How the right attitude can contribute to your freelance business success.

Includes enthusiasm, listening, using your portfolio to sell, not jumping to conclusions, and starting engagements with a paid review.

Lots to steal here!

RFPs are a proven way to get a foothold into new clients. Often these turn into big accounts with plenty of work.

But answering RFPs is a lot of work when you start (it gets easier).

Here’s what you need to know about how RFPs work, which ones you should consider answering, and which ones to avoid.

Many freelancers and small creative agencies question whether they need an accountant.

If you’re just starting in business, you could do your own bookkeeping. Be sure to pay expenses and taxes along the way, and then hire someone to do your year-end taxes.

But as you grow, I think having an accountant is essential. See whether you agree.

Whether you’re freelancing or in the market for a full-time job, you need to know about the hidden job market.

What is the hidden job market? It’s job or project opportunities that are never advertised. Stats say that between 40% and 80% of job opportunities are hidden.

You want to get in there before they run an ad. Less competition!

Here are the details of 12 essential elements that belong in any successful creative services estimate.

I learned these over many years of freelancing and then building two agencies. Adapt this as a template for your own work.

You’ll be more efficient and have happier clients too.

If you’ve been a freelancer for more than a month, you’ve come up against red flags. What are red flags?

Red flags are warnings that you should pay attention, that something bad will happen if you don’t put a stop to it.

You often get red flags when you meet with potential new clients. Here are some typical red flags and what to do about them.

This post is for you if you’re a freelance copywriter in the first years of your career.

You may be writing for people in your network, for businesses run by friends or relatives, or finding work on job platforms like Fiverr.

This is how many of us start. Ideally though, you grow from there to work at a higher, more professional level. Let’s get started on a path to growth.

If you’re a freelancer, you’re a business owner. That means you need strategies for dealing with money.

How to get paid more, get paid faster, get repeat business.

Don’t shy away from money talks. Successful retailers have been doing it for ages. Here are some examples you can use.

Should you get an agency or corporate job before going out on your own to freelance?

I think you should. You’ll grow faster, learn things you can’t learn any other way, and create a network that will serve you for years.

Consider working agency or client-side before starting your own business.

If you’re a freelancer, your life will be 100X easier if you have a steady stream of repeat business.

With repeat business, you’re spending more time working and billing, less time chasing new clients. Your rates will likely be higher too.

People often talk about luck. Of course, there’s luck in life and business.

But often, you can prepare for luck, so when luck finds you, you’re ready to act on it.

You’ll soon realize that luck is just a small percentage of your success. The rest is up to you.

There’s never been a better time to freelance for creative agencies of all kinds.

Over the past few years, the nature of work has changed with people leaving full-time jobs or getting laid off. More than ever, agencies are open to working with freelancers.

That makes it ideal for freelancers to approach agencies for work.

Many creators have difficulty talking to clients about money. Are you one of them? Do you wish you could just do your job without having to talk about fees, deposits, retainers, or progress payments?

But if you’re in business, you have to talk about money. If you’re uncomfortable doing it, you’re probably undercharging.

Let’s talk about money now.

If you’re freelancing in 2024, you’ll be in a busy market. But don’t worry, there’s plenty of work for everyone.

Freelancing will continue to grow, and that’s good for you. As it becomes more mainstream, companies of all sizes and types will look to freelancers to help them with their marketing and communications requirements.

Here are 7 rules to help you thrive in your freelance business.