Freelance Road Trip Podcast

Self-promotion is the practice of telling potential clients about what you do. With it you build your brand, engage prospects, and attract clients. As a freelancer, you should include self promotion strategies in your regular marketing activities. In this episode I share four essential components of your self promotion strategy. 

You can't run your freelance business on creative talent or skills. You have to develop business skills, which aren't taught in design school. The focus of degree and certificate programs is on creative expertise and portfolio development for the purposes of obtaining a job as a creative. Even those programs that do offer business courses only skim the surface of what's necessary, leaving the entrepreneurial creative out in the cold when it comes to building their businesses. In this episode I present 12 things they don't teach in design school but that you need to know if you want to build a business from your creative work.

How can you integrate your professional with your personal life to reduce stress and enjoy flexibility? How is it possible to fine-tune your productivity to gain time for non-work pursuits? Productivity is the measurable outcome of one's effort, and  to be truly productive — not just busy — we need to distinguish between efficiency and effectiveness. If we're going to be effective at getting our goals done. and not just efficient, we need to pursue an integrated life. While it's important for freelance creatives to balance business activities with professional and personal creativity, we should do so within the context of our whole life. I talk about the need to set significant goals, and eschew the myths of work-life balance and multi-tasking. Integrating, rather than balancing, work and personal life consists of managing time proportionally rather than aiming for symmetry, and provides flexibility when life impacts business and vice versa. Intentional planning with flexibility is a key strategy for becoming effective in all aspects of your life.

A decades-old scam involving bogus high money design projects continues to target freelance creatives. Alvalyn shares how she first experienced the scam and almost became a victim. Through that, she learned the clues to watch out for. The tactics are varied, but the structure of the scam is the same. In this episode, she shares what to watch out for so you won't be deceived, and also describes some legitimate business services that can save you time but cost you double. Are they worth it?

Keeping accurate records is foundational to running a business. The kinds of records you keep depend on the kind of business you do. Freelance creatives need to keep all the standard records, and those that related specifically to managing projects and working with clients.

Freelancers often struggle with time management and task management, project management, and getting things on time. We don't get things done when we don't know what to do next or where to begin. And we don't know what to do next when there are so many urgent things we need to do. Most of us live cluttered lives. We have a lot going on. The best way to command the clutter is to put it all in order — to actually “design” your life. In this episode I share my own methods for overcoming a sense of overwhelm, including five steps to reclaim control of your tasks, projects, and calendar.

What makes the difference between working project by project or creating work that is significant, sustainable, and advances your clients' enterprises as well as your own? Do how you do business and how you conduct yourself in your business make a difference in the types of clients you attract and the caliber of your creative work? There is a basis. We address the practicalities of establishing a set of professional practices — a code of conduct — and what principles to consider in developing yours.

A key to your long-term success as a freelance creative is to work with the kinds of clients you're best suited to serve. And a key approach to attracting those clients is to establish your value proposition — a statement that clearly sets you apart from your close competitors. Value is what makes you attractive to a client because you're focusing on the benefits of your creative services, not the services themselves. You need to understand your value from a strategic point of view, and how this knowledge helps you consistently connect with the right clients. In this episode I present the benefits of a value proposition for you and your clients, and outline key points for you to consider.

In this episode, Alvalyn discusses the importance of establishing and maintaining an “abundance” mindset for achieving career and creative success. She emphasizes how success is not limited by resources, but is instead created through taking action, setting goals, and plotting strategies. It's necessary to maintain an “unlimited” mindset during times of adversity because it affects outcomes. If you don't adopt a success mindset you can end up handicapping your future as a freelance creative.

Case studies help position freelance creatives as strategic problem solvers, rather than technicians or wrists. They present the client's problem, document and record the creative process, and showcase research findings, insights, and process to demonstrate problem-solving capabilities. In this episode I highlight the benefits of using case studies to upgrade your portfolio to attract higher value clients, and what to include in a case study.

Many freelancers in all sectors work without written contracts. They rely on verbal agreements which can be vague and incomplete. Neglecting to put project parameters and expectations in writing before you begin a project opens the door for all kinds of trouble to show up. The best way to avoid these troubles is to used contracts. In this episode I share from my own experience, and how freelancers can manage expectations with written agreements. Using contracts is good business practice and can increase your potential for long-term success.  

A new reporting requirement affecting LLCs and s-corps — small and independent businesses legally registered with their secretary of state — is coming your way in 2024. The Corporate Transparency Act establishes a federal database of beneficial owners of small businesses with under 20 employees, including microbusinesses and freelancers. The database is overseen by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the Department of the Treasury. My goal in this episode is to educate you regarding this new law, why it was implemented, and the information you need to supply if you're an LLC or corporation.

Stress resides between an expectation of an ideal and what actually is.  When the expectation of the ideal — balance (symmetry) — collides with the messy realities of life, you can feel like you're not good enough or you're in the wrong lane. It's all in what kind of balance you're striving for. In this episode I present relief from the expectation of work-life symmetry in the form of a different point of view — asymmetry. Life is one whole thing, and a proportional approach to balancing time can relieve a lot of the distress that comes with a sense of not measuring up if you don't achieve symmetry. There's freedom in knowing life isn't perfectly precise. There's always a geometry to life, but there's never perfect symmetry.  

There are myriad courses, programs, and coaches available to help you learn skills to succeed in your freelance business. You have a lot of teachers, coaches, and “gurus” to choose from. Or you can choose none and learn it on your own.  In this program I talk about the options, about specialists and experts, about offers of success and revenue, and what to look out for. But the main thing I set out to provide you — the one take-away you need to be aware of — is that there are no guarantees. And I explain why. I also share the kind of guarantee I offer in my Freelance Road Trip Business School. 

As a freelancer or creativepreneur, negotiating skills are crucial and can make a significant difference in the success of your creative business. In this episode, we'll address the purpose of the negotiation process, explore the dos and don'ts of effective negotiating, with tips on how to come to an agreement on price, deliverables, and schedule, so that both you and your client will benefit.

Marketing and branding are related concepts that are often used interchangeably, but they are distinct and have different purposes. Freelance designers create brand assets and identities for their clients, but fewer freelancers actually consider the necessity of building their own brands, or understand how effective branding guides marketing efforts integrates with business.  This episode covers the differences between marketing and branding, how they're related, and a short discussion about selling and advertising, all with freelance creatives in mind.

Establishing and managing a business so you can make a living from your creative work — your way — isn't easy and probably not what most of us expected when we started out. With all the competition out there, and now with AI looming as both an asset and a threat to creative work, how will you stand out? How will you make a living? How will you continue to build your business, attract your best clients, and become know for significant work? In this episode I offer 4 ways for your consideration: Get along with failure, value the purpose over the process, don't settle for "good enough", and pursue profitability.

AI is disrupting the creative industries in a variety of ways that are both beneficial and detrimental. In this episode we consider both the problems and advantages of using AI as a freelance creative, and propose answers to these questions, among others: “Why would a client pay me when they can create a thing themself for free using AI?”, “How can I use AI tools to support my business?”, “How can I protect my work from theft?”

Freelancers in general prefer to work with high value clients. An effective way to attract high value clients is to sell expertise, not time. How can you sell creative services if you're just starting and have little or no experience? Or how do you sell expertise and shift away from selling your time? In this episode I share ways you can sell expertise before you have expertise, to attract the types of clients you're best able to serve.

If you're a freelance creative who's considering forming an LLC because it will protect you and your clients from worker misclassification under California's AB5 and possible Department of Labor rulings regarding independent contractor status, don't. In this episode I present an online article that appears to be misleading, and discuss why an LLC won't automatically protect you from worker misclassification. I share right reasons for forming an LLC. 

Communication is the foundation of every relationship. This is true in business as it is in one's personal life. In business you want to communicate the right way for the right reasons, and there are certain things you don't want to communicate. Keeping everything in writing is preferred, but sometimes a phone call will serve the relationship better. So then how do you get a phone conversation in writing, ethically? I share some pro tips on when making a phone call is better than sending an email, and how to put phone call highlight in writing and make them stick-able.

This episode begins with an update on AB5 (California) and the independent contractor rule being considered for implementation by the NLRB. Then talk moves into how independent contracting, also known as freelancing, is a legitimate way to earn one's living. One of the most important things a freelancer needs to do is to define what success looks like for you. You can't hit a target you can't see. You can't be successful until you know that success looks like. As the owner of your freelance business you have to define your own success.

Pricing our work is one of those difficult areas we deal with, and truly, most of use don't charge enough for what we provide. Freelancers often let the client dictate what they'll pay, or fear asking too much, and end up frustrated, unable to sustain their businesses. So how do. you take control over your pricing? I share why you need a framework and different pricing models you can choose from.

If you're a freelancer, client meetings are inevitable. Whether online, by phone, or in person, meetings are necessary for getting united around common goals and purpose, determining next steps and responsibilities. But meetings can go sideways and negatively impact your working relationships. They can solve nothing, and be a waste of time. Your time, and your client's, is valuable. In this episode I offer 7 tips for having better, more effective, client meetings.  

The way you'll create a sustainable freelance business is by focusing on the long term, pursuing valuable clients and projects, and systematizing your efforts in marketing and management.  The first thing to embrace is the fact that you're building a business, not being creative. Mindset is everything. You must stop thinking like a creative and start thinking like the owner of a creative business. In this episode I outline essential steps to take to shift into freelancing full time or part time.

We're in a prime time right now to build and grow. The freelance economy is booming. In the US, freelancers and independent contractors have contributed  almost $6B to the economy. The climate is encouraging for businesses. There is more opportunity to start something from nothing and grow it than ever before. There's more opportunity for you to make an impact through your work. There's no time like the present to start something. So if you've been thinking about becoming a freelancer or creativepreneur, I share 7 reasons why you should stop thinking and start doing.

To stay in business freelancers need clients, and we're commonly asking where to find more clients. The obvious freelance platforms and talent agencies aren't always the best choice for a variety of reason, and they shouldn't be your only choice. In the episode I present the case for making client prospecting a regular part of your marketing activities, and offer ways to diversify your prospecting through relationship building. 

To succeed in business as a freelance creative requires shifting from functioning solely as a creative — an illustrator, a designer, a photographer, a copywriter, an artist — to functioning as the owner of a creative business. In this episode I share half a dozen shifts we need to make in how we think about what we're doing, and why.

You're a freelance creative. Do you need a resumé? That depends on how you find clients. For freelancers who promote their creative services to clients directly, the portfolio is what attracts. In this episode I share the reasons why a resumé is not necessary and how to use your portfolio website as your primary marketing tool.

Have you encountered opinions that if you're a freelancer you don't have a real business? Or that you shouldn't call yourself a freelancer at all because it means you're a misclassified and employee who's being taken advantage of by your clients? Since I keep running into these discussions I decided to bring the case that a freelancer — no matter what industry — is indeed a business owner and should operate as such. In this episode I outline a variety of ways that freelancers demonstrate a business mindset. Freelancer and business owner aren't mutually exclusive ideas. 

If  you're a freelancer you're not an employee. Yet many independent contractors position themselves as an employee for all practical purposes when working with clients. This approach can end up costing you in a number of ways. The difference between independent contractorship and employee status lies not only in your intention but also in your actions. You have to make a very clear distinction about who's in control of your working relationships — you or your clients. In this episode I present three points of control the IRS looks at to determine if you're an independent contractor or a misclassified employee.

One aspect of freelancing is that you get to deal with different kinds of taxes. In this episode, which is sparked by a conversation with one of my coaching clients, I discuss income taxes and sales taxes, and your responsibilities as a freelance business owner. Treating your freelancing as a business, and taking care of business, frees you up to focus on your creative work.

As a follow-on to a recent episode, I go in-depth into why and how it's important for both our clients and us to ensure our work isn't used before it's ready. Creative reviews — those work-in-progress presentations with the client — can be opportunities for the client to take hold of the work before contract terms are fulfilled. How can you prevent that from happening? Here's how I do it.

Marketing is a necessary part of any business, but creative freelancers aren't always comfortable doing it. Kick the "I hate marketing" catchphrase to the curb with a practical approach that looks at marketing, branding, and messaging as a way of giving value to your prospective clients. 

What do you do when a client wants to treat you as an employee rather than an independent freelance business owner? I answer two questions from freelancers dealing with this conundrum: the first centers on a retainer agreement and the second is dealing with a performance review. I present the case for why you're not an employee, and ways you can respond if you find yourself working with a client who wants control. A third question deals with how to protect your work during a creative review.

We all have them... those fears and uncertainties that restrict our forward motion. In this episode I share some insights about fear, risk, and consequences, and how you can accelerate through your own freelancing fears and leave them in the dust cloud behind you.

One of the things that is often disregarded is the value of creativity, and especially the value of creativity to business. There's the mindset that, “You're doing what you love to do. It's creative, it's fun. You shouldn't expect to be paid much for it because your payment is in the enjoyment of what you do.” That's true to some extent — we should enjoy our work. The thing is, though, that we need to look at what we do as having value beyond just the enjoyment. In Episode 101 I state the case that commerce and media need what we creatives do.

The landscape is changing for freelancers. How do we navigate successfully? I share an update about the ABC Test that's in California's AB5 law and it's big brother, the PRO Act which has passed in the House of Representatives and is being considered in the Senate, and how freelancers have been and can be adversely affected by new labor laws. To maintain your independence, develop your business skills. I created Freelance Road Trip to teach you how to earn your living from your creative work.

By way of a true story to illustrate the point, I share a mindset shift for visual creatives who want to elevate their status, pricing, and creative leadership when working with clients. That's by understanding what it is we really do which is far more than making things look good. The true value in what we do as creatives is in how we combine these 3 criteria in our work for clients. 

It seems counter intuitive to turn down a project when you need the income. But saying NO is sometimes the best thing to do for the sake of your future. Turning down a client may in fact be the best business decision you make in a day. Here's why, and how to say no to prospective clients, scope creep, and bad ideas.

Whether you freelance full-time or part-time, these time management principles will help you win the struggle to juggle the professional and personal aspects of your life. 

Based on a true account of a miscommunication between me and one of my design students, I discuss the importance of being specific in what we communicate to clients, getting to the point, and diagnosing their needs accurately. It's also important that your client accurately receives what you're communicating. Both parties are responsible for communicating well. Good communication saves you time, builds trust, manages expectations, and reduces wrong assumptions.

Don't have conversations on the back end of a project that you should have had on the front end. When things go south with a client because they were expecting one thing and you were expecting another, it can ruin your relationship but also your reputation with future clients. Using a true story as the basis, I share how and why we freelance creatives need to manage expectations.

How do you create a budget when your freelance income isn't steady? Can you mark up project-related expenses without feeling guilty? In this episode I answere these and other money-related questions submitted by readers and listeners. 

Your portfolio isn't just about getting you your next client. It's a springboard into your future. It's a primary means of attracting clients you're best suited to serve. I share specific how-tos for creating a high quality, consistent portfolio that best represents your expertise, and the critical thinking behind the tips. The episode includes an excerpt from my online course, Crafting Your Professional Portfolio, which I've taught at design schools and is available to members inside the Freelance Road Trip program.

If you're a self-employed professional creative, you offer solutions to business and life problems. Your portfolio then, isn't a showcase of art, design, or photography, but a collection of creative solutions. The most effective portfolios demonstrate how you solve clients' problems. I share some practical, professional tips to help you sharpen your portfolio to attract the kinds of clients and projects you're best suited for.

A prospective client discovery session allows you the opportunity to manage expectations before you enter a working relationship. By asking the right kinds of questions you communicate to your client your expertise and empathy, and your ability to solve their business problem with your creative solutions. In this episode I outline proven tactics for a successful discovery call and subsequent project.

It's no fun being trapped in a bad working relationship with a difficult client. We can put filters in place to screen out prospects who aren't a good fit for us, but what do we do when things begin well but go sour in the middle of a project? It's important to recognize the "red flags" and deal with them so that you can maintain a comfortable working relationship with your client. I break out 10 red flags that can pop up before and during a project. Why should you be aware of warning signs? Because these types of problems can impact you creatively and affect your ability to stay in business.

Many freelance creatives deal with having to do things to pay the bills while we're developing our freelance careers. The usual thinking is that these jobs are holding us back from doing our preferred work, stepping into our callings, and reaching our destinies. Rather than being deterrents, detours can be useful in a variety of ways, actually preparing and training us to do our best work.

You may not need a business plan to start your freelance business, but once you get a few clients under your belt you'll want to create one. A business plan acts as compass to keep you focused on the important things. It helps you control and manage outcomes. It helps you make good business decisions. Your business plan doesn't need to be a lengthy doc. I outline what to include in your plan and how those elements support your decisions and long-term success.

No freelancer ever does a project entirely on their own. A reliable support network is crucial to getting the job done. Freelance creatives focus more on attracting and working with clients but often neglect to invest the same level of relational care into their supplier network. In this episode I share why we need to apply the "Golden Rule" with our suppliers, a couple true stories from my own experience, and unpack specific areas to watch out for in keeping those relationships respectful and mutually beneficial.