Ten Steps to Creative Independence

Business Entrepreneurship Creativity Inspiration

I hosted a workshop at the 2010 Create Denver Expo on April 10, titled Ten Steps to Creative Independence. What makes some freelancers thrive, while others struggle? What are the traits that make creative independents succeed?

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How Friction Applies to User Experience Design

Business Marketing Technology

An important aspect of user experience design is removing as much friction as possible. In the context of web design, what is friction and how might it affect your website?

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Four Ways to Avoid Late Payments

Business Finances

If you are a freelance professional, you've probably had a client that paid you late for a project. Maybe they were only overdue by a day or two — or maybe they dragged out their full payment over weeks or even months.

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Is Design Entrepreneur An Oxymoron?

Business Entrepreneurship Creativity

You don't have to be a psychologist to have heard of the Myers Briggs Personality Test. Developed in the 1940s and working off of Carl Jung's earlier discovery of personality types, this tool is widely used today to help people find careers that best suit their sensibilities.

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What it Means to be an Independent Creative

Business Entrepreneurship Creativity

Thinking about ditching the day job for something much more exciting and flexible? Then being an independent creative may be just the thing for you. But before diving in, make sure you know what you need.

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Freelancing is not a Dirty Word

Business Entrepreneurship Startups

Freelance. The word conjures a dichotomy of examples. On one hand you have the pajama-wearing, bed-headed, self-employed worker bee, spilling milky cereal on their netbook while sitting on the couch. On the other hand, you have the dedicated professional, full of confidence, giddy with the thought of never sitting through rush-hour traffic every day, fiercely independent. The former is usually envisioned by those unfamiliar with self-employment. The latter is enjoyed by those who thrive as independent freelance professionals.

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Specialize and Thrive

Business Entrepreneurship Creativity

When I started working as a self-employed designer, the services I offered read like a directory of all things creative: brochures, catalogs, logos, marketing materials, interactive, posters, packaging...

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Creative Collaboration Can Help Turn Your Initial Failures Into Eventual Success

Business Entrepreneurship Creativity Collaboration

All great business models involve high levels of innovation and creativity. Unfortunately, thinking outside the box always involves a certain level of risk. When you think creatively, you have a lot of exciting new ideas, but not all of them are going to work. Failure is part of the equation when it comes to innovation.

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Why I No Longer Charge By The Hour

Business Entrepreneurship Finances

When deciding on how to approach pricing for your business' services, you have a lot of decisions to consider. One of the most important factors is determining your hourly rate. Once that's accomplished, you'll have to think about how you estimate prices to clients. Do you charge by the project? Or, do you calculate price based on the number of hours required to accomplish the task?

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Getting Paid as a Freelance Professional

Business Finances Creativity

If you're a freelance professional, chances are that you're preoccupied with thoughts of increasing your client base, managing your time, and exceeding the expectations of your current clients. Even during your leisure time (if you can even remember what that is) your thoughts bend toward finding ways to improve your business.

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Tips for the Newly Published Freelance Professional

Business Marketing

You’ve finally done it. Congratulations! You’ve published your first book. If you are like many writers, it has taken you years to craft your novel. You have written and rewritten it a dozen times. You went through the publishing process and probably picked up a couple of rejection letters along the way.

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The Domain Game: Master Your Domain to Protect Your Brand

Business Marketing Technology Internet

Are you master of your domain? The Internet assigns names to numbers, and often the name of a website is just as important as the content you'll find there. For a growing business or web presence, professional or personal, securing a strong domain name is an important first step for web development and often an enjoyable experience, but the registration process requires time and energy. Fear not, if you follow a few basic guidelines then you can proceed minus the headaches.

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Capitalize on Your Unique, Personalized Service as a Freelance Professional

Business Networking Clients

As a freelance professional, you may find yourself competing with some pretty large companies that offer similar services. When you are wooing clients and customers don't worry about the things big business can offer the clients you want to land, instead focus on what you can offer that big companies can't.

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Why Having a Responsive Website is Important

Business Marketing Technology Internet Software

More people are now using mobile devices for every part of their daily lives. For companies that want to stay competitive, it's critical to have a responsive website. As the role of mobile devices continues to explode for both personal and professional use, companies need to employ strategies that broaden their reach by making a website accessible to all mobile users.

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The Pros and Cons of Being a Freelance Professional

Business Networking Creativity Collaboration

More and more creative people are giving up salaried positions with big corporations to pursue careers as freelance professionals. Most creative work can be accomplished remotely and projects can be found through websites or networking so it is not necessary to have an employer in order to continue to work in the field you love.

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Time Management Issues for Creative Freelancers

Business Entrepreneurship

You never think as much about your time and productivity on the job as you do when you are working for yourself. When you have a salaried job it may be easy to not worry about which tasks take up the majority of your time and what your biggest distractions are.

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Does Your Website Help or Hurt Your Business?

Business Marketing Clients Technology

What affect does your website have on your business? Is it helping? Could it be hurting? Let's consider three ways it will impact you.

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The Four Essential Inputs of the Consistently Creative (and Productive) Freelancer

Business Entrepreneurship Creativity Inspiration

Whether you craft jewelry, words, or images, behind every good creative freelancer is a system designed to keep them productive over the long haul. Having a system establishes consistency, both for your income and your productivity as an artist and freelancer.

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Turning Potential Clients into Established Clients

Business Clients

One of the biggest challenges when working with a new client is getting them comfortable with you, your capabilities and your prices.

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Charge More to Work Less

Business Entrepreneurship Finances Startups

As I’ve proceeded down the path of being an independent creative, one thing has become readily apparent: increasing my rates has led to better projects and better clients. In addition to better projects and better clients, I’ve found that I actually work less. Sure, per-project hours tend to be more, but the actual number of hours I’m working per week has decreased.

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User Experience Design is a Key Part of a Good Sales Funnel

Business Marketing Clients Technology Internet

Warm leads are a joy to behold. Nothing is more pleasant than having a welcoming conversation with a potential client then making the sale. A good sales funnel converts warm leads. Good user experience design ensures good sales funnels.

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Content Marketing and Content Management Systems Go Together

Business Marketing Technology Internet Software

Content marketing is a form of inbound marketing that brings prospects to you rather than you going to them. Finding prospects by going to them requires that you divert their attention from whatever they are doing towards you and your message. Buying advertising on popular websites or television shows, and telemarketing are examples of this. However, most people don't want their limited time interrupted and naturally resist this form of marketing.

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Minimum Fees and Why You Should Have One

Business Finances Clients

Minimum fees are a necessary component of any profitable business. Let's explore what minimum fees are and why I believe you should always rely on them.

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Utilize Content Management Systems for Easier Website Management

Business Technology Software

When you decide it is time to create a website for your business or modify your existing website, I highly recommend that you incorporate a content management system (CMS).

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Should a Freelancer Pay for Bookkeeping Services?

Business Finances

It is easy to think of the business side of your creative freelance business as the price you pay to have the life you enjoy. As a creative freelancer, chances are pretty good that working with the numbers is not your strong suit. However, especially early on in your career as a creative freelancer, you're likely to muddle through the accounting to try to save money.

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Could You Make It as a Design Entrepreneur?

Business Entrepreneurship Finances Startups

So you may be wondering; could you really make it as a design entrepreneur? Making it as an interior designer, graphic artist, or anyone who does design work is tough. Are there tips or tricks that can make things easy?

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Tips To Be a Successful Freelance Professional

Business Entrepreneurship

Many people would love to be a successful freelance professional. They dream of a day where they can leave their boring (or highly stressful) job behind and work from home or in a location of their choosing.

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Four Tips for Choosing a Web Designer

Business Technology

Finding a web designer to create an online presence for your business can be daunting, to say the least. There are a lot of web designers out there and they are all clamoring for your attention. They all have a portfolio of customers, but how do you choose one that's right for you? Let's explore some of the most important things to look for.

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Collaboration Helps Independent Creatives Learn from Success

Business Networking Creativity Collaboration

People are always talking about learning from failure, but collaboration between independent creatives lets you wise up the easier way. Participating in a collective of freelance professionals gives you more opportunities to learn from success.

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Tips To Avoid Burnout As a Freelance Professional

Business Entrepreneurship Networking Creativity

It can be hard to be a freelance professional. You often spend days or weeks by yourself. You may find yourself with no one to talk to as you create your masterpieces and finish all of your multiple projects. Many business owners and freelance professionals burnout because of this. However, they can easily avoid it with the following tips:

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Five Ways To Nurture Your Independent And Creative Side

Business Entrepreneurship Creativity Inspiration

Being a small business owner is time consuming. When you are working for yourself, there is no one else to call when something needs fixing. And in some ways, that's where the magic lies.

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5 Web Design Best Practices

Business Marketing Creativity Technology Internet

Let's face it. Your website is a critical factor in your business success. The best websites are developed by professionals who understand the purpose of a website and use web design best practices to achieve the desired results. What are some of those best practices?

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Prequalify Your Prospects

Business Marketing Clients

I recently was asked by a friend about my thoughts on pre-qualifying prospective clients. Here are my thoughts and why I believe pre-qualification is a very important part of becoming a more successful, profitable business.

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Revenue and Profit: The Heartbeat of Business

Business Finances

Revenue and profit are the lifeblood of any business. They have a direct impact on a business' ability to invest in future growth, stay competitive and deliver the best possible service and product.

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Let’s Talk About The True Meaning of “Freelance Professional”

Business Entrepreneurship

Freelance professional. What a glossy, adventurous title. So many people in today's day and age sit in their cubicles, clock in at 9, punch out at 5, and dream of one day running their own business. So many dream of being freed from the restrictions of the traditional office job and having their own schedule.

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Four Exercises to Increase Productivity

Business Creativity Inspiration

There are many exercises that you can do to increase productivity. These exercises force you to look at things in a different way. If you consider various ways of doing the same thing, you’re bound to come up with more efficient ways of completing your everyday tasks. Additionally, the process of experimentation itself wakes up your mind and forces you to concentrate better.

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Learning What Works Best for YOU in Your Freelance Career

Business

"Discipline" is the major buzzword associated with becoming a freelance professional because it often means working from home.

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Why Having Passions Outside of Work is Healthy for the Freelance Professional

Business Entrepreneurship Creativity Inspiration

Too many people make the mistake of believing that the mark of a successful entrepreneur is becoming a workaholic. But that simply isn’t the case.

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The Power of “No” for the Creative Freelancer

Business Clients

Being a creative freelancer instead of working for a larger corporation can have many advantages, including the freedom and flexibility to pursue the work you love on your own terms.

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Four Common Fears About Starting a Freelance Business

Business Startups

Thinking of going freelance? Scared out of your mind? Most freelance professionals have been where you are. It's normal to feel this way and don't worry. Relax. You've got this.

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Why You Need To Network As a Freelance Professional

Business Networking Marketing Creativity Collaboration

Many people hate to network. They don’t like going to events, trying to talk to people that they never met, and finding common interests. They feel uncomfortable trying to pass out their business cards to everyone that they meet. However, it is very important for business owners to network.

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Secret Life of the Freelance Professional

Business Entrepreneurship Creativity

There are some little known facts about people who work as freelance professionals. Their work and schedule can be much different from someone who works a typical 9-5. To be a better freelance professional, consider these three secrets to optimize work and your personal life.

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3 Ways to Increase User Engagement On Your Website

Business Technology Internet Software

Have you checked your website's analytics lately? Maybe you've noticed low page views and a high bounce rate. That's a sure sign that users are landing on your pages and leaving right away. Multiple factors can contribute to why users are not engaging in your website. Cluttered content, poor web design, and difficult navigation are just a few reasons why. Below are some strategies you can use to help increase user engagement.

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Is the Customer Always Right? How to Avoid Difficulties with Clients

Business Clients

There are many things that the life of freelancing can offer you, from flexibility, more down-time with your loved ones and of course the freedom of being your own boss. However, there’s one thing that any freelancer no matter their industry can never escape despite the fact that you’ve given up the office life, and this is walking through the potential minefield of dealing with difficult clients.

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"Eric is a joy to work with on our various projects. He has a wonderful blend of design and programming skills along with healthy dose of professionalism - a winning combination that any vendor/client would immediately appreciate and value."
Clarence Low, President & CEO, Asian Chamber of Commerce Colorado

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