Archive for the ‘General’ Category
Customizing your workspace to suit you
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
I left full-time employment over 2 years ago now to work freelance. Since then I’ve worked in pretty much every room in our house, the dining room, the guitar room, my bedroom… the list goes on.
I’ve never really worked in a space that I’ve made. Never created an office that is specific and central to my work flow. And then it hit me one day a week ago. Why not?
I mean, you have to literally live in the space you work. You need to be happy in it, after all you’ll spend a lot of time here (and I mean a lot), so at the very least it should be comfortable.
Ergonomic Chair
With that Eureka moment, I drove up to IKEA and bought a proper office certified chair. After building the chair (which is no mean feat in itself) I settled into my new ergonomic chair. Its very comfy and I can work and work without feeling tired or achey from lack of body support. An ergonomic chair is great for your posture and circulation.
Whiteboards
So, now that I’m sat more comfortably, I think, “Hey, what else would make me more productive?”… 2 whiteboards are purchased. They let me sketch and write notes on them, a really useful and cost effective trick that’s kept me more organized. I seriously recommend you get one (or two).
After these improvements, I can actually see evidence they are working. In that week I get paid 3 times more than I typically earn on average. Coincidence? I think not! My workspace has become more personal and more comfy. I would even go as far as saying I’m happier working.
External Monitor
As a designer, I use a lot of programs at once. I’m sure a lot of you guys will. I have a 20 inch iMac, but its not a huge screen. So, a 24″ external monitor is ordered. I really can’t put into words how much more I get done with the help of this tool. I can have 3 windows open at once. Very handy indeed. It takes a bit of getting used to, but I am a firm believer that everyone should consider an external monitor, whether a copywriter or a developer.
Desk
That’s really as far as I’ve got. Next on my list to purchase to improve my work area is a good quality, large desk. I’ll do my research into it to make sure it fits my requirements. It’ll need to be big enough to hold all my books, computers & leave enough room to be able to sketch till my heart’s content.
I really cannot recommend enough spending a few hundred dollars on setting up your workspace the right way, the way you want it. You’ll see a return on your investment for sure, and more importantly, you’ll be a happier freelancer for it.
Posted in General, Workspace | 5 Comments »
7 Reasons Why It Sucks To Be A Freelancer
Monday, June 22nd, 2009
I came across a blog post recently entitled “10 Reasons Why It Rocks To Be A Freelancer”
I thought it was a pretty decent article. However, I also thought the post maybe over hyped freelancing a little. Just a little. Believe it or not, there’s a lot of myths and misconceptions surrounding freelancing. So, I thought I’d step in, and shine a little ‘realism’ on things. I’m good at that 
If your considering becoming a freelancer, I want you to know the whole story. From someone who’s right there, freelancing with the rest of them. Because, the grass usually is greener on the other side! And when you get there, well, you might want to go back. Or, as you’ll hopefully see from this post, you’ll be so happy you never look back!
1. You set your own hours
The post’s first point, “You set your own hours”. That’s pretty true. However, clients, will expect you to be available for a good majority of the week, throughout normal office hours (8-6 or 9-5). In theory, yes you could get up at 12 in the afternoon, but I’m sure several client calls will wake you throughout the morning. Then again, it depends on your clients. They also forget to mention you’ll end up working lots of overtime. Sometimes, it just needs to be done, and it could mean you miss out on sleep or weekends occasionally.
2. You set your own pay
Whilst this is also true, you can’t charge what you like, as many people believe. You have to be realistic in your pricing, or you’ll end up with too many cheap, demanding projects, or even none at all. Pricing is governed by your skill level, your workload, the project and the current economic climate. That means pricing will potentially fluctuate from time to time, and you can’t charge $1000’s per hour, because people won’t pay that.
3. You do something you enjoy
Again, this is true, however, do be aware that something you enjoy today as a hobby or pastime, could become a chore when you rely on it for your livelihood.
4. Setup Costs Are Low
Yes, set-up costs can be low. However, they can also be huge. Most people choose to incorporate, which is an expense in itself - with accountants and taxes costing more than you might think. Then there’s all those other things like hosting, web and logo design (if your not a designer) and even furniture or office supplies. You could quite easily spend several thousand dollars before even getting your first client.
5. Freedom to balance work and personal life
Again, sort of true. Yes, you have the flexibility to switch the odd afternoon around to pick up your kids, or have a cup of coffee with your partner. But, at the same time overusing this benefit is a bad idea. Here’s why:
- Family and friends start to think your not serious about freelancing (which most people seem to think is just messing around with a computer all day to start with), and begin to call round during the day - really messing up your work time.
- You could become less productive.
- Clients start to notice your available less and less - or at weird hours.
Not forgetting, that there will be times your so busy, you work 16+ hour days. its frustrating knowing you went freelance to have more time, to be closer to your family, and yet you seem to spend even less time with them. Freelancing is something that is hard to switch off from, unlike a 9-5 job, where you leave all the work in its place back at the office. So try not to overuse your freedom (and yet, enjoy it at the same time, its a perk remember 
) If you find homeworking really hard, consider getting yourself an office to work from, you’ll feel the benefits far outweigh the outlay.
6. Laid Back Lifestyle
I know every freelancer will back me up here. When the work piles up, or you start running dry, it can be even more stressful. Caffeine and long hours make for a very stressed freelancer. Not knowing where your next pay cheque is coming from can cause even more stress. You might go somedays where you feel constantly nervous, your stomach in knots, just because its getting on top of you. Then you lose sleep. Then you feel worse, and things spiral from there.
A strong character is needed to be able to freelance. You need to have self control with your finances, a back-up of atleast 3 or 4 months wages at any one time for a rainy day, and a smile for those days when you feel like you just want to cry (or shout at your most demanding clients). Speaking of clients, prepare to deal with people who leave a project on their desk for months, until it becomes urgent and they turn to you to do it in 10% of the time. Look out for clients who need serious hand holding to even decide what domain name they want for their site. Don’t even get me started on slow payers… they become your latest bug bear, trust me.
7. Be Your Own Boss
Yes, you are now your own boss. But you still have responsibilities. keep those in mind, and don’t abuse your freelance position, its a gift to be enjoyed.
I’m not trying to put anyone off freelancing here. No, you see, despite all the above, and more, you’ll love it. If someone offered me a job 5 times the salary of my freelancing, I wouldn’t do it. Once you get the chance to work for yourself, and experience that liberation of been able to cut out your super annoying boss, you’ll never go back.
Please, if you disagree, or agree with anything, feel free to comment, or share the post link
Posted in General | 14 Comments »
6 things to do when your ill
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
Last week I was ill. Not badly, but still ill. And so, in my infinite wisdom, it hit me, I’ve never posted about illness + freelancing. A strange combo, but it works. Anyway, here’s what to do if you get ill, or before you get ill again.
1. Get some insurance
In case of long term medical issues, you may wish to get some life insurance out for these emergencies. If your out of action of any length of time, your income will be effected, so money spent here may be a lifesaver (no pun intended)
2. Consider buying a laptop
Sometimes, when we are ill its a total waste of time. Sitting around doing nothing because you have a cold or swine flu isn’t helping anyone. So, consider buying yourself (or using your existing laptop). Now you can snuggle up in bed, feeling all ill, but still keep up with your emails, any writing you have (and if you have a powerful enough laptop, you can work as normal with all your normal software such as Photoshop e.t.c).
3. Plan out an ill plan
Spend 5 minutes thinking of tasks you could do when your ill. These might be emailing some of your old clients to check in and see how things are going, it might be to set-up a blog. Whatever you chose to do, try and stick to it, to use this ‘free’ day to the maximum.
4. Don’t stress out!
Stressing out when your poorly is not good! It will make you more ill! So keep calm, and remember, your only human, and your clients expect nothing else. So stop pretending like your a titanium clad robot.
5. Be honest and upfront with clients
If your been pestered by eager clients, tell them your ill. They’ll understand. If you only have a minor illness, you might chose to not tell them, and try to carry out whatever task they want to give you. If all else fails, you’ve got voicemail to take care of client relations for the day. Don’t go telling people your ill all the time though, they’ll think your unreliable (and a hypochondriac to boot)
6. Relax and get better
Most importantly, try and relax, drink lots of water and focus all your concentration on getting better. We hope you feel better soon!
Posted in General | 3 Comments »
