PRO Act. ABC test. Two acronyms that could negatively affect all U.S. freelancers, whether we’re writers, editors, designers, or any other type of independent contractor in a creative freelance enterprise. The tl;dr scoop is this: With barely a hearing or discussion, the U.S. House of Representatives will soon be voting on the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, a.k.a., PRO Act (a.k.a., H.R. 842). The act would codify into federal law California’s stricter ABC test (rather than the existing IRS test) for classifying workers as independent contractors vs. employees. [Read more…]
A freelance pep talk and open-line Friday on 3-26
Note from Dr. Freelance: For some reason, Mailchimp decided to send out a year-old post when it sent out my commentary on the PRO Act, which you can read here: “You may not be interested in the PRO Act, but it’s interested in you.”
I have no idea why this happened. However, in the spirit of serendipity, I will do another open-line Friday–on March 26, 2021!
Interestingly enough, my points from last year have stood the test of time. I hope you and your business are doing well.
And now I return you to the post from 2020…
***
I had a sneaking suspicion the Universe was telling me something when several freelance peers asked me last week why I haven’t blogged in a while. My answer looked approximately like this: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. In a world awash with armchair epidemiologists and instant experts on working from home, I’ll leave those topics untouched. What I do want to do is offer a quick pep talk for freelancers out there. What am I doing personally to manage my mindset? [Read more…]
Personality tests may be BS, but they’re still useful for client relationships
For some weird reason, I’ve had several conversations about personality tests with clients and potential clients during the past few weeks. Reading that, I’ll bet that your brain immediately took one of two paths: Option #1 is that you immediately thought about your own personality test results, whether Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), DiSC profile, Enneagram, or whatever. Option #2 is that you think they’re mostly or completely unscientific BS, no more valid than astrology or reading goat entrails. [Read more…]
What three business problems are keeping you up at night?
I belong to a forum of business owners that meets for a few hours once a month to share stories, solve problems, and keep each other accountable. During last week’s session, the forum leader asked: What three business problems are keeping you up at night?
[Read more…]
A simple trick to get past freelance estimate anxiety
You know the feeling when you estimate projects for new clients: You run the numbers, and then run them again and maybe once or twice more. And yet your cursor still hovers over the “send” button on the email. I’ve been at the freelance game long enough to know there aren’t many constants, but estimate anxiety is surely one of them. When your mousing finger freezes up, it’s time for a reality check: “What’s the worst that could happen?” [Read more…]
7 ways to get more freelance referrals for your business
Word-of-mouth business is the closest thing we’ve got to perpetual motion in the freelance world. Not only are freelance referrals easier to get to sign on the dotted line—because your business has a third-party endorsement—they’re also far more likely to be easy to work with. With rare exceptions, a good client won’t send you a bad client. First, because a good client wants you to succeed. Second, because their own reputation is on the line. (Obligatory note of caution: Be wary of word-of-mouth business from not-so-hot clients, who have a penchant for passing along their equally challenging pals.) [Read more…]
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 35
- Next Page »