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With the start of the New Year upon us, the likelihood of you deciding to head off into Freelancing full-time may be tickling your senses. We understand your passion to make it on your own, and present our Top 10 Freelance Resolutions for this coming year. Already freelancing? Hopefully some of these concepts will help you recommit to your endeavor, and subsequently bring you success in the years to come.

1. Know Your Market

So you know what you like to do. Great. And you’ve put together a contract, and a list of contacts to help generate leads. But do you really know your market? Market research is an important aspect of getting your business rolling, but even more importantly, it is vital for future of your freelance career. If you don’t know your market, you don’t know what your competition is up to, or even who your potential customers are or will be. Do yourself a big favor and make this a priority.

2. Find a Mentor

The value of a business mentor is vastly underrated in the freelance world. In the corporate world, a good manager can serve as the mentor, providing tips, growth ideas, and support. As an entrepreneur, you need a mentor too. Who would this person be? A trusted business person who you want to develop a close (and free) relationship with in order to help develop your business and personal growth.

It is easy to believe that we are the only ones dealing with a specific issue, but a mentor can help you realize that the issue isn’t unique, and help you create a resolution. They’ve been there, done that, and have a network of contacts which can be a real life saver. Many local small business associations (SCORE, for a US example) provide this service if you are having trouble finding someone.

3. Set Small Goals

Your business plan helps to outline your overall goals. And you probably have some big goals in mind when it comes to your business. But did you know that by thinking about your goals, and then breaking them into a series of smaller goals that lead to the result, that you are more likely to succeed? This is true for a couple of reasons. First, it will make the tasks seem less intimidating. And if you aren’t intimidated, then you are less likely to make excuses for not completing said steps. Second, by creating a list of small goals, you are outlining the overall steps needed, and can check off those items as you make progress. In this fashion, just like packing for a long trip, you are unlikely to forget an important stage. Don’t be afraid to post these small goals where you, your family (and friends), and even mentor can see them. We’ll explain why in just a moment.

4. Listen More (Talk Less)

We all love to talk about our hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. But we can also provide so much information to a potential customer, that they lose track of what you are trying to express to them. Think about your business line and capabilities, and distill this into a 60 second blurb. Memorize, print out, and even post the blurb. Next time you have an opportunity to talk about your business, share this with the lead and then listen very carefully. If you’ve done things right, your future client will start telling you their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments, and will start thinking of ways that you can help them.

5. Treat Yourself

Have you met a goal? Did you bring on a new client? Be sure to treat yourself! It doesn’t need to be anything fancy or expensive, but make sure you reward your success. Positive reinforcement will help drive you on, and keep you passionate about what you are trying to do. If you are feeling down, and thinking about giving up on freelancing, consider what you’ve done in the past, and ask yourself if you made YOU happy during this process. If not, take a small break, get back into a positive mode, and then take another look at your freelancing career. We often spend so much time thinking about our customers and clients, that we neglect ourselves.

6. Don’t Dream of Success (Be a Success)

This one is simple: Stop dreaming of success and go be a success. Having your dreams is great, but if you aren’t doing anything about them, you won’t ever start achieving these wonderful passions. This is another great reason to have a mentor, as they can help keep you grounded so that your true potential can fly.

7. Find Inspiration

Jack London once said, “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” In other words, find (or make) your own inspiration. Whether it be the art (audio or visual), a particular blogger or writer, or even something as simple as a goldfish in a bowl, create a list of things that drive you to continue, and when you are feel like you are stuck in a rut, pick an inspiration and use it to move yourself again.

8. Be Accountable

One of the hardest things, even for me, is accountability. You need to be accountable not just in business (such as the 60 second spot you need to create), but also in our personal lives. But once you’ve broken the barrier of potential embarrassment or shame, you will be a much stronger for the effort. Optimally, one would use both a spouse and mentor to act as accountability partners. A lot of churches can also help with the personal side too. Not married? Then use your mentor! Believe me, this sort of deep accountability will turn you into a more trustful and trustworthy individual, and will help provide a strong foundation for life as a whole.

9. Focus

After you’ve considered all the latter points, it is now time to focus. Hone your thoughts, actions, and passions so that you are living, breathing, and accomplishing your freelance dreams. Set aside an area through which you can focus on your list of small goals, and go after them. We want you to succeed - shouldn’t you want you to succeed too?

10. Quality of Living vs Quantity in Life

Last on the list is what I would consider the most important resolution for the year. Analyze your Quality of Living (QOL) versus your Quantity in Life (QIL). What’s the difference between the two? QIL, or Quantity in Life, is our mindset and reality about what we have - cars, house, gadgets, and even money. Quality of Living, or QOL, is a focus on family, friends, and time. Where do you stand now? In what ways can you swing the balance back towards QOL? Because what you may not realize is that through Quality of Living, what you have in the Quantity of Life will be far sweeter and more satisfying than the other way around (which often cannot even work).

With that, we present a toast to you and yours, wishing you the best for the year to come!

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Original post by FreelanceSwitch.com

Original post by FreelanceSwitch.com

Last week our web developing and designing readers had their Firefoxes pimped with 12 essential extensions. This week we’ll be unlocking Firefox’s web writer capabilities with a set of 9 crucial extensions for freelance writers.

From gaining complete control of your text to keeping your work safe and sound, all the essentials are here. No filler. Just really good tools.

1. Copy Plain Text
   This extension gives you complete control over rich text by stripping it plain. Perfect for research or quoting other sources without links and formatting you don’t want or need.
2. Split Browser
   Pasting from one tab to another can be cumbersome. This extension makes the process a breeze by splitting your browser window into two (or three, or four) panels, allowing for instant copying and pasting between pages.
3. Resizable Text Area
   This extension makes text input areas flexible by allowing you to resize them as you like. Give your writing the room it needs to breathe.
4. AutoCopy
   Clever little time-saver which automatically adds text to the clip-board as soon as you select it.
5. ScrapBook
   When gathering research for an article you’ll often find yourself cutting and saving snippets of text from various websites. ScrapBook is a simple, bookmarks-style interface designed to make this process quick and painless.
6. Signature
   Every web writer finds themselves re-using certain snippets of text again and again — whether it’s your byline or the HTML code you use for that image in every article. Signature allows you to save these snippets and access them at any time via the right-click menu. Lovely.
7. Dictionary Search
   Search Dictionary.com from the Firefox search bar. Great for answering that perennial question: does the word I’m using mean what I think it means, or am I about to embarrass myself?
8. Zotero
   For more in-depth research work this extension is a slick and powerful way to track sources, references and citations. Also includes refined note-taking capabilities.
9. Text Area Word Counter
   An extension for freelance web writers by, arguably, one of the best: Gina Trapani. Instantly retrieve the word count of text in any web form. Perfect for paid bloggers with a word quota to meet.

What would you add to the list?

Original post by FreelanceSwitch.com

Seldom do you meet a veteran graphic designer that’s done more than create stunning visuals. But Jeff Fisher has managed to maintain a highly successful career while positioning himself as an industry expert—and author.

Hailing from Oregon, this savvy designer has a knack for business development, promotion—and Friday’s off. Read on to find out the secrets to Jeff’s continuing achievements.

Kristen Fischer: Tell us a little about how you got started as a designer.
Jeff Fisher: As a kid I was always artistic—and the one told “you will never make a living as an artist.” Still, art was a major part of my early education and I got a great deal of support from teachers and others in the community. In 1974, as a senior in high school I saw Milton Glaser’s book Graphic Design at the public library and knew that is what I wanted to do for a living.

I went to college to study graphic design and detested the program offered through the Fine Arts School. A friend suggested taking the coursework taught by Roy Paul Nelson in the Journalism School. It involved publication design, advertising design, type design, and all of the requirements of the journalism program including copywriting, public relations and marketing classes.

When I got out of school in 1980 I had no intention of working independently. I wanted to work in a large design firm or advertising agency, but there were no jobs to be had. I spend a lot of time doing informational interviews and talking with anyone who would take the time. That investment in time and energy led to a lot referrals for contract design work.

KF: You’ve taken your expertise in design and gone above and beyond, turning into an industry expert. How’d you do it?
JF: A large part of that success is due to understanding the importance of marketing and promoting oneself. I come from a family of public relations professionals, so perhaps part of my success is genetic. I always sign off my press release with “If I don’t ‘toot! my own horn, no one else will!” and I think it is important for designers to understand that there is a difference between the bragging we were scolded about a kids and effective self-promotion efforts.

KF: Great point! Do you think that’s a vital step for designers?
JF: I don’t think it is vital for all designers to establish themselves as an “industry expert.” However, I do think they have an obligation to themselves to learn and understand as much as possible about the business of graphic design. Sharing that knowledge with those coming up in the industry helps define and maintain graphic design as a valid and healthy profession option.

KF: Again, your reach has gone beyond client work–and into books, too. What’s the gist behind Identity Crisis? Did you come up with all of the branding yourself? How did you find contributors for the book?
JF: In 2004, my first book The Savvy Designer’s Guide to Success was published. At the time it wasn’t really the book I wanted to write—but it was what I was asked to write. When I felt I was ready to take on another book project, I proposed writing a volume about the redesign of business and organization identities. I wanted to showcase the efforts of one-person design firms to major design entities, with projects from start-ups to major corporations. That proposal was approved by my publisher HOW Books and Identity Crisis! was the result.

I initially invited about 200 designers and firms to participate in the book (Crisis) project. Nearly 100 expressed interest in submitting case studies to the book. In the end about 60 firms actually made submissions to the book. My editor Amy Schell and I made the final selections as the book concept was altered from 100 case studies to the 50 included in the final volume.

My major contribution to the branding of the book was the addition of the exclamation point to the title. I wanted the book’s title on the spine to scream from shelves—and it does. HOW Books designer Grace Ring did an incredible job of designing the book cover and content.

With my first book project, author Ilise Benun told me that, even with access to the marketing department of a major publisher, an author is going to need to do a major portion of a book’s promotion themselves. I took what was created by the publisher and created my own marketing program for the book, including the Identity Crisis! blog. In doing so, I have created a very strong brand for the book itself. Designers, and book reviewers, are already suggesting that Identity Crisis! become a series of future books.

KF: Why do you think redesigning existing identities is so fundamental for designers, and what tips do you have when clients need this service?
BF: Designers are constantly facing the challenges of recreating, revamping or re-energizing existing business or organization identities. The process can be much more intense than creating a new business image from scratch. When taking on such a redesign effort, I always suggest that designers consider the historical aspects of the existing logo; give thought to the emotional attachment of owners, employees and the customer base; and determine if existing design elements are appropriate to include in the new identity as part of a seemingly natural design evolution. The first thing I usually say to a designer about such projects is “Never tell your client their logo sucks.” If you make that statement you can be assured that the logo was created by the client, their spouse, their child, or the kid next door—and your potential business relationship with that client is already damaged.

KF: So, when it comes to designing logos, what do you think are the biggest mistakes a designer can make?
JF: The vast majority of designers forget to incorporate basic design principles when creating logos. In many cases those designing logos have never been taught design basics and it shows in the final work. The most successful and memorable logos are most often the simplest designs. Many designers try to convey too much information in a logo design. I like designing images that make the viewer want to know more information about a business, organization or event.

I recently posted the following on a design forum:

The personal computer and the accompanying software programs have been incredibly detrimental to identity design over the past two decades. Anyone with a computer, Photoshop, Comic Sans and Papyrus, a clip art book, and someone willing to pay for work, now calls themselves a “professional logo designer.” The primary things missing are often talent, true design skills and an understanding of basic design principles.

Software “special effects” seldom add much to a logo design. Instead, distractions are created that get in the way of the message the logo needs to communicate.

Following design industry trends is another mistake made by many logo creators. By the time something is declared a trend it has usually already been seen too much. A logo making use of trends will soon be dated.

KF: You’ve gotten tons of awards in addition to positioning yourself as an industry expert. How can designers (and other freelancers in general) get out there and do the same?
JF: In 1995, I realized that most of my traditional paid advertising and marketing was ineffective. I decided to invest my money, time and energy into participating in respected industry design competitions. The awards, and publication in design annuals, provided worldwide exposure to my work and gave me the added bonus of opportunities to promote myself via press releases announcing the award news. There are many online resources, including my own bLog-oMotives, that publish international calls for entries for such competitions—and some charge no entry fees at all.

KF: You’re also featured in a slew of books. How did those opportunities come about?
JF: Exposure begets exposure. Publication in books results in requests for work examples to be included in additional books. Sending out press releases about one’s accomplishments brings about the publication of such information on websites and in magazines. That media coverage results in other writers and authors making contact for editorial content, quotes or illustrative submissions.

I also write a great deal myself. The journalism training I had in high school and college has been very helpful when writing articles, reviews, blogs, and books. My own writing then creates additional marketing and promotion opportunities. At some point, it all seems to take on a life of its own.

KF: Tell us how you feel about the jump from a creative career in design into publishing. How has this helped your business, and what has it done for you personally? How do you like the overall vibe of publishing?
JF: For me, there has not been a major “jump” from one to the other. As far back as high school, when I was designing and editing the high schools newspaper, my design and writing efforts have co-existed. Throughout my career I have written and designed ads, brochures and other materials. The progression into writing design articles seemed very natural to me. Writing books was just the next step in my career.

I truly enjoy writing, and the results have given much greater exposure to my design work. Incredible opportunities have come my way as a result. I appreciate the fact that I don’t have to choose one over the other. I assume that I will continue to do both for many years.

Publishing is a totally unique beast. Again, my marketing, promotion and public relation skills have come in very handy in regards to my books. Still, I think success in publishing requires the cultivation of successful, and valuable, personal and professional relationships. With publishing relationships going back only seven or eight years I suppose I’m still a newbie. Design relationships of over 20 years probably qualifies me as a design-o-saur.

KF: Because you have all this other stuff going on, in addition to your business, do you find that you spend less time with clients now? Are you more selective in choosing clients?
JF: After 30 years as a professional designer, I have reached a point where I can usually pick and choose clients. I get to take on projects that are truly of interest to me, rather than absolutely everything that comes my way.

I spend very little face-to-face time with clients. Most of my client projects are conducted almost entirely by email. Very little time is spent in client meetings with even local clients.

I also have no client contact at all on Fridays. My office hours are Monday through Thursday, 8:00 to 5:00. Fridays are usually spent on marketing efforts of doing work-related paper work.

KF: Brilliant idea. So who is your biggest source of inspiration?
JF: There really is no one “who.” Milton Glaser has always been the person who inspired me to be a designer. However, designers, artists, and writers in general provide me constant and varied inspiration. Having the support of my partner of 17.5 years, Ed, is a major source of inspiration.

My work inspiration seldom comes from sitting at my desk in my home-based studio. Pushing myself away from the computer and getting out in the world provides inspiration. Gardening, travel, time with my friends, reading everything I can get my hands on, and “creative field trips” to galleries, museums and great retail establishments all provide inspiration for my design efforts.

Kristen Fischer is a copywriter and author living in New Jersey. Check out more on her copywriting business at http://www.kristenfischer.com.

Original post by FreelanceSwitch.com

The new year is always a good time to set goals for the next 12 months. As a freelance developer, at least some of them should focus on how to stay on top of your game.

Today I’ve written out my ten resolutions for 2008. Some of these apply not just to developers, some are especially important for them. Some of them are inspired by one of my favorite books The Pragmatic Programmer. If you haven’t read it yet, I suggest you do it first thing in the new year. The following are things I usually go through over the course of a new year, not one of them, all of them, if it’s possible.

1. Learn a new programming language

For me, this is one of the most important things to do. Learning a new programming language not only gives you more things to put on your portfolio, it also broadens your knowledge and makes you look differently at things and how you’re doing them right now or have done in the past.

If you’re a web developer and haven’t taken it for a spin yet, check out Ruby on Rails. Even if you don’t pick it up immediately for new projects, I can assure you that it will change your view on how you’ve been doing things in the past, whether you’ve worked with Java or PHP. No matter what language you pick up, there’s only one decent way to really learn it: by putting it to practical use.

2. Start your own project

Even if it’s just for fun, put your knowledge to some regular use other than your every day work. That way you can learn new techniques, try out new frameworks and tools, and add something to show in your portfolio. You could also become an active member of an open source project - your own or an existing project. Both help you build up reputation, especially if other people actually use your work.

3. Add a new tool to your toolbox

The toolbox is what drives your everyday work. For every task you solve you usually use the right tool that fits the needs as exactly as possible. But what about those tedious tasks you’re still doing by hand over and over again? What if there’s a tool that could take that load off your hands? Identify that task and look for tools that might help you solve it faster. Even if it’ll cost you money, in the end it can save you precious time.

4. Read a book each quarter

For me reading is a crucial part of expanding my knowledge. The Pragmatic Programmer’s golden rule is to read one book on technical topics each quarter. I try to read more than that, but also to squeeze in a good old novel in between. Reading has never been a waste of time, a good book is still something to be valued, and something the Internet and blogs just can’t give you. They’re perfect to stay up to par, but books give you a bigger picture. Whether you prefer a paperback or an ebook, reading more is one resolution that never goes out of style.

5. Learn from last year

The holidays are a perfect time to look back over the last twelve months. Look at your achievements, your successes, incorporate them into your portfolio if appropriate. But also look at things that went wrong, things that stood in your way, things that slowed you down, or just simply mistakes you made. Jot them down and try to find ways to prevent those mistakes, or to circumvent things that hold you back.

Learning from mistakes is a technique that’s being used far less than it should be. Things that went wrong can, looked at objectively, teach you a lot. I’d even go as far as saying that you can only learn really valuable lessons from things that went wrong.

6. Get rid of an old habit

The first thing that comes to mind when you think bad habits is to quit smoking. Though I’m not necessarily talking about health issues, this is still a very good resolution. But it can also be a habit that makes you less productive or slows you down. You check your email too often, you let yourself be distracted too much by instant messaging with friends, spend too much time updating your Twitter status, you name it.

All of these are distractions that tend to lure your focus away from the very thing that brings in the money: work. If you can turn all the aforementioned things into money, I salute you. If not, you might want to consider reducing their usage.

7. Pick up a new habit

Now that you got rid of an old habit, pick up a new one. After all, there’s more time in your life now, right? Actually it’s not that easy. Picking up a new habit can be a dangerous thing, but it can also be useful for your career. Starting to blog would be one example for the latter. Or always using more personal ways than email or instant messaging to stay in touch with your clients.

If you feel like you’re drowning in unorganized work, pick up Getting Things Done, and try to get more organized. While I’m not a religious follower, it has still helped me to stay focussed on tasks and specific actions. And that alone is a huge improvement in productivity.

8. Start writing a journal

Isn’t that what teen girls do? Far from it. And it doesn’t have to involve fancy stickers, ponies or unicorns of any kind. At the end of the day, or after you finished a task, just write down what you did, what problems you ran across and how you solved them. Include code snippets for interesting things.

Over time you’ll grow a nice reference of your work, your code, things that went wrong, and, most importantly, your successes. If you want to, include your newly picked up habits. That way you have something to track your progress and something to look through at the end of the year to figure out your resolutions for the following year. Plus, it gives you that warm and fuzzy feeling knowing that you accomplished something during the day.

9. Get away from the computer

Even though work’s fun and all, there’s also that world outside. With other people, sun, and lots of things to see. Three dimensions, just waiting to be explored. So why not pick up a camera and start shooting? That’s what I did. Photography is a nice way to get new inspirations, to take your mind off work for a while and most importantly, to take the hands off the computer.

If it’s your thing, pick up a hobby involving crafting. I found cooking and baking to be an almost zen-like experience. Gives you time to think, keeps your hands and mind busy nonetheless, and gets you and your hands out of their daily routine. The latter is something not to be underestimated.

Unless you’re doing workout anyway, just typing and using the mouse all day long will eventually come back and hurt you in your strains. Let me tell you that there are things far more pleasant than that kind of pain. Enjoying fresh cookies is one of them.

10. Go on holidays

Life’s too short for just work. And there’s lots of places to see in the world. Australia, for example. Take time off, plan a holiday, and get away from home and most importantly, don’t take your computer, visit an internet cafe if you must check your email every once in a while. Pick up books instead. When I’m on holidays I read like crazy. I usually need three to four days per book, and the best thing is: I actually enjoy it. It frees the mind, gives new ideas and gives your body time to rest and recreate.

Happy New Year

That’s a big list certainly, but it’s nothing to be scared of. Just go through it one by one, take your pick for each one and get going. The best way to start off the new year, in my opinion, is to read a new book. So get to it, set your goals for the next year, and try your best to reach them.

Original post by FreelanceSwitch.com

This post is a guest post from Allan Branch, a web designer/entrepreneur who started as a freelancer. After just 4 years Allan’s company has grown to 10 full-time employees and is responsible for the indispensable LessAccounting as well has several other apps still in beta.

Over the past years, my business has grown from a freelancer fresh out of college to a business with employees, constant expenses and payroll. When you’re in the early stages of freelancing accounting is simple. You always know what you have in the bank, you have few expenses and few accounts receivable. As you become more established your accounting needs grow. Things can be easier later if you setup a simple accounting protocol early before these problems arise and take over your life.

Here are some basic accounting steps for a freelancer:

Step 1 - You need a way system to bill people.
There are tons of invoicing tools online, (LessAccounting, BlinkSale, FreshBooks). Most have free accounts for you to try o