Freelance Finance

Freelance Switch has a very good article written by freelance writer Logan Strain. Detailing his life and struggles with great candor and a refreshing openness, Strain’s article touches on the main topics that we of the non-monthly-check tribe face. It’s very matter-of-fact and, for that reason, all the better. It just goes to show you that not everyone dealing with non-traditional income is doing it by choice. One of the lines that struck us was, “I really have no idea how to properly deal with the money that comes in.”

Sorry to be out of touch for such a long time, but we were saddled with a project that grabbed us in a chokehold and pulled us under for a month. Hopefully now that it has cleared the deck, we can turn our attention to other projects, our new book, and you darling people.

In a fun post at Salon, writer Catherine Price offers 13 pieces of advice for the freelancer that none of us can afford to miss. Some of them are sidesplittingly funny, like No.8: “Take a shower. At least every other day.” The post’s news angle is April 15th, Tax Day.

Lawyers follow this dictum, otherwise known as ABB, and so should you. Once your work’s submitted, submit an invoice immediately. Sure, there are going to be revisions, but if the clients know they’re going to use your work, they may very well go ahead and pay. On some occasions, I have actually been paid before the work I did went to the printer. (Of course, other times I’ve found my article on the newsstand before I ever got paid.)

Sending your invoice immediately upon first delivery of the work also sends a subtle message. It alerts the client to sit up and take notice. If they’ve been asked to pay, they may be more inclined to interact with and evaluate your work today instead of ignoring it for weeks while they do other things. Yes, money talks. But the demand for money talks louder.

Links to previous posts in the 16 Things series.

Saving money as a freelancer, independent contractor or whatever you choose to call yourself if you don’t happen to have a full-time job with bennies, is tricky. We’ve discussed this before: Saving regularly is more challenging when your income is constantly changing. This is why Muck and I stick with percentages, which has worked like a charm for us for several years now. Is it still challenging? Yes. Do we still occasionally fantasize about a regular paycheck coming in the door every two weeks? OK, yeah. Do we want to go back to the cubicle life? No, no—a resounding NO.

So putting the details aside, what about the psychological challenges of saving? How do you stick with it? It doesn’t matter whether you’re flush with cash or struggling to get on your feet as a new freelancer: The difficulties of committing to and staying with a new habit cross all economic boundaries. So here are some quick tips for sticking with savings… [Read more →]

It is important and necessary to do everything in your power to satisfy your clients. But you must have the courage to limit unreasonable demands. You cannot drop everything for two days to help someone hand-wring over the website you’re designing for them, nor should you volunteer endless revisions of your work. For many years, I had a perfectionist client at major magazine who had me do a minimum of 10 revisions per article. At the same time that I was writing for this person, I had a regular column at the New York Times, where editors there never altered a word I wrote. Based on the feedback I was getting from my clients, I could never tell: Was I a brilliant writer or the world’s lousiest? If I had been better at sticking up for myself and my time, perhaps I would not have grappled with such doubts.

When in doubt, establish the standard number of revisions, and the minimum number of hours of face or phone time you will grant to a client during the course of a project. Put it in all your contracts. And then stick to it.

Links to previous posts in the 16 Things series.

The phrase “keep your nose to the grindstone” took on new meaning for me Friday, when Mire and I attended a woodworking class given by master craftsman, author, and self-employed worker Andy Rae. Though the class was about sharpening woodworking tools, I couldn’t help finding a double meaning in much of what Rae said.

I realized too that because many independent workers labor in solitude, they become unusually attuned to their surroundings and their craft. They know what works, what doesn’t, and why. [Read more →]

Where does a freelancer go to get some decent health insurance? This a huge, growing issue. Each time the number of freelancers grows in the U.S., the number of people who are going without some form of medical safety net jumps. The powers-that-be have historically consoled themselves with the quaint notion that only the indigent, the homeless or recent immigrants to these shores lacked health care, but this idea is only becoming more obviously revealed as a lie. [Read more →]

Mire and I have yet to tell you guys more about our deal to produce a personal finance book for freelancers and independent workers for Random House. But there’s not much to tell. Obviously, the ball in is our court. We’ve had the idea for a long time. I’ve freelanced a dozen years; Mire for more than fourteen. Each day that we manage to book clients and gigs, we’ve been fascinated by the fact that so many people like us are earning a living without the help of an employer, and without the supposed benefits an employer usually provides. For more than a decade, as we’ve watched some of our independent worker colleagues strike out on their own, only to struggle and eventually seek the safety of conventional employment, we marveled at the fact that we’ve been able to do it for so long.

The tricks we’ve learned along the way, the system we developed for getting by during lean times, how to sock money away for the future, and how to actually grow your net worth—all this will be the subject of the book Three Rivers Press, an imprint of Random House, will publish, probably in 2010. We are enormously grateful for their confidence in this project.

In the months to come, we will probably be trying out new ideas on you, asking your feedback, and your opinions on how you’ve made it work. For now, though, we’ve got a question: Any freelancers out there want to be interviewed for the book? Leave a comment and let us know how to reach you.

I don’t care what your craft is. If you love what you do, the work will always have its own rewards. It will be your rock and bulwark in tough times. It will sustain you and enrich your soul. And you’ll only get better and quicker at it.

But marketing yourself is not often in the grab-bag of skills freelancers possess. Consequently, landing work from a client will usually take you more time than actually performing the contracted work.

In my world, pitching the article, getting it accepted, and doing the largely free rounds of revisions eat up most of the freelancer’s time. Writing an article actually takes the least time! I once calculated that the amount of money I’d been paid by a major magazine for a feature article, when divided by the amount of time I’d spent on it, would not have covered my monthly rent.

The lesson: Your cost-efficiency will rise as you a) perfect the art of landing work easily and effortlessly, and b) handily meet client expectations the first time around.

Links to previous posts in the 16 Things series.