6 Ways to Promote Your Freelance Business
You need customers to make money as a freelancer. Unfortunately, clients don’t just fall into our laps, which mean we have to actively look for business. Even if you don’t have much experience in the areas of marketing and promoting, there are several inexpensive ways to promote a freelance business. In some cases, you don’t have to leave the house.
Advertise on the Internet: You have to get your business name and product in the public’s eye. Start online and place free classified ads. Since the Internet is flooded with free classified websites, you’ll need to place several daily ads. If you don’t have this kind of time, look into websites that automatically renew ads every hour or once a day. Read more
Work from Home? Tax Tips for Home-Based Businesses
It’s that time of year again. Many people who run a home-based business pay quarterly income taxes. This way, it isn’t a huge burden come April 15th. Whether you choose to pay income taxes throughout the year, or you wait until the last minute (like me), here are a few home-based business tax tips to lower your obligation, and hopefully contribute to a refund.
Snapshot of Legitimate Deductions for Home-based Businesses:
- Home Office - This is the room or space inside your home used exclusively for work. Thus, you can’t write-off your den or bedroom simply because it holds a computer and file cabinet.
- Vehicle Mileage - Does your home-based business involve driving? Whether you need to pick up business supplies or meet a client, you can write-off a portion of your yearly mileage. However, you’ll need to maintain accurate records. Keep a mileage log inside your vehicle and chart your business mileage.
- Miscellaneous Expenses - Most work at home professionals need the Internet. If you work exclusively on the net, or you communicate with clients via e-mail, you may be able to deduct a portion of your monthly Internet and telephone expense. Furthermore, if you have a business cellular phone, this expense is also tax deductible.
Freelance Jobs: How Much Should I Charge?
I’ve been a freelance writer for five years, and in my opinion, I think one of the biggest challenges is pricing projects correctly.
Freelancers are normally self-employed. They have to look for contracts and satisfy their client’s needs. Moreover, freelancers often apply for opportunities featured on job boards. Most clients have a budget in mind, and they’ll set the price for an assignment. Based on the compensation, freelancers can choose to ignore or apply for the assignment.
A few clients are clever. They don’t include compensation in the ad. Instead, they’ll ask all applicants to quote a price. I dislike these kind of job ads for two reasons.
- If you don’t know the client’s budget, there’s a chance that you’ll undersell yourself. In other words, you quote a price for the project, but the client is prepared to pay twice or triple the amount.
- You’ll likely be undersold by another freelancer. For example, you quote a price within the client’s budget, but lose the bid because someone else can complete the assignment for less.
The Instigator Blog offers several great tips on how-to price freelance projects successfully. Some freelancers have set prices for all assignments. While this method is quick and uncomplicated - it’s a big risk.
It’s best to determine freelance rates on a project-by-project basis. A few assignments are straightforward and require little research, in which you can charge a set price per word. Then again, an in-depth 300 word piece might take three or four hours to research and write. In this case, you’ll earn more with an hourly rate.
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Picking the Right Time to Become a Full-Time Freelancer
Making the switch from employee to freelancer requires strategic planning. Unfortunately, some people don’t plan ahead or they approach their business with naive expectations. As a result, they fall flat on their faces and often return to the workplace.
The secret to a smooth and successful transition is meticulous planning. Moreover, you need to assess your individual circumstances and determine the best time to make the switch to full-time telecommuter. The best time for someone else isn’t necessarily the best time for you.
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