Dr. Freelance

  • HOME
  • BOOKS
  • WEBINARS
  • BLOG
  • PUBLISHING
  • ABOUT
    • CONSULTING
    • ABOUT DR. FREELANCE
    • ABOUT JAKE POINIER
    • CONTACT US
  • Get New Clients
  • Make More Money Freelancing
  • Manage Your Freelance Business
  • Videos
  • General
You are here: Home / Blog

I’ve been neglecting my most important client

April 20, 2018 by Jake Poinier

Like this post? Please share it!

important clientIt’s confession time: I’ve been neglecting my most important client. True, he doesn’t pay the best, he can be a bit loony under pressure, and I’m pretty sure he’s adult ADHD. But, he’s good at what he does and he’s generally amiable, so I stick with him.

As the cool kids today say: IT ME. [Read more…]

Like this post? Please share it!

Filed Under: Manage Your Freelance Business Tagged With: best practices, business, client relationships, true confessions

In praise of saying yes to freelance jobs

February 9, 2018 by Jake Poinier

Like this post? Please share it!

saying yes to freelance jobsA Google search of “saying no to freelance jobs” currently coughs up 9.2 million hits, while “saying yes to freelance jobs” clocks in at half that—and a quick look shows that most of the latter results are really about saying no. I don’t disagree that it’s important to turn down work that waves a red flag in your face. At the same time, that’s not the philosophy I take into the business arena. As Tom Robbins noted in Still Life with Woodpecker, “There are only two mantras…yum and yuk. Mine is yum.”
[Read more…]

Like this post? Please share it!

Filed Under: Get New Freelance Clients, Manage Your Freelance Business Tagged With: client perspectives, Freelance jobs, positive impression, sales strategies, saying yes

4 tech tools to make your freelancing more productive

December 15, 2017 by Jake Poinier

Like this post? Please share it!

tech toolsFor most freelance writers or editors, the basic tech needs are pretty simple: a reliable computer and internet, a good backup system (I’m a Mac guy, so I love Time Machine), and a phone. But over the course of time, there are other tech tools that I’ve added to my arsenal that make my freelancing business easier, better, and more productive. [Read more…]

Like this post? Please share it!

Filed Under: Manage Your Freelance Business Tagged With: productivity, tech tools

Do your clients really want you to succeed as a freelancer?

December 1, 2017 by Jake Poinier

Like this post? Please share it!

succeed as a freelancerWhat does your ideal freelance client look like? Great (and fast) payer…high-profile (and rewarding) projects…lots of positive feedback…sends plenty of referrals…prompt, responsive, and easy to work with? I agree. Over the course of 18 years of running my own business, though, I’ve found it comes down to this: Do your clients want you to succeed as a freelancer? And do you want them to succeed, too?

[Read more…]

Like this post? Please share it!

Filed Under: Manage Your Freelance Business Tagged With: best practices, how to succeed as a freelancer, prospective clients, relationship strategies, sales strategies

Halley’s Client, Schrödinger’s Project, and other freelance phenomena

September 7, 2017 by Jake Poinier

Like this post? Please share it!

halleys client and schrodingers projectI received an email this week from a client that I assumed I’d never hear from again. It hadn’t been a bad breakup, simply that my main contact left and her replacement had different freelance writers in her stable. With a whopping six-year gap between communications (a personal record), I was reminded of one of my favorite freelance phenomena: Halley’s client, you know, the clients that enter into your orbit only once in a great while. They’re not a bad thing, but don’t exactly provide dependable income, either. [Read more…]

Like this post? Please share it!

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Freelance Follies, Halley's Client, pet peeves, psychology, red flags, science art and voodoo

18 years of freelancing, 18 business lessons

August 31, 2017 by Jake Poinier

Like this post? Please share it!

business lessons on the 18th birthday of freelancingI used to know the exact date I walked out of the corporate world with The Box and started my freelance business. Today, I only remember that it was in August 1999. Yep, as of this birthday my business is old enough to vote, buy a lottery ticket, join the army, or drink in Canada and much of Europe. Here, in no particular order, are 18 business lessons from 18 years in business: [Read more…]

Like this post? Please share it!

Filed Under: Manage Your Freelance Business Tagged With: best practices, learning from experience, lessons, self-employment, surviving difficult times

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • …
  • 35
  • Next Page »

Subscribe to Dr. Freelance

* indicates required

Books by Jake Poinier

Follow Dr. Freelance on Twitter!

Tweets by @DrFreelance

Categories

Recent Comments

  • Jake Poinier on A freelance pep talk and open-line Friday on 3-26
  • Joy Drohan on A freelance pep talk and open-line Friday on 3-26
  • Jake Poinier on What three business problems are keeping you up at night?
  • Jake Poinier on A freelance pep talk and open-line Friday on 3-26

Your Prescription for Success

Looking for better paying freelance jobs? Trying to improve your flow of referrals? Tired of marketing strategies that don't work? Join Dr. Freelance for one of his upcoming webinars! READ MORE.

Search

Book Better Freelance Business

Three Dr. Freelance Guides offer professional business advice for freelance writers, editors, designers, and other solo creative entrepreneurs. Whether you want more clients, better pay, more referrals, or all of the above, you've come to the right office. READ MORE.

Healthy Connections

Dr. Freelance enjoys talking shop on social media. Check him out on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn to hear his latest diagnosis or ask a question about your business.
  • HOME
  • BOOKS
  • WEBINARS
  • BLOG
  • PUBLISHING
  • ABOUT

Dr. Freelance: Healthy Business Prescriptions for Freelance Creatives.
All contents Copyright © 2023 by Jake Poinier. All rights reserved. Privacy. Fair Use of Content.
Dr. Freelance® and More Cowbell® are trademarks of Boomvang® Creative Group, LLC, and More Cowbell Books, LLC, respectively.