To freelance or not to freelance is the question! And this question has three answers: yes, no, and maybe. Which one of the three you choose will depend upon three key factors:
- How much time you have?
- Your area of expertise?
- Do you need money to pay your bills?
If you are reading this sitting comfortably in your air-conditioned-office chair then chances are you will not go for any part-time or freelance work and, the only factor for you to consider is the monetary requirement of your family to decide for freelancing. But if you do not have an office to sit in and no extra office-time to invest in reading blogs then you are among many who are hit by the recession. By now, you must be quite aware that finding a full-time, regular job in market like this is not going to be very, very difficult. If this is you then your answer should be yes for the freelancing question.
Key Skills for Freelancing
Not everyone can become a freelancer. It requires hard work and persistency. To become successful as a freelancer, you need to have the following skills:
- You need to have an expertise in one or more field.
- Ability to meet deadlines.
- A good time management skill.
- Marketing Skills.
- Negotiation skills.
- You ability to do research on the Internet
- Agility
Freelancing as a business
Freelance works gives you an opportunity to start a knowledge-based business where the reward will be in proportion to the resources (time and energy) you invest. When starting out as a freelance service provider, do not expect to get a very lofty returns on the resources invested. Like any other business, in freelancing as well, the income does not pour in, rather it grows over time. You will first have to build reputation in the market with the good work before you can make a killing, and this will take time. There are many people who earn their livelihood through freelance works only. If they can, why cannot you! Give some time; your freelance business will flourish.
Tags: Agility, Freelance Business, Freelance Service, Freelance Work, Freelancer, Freelancing, Full Time, Good Time Management, Key Skills, Livelihood, Negotiation Skills, Office Chair, Office Time, Part Time, Persistency, Proportion, Recession, Reputation, Service Provider, Time Management Skill
In building your website or blog the main piece of advice for success that’s thrown around is the importance of networking. And it’s true, networking is the most effective means to drive your website’s traffic and get yourself out there. But how exactly should you go about networking yourself to receive the most effectiveness from your effort?
Well first off you have to understand just what it means to network your website. Networking on the internet refers to building relationships with other sites that offer similar content or interests to your site, so that both parties will exchange links on the websites they own, giving a chance for both sites to be noticed by opposing traffic. Practically every site owner is open to these sorts of link exchanges, because in pretty much every case it’s a fantastic way to get credibility and higher traffic for your website.
The more reputable places you appear, the better your reputation will become.
Which is exactly why first you should look to every remotely popular site that offers content or products similar to yours. Do not restrict on the basis that a company is too far out of your area, or seems initially unwilling to deal with you, as these can still turn out to become valuable resources in the future. Be patient and polite and try to approach as many different sites as possible.
Make more contacts than you think you’ll ever need, even if a few of them seem as though they won’t be as beneficial as you would hope. Mostly because you never know what will happen, and the traffic influence you receive from unexpected sources can differ greatly. So it’s very important to maintain a good standing with everyone you try to network your site with.
And finally, make sure you always allow appropriate response time for any sites your interested in networking with. Sometimes it can take webmasters a very long time to respond, so don’t be surprised if it takes a few days or weeks. Keep trying and you’ll see the benefits of effectively networking your website.
Tags: Appropriate Response, Building Relationships, Contacts, Credibility, Few Days, Importance Of Networking, Internet Relationships, Link Exchanges, Long Time, Piece Of Advice, Reputable Places, Reputation, Response Time, Sorts, Success, Traffic, True Networking, Unexpected Sources, Valuable Resources
Everywhere in the world today, people are becoming submerged in debt. Everywhere you look, it is possible to purchase today and pay tomorrow, consumers are steadily falling into this trap everyday, and before they know it, they are so far in debt they are unsure how to get out. This is where debt counseling comes in; however you need to be made aware of debt counseling frauds. Some are only in place to take your money.
Legitimate debt counseling companies do not claim to be not-for-profit if they are not. There have been cases where a company has claimed this and ended up swindling their client’s money. There are ways to protect yourself; you should check a debt counseling company’s reputation thoroughly before investing your time and effort into them.
Never conduct business with a company that requires any upfront fees or asks you for voluntary contributions. This is a red flag, legitimate debt counseling companies advise you on money management, budget development, debt and educational material and occasionally workshops.
Essentially, it is none of their business regarding the details of your situation or requires you to be approved. They should discuss your financial situation and help you in developing a plan to eliminate the problems.
You can also check your local government agency or better business bureau, to ensure that they are indeed legitimate and no complaints have been filed against them.
The other things that will tell you rather or not a debt counseling service is legitimate include the following things. If they promise lowered payments, leave, only interest rates can be lowered not payments. If they ask you for your account numbers prior to giving you a quote, this is not necessary at all. If they group the quotes together instead of giving you a breakdown of how each creditor will be handled, this will leave you with no idea of how long it will take to pay off each account.
There are also questions you should always ask when choosing a debt counseling service. These questions should include charges for educational material, a disclosure in writing of fees that are charged, if they are properly licensed to do business in your area, what will happen if you cannot afford their fees, what type of services do they offer and if the counselors are certified and who certified them. This is your money and your financial well-being, do not leave any stone unturned.
There is a new bankruptcy law that makes filing bankruptcy harder for everyone. To file a chapter 7 will be nearly impossible if you are currently employed. They have formed a test that you will have to pay showing that your income is less than the median income for your area. Along with these new laws, it has become required to obtain debt-counseling services when filing bankruptcy.
Choose the debt counseling company very carefully and ensure they are legitimate. You do not want to cause more harm or damage to your credit, so choose reputable companies wisely.
Tags: Account Numbers, Better Business Bureau, Budget Development, Consumers, Counseling Service, Creditor, Debt Counseling, Educational Material, Financial Situation, Frauds, Interest Rates, Legitimate Debt, Local Government Agency, Management Budget, Money Management, Red Flag, Reputation, Upfront Fees, Voluntary Contributions, World Today
