Monthly Self-Appraisal.
I needed a system to check for myself regularly if I’m doing well. This review template is what I devised over the last few years to facilitate self-appraisal.
Mind Your Business.
If you feel like you’re doing SO MUCH work, but the bank balance doesn’t reflect it — here’s something that can help.
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Firing clients.
Are you scared or uncomfortable firing clients? You shouldn’t be. If the relationship doesn’t work, terminate it. Here’s how.
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Be prepared for ‘Tell me about yourself’.
Ever been in a meeting where you didn’t expect the dreaded ‘tell me about yourself’ question but were asked? Here’s how you can ace the awkwardness.
Read more — about Be prepared for ‘Tell me about yourself’.
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Saying no to money.
Misconceptions that freelancers need to clear about ‘deserving’ payments.
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Don’t fear repetition.
Sometimes, saying something again and again and again can be a good thing.
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Think from the receiver’s point of view.
An extra minute of your time can makes their lives easier.
Read more — about Think from the receiver’s point of view.
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Update your CV every three months.
It’ll have you ready to send out your CV at a moment’s notice, any time.
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How to get paid on time?
I almost feel guilty for the clickbait of a headline, because you’re not going to find a simple easy answer here. But I do have advice that I believe is good.
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Make time to read your past work.
I often find this an excellent informal review exercise.
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Where do you have your purpose written down?
When you start something, write down your purpose. Not in a word or a sentence, but as elaborately as possible. As a favour to your future self.
Read more — about Where do you have your purpose written down?
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What is your brand experience?
What does the client want to feel when they contact us? And what can we do to deliver that?
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Accommodating urgent work.
Before deciding to accept or decline the ‘urgent’ work, here’s the checklist I follow.
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Where do I belong?
From ‘emdash belongs to me’ to ‘I belong in emdash’.
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Plan for the long-term.
To be a successful business owner, you need to strike the balance between immediate delivery and institution-building.
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Have you said your thanks yet?
If you have had reasons to be grateful this year, make sure you send in your thanks.
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Year end review.
Looking back at 2020 once and for all.
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Is my work good enough?
Ask yourself this: But in a genuinely introspective way that can help you grow.
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Are you investing in your growth?
Deliberately build a system for getting better.
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Write case studies.
It’s a different and detailed way of presenting your best work.
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Keep a list of people you want to stay in touch with.
And give them a call, once in a while.
Read more — about Keep a list of people you want to stay in touch with.
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3 rules to be better organised.
Figure out permanent places, boundaries and backup for everything.
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How does one get into freelance writing?
Just do the work. Send pitches, apply to gigs, leverage your network. Don’t fuss too much about the *right* way to start.
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Dealing with competition.
While I’m regularly insecure looking at others in my line of work, I actively put community over competition.
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Do More, Not Less.
Underpromise. Overdeliver. Thoughtfully.
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Prepare The Night Before.
Set yourself up for productivity. Plan your day the night before.
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Keep a lessons file.
Stop repeating your mistakes. Keeps a lessons file.
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I’m So Bad At This.
Over the years speaking to young professionals, this is one sentence I hear so often. Why are you so unkind to yourself?
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If You’re A Freelancer, Find A Coach.
As a freelancer, you might have a lot of questions you can’t find answers for. A coach will help you clear the fog in your line of sight.
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Separate Business And Personal Finances. Here’s How.
Else, you’ll end up with a mash of a system, without knowing if your business is doing well or if even making profits!
Read more — about Separate Business And Personal Finances. Here’s How.
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Keep paperwork in order for taxman will come knocking.
Plenty of times, you’ll hear from the tax department asking you to clarify some financial transaction from several years ago. You can’t remember it all, which is why you must document everything meticulously.
Read more — about Keep paperwork in order for taxman will come knocking.
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Are you working from your laptop memory?
Consider setting up a virtual workplace for yourself and your team, dear freelancer. Save yourself much productivity and a lot of heart burn.
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Keep your eyes open about the industry you’re in.
Knowing the industry is fundamental to doing great work, which often results in making more money. Here are some things I regularly do.
Read more — about Keep your eyes open about the industry you’re in.
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Are you making enough mistakes?
For instance, one of my biggest mistakes was hiring a team when I wasn’t ready to be a manager.
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Track your referral pipeline.
For most freelancers, referrals are an important source of new business development. But most of them don’t invest time or energy into nurturing referral pipelines. Why ra why?
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Do you have frameworks and are you documenting them?
As a freelancer, it’s crucial to have thorough documentation for your frameworks, because they define the way we do work.
Read more — about Do you have frameworks and are you documenting them?
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How do I make time for personal projects?
How do you balance your time/effort between clients that pay vs personal projects?
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Are you tracking time?
Whether you’re a freelancer or a salaried employee, those of us who don’t need to fill timesheets, do we track time? Here’s how it helped me.
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Dear freelancer, do you know if you are profitable?
Most freelancers think — I’ve believed it myself in the past — that because their expenses are so few, any money they make is practically profit. scoff
Read more — about Dear freelancer, do you know if you are profitable?
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Try Mr. Albert for GST filing.
While on the topic of invoicing, if you’re a GST registered freelancer, I strongly encourage you to check out my friend Alex’s GST management service Mr. Albert.
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Do you have an invoicing tool?
If you send invoices, get a tool.
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Be stylish. Consistently.
Do you have a home style? As in, do you have a consistent way in which all your deliverables look/feel?
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Do you resolve reviewer comments?
Many writers resolve reviewer comments, which is inefficient. It assumes you’ve resolved it. But you can’t decide that; the reviewer should.
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Work towards not having to adjust.
As you grow in your career, begin to invest in not adjusting, not adjusting with what you have. Invest in setting yourself up better.
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Celebrate yourself (and I’m on leave)
As I turn 34, I’m taking the day off and celebrating. Would you celebrate with me? Share the one thing you’ve done since COVID struck that you’re proud of. Share the love.
Read more — about Celebrate yourself (and I’m on leave)
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Bias for action.
Bias for action is about making things happen. It’s about moving forward, especially in ambiguity. It is about being decisive when you have no energy for the consequences.
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Managing different stakeholders’ different needs.
Having multiple stakeholders on a freelance project is like having multiple bosses at work — a recipe for disaster. But it is surprisingly common and often inevitable. Work in the modern world is about different people’s ideas, even when they’re stupid ones.
Read more — about Managing different stakeholders’ different needs.
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I prefer to stand during video calls (and a plug of some fab advice).
Working from home for 7-8 years now, if there is one thing I’ve realised, it’s that the way I plonk my body has a direct effect on how I feel, and therefore behave.
Read more — about I prefer to stand during video calls (and a plug of some fab advice).
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Only language (most) businesses understand is money.
While signing on new clients, ask for an advance. Their reaction will tell you how serious they are.
Read more — about Only language (most) businesses understand is money.
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How to handle clients who keep setting fires you have to put out?
Clients have a tendency to think that you’ll make time to do their work. They have their urgencies which they will most certainly transfer to you. Some clients will be worth it. Some not. Grow an intuition to tell the difference.
Read more — about How to handle clients who keep setting fires you have to put out?
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What does a break mean to you?
I’d spent so many years being high-energy that I’d muddied up what normal was. That day was a welcome break from my own self.
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Salaried, not full-time.
I often hear the word ‘full-timer’ as the opposite of ‘freelancer’. Don’t freelancers work full-time? I even know freelancers who work only for one client 8 hours a day — they just don’t get PF, gratuity etc.
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How to renegotiate freelancer rates?
Yesterday, I wrote about when to renegotiate freelancer rates. I hear a lot of you thinking, “all that’s fine, but how do I do it?”
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When to renegotiate freelancer rates?
Salaried folks get hikes year on year. But not freelancers. No ‘appraisal’ often means no hikes. Shouldn’t be, no? So, renegotiate!
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Set up structures to stay in control of your freelance business.
Tools and processes I personally use to stay on top of my businesses at all times — Calendar, Flow, Stickie notes and a daily planner.
Read more — about Set up structures to stay in control of your freelance business.
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Do you have a monthly self-appraisal process?
Am I productive? Am I profitable? Am I successful? I needed a system to check for myself regularly if I’m doing well. This review template is what I devised over the last few years to facilitate self-appraisal.
Read more — about Do you have a monthly self-appraisal process?
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Do what’s right for the customer.
There is this widely believed notion that clients know what they need. A company with a grand idea and (allegedly) stellar product should naturally know what they need when they seek a content writer, right? Wrong.
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Start with the end in mind.
Freelancing, by its nature, is work by ‘individual contributors’. So it helps immensely to learn to see the big picture before you put pen to paper.
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Be visible.
Have you ever received a message from someone that said, “do you know anyone who does [insert specific thing]?” Let’s say a film reviewer, for instance. Who would you refer?
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Close the damn loop.
It is only through proactive and considerate communication that you can build community, which is fundamental to growing your business.
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Keep a compliments book.
Someone I respect once said, “that’s disingenuous”. He didn’t call *me* disingenuous, just the argument I was making. While it hurt me in the moment, on second-thought, he was right.
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Find people to talk to.
Freelancing is lonely business. It is very easy to muck your head up overthinking. You’re probably already doing it.