. The Bookshelf: “The Family Upstairs” by Lisa Jewell    Resources: Episode #4 of Deliberate Freelancer: Work Only with Nice Clients, with Jennifer Goforth Gregory

Today’s guest is Hilary Sutton. Hilary is the CEO of HSL Digital, a content marketing consultancy. She is a keynote speaker and writer who has contributed to HuffPost, the Washington Post and USA Today. The author of several eBooks and courses, Hilary also hosts the popular Hustle & Grace Podcast where she explores cultivating a flourishing career and life. Hilary began her career as an actress performing in theaters up and down the East Coast, then transitioned to academics, serving as professor of communications, social media and journalism at Southern New Hampshire University. She has also held digital marketing roles at SpotCo, Pursuant and McKinley Marketing Partners. Hilary lives outside of Washington, DC, with her husband and daughter. The pandemic affected Hilary when her primary client lost some of their clients, furloughed employees and cut her hours dramatically. But new clients popped up, keeping her income stable. That showed her the importance of always building your personal brand and always connecting with people. “I have personally found a lot of power and control in being freelancer who works in the digital landscape because that is always going to be there, even if you’re in a pandemic.” Online communities are powerful, but meeting people in person at conferences and other events has solidified relationships and lead to new clients and new projects. Hilary defines personal branding as a combination of two things: the content that already exists about you (if someone Googles your name) and what people think of when they think of you. Everyone has a personal brand, whether you want it or not. There is information out there already telling a story about you. Shouldn’t you take control of that? A personal brand is not self-promoting. Reframe it to think of it as you telling people how you can help them. If you don’t tell people how you can help them, they won’t know that you can help them. You don’t have to focus on personal branding 24/7. While you should be consistent with your branding and timing, it is OK to take breaks from branding and social media. We need to prioritize mental health and “building space” in our lives so we don’t experience burnout. In summer 2019, for the first time in years, Hilary took a one-month break from social media, which was a healthy break and reminder of who is important in her real life. She gained clarity on the friendships and relationships of her inner circle. She also increased her productivity. The break quieted the social media noise. She says it was healthy to be bored, observe the world around her and be present, especially with her young daughter. Personal branding started for Hilary when she was a theater actress. She wanted to build a marketing writing career and inform people about the services she offered. She started by launching a blog to share her expertise. She also began to build her personal brand on LinkedIn. Having two websites—one for acting, one for content marketing—was critical to make it very clear what she did for two different audiences. Consider these three questions things when building—or rebuilding—an intentional personal brand: What do you do in your business? Who do you serve in your business? (Get clear on who your target audience is.) What do you want people to think about when they think about you? Next, consider how to concretely build that personal brand: build a website, have photos of yourself taken that reflect your brand. Also, claim your name or business name on multiple social media channels. Even if you don’t have a social media plan for all of those platforms now, claim the name and add your contact info, because those sites will rank high in Google when people search your name. In fact, Pinterest is more of a search engine than a social media platform and that can help your rankings. For more ideas, take Hilary’s 31-day personal brand challenge. As you build your intentional personal brand, remember to always keep your target audience in mind. And be aware that anything you say online—even if you think it’s via a private message—can be made public. Hilary created a three-module course to teach you the building blocks of developing a personal brand, available on her website. Hilary’s course: 3 Steps to Start Building a Personal Brand Hilary also has a podcast, Hustle & Grace, where she interviews high-performing creatives and talks about how to cultivate a flourishing career and a flourishing life. Biz Bite: Take inventory of your social media presence and Google results Resources: Hilary’s course: 3 Steps to Start Building a Personal Brand Hilary’s 31-day personal brand challenge HSL Digital HilarySutton.com Hilary on Twitter Hilary on LinkedIn Hilary on Instagram Hustle & Grace Podcast Hustle & Grace Podcast episode with Dan Pink Episode #55 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Use Pinterest to Grow Your Business, with Julia Bocchese

Today’s guest is Kristen Hicks. Kristen is a freelance content marketing writer in Austin, Texas. She specializes in helping B2B businesses connect with their audience through content. Her work has been featured on the Content Marketing Institute, MarketingProfs and Fast Company. She has five furry co-workers, an ever-growing book collection and a (usually) well-stocked wine rack. Kristen is here to talk about imposter syndrome. Kristen defines imposter syndrome as “worry that you’re not good enough, even when there’s not actual evidence that that’s the case and often in the face of evidence to the contrary.” For freelancers, it often takes the form of entering into client relationships with the feeling that they’re doing you a favor, rather than seeing it as a partnership between equals. Imposter syndrome can also affect a person’s comfort in charging professional rates, which leads to under charging. Early in her career, Kristen felt imposter syndrome, which showed up by feeling it was too pushy to require a contract or not pushing back against scope creep. Anyone doing creative work will have a client that doesn’t like your work at some point. That negative feedback can make you doubt yourself. Plus, people who have had toxic bosses or toxic clients may wonder if that’s normal and start to doubt themselves. Our society also raises girls and teaches women to be more docile or people pleasing. Women often have to learn how to draw boundaries and stand up for themselves. Trying to charge decent rates is made worse by seeing job ads with pitiful rates. That can deflate freelancers and make you question your self-worth if you don’t know how to find clients who pay well. When coming up with rates, aim for project rates and remember that you can negotiate down but you can’t negotiate up. When you think of setting rates think of all the freelancers in your industry. If you accept very low rates you’re teaching clients that that is OK. You are devaluing the larger market. It’s not just about you anymore. Melanie talks about her difficulties pushing back on scope creep, which feels like conflict and/or a confrontation, which makes her uncomfortable. Kristen recommends thinking about how to reframe this, because it’s about drawing boundaries for yourself. Fight against imposter syndrome, in part, by learning how to pay attention to the positive voices in your life over the negative ones. If you have 10 clients who love your work and one who doesn’t, we tend to focus more on the negative one. You have to remind yourself that those 10 people are smart, professional people and if they like your work it’s probably good work. Building a community and showing your expertise in your field will show you how people respect you as a professional. That, in turn, will help you respect yourself more. Create a “compliments” email folder where you keep all those positive responses (“great job!”) from clients and periodically look at that to boost your confidence or pull you out of imposter syndrome. Ask clients for testimonials to add to your website and LinkedIn, which is something that will help convert new clients. Any time you doubt yourself or the boundaries you’re trying to set with a client, bounce the idea off someone else. Take advantage of the freelance community and ask for others’ opinions. Or, ask a friend, “Is this reasonable?” If you get negative feedback, walk away to give yourself time to get over that initial emotion so you can look at the feedback more objectively later. Perhaps, it’s constructive criticism. Later, you can view it more reasonably, without emotion clouding your view. The pandemic may have manifested or increased imposter syndrome in some ways as people have more anxiety, have lost clients and projects, and have had to seek out new clients. There is a lot of concern and discomfort now about what to charge and if you can raise rates because of the economic crisis. If you’re worried that your work isn’t the best right now, invest in your skills. Maybe hire a consultant to help you out or sign up for courses. Also, if you can afford it, be picky when selecting clients. Make sure they’re a good fit. Don’t work with clients who are always negative or who talk down to you—that could create imposter syndrome or increase those feelings. Leave bad clients. If you can’t walk away right now because of finances, draft a marketing plan to secure better clients so you can walk away in the near future.   Biz Bite: Focus on energy management, as well as time management.   Resources: Kristen Hicks: Austin-Copywriter.com Kristen on Twitter Episode #66 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Price Your Projects Episode #62 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Prevent and Deal with Burnout, with Alan Heymann

On today’s show I am going to talk about why you should aim for providing only project rates and how to go about setting those rates. A lot of us struggle with pricing, even those of us who have been doing this for a while. But here’s a secret: We’re all just making this up. The best pricing is often project based, and that is a made-up number when it comes down to it. You need to reframe your mindset and get your head around the fact that you are a freelance business owner. You are the boss. You are in charge of your own business. This means, you need to shift your mindset 180 degrees from waiting to hear what someone will pay you, and asking what someone will pay you, to telling someone what your rate is or telling someone what you charge for that project. It’s such a huge mindset shift in so many ways when you finally embrace the fact that you are in charge of your business. If someone cannot afford you, then you move on to the next potential client. When many of us start freelancing, we take what we can get and we allow the client to set the pricing and the parameters. Or, when the client asks what our rate is, we give them an hourly rate, often too low. But when you embrace the fact that you are the owner of your own business, you will start to think about pricing differently. Your overarching goal should be to think of every assignment and gig as a project rate and to propose project rates to every client. But first, let’s talk about hourly pricing and why it is such a problem. First, hourly pricing means you are charging for your time. And that is one thing we all need to stop doing—charging based on our time. Time is finite. There is only so much money you can make each week before you run out of time and energy. You will be unable to grow your business this way. Also, time does not equal the value you bring to a project. You need to base your fees on your value. Third, hourly pricing penalizes you for working fast. And, if you and the client don’t discuss how many hours a project might take, the client could be surprised and frustrated when they see the invoice at the end of the month. Since some listeners are writers, let’s talk about per word rates. Ideally, everything would be project rates, but sometimes you are in an industry that does dictate the style of pricing. For writers, that’s a per word rate. You can try to push back on this and suggest a flat rate for writing an article, but often editors’ hands are tied based on an antiquated system. With per word rates (and really, all projects) I build in systems to work faster while still providing top quality. For writing assignments, that could mean recording interviews. Sometimes I record only to listen to certain parts (I mark timestamps in my notes when the person says something great or that I want to check back on). Sometimes I record and have someone else transcribe the interview. It’s worth the financial investment because it saves me time and energy in the long run. (I also hate transcribing with a fiery passion.) Writers, please know that a per word rate exists often only in journalism. In content marketing, especially for companies, you can often charge a project rate. If you come from the journalism world and are accustomed to per word rates, leave that behind when you are pricing your projects. You might get stuck with a per word rate, but don’t suggest it up front. Start with a project rate. Now that we accept that we should all be charging by the project, how do we actually do that? I was serious when I said these rates are made up. Not one freelancer or consultant has it figured out and has created the perfect project rate every single time. No two projects are the same. No two clients are the same. Here are just a few things that go into creating a project rate: The expertise you bring to that particular job. The value the client will get from your work. The amount of energy you will need to put into the project versus doing an easy project. Whether the client requires regular check-ins or for you to attend phone meetings—charge for those meetings! Whether the client is a new client or a beloved current or former client. Whether the client is a pain in the butt or has a history of scope creep. Whether the client is a major corporation or a small nonprofit you want to help out. The extras that are required—are there more rounds of editing? Are there extras like social media posts that need to be included? The project timeline—is it reasonable or hurried? Is it a rush job? And the list goes on and on! Here is my system for coming up with a project rate. First, I have a secret hourly rate to give me something to start with. Now, I said don’t use an hourly rate, so if you do start with an hourly rate, use this very loosely as just your “base” to get started. Don’t stick to it. Next, ask yourself all those things about what type of project and client this is, including: Are you an expert at this type of work? Are you in high demand? Did you come highly recommended to this client from another client of yours? Do you bring a certain skill set that is difficult to find? Even if you don’t, are you good at what you do? Have you done this before? Are you confident you can produce a quality product? What type of client is this? How much value will they get out of your project? How much energy will this project take—this is not time, this is ENERGY. Do you get the sense that this will be a tiring project, taxing on your brain, that the client is a pain in the butt, that you don’t really want to do the job? Take the time to evaluate to the best of your ability all the parameters around the project, not just the skill set needed to do the project. One of the best ways to do that is to have an initial phone call with the potential client. I know some of us hate the phone, but a phone call can be critical to finding out this information so that you can provide an appropriate project rate or a proposal. You can also learn a lot about someone when you talk on the phone with them—you can gather hints about what the client will be like to work with that you can’t get over email. For the phone conversation, write out a list of questions so you don’t forget. In fact, you can create a template of questions to ask every client. Questions you may want to ask, besides the details of the assignment, are: How would you like to stay updated? Can I just send you emails when I have questions? (This question could tell you a lot if they say something like, “Oh, I’d like you to join us for our weekly check-ins” versus “I trust you. Just let me know if you run into any problems.” Do you have samples of previous projects I could take a look at? Who is my direct contact? Is it one person? Are there multiple people involved? What is the review process like? How flexible is the timeline? A potential client may ask, “What’s your rate?” I often respond with something like, “I’ll be able to put together a proposal for you with a project rate after we’ve talked through the details.” You can also ask, “Do you have a budget in mind?” Sometimes they won’t and that may be OK. But if they say “about $500” and you are talking about a project that might start out at a base rate of $3,000, you don’t need to waste your time talking with them anymore. It can be helpful to educate them, though, even if they don’t change their budget. You are helping boost your industry by letting them know quality work is worth way more than that $500. And maybe they’ll increase their budget! Once I have all these questions answered and I have considered all the parameters, I take my base rate and start to increase it. After you come to a number, ask yourself this very important question: Do I want to do this project for that amount? You do not want to offer a rate that you will end up resenting—resenting the rate, the project, the client, yourself. Also know before you get back to the client what number you will not go below, in case you have to negotiate a bit. You don’t want to get flustered and negotiate a number that is too low for you. If you need to walk away from the project, you can simply email and say, “After further reflection/looking over the details, this is not a good fit for me.” Don’t say you’re sorry. Don’t continue to offer explanation. Don’t over-explain. You are the boss of you. It’s not a good fit. End of story. Biz Bite: Buy the good pens. (or elevate your workspace) The Bookshelf: “Notes from a Young Black Chef” by Kwame Onwuachi   Resources: Episode #39 of Deliberate Freelancer: Raise Your Rates—Without Emotion Episode #18 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Set Higher Rates Episode #1 of Deliberate Freelancer: Change Your Mindset: You Own a Freelance Business Laura Vanderkam talks about “buying the good pens” on The Productivityist Podcast, episode 322, The New Corner Office with Laura Vanderkam FreeConferenceCall.com Rev.com (transcriptionist service)  

This is a “tough love” episode. Many of us are feeling overwhelmed, anxious, distracted and too busy. I think a lot of that can be alleviated by decreasing your smartphone usage and fighting against social media and digital addictions. It’s time to take back our lives. It’s time to take control of our schedules. In this episode, I lead you through several steps to cut back on digital distraction, partly inspired by Cal Newport’s new book, “Digital Minimalism.” Let me take you back in time when baby boomers, Gen Xers and the Oregon Trail Generation can remember a time in our adult lives when smartphones and social media didn’t exist—and cellphones were just for calling people. As a kid in the 1980s, I would often whine, “I’m bored.” And I just had to figure out what to do about that boredom. Now, no one is ever allowed to be bored. Instead, we reach for our smartphones. Boredom is highly underrated. Over the Memorial Day weekend, I bought Cal Newport’s new book, “Digital Minimalism.” And I read it in 24 hours. Newport argues that you have to figure HOW you’re going to spend your leisure time BEFORE you cut back on your digital life. If you just force yourself to put down the phone or not use social media at set times—without a plan—you’ll be anxious and fidgety, not knowing what to do with yourself. I want to focus my leisure time on health, fitness and nutrition. I’m making a plan to walk 10,000 steps several days a week and dusting off my bike to go for fun rides again. I culled my social media feeds, unfollowing most people on Instagram—only keeping a few real-life friends—and cutting my Twitter followings in half. I also dropped out of 27 Facebook groups! Who knew I was in so many?! I’m focusing on two that are particularly interesting, educational and inspiring, with a true community feel. Cal Newport also talks about the importance of solitude. He says there’s this myth that solitude means being physically alone, but what it really means is freeing up your mind. We all need this. You may have to actually schedule solitude and downtime until it becomes more of a habit again. Your tough love, digital intervention marching orders: Start tracking your time. Decide how you want to spend your leisure or down time. Learn more about habit formation. Start decluttering your digital world. Biz Bite: Assigning ringtones to important people. Resources: The Oregon Trail Generation Cal Newport’s book “Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World” Episode 5 of Deliberate Freelancer: Track Your Time for Better Efficiency Episode 10 of Deliberate Freelancer, which talks about Cal Newport’s book “Deep Work”: Think Like a Marketer to Grow Your Business, with Megy Karydes Episode 2 of Deliberate Freelancer about cutting out tasks and outsourcing: Discover Your Unique Brilliance Episode 3 of Deliberate Freelancer: Host a Solo Business Retreat The Freelance Content Marketing Writer Facebook group She Podcasts Facebook group James Clear’s book “Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones” Gretchen Rubin’s book “Better than Before: What I Learned about Making and Breaking Habits—to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life”

As the pandemic changed so many things both personally and professionally, I had to rethink of new ways to market and network in order to find new clients. And in doing so these past four months, I realized what my No. 1 marketing tool is for getting new clients. It’s not sexy or groundbreaking, but it’s solid: My No. 1 way to find new clients is through referrals. You may not like the words “networking” or “marketing” or “personal branding.” So, why not reframe it and call all those things “relationship building” instead. That’s what I’ve done, and I enjoy building new relationships with people. Some of them even end up becoming true friendships. And that grows my network. And when I grow my network, I expand the possibilities for referrals—not only from current and former clients, but from former co-workers at past jobs, from other editors and writers, from colleagues in the industries I specialize in. One of the biggest misconceptions I hear from some freelancers is about competition. Your fellow freelancers can be your friends, not your competition. In fact, that’s the way I want to live and be in my business—not in some uber competition with people, but in a non-toxic, stress-free, collegial environment. And, it is just a bonus that those people can be your biggest source of referrals. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been contacted by a potential client who was just not the right fit. Instead of telling them “no” and that being the end of it, I usually offer to connect them with someone that might be a better fit, if I know instinctively that this will not take a lot of time. I sometimes reach out to freelancer friends that might be a good fit and ask them first if they are interested, without naming the client, and then offering to provide the client their name. Sometimes, the potential client is comfortable with me going ahead and introducing them to one person by email and then I let them take it from there. When you provide a few contacts to the potential client, not only are you helping out a fellow freelancer, but that client is appreciative and you never know how that might help in the future. I’ve had potential clients come back to me because I went that extra mile and asked me if I was available for a different type of project. Doing something small like that to help a potential client who has no idea where to look for a writer or editor, or whatever the services that they need help with, keeps you top of mind as a reliable and helpful person. Your name does not get jumbled in with all the other freelancer names they’ve heard. They will remember you—at least more than they will remember the freelancer who never got back to them or just said, “no, it’s not a good fit” and moved on. When you help out other freelancers in this way, they often reciprocate. You never know what opportunity might come up; it sometimes takes months or even years. But it is amazing how much work I’ve received from other freelancers. So, when you hear from potential clients with projects that are not quite for you, think of your fellow freelancers. This is easier the bigger the network you have. I actually have lists of friends with their expertise listed because it is hard to think of a perfect fit on the spot. The lists are good reminders of what everybody focuses on and what they’re looking for. In turn, these freelancer friends will hopefully remember you and return the favor, as they have done for me over the years.   The other primary way to get referrals is, of course, your current and past clients. Don’t be shy about letting clients know when you are looking for new work. And be specific about what you are looking for. You may think your client already knows what you do, but they often only know what you have done for them. Rather than just telling your clients what your services are, phrase it more like: “How can I help you? What do you need?” Then, you can list some of your services, and depending on how much energy and time you want to spend on this, you could also offer to connect them to other freelancers in areas they need help with. For example, if I make this offer and my client needs a new magazine designer, I can connect them with several graphic designers. I’m taking the burden off them, helping to shorten their to-do list. At the beginning of 2019, I decided to tell my clients directly exactly what I was looking for in the new year, so in my regular newsletter I explained that I was looking for a new newsletter or magazine to be the managing editor of, more membership association clients who needed a magazine writer and magazine proofreading gigs. One of them is now an anchor client. I remembered the success of that email when I needed to replace lost work at the beginning of the pandemic, so I decided to do something similar. This time, instead of using that smaller email list I had gathered for my newsletter, I pulled together my email contacts of former clients, current clients, friends and colleagues, and almost anyone I had ever had an extended conversation with about work. I then crafted an email and let them know I was looking for new work and spelled out exactly what services I could provide. I briefly mentioned my 20 years of experience, then created a bulleted list of my services and asked them how I could help them. Again, I offered to help them with whatever they were looking for, mentioning my vast network of other freelancers. In that bulleted list, I thought of the work that might be needed particularly during the pandemic like writing about public health. I also thought of things specific to the pandemic, like covering virtual conferences, which I used to cover in-person. I also mentioned I could help revamp content editorial calendars since the pandemic destroyed everyone’s editorial calendar. I ended the email by saying “Please feel free to share my name with—or forward this email to—any editors or colleagues at associations or other organizations who might be looking for a freelance writer or editor, especially someone who specializes in health care and public health.” My biggest lesson here is ASK. People don’t necessarily think of you unless you ask. Or, they think you don’t need the work. Or, they don’t know what you do. I had a handful of people respond that they didn’t think they could afford me, but as we talked through the project, it turns out they could. So, again, referrals come from many places. It’s my No. 1 way of getting new clients—and often clients I LOVE because I did the work to make sure we were a good fit. But you have to ask. And be specific about what you’re looking for, while also saying “how can I help you?” Getting referrals happens through networking, marketing and branding—or, better yet, “relationship building.” And that can still be done virtually right now, through social media, Zoom, texts, phone calls, email and more. Also, be sure to attend virtual conferences and webinars where your clients are—often there are chat features where you can connect with people.   Biz Bite: Strategically reorganize your online portfolio   The Bookshelf: “The Vanishing Half” by Brit Bennett   Resources: Episode #64 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Increase Your Visibility and Get More Clients, with Amelia Roberts Episode #49 of Deliberate Freelancer: Appropriate Marketing and Promotion during the Coronavirus Pandemic, with Michelle Garrett Episode #43 of Deliberate Freelancer: 33 Ways to Find More Clients Episode #24 of Deliberate Freelancer: Networking Tips, Especially as an Introvert

Today’s guest is Amelia Roberts. Amelia is a digital native who officially became a practitioner of online marketing 12 years ago as a virtual assistant. Now, Amelia helps under-recognized professionals—freelancers, consultants, solopreneurs—stand out, articulate their unique value and get “first dates” in business. She calls these “visibility opportunities” and she helps manage “visibility projects” for clients, such as getting them guest spots on podcasts and speaking gigs for virtual summits/conferences. Amelia’s own marketing has changed slightly during the pandemic. She can’t build relationships in person right now, which is how she used to get a lot of clients. But she has reached out to her network and received work through referrals. For people to work with you, they need to see you. Amelia paraphrases LinkedIn Co-founder Reid Hoffman: All opportunities are firmly attached to humans. When you are looking for an opportunity, you are really looking for a human. Visibility opportunities mean getting in the ears of your best buyers or referral partners. Wise clients of Amelia’s quickly changed their focus during the pandemic, when in-person events were no longer possible. Many of the opportunities are simply online versions of previous opportunities. There is still a need for guest experts. Some speakers aren’t as comfortable switching to a virtual format, which opens up the opportunities for those who make that switch. You will have to make some tweaks, including to your call to action, when you switch from an in-person event to a virtual speaking event. Amelia recommends following her “NURSE” framework and process: Needs—what message do your ideal clients need to hear? Utilization of tools—what tools are they using? Resources—what resources are they investing in? Success—what does success look like for them? Evaluate—evaluate the plan they have. When you “NURSE” your ideal client, you’ll start to see places that will make sense for you to start to pitch yourself. With any marketing effort, we don’t want to waste time or money on things that won’t work. And you don’t want to join the wrong online group and find your ideal clients aren’t there. Before you say yes to opportunities, think about the needs and tools of your ideal client—is there an alignment with the opportunity? If the opportunity and person does not share your ideal clients and cannot refer you to your ideal clients, you may want to say no, depending on your time, energy and resources. Look for people who have audiences you could help. Amelia started this process for her own business with groups related to women in business. Once you help a particular group, research and figure out where else those people hang out. What about introverts and others who are nervous about public speaking and podcast guesting? You may have to block out time around your event so you give yourself time to prepare and also recover and regroup afterward. Instead of thinking of this as marketing, think of it as putting yourself out there as a resource. Think of it as serving people. You are looking for people who have a pain that you can solve. Amelia quotes entrepreneur Monica Shah: “Planning is the highest form of self-care.” This is really important for solopreneurs and solo business owners. Amelia recommends developing a process and system to prepare for each opportunity. Have a goal in mind before you start your marketing effort. Marketing supports your sales process. So, what is your sales process? Are you offering a freebie, leading people to call you? Think of any visibility effort as a project that can be managed. Break it down into tasks. Amelia recommends choosing two efforts and focusing on those for 90 days and then evaluating them. Continue if it makes sense to do so. During the pandemic, two hot trends are virtual summits and collaborations, such as a Facebook group that partners with a guest expert. Developing a process and structure for your marketing efforts will also make it easier for you to hire a virtual assistant and know what you need them to focus on.   Biz Bite: Use a project management tool like Asana or Trello to track your marketing efforts   Resources: Freebie from Amelia: Get In Front of Everyone Amelia Roberts on LinkedIn Amelia on Instagram Amelia on Twitter

CORRECTION: At the 10:18 minute mark, I misspoke and said you should take $56,000 and multiply it by 12. That should say DIVIDE by 12. My math is correct in the episode; I just misspoke. Sorry about that! In today’s episode I outline my experience with the U.S. Paycheck Protection Program—known as the PPP loan program—and encourage you to consider applying for a loan if you have been hurt financially by the pandemic. DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer, accountant/CPA, financial services adviser or any other financial expert related to the PPP program. I am solely providing you my experience with the program and offering some things for you to consider. You should doublecheck all information with an expert and do your own research. Sole proprietors are allowed to apply for a PPP loan at about a maximum of $20,000, depending on how much you earned in 2019. The process to have your entire loan forgiven is fairly straightforward if you are a sole proprietor. This effectively turns the PPP loan into a grant that you do not have to pay back. Even if you do have to pay back part or all of the loan, the interest rate is only 1%. You may have heard in the beginning of the PPP program that it was hard to get a loan. I cannot speak to whether that is still the case for each individual sole proprietor, but there is a lot of money left in the program and the federal government is concerned that people are not applying. As of July 6, $130 billion was still available for businesses and sole proprietors. First, let’s talk about applying for the loan. Initially, it appeared to be difficult for people to get these loans. In fact, sole proprietors often faced a burden from their own banks because in the beginning major banks issued their own requirement that you had to have a business checking account with them. And many freelancers do not have that. You should check first with your own bank to see if that is still the case and if you can apply through that bank. If not, there are other options, such as Kabbage, PayPal, BlueVine and others. You are only allowed to have one PPP loan. This is important. I encourage you to NOT apply for more than one loan at a time, thinking you can just refuse one of the loans if you are offered more than one. I tried this and the Small Business Administration (SBA) had a glitch that did not flag my Social Security number showing that I had already received a loan approval. So, I was approved for two loans, and it took over a month to work out with one of the lenders how to send back the money back and get it all straightened out with the SBA. To avoid all that, my biggest advice is DO NOT apply for more than one loan at a time. One of the biggest considerations of whether you should apply for the loan is how much money you made in 2019. The loan amount is supposed to cover paychecks. For you as a sole proprietor, you don’t have employees. So, that means your own income. If you did not make much money in 2019, it might not be worth applying for the loan. The loan application MUST be based on the Schedule C form for your 2019 taxes. On your 2019 Schedule C, look at your net profit on line 31. If that number is under $100,000 use whatever that number is. If it’s over $100,000, you have to use $100,000. The PPP has a $100,000 cap. Take that number, whatever yours is, and divide it by 12 to get a monthly total. Then, you multiply that number by 2.5. That is the amount of the loan you are requesting. The paperwork to apply was fairly easy. I did the entire process in a few hours. I had to scan copies of all the 1099s I received for 2019 work and put them into one pdf to submit with the application. I also had to send in a photocopy of my driver’s license and copies of bank statements, which I easily downloaded online. Let’s talk about loan forgiveness. The government has changed a few rules since March, actually making the process easier and better for sole proprietors. The loan forgiveness timeline was eight weeks. Now, you can choose to wait for 24 weeks, which means there is a greater chance you’ll have the entire loan forgiven. To have your loan forgiven, you do have to officially ask your lender. The SBA has created an easier form to do this, called the 3508EZ form. My CPA recommended that to easily show my PPP lender how I was spending the money, I write myself four checks over the next eight weeks, so one check every two weeks, just like a paycheck. I divided my loan by four and I now write myself a check for $5,208 from my checking account that received the loan into my personal account. He recommended I do this process of writing physical checks, rather than just transferring the money electronically, so that we could easily show photocopies of the check to my lender when asking for forgiveness. Your CPA might have a different solution, so be sure to ask an expert. Also know that you cannot get the PPP loan if you are getting unemployment. You can’t have both. There’s also another loan program called the EIDL, or economic injury disaster loan, through the SBA. That is a true loan program that you have to pay back. You can have both the EIDL and a PPP loan, but you have to be able to show that the money went for separate areas of your business. I don’t know much about the EIDL, so be sure to do your research and talk to an expert to learn more about that program.     Biz Bite: Create a Power Hour After List The Bookshelf: “Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood” by Trevor Noah   Resources: Trump signs extension of PPP small business coronavirus relief fund Tax Deductions For Paycheck Protection Expenses Remain In Doubt Loan forgiveness form: 3508EZ