Well, it’s beats the hell out of working for someone else, anyways. When I tell folks that I’m a writer, I can sometimes hear the envy in their voices. They imagine the tortured soul sequestered away at a lake house…

Having a successful freelance writing business depends, in large part, on productivity. You need to be able to do work when it’s time to work. For that matter, you need to be able to create enough time to work in…

If I asked you all the question, “what does a successful freelance business look like?” I would get plenty of different answers. We’ve all got different ideas about what the true measure of success should be in this business, or…

One of the most eye-opening experiences in my freelance writing business has been having other writers work for me. For the first time, I really understood what it was like to be on the receiving end of things. It changed…

One of the basic facts of being in business for yourself, whether that’s the freelance writing business or some other business, is that you’re going to have to pay more in taxes. Now, you won’t always pay more in dollars,…

I am of the firm belief that our own self-identity, in many ways, determines the trajectory of our freelance writing business. The fact of the matter is you’re going to operate your business very differently if you see yourself as…

It’s one of the most basic principles of the market, and it’s no different for the freelance writing business than it is for anything else: You get what you pay for. What made me think of this? Last week I…

One of the basic principles of running a successful freelance writing business is adaptation. Being able to constantly review your business, revise your processes and change the way you do things is the difference between keeping current in the field,…

I’ve talked before about how a freelance writer can add value to a subcontractor’s work. It’s this value add that makes outsourcing profitable for the freelancer. If you want to grow your freelance writing business by subcontracting, then, you’re going…

Now that you’ve decided to subcontract some of your freelance writing business and even managed to find a good subcontractor, you’re ready to expand your business. The next step in this process is finding work for the subcontractor to do.…

One of the ways we’ve talked about before that you can grow your freelance writing business is to expand by bringing in subcontractors. There are a number of important factors that go into bringing in subcontractors, and we’ll explore some…

It doesn’t happen very often, but it has happened to me twice in ten days. Last week, I had a client kick a project back to me. The client didn’t ask me to revise the project; instead, he said “I’ve…

In the course of building up my freelance writing business, I’ve worked on both sides of the subcontracting line. In the early days, I was the subcontracted writer, creating copy for other freelance writers who polished it up and passed…

Some freelance writing business problems are good problems to have. Let’s face it: you’re better off having too much business than not enough. Even if it means you’re working late on a Saturday night while all of the other freelance…

I’m having a week. If you’ve been in the freelance writing business for any length of time, you’ve probably had a week like this, too. What’s wrong with my week? Well, I’ve got this interesting conflagration of events: I’m spending…

Running a freelance writing business can be a scary thing. It’s like any other small business: there are uncertainties, and there are risks. If you’re not prepared to face some of your biggest fears, a freelance writing business probably isn’t…

It’s always interesting to me when I talk to someone who’s not in small business about the freelance writing business. I often also forget just how different the image that most folks have of a “writer” is from what we…

If you’re like a lot of folks in the freelance writing business, you probably got your start not entirely sure what to charge for your work. Rates can be all over the place for something as simple as a web…

I asked the question last time whether or not you could operate a successful freelance writing business in a vacuum. I talked about the three major benefits of being part of a freelance writing community that are often touted: socialization,…

One of the things that you most often hear from bloggers in the freelance writing business is how important community is. I’ve even blogged about this myself. In recent days, however, I’ve been wondering what the true benefits of community…

If you’re good at what you do and if you have an overall spirit of customer service, the vast majority of your clients are going to walk away happy. That’s just the nature of business. A transaction in the freelance…

When I first started out freelancing, I was happy to land a gig that would pay, for example $30 for an hour’s worth of work. After all, when I was working in the IT field my salary was just under…

Subcontracting or outsourcing a certain amount of your freelance writing workload can free up time to spend on marketing, cover you in a pinch or emergency, or just give you an occasional afternoon off. Outsourcing is a pretty common practice…

I’ve written several times before about the difference between seeing yourself as a work-at-home mom or dad vs. seeing yourself as a freelance writing business. When I started out in the freelance writing business, I was very much in work-at-home…

Just about any blog that deals with the freelance writing business will have at least one post, if not many, on how to promote your freelance writing business using Internet marketing techniques. Indeed, for many of us who came to…

For many of us, our freelance writing businesses started out as something of a hobby or a part-time endeavor. We wanted to supplement the family’s income, or we wanted to earn a few extra bucks for that trip to Disney…

My freelance writing business isn’t the first business I’ve been involved in. It is, however, the longest-lasting and most successful to date. It’s also very different from my other business ventures. Now, I don’t want you to think I’m one…

Like we talked about last time, many freelance writing businesses, as well as many other small businesses, can’t seem to keep their doors open for more than about five years. According to the Small Business Administration, there are10 reasons why…

If you’ve just started your freelance writing business, you might be shocked to know that most experts expect a small business to have to wait at least five years before your business truly becomes profitable. Now, before you get too…

I’ve said it many times before: one of the biggest keys to success for your freelance writing business is customer retention. When you can bring clients back over and over again, you greatly reduce your marketing and sales overhead, the…

As someone whose freelance writing business relies on new media and nontraditional marketing channels, I’m fascinated by how local small businesses market themselves and how they grow. It’s interesting to me to see, for example, the local bakery grow from…