How to Avoid Homelessness and Starvation When the Checks Aren’t Regular

June 15, 2011 By 5 Comments

This self-portrait, by William A. Clark, is both brilliant and eerily familiar. (Whatever. I love ramen noodles.)

My writer-buddy Stacy Lipson recently moved to NYC to pursue her word-nerdy dreams. Stacy is a hard worker. She has a lot of drive and determination. And I’m pretty sure she doesn’t get enough sleep. Still, the city life is proving a bit tougher than she expected. Especially considering how wishy-washy clients can be when sending out paychecks. So she asked me to do up a post on surviving in the city as a freelance writer.

I was happy to comply. There was just one… small… thing…

Though I once worked at the Feminist Press, volunteered my time to a sex-positive feminist mag for sex workers, and declared that I would never be dependent upon a man, I’m now living in a condo in the suburbs, sponging off my husband’s health insurance and his considerably larger income.

God I hate myself.

Still, I’ve learned a thing or two about best business practices and, for everything I don’t know, I’ve provided tips from freelancer friends of mine living in the city. So yeah. I’ve got you covered.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: finances/income Tagged With: , , ,

Why It Took Me Four Years To Become A Freelance Hard-Ass

June 1, 2011 By 5 Comments

My new dress code. ... Okay. Not really. I'm wearing a sundress sans bra right now.

It can be tough to be tough with clients when you’re first starting out as a freelancer.

After all, you’re new to all of this: the self-promotion… the self-discipline… the hustle… the rates-setting. You’re unsure of yourself: unsure of what you’re worth… whether or not you’ll fail or succeed… whether or not you have what it takes.

Because of all this, you end up saying yes to every damn project, out of both desperation and fear. You end up lowballing yourself when setting rates. You end up working nights and weekends, with nothing to show for it.

After three years, I still had nothing to show for it.

Don’t get me wrong. After three years, the work was coming to me. My professional network was vast. My portfolio and resume looked a thousand times better than they once did.

But I was still struggling to pay the bills, and my work/life balance was seriously out of whack.

It took me four years to finally become a freelance hard-ass. What finally clicked?

[Read more...]

Filed Under: balance, finances/income Tagged With: , ,

Permalancing: The Good, The Bad, And The Mildly Horrific

February 10, 2011 By 9 Comments

The other month, fellow freelancer Stacy Lipson interviewed me for a story on permalancing in The Fiscal Times.* An interesting piece, to be sure, but I felt a bit put off by the fact that the Times portrayed permalancers as disposable victim-types.

Because, in my opinion, it goes both ways.

I’ve had several permalance-style gigs in the past four years. All of them were pursued as a means to an end. Most of them were taken on because I wanted some sort of financial safety net while still having the time to pursue the projects that mattered most to me. None of them were meant to be permanent.

I suppose you could say that I was taking advantage of them.

Still, Stacy’s right. A permalance situation is far from perfect. Which is why I think it’s about time I touch upon the good, the bad, and the mildly horrific when it comes to permalancing.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: balance, career path, finances/income Tagged With: ,

Is Your Business Flailing? Your Rates Aren’t The Problem

January 27, 2011 By 3 Comments

I'm so awesome they're throwing money at me.

Is business so slow you’ve considered lowering your rates?

I’ve considered taking similar measures in the past but, chances are, your rates ain’t the problem.

(And pushing non-stop contests and discount coupons will only cheapen your business, and make you seem desperate, so why don’t you dial that down, too?)

When I first launched my coaching business, I struggled with setting my rates.  Why? I was afraid. Would coaching rates turn off those who were used to consulting rates? Would my target client have the money to hire me? And if they did have the money, would they want to pay professional rates for someone who was such a n00b? Would I pay that much for me?

[Read more...]

Filed Under: finances/income, writing Tagged With: , , , , ,

Bring In New Projects Without Lifting a Finger

July 29, 2010 By 22 Comments

Things have been awesomer than usual lately, and that’s a relief.

Because 2009 was a rough one.

This time last year, it seemed that — no matter how desperately I looked — it was impossible to find paying work.

But then, at the end of 2009, shortly after I had started a new part-time job at YourTango, Ian Kerner contacted me about co-writing an ebook with him for his new Good In Bed web project. Several months later, I was contacted by someone at AOL’s Patch about copy editing. The other month, an editor at The Frisky asked me if I’d be interested in writing a regular sex column for them. And then, the other week, someone at Psych Central e-mailed me, asking if I would be interested in writing for their site, as one of their editors had seen my LoveMom piece on depression, and had been impressed.

I’m not trying to gloat (though sometimes I like to point at my husband and say neener-neener). I’m just sayin’… it’s totally possible to bring in new projects without lifting a finger. How?

[Read more...]

Filed Under: finances/income, marketing, networking, productivity Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Would I Pay That Much for Me? 5 Things To Consider

June 25, 2010 By 6 Comments

pennies

The other day, I had my very last coaching call with my mentor coach. Our goal for the call was to nail down the packages I would be offering to clients, and how much I would be charging. In order to prepare for the call,  I drew up a revised list of one-on-one coaching packages, with revised rates, and also came up with a ton of ideas for standalone teleclasses, and a kick-ass teleseries. I was seriously psyched to get my mentor’s opinion on what I’d pulled together.

And while she thought that was I was offering was seriously awesome, she thought I was charging far too little.

Why do I always have this problem?

[Read more...]

Filed Under: finances/income Tagged With: , , , ,

When To Stop Giving It Away

March 24, 2010 By 3 Comments

[Image via]

Considering that I maintain a how-to blog with no membership fees, donation links, or advertising, you must assume that I love giving it all away. And to some extent, you would be correct. I love how this blog has helped me build up a professional platform. I love how it’s allowed me to connect with fellow freelancers. And, bottom line? I love helping people out.

But lately, two factors have led me to question where I should draw the line when in comes to “free”:

1. The launching of my coaching practice, the eventual success of which relies upon the assumption that people will actually pay me money for my expertise and professional guidance.

2. Repeated questions from newbies that lead me to believe that they haven’t even tried doing their homework. Forget thorough research. A quick search of my blog would have yielded them the desired results! Am I hurting wannabe freelancers by giving them the easy answers?

So how do I know when to provide free advice, when to direct people to my blog, and when to simply say, “Here’s my coaching fee!”?

[Read more...]

Filed Under: coaching, finances/income Tagged With: , , , , ,

Knowing My Own Self-Worth

November 23, 2009 By 7 Comments

money grab

[Photo via]

A couple of weeks ago, during a mentor coaching session, I told my coach that an issue I’d like to work through was my tendency to shortchange myself when quoting rates. By the end of the session, I had vowed both to do some market research on writing and copy editing rates in my geographic area, and draw up a budget in order to determine the lowest rate I could possibly live with.

Copy editing rates were easy enough to come by…writing/blogging rates less so. And when I drew up a budget, I found that I could actually survive on a much lower rate than I felt was warranted (though it was interesting to note that I was spending more than I was making from month to month…I’m still alive how?). Not exactly as helpful as I’d hoped.

Only a week or so later, however, I reached a rates-related epiphany.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: finances/income Tagged With:

He Said/She Said: Our Income [Now and Later]

September 23, 2009 By 5 Comments

money grab

[Photo via]

My husband and I are…different.

He is rational, while I am emotional. He is cautious and conservative, while I preach the necessity of taking risks in order to move forward. He worries about immediate income — ensuring that we don’t go homeless or hungry — while I give him an ulcer by concerning myself with the future.

Last night, our differences sparked a major argument.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: finances/income Tagged With: , , ,

A Gig That’s Worth Your Time

August 10, 2009 By 6 Comments

make-me-happy

[$6.99, Amazon]

Last week, I found myself saying yes to a job I desperately did not want to do.

It was an on-site gig with full-time hours. The work was outside of my comfort zone. And the pay was not great. Even worse, despite being among people for the first time in awhile, I felt completely cut off from the contacts and the work that mattered to me.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: finances/income
« Older Posts