Archive for the "Keeping it together" category

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!”- Lewis Carroll In the end, I lost two working days, $25, and risked some bad feedback from an upset buyer. It started well enough… The job posting was to ghost a hundred page e-book. More details came after an inquiry: The buyer [...]

I’m big on referring other writers to oDesk. I like the setup here and I like the built in protections. But I find that many otherwise enthusiastic writers new to freelancing feel intimidated. They have a bit of trepidation about selling their ‘product’.Bound up in this anxiety is a fear that their writing isn’t good [...]

Business or Hobby? Before we talk tax deductions, there’s a key definition you need to keep in mind. To take most of the deductions I’ll mention, you have to be categorized as a business by the IRS. The notion of a ‘business’ overlaps with ‘contractor’ and from a practical point of view there isn’t much [...]

It’s April, and while young men’s hearts are turning to love, freelancers turn to thoughts of taxes. Yes, taxes. I know, I know… griping about taxes is only slightly less common than moaning about traffic or the weather. In my opinion, all the complaining is unjustified. Taxes are more than a payment made to run [...]

I have a friend. I’m sure you have friends too, it’s part of the human condition; but that’s not what  this post is about.   Instead it’s about what you need to think about when you work at home from the computer. So let’s take my friend, who we’ll call Tom Smith because that’s not [...]

oDesk is different from all the other freelance sites I’ve worked with, and I think many of the differences are good things. The first one, which we’ve mentioned more than once, is the hourly model. It’s a great way for people to transition to freelance if they’re not used to estimating how long tasks are [...]

If you are a solo freelancer like me, you might not realize how employee morale impacts your business. Employee, you ask? Sure- you. In this article, I’m going to try to convince you that paying attention to your own personal growth by seeking out off-line activities will improve your skills, your income, and your attitude. [...]

First off, I’d like to thank Josh Breinlinger for commenting on the first part of this series with handy information as well as boosting my cool status by a full ten points! I hope you continue reading and commenting. Now, on to business. What are some good ways to protect yourself when doing fixed-price jobs? [...]

Gather round, I want to tell you a story. Once upon a time there was a freelancer who was looking for work. He had just finished a major project and was looking for something small that would keep some money coming in while he looked for something bigger. He went to a job search site [...]

Yes, my move is still ongoing. The good news is that I’m writing this in the new place, and am almost completely out of the old one.  The bad news is the almost.   As I write this I’m sitting at the kitchen table that is doing double duty as my work desk as my real [...]