Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Minisode 7: Cashflow
Monday, June 1st, 2009
Minisode 7 is now live:
http://audioboo.fm/boos/26565-7-cashflow
Enjoy!
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Centralino App Review and Giveaway
Thursday, May 21st, 2009
Update: only 8 giveaways left!
I’m sure your always on the look out for a decent CRM. They are seemingly few and far between.
You need a lightweight, simple system that can dramatically alter your client management. In a nice way. No more does a CRM have to be an ugly, powermad piece of software that makes managing your clients and contacts comparable to cutting your hair with tweezers.
What is a CRM?
A CRM (Contact / Customer Relationship Manager) is a system you put into place to keep track of:
- Your clients contact details
- Notes regarding communication made with them
- General information about the client to allow for really personal and effective contact with them
What is Centralino?
Centralino, is a lightweight, nifty client manager. And its cost effective too! Prices start from Free (my kind of pricing) to $22 per month for more contacts.
Centralino’s client dashboard
Client profile screen
Conclusion and giveaway
Centralino will make a worthy addition to any freelancers tool set. Keeping tabs on clients, and making sure you know them like the back of your hand is priceless. And yet Centralino is so well priced! I’m very much looking forward to whats in store for this app.
I’d like to point out, that this wasn’t a paid review. I have no incentive as to positively or negatively review. My typical, non-biased viewpoint 
Anyway.. we have a giveaway! To win a free lifetime membership to Centralino, with 10 to give away, simply comment on this post!
Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
Freelance Interview Series: Benek Lisefski
Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
Today we’re kicking off our whole new series of Freelance Interviews. Over the course of the next few months, stay tuned for new interviews with some of the coolest freelancer’s around. To mix things up, some of the interviews will be interviewed via Skype, to create special podcast episodes. If you have question you’d like the freelancers to be asked, send it off to hello@podcastforfreelancers.com.
We’d like to thank Benek for taking the time to do a brief interview with us. He’s also the debutant interviewee!
PFF: Thanks Benek for joining us today. Your our first interviewee!
Benek: Thank you. I’m honored to be asked and I hope people find my answers and experiences useful.
PFF: So then, tell us a little about yourself, and what you do for work.
B: My name is Benek Lisefski. I’m American but have been living and working in New Zealand for the past 2.5 years. I work for client’s locally as well as all over the world.
I’m 26 years old and recently married. I have an art/design background and I’m passionate about anything design: web design, graphics design, typography, architecture and interior design, etc. I try to absorb as much design as I can in my daily work and in my free time.
I’ve recently been thinking a lot about passive income. I love what I do, but I don’t want to be trading time for money for the rest of my life. I’m in the process of creating and launching a number of side-projects. I’ve got a flash product that I created a while ago which I’m revamping with a ton of improvements. Keep your eye on http://www.fotomaps.net for a brand new look and vastly improved product coming soon.
I’m also in the process of developing a new online magazine about all things design – a joint venture with my brother. Lastly I’ve got a huge project in the planning stages that I’m really excited about. It fills a big need here in NZ and I can’t wait to start working on it.
PFF: How then did you get started in Freelancing?
B: I’m mostly self-taught and have been tinkering with web design since I took a basic HTML class in 8th grade. I studied art and design at university and had been doing web design work part-time as a student during my studies. When I graduated and needed work the natural step was to start freelancing full-time. The transition was a bit slow—it took me a while to build up enough clients for full-time work. But I was young and had limited expenses and I never imagined getting any other kind of job.
I’ve never had a full-time job. Freelancing is all I know.
PFF: Do you think freelancers will feel the credit crunch pinching? How do you see the outcome? What tips can you give them in terms of marketing in this economic hardship?
B: I haven’t felt any effects of the economic crisis yet. In fact, in the past few months I’ve been busier than ever. I think with business trying to save money they find it more economical to lose a full-time salaried employee and replace them with a part-time contract worker instead. So I wouldn’t be surprised if the demand for freelancers increased.
I think this creates an obvious marketing opportunity. Advertise your services to small to medium sized businesses and agencies that might be able to save money by hiring a freelancer instead of an employee.
It also creates an opportunity to push social media marketing services which I believe will appeal more than ever as business try to save money. They may abandon traditional advertising, like print and TV which are expensive, in favor of Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
PFF: Thats a great point. The web is much more track-able in terms of statistics and such also, so clients really do get a much better value for money. If you could go back to have a quick chat with yourself when you first started freelancing, what would you tell yourself?
B: I wouldn’t do a whole lot differently. I’d tell myself to get more structured in terms of business, finances, taxes, contracts, etc. right from the beginning. I’m currently a sole-proprietor but I’m considering forming an LLC as my business expands. These kinds of issues are things you don’t think about when you’re starting out. Hire an accountant and have them help you set up the right structure. Open a business bank account and be strict with how you use it. Track everything! These things will give you peace of mind later.
PFF: Great tips! Especially with the business bank account. If you have to do your own taxes, it will save you hours trawling through your personal account and picking out your business expenses. As you say, I think its good to consider the future, by asking “Where will my business be in 5 years time?”.
Freelancer’s and Creatives seem to love books. So if you could recommend a book (or several books) related to freelancing or your field, what would they be and why?
B: To be honest I’ve read very few books related to freelancing or web design. I find that there is so much information on the web that I don’t need to look elsewhere. It’s such a visual and interactive medium, with examples, tutorials, code-snippets, etc. Ink on paper is an inferior medium for delivering that kind of content.
I recently read an e-book called The Zen of Social Media Marketing by Shama Hyder which was useful but not groundbreaking. I’d like to read more books on marketing and design strategy.
PFF: Do you peruse any blogs regularly
B: I love the web design greats like A List Apart. I also enjoy visiting sites like Web Designer Wall, Smashing Magazine, Freelance Switch, and other for advise, inspiration, and tips.
I’m not as big of a blog reader as I wish I was. I need to make more time for it. There’s so much amazing content out there and so many brilliant ideas. Web design is such a quickly changing field and it can be hard just to keep up with the front lines. I think good web professionals need to dedicate a big chunk of their time for learning new techniques and digesting the latest ideas. I’m guilty of not allowing enough time for this when I get busy.
PFF: Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. Where can we find you on the web?
B: My personal portfolio: http://www.benekdesign.com [PFF: Loving the design for your portfolio]
FotoMaps (new version 2.0 coming soon): http://www.fotomaps.net
Thanks!
Do you have any comments or thoughts on anything Benek has said? Share them with the community in our comments section! Stay tuned for our next installment of freelance interviews very soon!
Tags: Freelancer Interview
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Procrastination: You can overcome it.
Monday, March 16th, 2009
I am sure, like me, many freelancers have had one of those slothful days. It’s a strange phenomenon to describe. You might not have much or any work on, or maybe you have lots. But when you sit down to do some work, you can’t. Your mind wanders, you start procrastinating, and time flies by. It’s very hard to overcome this mental condition. But if you don’t, you could see it become a more permanent part of your schedule.
Ironically, when I wrote tis article, I was having one of those days. But, before I started working, using my own advice, I thought I’d let other freelancers know how to beat this feeling.
1.Sit down and make a to do list
Many times I have sat down, and skipped creating a to do list. This should be the first thing you do before you start work. Forget checking emails, or reading RSS feeds, a to do list is the most important efficiency tool you have.
Take time to prioritize work and understand what resources will be needed. Also, spend time considering any potential problems for the day and try and predict any communication you will need to make.
This is a great way to get your day rolling. And it’s one of the easiest things to do. You can use anything you have at hand, like sticky notes, paper, whiteboards, or free web apps such as tadalist and rememberthemilk.
What if though, you are half way through your day, and your shocked to learn you haven’t written a to do list. That’s not a problem, but at the earliest available moment you have, make one. It will stop your time and mind going AWOL.
2. Take a break.
If you find that you’ve somehow gone from analyzing a client’s web statistics to surfing YouTube or bargain hunting on eBay, stop. This will suck up your time, and will cloud the division between working and relaxing.
A better method is to literally walk away from the PC, as soon as you realize you’re not working as well as you can. They say a change is as good as a rest, so take 10 minutes to go for a walk, read a book or sit in the sun. Don’t use this time to watch T.V or any other screened media. This will help you recharge your concentration, and focus. It will also protect your eyesight and wrists from injury due to prolonged computer usage.
You might feel guilty for having time off, but in the long run, always remember that will improve your work efficiency for that day. No one can sit at a computer for 12 hours and tell me they worked to their full potential. It’s impossible. They might have worked 8 hours, and spent a collective 4 hours during the day looking at craigslist or twitter.
In reality, they are only working at 66% effort. 34% percent of their time that day was spent slacking. When you take billable hours into consideration, you could be putting yourself at serious disadvantage.
So what if you replaced twittering with short breaks? For every hour you worked, let’s say you had a 10 minute break. You would have only spent 2 hours not working. And, the time you did spend working would have been a lot more productive.
3. Use caffeinated drinks sparingly.
Caffeinated drinks and sugary snacks are a great way of perking yourself up over a short time span. They can give you a little boost, and realign your concentration.
But consider their after effects. Drinking coffee is known to be addictive, and when the buzz begins to wear off, you will feel worse than you did before.
Try replacing your snacks with healthier, more natural options. Instead of coffee, try fruit juice, or even water.
They are a lot more refreshing, and will give you no withdrawal symptoms. Plus, drinking lots of water has added health benefits.
Instead of chocolate biscuits and sweets, try eating more fruit and nuts. They are loaded with natural goodness, and don’t carry the mood swings of sugar loaded treats.
Open the window too, oxygen is great for the brain.
4. Exercise.
If you start to feel lethargic, then go outside. Go for a quick jog, or walk. This has 2 benefits. Fresh air is great at clearing the mind. It will help you think outside the box, and tackle any problems you are having a step at a time. Been outside also helps inspire you. Whether it’s beautiful scenery, or wildlife, there’s always something outside that sure beats staring at a monitor.
Once again exercise has some cool health benefits too. It will help counteract sitting in a chair for long periods of time, as it’s good for your blood circulation and such.
5. Work on a personal project.
If you’ve done all the above and still can’t get any real productive work, and then start a personal project. This could be anything, from a blog, to a new hobby. It might be out of works time, or you could use some of your working day to work on your own company’s marketing, or branding.
Personal projects are great, as you can feel the achievements directly. You can lose sight of your goals when you spend a lot of time working on client work. Personal projects can also help build up confidence, and recharge your batteries and also improve skills and increase motivation.
I hope you found this article helpful and it has given you some hope, often knowing you’re not on your own in doing something can help with the problem. Right, must run I got some work to do 
Tags: freelancing tips
Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments »
Live Blog: Typical day of a Freelance Designer & Blogger
Thursday, January 15th, 2009
Today, I decided to do a live blog of everything I do in one day. Its just a typical day for me.
8:32 a.m Time to get up. Whoops, I slept in :/
8:36 a.m Grab iPhone, check emails & see whats goin on in the world of twitter.
8:45 a.m Google Chat with a potential new blogging client
9:00 a.m Decide to live blog the whole day, and have to think really hard about previous doing’s.
9:20 a.m Purchased http://rockablepress.com/books/rockstar-wordpress-designer/. Really Impressed. Awesome!
9:44 a.m Create blog post, then tweet the url on twitter.
9:45 a.m Start listening to the Catch 22 Podcast http://catch22podcast.com/
9:47 a.m Decide to go get dressed, washed and fed.
9: 50 a.m Gettting distracted, tidying up my office
9: 54 a.m Office is a little tidier.
9: 55 a.m Now its time for Breakfast
10: 01 a.m Full with Cheap Tesco Wheatabix’s and Sipping tea.
10:05 a.m Noticed CSS error / bug with the PFF theme. DOh!
10:06 a.m Reading http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/01/13/mobile-web-design-trends-2009/ & http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/01/14/web-design-trends-for-2009/
10:13 a.m Wishing the whether would perk up. Its dark and gray and wet. 
10: 25 a.m Creating my to do list for the day
10:30 a.m Reading more of the Wordpress Rockstar book by Collis & Harley at Envato
10:54 a.m the new wordpress book is awesome !!!
10:59 a.m Starting to think now about creating my blogging portfolio site, to land me some blogging gigs
11:07 a.m Scouring the web for potential new job’s. I mean as in full time ones
11:10 a.m Wow Great article: http://www.2expertsdesign.com/2009/01/09/creative-inspirational-workplaces/ some wicked cool office’s!
11:17 a.m. 5 minute break. Need some sugar
11:23 a.m Custard Cream mmmm
11:30 a.m A gentle, soothing, pitter-patter of rain is starting.
11:51 a.m. Lunch time so soon?
12:10 a.m Updating my site.
13:00 p.m Lunchtime I think.
13:36 p.m. Now it really is time for some lunch!!!!
13: 51 p.m Lunch is in the oven. Mmmm
13:55 p.m Job Searching
14:18 p.m Pizza Breads. mmmm
14: 56 p.m. Applying for more jobs.
15:02 p.m Going to the Barbers
15: 39 p.m. Back from Barbers, stll reading wordpress book
16:35 p.m The working day and this blog post is coming to an end
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