The Freelancer Head Start Podcast

In this episode, I chat with Marie of DIY Montreal on her start in the woodworking world as well as her start in blogging and YouTube. We chat about the different challenge that shes had along the way in growing her channel as well as her brand on YouTube, Instagram, and other platforms.

Everyone has their own path when it comes to freelancing and entrepreneurship. Your path is going to be unique from mine and others. In this episode, I wanted to share my own journey with how I started and became a freelancer and entrepreneur.

Finding your path in the tech field can be daunting if you don’t know where to start. This can be either a full-time job, freelancing, or consulting. Chanita Simms is helping build up the tech community around people of color with empowerment and resources to help find that techie job.

Are mailing lists and newsletters important for your business? The short answer; yes! The long answer; you have a direct line to your potential customers, clients, and colleagues through a mailing list. A mailing list and newsletter a way to communicate to a direct set of people.

A lifestyle blog is a blog where you write about what you are experiencing in your life. It can be very broad or focused on a single aspect of your life. Anyone can start a blog but few can make it a successful blog. Malika Bowling is one of those few people who have created a lifestyle blog focusing on food and travel. I chat with her on how she does it.

Most people would argue that Moonlighting is the gateway to freelancing. When you moonlight, you are working as an independent agent to your primary day job. That day job is, right now, your bread winner. Moonlighting is a GREAT way to test the waters and see if working for yourself is right for you. It is also a great way

Being fired is no fun and letting people go can also be difficult. But when it comes to letting clients go, you have to sometimes pull the plug. Don't ignore those red flags and keep those clients. Sometimes you’ve got to cut them loose yourself.

Mastermind Groups are a GREAT way to meet people, learn new skills, and better yourself. Its hard to go wrong with a Mastermind Group if you find one that fits your needs! Chef Jack takes it one step forward with creating an amazing meal experience with networking. His Mastermind Dinners can be found throughout Atlanta!

Never stop learning and reading as a professional. You’ll never know what you’re going to learn even if you think you already know everything. I make it a goal to read at least one self-help book every 6 months and it ain’t easy. So lets run down a list of a few books that have really stuck out to me that I think every entrepreneur or freelancer should read!

SEO is that magical buzz word that you hear a lot of web development and design firms use. All it boils down to is how to get the right people to your site. No matter if you have an online brochure or a content rich eCommerce website, you’ll need some form of SEO. Bobby Kircher and I chat about the best practices to optimize your website traffic.

Everyone’s got a great idea or has heaps of ambition to become the “Next Steve Jobs of [insert industry]”. A lot of people get caught up on where to start and sometimes need a guide or a map to get started. Freelancing or being an entrepreneur is an exciting and fun adventure. If you’re wonder about where to find clients, how to validate an idea, or generally how to run a freelancing business, you’re in the right places! Lets talk about the different ways you can start your journey.

It doesn’t matter if you’re selling a service or a physical product, you may have to pay attention to taxes when you cross that state line. Your LLC or S-Corp is your shield for taxes and can help guide you in how to take care of those taxes. Its very difficult to cover ever scenario, as your taxes can change from multi-State transactions AND how you/what are selling. Jacki and I chat about the basics of across state line taxes and how it might affect you.

Don't think you have to do everything at once with your business. Pace yourself and take things one step at a time. That old joke of "How do you eat an elephant...... one bite at a time..." is a perfect analogy on how to tackle big tasks. The phrase 'Eating the Elephant' can teach us how to take our time with growth and progress to avoid burnout or more. Here are some tips to help you slow down and grow.

Some people shy away from the word “contracts” because a lot of time it triggers that feeling of “being sued”. A contract, by definition, is a promise or set of promises that are legally enforceable and, if violated, allow the injured party access to legal remedies. In short, its an agreement between two or more people.

A product can look polished and pretty but fall flat when it comes to usability. The same can be the opposite; a dull looking app but does everything you ever want or need. Finding that nice middle ground and having a good UI/UX person on your team can really shift the outcome of your product. I chat with Matt Rix about the importance and usability of UI and UX.

I don't want to talk about Freelancing and Consulting without talking about the gotchas of Freelancing and Consulting. Its not all rose colored glasses and sailing off into the sunset. Working for yourself takes a lot of hard work and dedication that some people may ignore. So if you're reading tons of blog posts of the happy and fun and great sides of working for yourself, you may be overlooking the downside all together....

In today's world you cant get away from the internet or digital products. Pop culture is becoming more and more shaped by what goes on online and we need to pay attention. I chat with Pete Rorabaugh about how pop culture, technology, and digital culture tends to shape how we view things. We're almost at that stage where its become one and the lines are blurred.

The awesomeness of being a freelancer or entrepreneur is that you decide how you want to work to get the job done. There are dozens of applications and freelancer tools out there that help you become more efficient and effective at whatever you need to do. They can range from free to pay-to-use but we cant seen to live without them. Freelancer tools wont make or break your company, but here are a few tools that you may find using over and over again.

We're the experts but sometimes we need to look internally at our business or ourselves to make sure that we're using our own talents. We sometimes forget that WE are the experts! Don't forget to turn our own skills on ourselves. Candace Schilling and I chat about how we can 'Mind our own business' and take a look at our own business from the inside out.

YOU are one of the most important pieces of your business. How you feel and your energy can cause changes with what’s going on. Reiki is a Japanese energy healing technique that means universal life force energy, and flows through all of life. This technique is an alternative healing method that can help balance your life in ways you didn’t know possible. Noelle Abent and I chat about Reiki, the benefits, and how it might be able to help you.