Deliberate Freelancer

Today’s guest is Cathy Wilkes, who coaches people through a transformation, helping them figure out what their true dreams and goals are and how to jump-start that transformation.   Previously, Cathy built and led high-performing sales teams in the financial services industry. She used her philosophy of building people up, and helping them find their greatness, to create a better sales team.   Even if you love your freelance business and where you are today, there are still so many good lessons in this episode about mindset, whether our thoughts are holding us back from trying new things — or, whether we’re letting other people’s beliefs and comments about us hold us back.   Cathy says, “I believe there are seeds of greatness in every human being. … When we look at ourselves in the mirror, most of the time we look at our faults. We look at what’s wrong. We’re talking negative. We’re thinking what could happen. We’re sitting in fear, doubt and worry.”   Worry is just a misuse of the imagination. We could easil

On today’s show, I’m doing an audit of my time tracking for the first quarter of the year. I used to do time tracking using pen and paper, mostly to keep me on task. That worked, but it didn’t allow me to easily track and analyze my data to improve areas of my freelance business.   I now use the Toggl app to track all of my work time. Today, I will talk about what I learned from time tracking the first quarter of 2021.   Time tracking and analyzing that data can help you figure out whether you’re pricing projects accurately and whether you should delegate or outsource parts of a project. If you track your time for a certain type of project, it can help you create a more accurate project rate for a similar type of project in the future. It can show me whether you underpriced a client and need to increase your rates for them the next time.   I worked, on average, 23 hours each week of 2021 so far, over about 4 ½ days a week. I’m definitely sitting at my desk more because I did not track my break time or social

On today’s show, I want to talk about something super positive: post-pandemic life! Let’s look ahead and see where we want our business to be once lockdown is over.   Most of us were affected in our business lives in some way when the pandemic hit last year. We lost clients, or had to suddenly work from home 100% of the time, or had to rethink and change client projects. In-person everything was canceled.   Many of us worked hard last year, working long hours, to try to find new work. And when we did, some of us had a scarcity mindset and that “must work all the time” mentality because we weren’t sure if the projects and clients would keep coming. That was completely understandable last year, but we all know it’s not the way to run a business long term. So, if you haven’t recovered from that mentality yet, I am here to be your cheerleader—and guide—to help you think about how to refresh and renew your business as we head out of full lockdown.   Here are six questions I encourage you to ask yourself.   They re

Today’s guest is Kat Boogaard. Kat is a full-time freelance writer in Wisconsin who provides blog content for software clients in the productivity, project management and business ownership spaces. Some of her past and current clients include Atlassian, Trello, QuickBooks and Loom. She also provides advice and resources for freelancers through her blog, weekly newsletter, private Facebook community and a shop filled with tools and templates.    To maintain strong relationships with clients, first and foremost, you have to deliver great work. But Kat also likes to keep in touch with clients. She sometimes does this outside of the work she’s providing them, so, for example, sending the client an article or tip she thinks would be helpful to them.   Moderation is key — keep in touch without feeling pesky. And don’t underestimate the power of a friendly check-in: “Hey, how have you been?” That outreach keeps you top of mind with clients.   Kat also keeps connected with clients on social media, although she doesn’

Today’s guest is Jennifer Duann Fultz from Bloomington, Indiana. Jennifer is a freelance writer and business educator specializing in creating online courses for business owners who want to leverage their expertise through scalable information products. She is also the founder of Chief Executive Auntie, a blog and podcast where she helps Asian American and other BIPOC freelancers and creatives earn more money.   Jennifer thinks of money as a tool. It’s a proxy for time and expertise. Money is a way to achieve your goals and live out your values. Jennifer took a MoneyType assessment and discovered she is a “producer,” which means she likes to earn and save money. But her second type was “nurturer,” which shows that she likes to use money to help others. That helps as she thinks about things like charging nonprofits less and giving money to charity.   Jennifer takes several things into account as she considers whether to take on a project and how to price that project. First, she considers the time it will take

This is a rerelease of episode #73, from September 2020, about the devastating effects the federal PRO Act would have on independent contractors in the U.S.   I am rereleasing this now because the House has announced its plans to vote on this act next week, the week of March 8. We need your help! We must all tell our House representative and our two senators the impact of the PRO Act on our careers. We must explain that we are not “gig workers,” that we are career professionals just like lawyers and accountants. Please tell your story about how you benefit by being an independent contractor.   The PRO Act will likely pass the Democratic House. But, in the 50-50 split Senate, there is hope, but we must get the word out and talk to our legislators and senators now.   This is a call to action!   Here is the edited version of the original show notes from September, with resources below: Today’s guest are Kim Kavin and Karon Warren, two longtime freelance writers who have built successful freelance businesses. Bot

Today’s guest is Emily Derouin, a licensed psychologist in Denver, Colorado. She works as a clinician and supervisor at a community mental health center, where she is a generalist, helping people with a wide variety of issues. She also works one day a week in private practice, where she specializes in eating disorders.    As we approach the one-year anniversary of the pandemic lockdown, Emily helps us figure out how to deal with our emotions around that. Milestones and anniversaries are difficult, partly because they remind us that time is passing. In the case of the pandemic, we’re reminded that not only is time passing, but it’s passing and we still can’t do a lot of the things that we want to do.   Grief has been a common emotion this past year. A lot of people think of grief in terms of a death, and maybe a breakup, but grief applies to any kind of loss—loss of routine, predictability.   A lot of us feel we should be used to this, the lockdown routine, by now. Emily jumped on Melanie’s use of the word “sh

Today’s guest is Mario Boone, a science writer for a science organization in the Washington, D.C., area. In fall 2020, Mario gave a presentation as part of the Association Media & Publishing virtual annual conference. The session was about how to attract and embrace diverse employees. During Mario’s portion, he talked about what it was like to be the “only one”—in his case, the only Black man, often the only Black person, working at TV news stations in the U.S., which is how he started out his journalism career.   I thought it would be informative and important for Deliberate Freelancer listeners to hear what Mario had to say, and he graciously agreed to talk with me about his experience working in TV news—the racism, the microaggressions, the fact that, as a Black man, he was not allowed to make any mistakes. These are important conversations for all of us.   Before becoming a science writer, Mario worked in at least five TV newsrooms, working his way up from small to medium to large markets. He was ofte

There is no new episode of Deliberate Freelancer this week. However, I have several upcoming guest episodes that I’m excited about, so please listen to this week’s short message for a few teasers and announcements. I also encourage you to listen to last week’s episode—#88, Positioning Yourself as an Agency and Partnering with Other Freelancers, with Reggie Holmes—which has received a lot of great buzz. Please feel free to send me your freelance business topics and questions you’d like covered on the show and/or your guest recommendations (diversity is a plus). Email me at melanie@meledits.com or DM on Twitter @MelEdits.

Today’s guest is Reggie Holmes, the owner and creative director of Enthuse Creative LLC, a branding and design firm based in Tysons, Virginia. Enthuse Creative is a strategic creative partner for businesses and organizations and specializes in brand-focused strategy consulting, brand design and brand management.   Reggie is also a graphic designer, but he’s a strategist first, with his clients and the projects he takes on.   Today, Reggie talks about how, even though he’s essentially a one-person business or a freelancer, he positions himself — and thinks like — an agency. He talks about how and why he embraced that mindset and what it allows him to do with his business.   Being a one-person agency means Reggie often works through partnering with other freelancers or one-person agencies. He sees these people as collaborators, not competitors. And this allows him to bid on larger projects, presenting as a team.   It’s also a mental thing — Reggie aspires to be a bigger agency one day and has found embracing th

On today’s show, I quickly go over my top 10 favorite books of 2020—and the one I absolutely hated—before listing out my most anticipated books of 2021. The 2021 list will include several nonfiction books that could help you as you think about your freelance business.   For more in-depth descriptions and information on my top 10 list for 2020, read my blog post “The Best—and Worst—Books I Read in 2020.”   My Top 10 Books (listed in the order I read them) of 2020:   “Daisy Jones and The Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid “Long Bright River” by Liz Moore “Evvie Drake Starts Over” by Linda Holmes 4. “The Vanishing Half” by Brit Bennett “The Family Upstairs” by Lisa Jewell 6. “The Warmth of Other Suns” by Isabel Wilkerson 7. “We Were Liars” by E. Lockhart 8. “Eight Perfect Murders” by Peter Swanson 9. “Mexican Gothic” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia “Know My Name” by Chanel Miller   Honorable mention: “The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires” by Grady Hendrix My most hated book in 2020: “Leave the World Behind” by

Today, I want to hopefully motivate you, inspire you and encourage you to consider the aspects of your business that need improvement or to make a plan to work on things that you personally struggle with. This episode goes through seven areas that I would love for you to improve upon, if you haven’t already. They are:   Embrace a business owner mindset This idea is what this podcast is based on. Think of yourself as a freelance business owner and all that that entails. Words matter, and the words you tell yourself and others can help to change your mindset.   Raise your rates The pandemic has been a hard year economically too, so raising rates for all clients might not be doable. But there are some clients who fared well, and it may be time to raise your rates. It’s certainly time to raise your rates for potential clients — they don’t know what your past rates were!   Also, if you have a secret hourly rate — which helps you determine project rates and/or is the amount you aim to earn every hour you are wo

New Year’s resolutions fail for a lot of reasons, but January can still be a good time to take a new look at your business and personal life. Instead of resolutions, I like to choose a word (or two, or three) of the year. It sets my theme for the year and reminds me to focus on something in particular all year long.   I was inspired to do this a few years ago by marketer Chris Brogan, who actually chooses three words every year. I started out with three words, but in 2019 I chose just one word: Leap. I wanted a visible reminder throughout the year to try new things outside my comfort zone. It reminded me that before I say no to something in my business, think big and truly consider leaping forward instead. It isn’t a coincidence that I started this podcast in 2019, finally taking the steps to make the leap after thinking about it for more than a year.   In 2020, I started with one word: Explore. I wanted to explore new directions and new projects in my business, as well as new places with my husband. Sadly, t

Happy New Year! On today’s show I talk about where my head is at for 2021, which is essentially that I am not setting huge goals for myself this year. I’m trying to continue to give myself grace—not be so hard on myself—and to focus on my personal wellness, while maintaining a steady income.   I did an audit of my business in 2020, crunching the numbers and analyzing the data, and I share that data and the lessons I learned—and how that info may be able to help you—in today’s episode.   When the pandemic hit in March, I lost my primary anchor client (which is still “on hold”) and a few smaller assignments that were in the works. I had to immediately figure out how I was going to pay my bills and find new clients to recoup about 50% of my income. I quickly sent a mass email to my larger network—current clients, past clients, other freelancers and other colleagues—and let them know I was available for work and how I could help them.   I received a great response, which was so heartwarming. Some of that even led

Deliberate Freelancer will be on a holiday hiatus until Thursday, January 7. Please feel free to send me your freelance business topics and questions you’d like covered on the show and/or your guest recommendations: melanie@meledits.com or DM me on Twitter @MelEdits. 

Today’s guest is Eva Jannotta. Eva lives in Phoenix, Arizona, and helps bold women leaders defy the status quo, amplify their influence and expand their wealth and power. She does this through providing thought leadership strategy and advisory services as well as communications support. Her Big Hairy Audacious Goal is to end gender and racial discrimination.   Many white people in the U.S. grew up believing racism was overt, discriminatory behavior. In reality, it’s a power structure that was created that we all participate in, without our consent.   In her business, Eva is committed to representing diverse voices in the content and sources she curates and shares with her clients, as well as representing diversity in the images they use. She knows some white people are uncomfortable with the idea of “counting” the number of images or people, as if we’re filling a “quota.” However, “intention does not equal impact.” You need to track and measure how you’re doing compared to your intention. That’s how you measu

Today’s guest is Gresham Harkless, of Alexandria, Virginia. Gresham is the founder of CBNation and Blue 16 Media. CBNation is a business-to-business (B2B) brand. It helps people like you—CEOs, entrepreneurs and business owners—with resources and increasing your visibility. It includes blogs under CEO Blog Nation, as well as podcasts and videos. Blue 16 Media is Gresham’s digital marketing agency. He provides digital marketing services, including web design and SEO, to small- and medium-sized businesses and organizations. Central to his marketing philosophy is: You are a media company. And that means you should be developing a marketing strategy to connect with your target and reach your goals. Gresham has spent the past eight years or so as an entrepreneur. One of the lessons he learned along the way—as he headed toward his six-figure goal—was that he could not do everything at the same time. Brimming with ideas, he realized he needed to focus on what could make the most impact on his business. He also learne

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 h

Today’s guest is Satta Sarmah Hightower. Satta is a journalist-turned-content marketer who lives in Boston. She produces content for agencies and brands in the industries of technology, health care IT and financial services. She previously worked for AOL and the Tribune Company and holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Boston University and a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School.   Satta became a full-time freelancer in August 2014 after her second layoff in five years. She realized early on that she could make more money writing B2B content than doing only journalism. Then, she realized she was good at, and enjoyed, writing about B2B technology.   In 2016, Satta hit her goal to make six figures, during her second full year of freelancing. It had been a goal after she came close to that mark in 2015.   Satta believes it’s important to balance higher-earning client projects with your own passion projects, such as coaching, essay writing or podcasting. For Satta, tha

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 g