How to Freelance - Avoid This Critical Mistake If You Want to Do Well With Freelancing by John Purfield

If you are thinking about freelancing, you are going to make mistakes in the beginning. In this business, it's a given. The good thing about mistakes is you can learn from them and get better. The following is a very crucial mistake that is very common among freshman freelancers. Hopefully this will help save you some time.

I'd like to discuss the importance of good communication with your clients.

Some freelancers don't communicate well or at all with their clients. It's an easy trap you can get yourself into. This especially happens right after you get freelance work from the client. The common thought is you have the work anyway, they can't possibly take it away from you. While you may finish the job and get paid buy the client, you're at risk for losing that client and not getting any more work if you don't have good dialog.

There are two ways you can go wrong with miscommunication. One is you don't communicate well at all. The other is you just don't talk to the client at all from the point after you close the deal and start work. Both are bad.

For those that don't communicate well, you'll have your work cut out for you. The best thing you can do in this case is be a good listener. Clients like it when you hear them and answer their questions when they need you too.

If you are starting out with freelancing, you want to hear everything they tell you and try and paraphrase what they are saying. While this sounds very simple, you'd be surprised how many people foul up with this.

If you are the type that doesn't contact your clients at all, then you're in even bigger trouble. You'll need to make some wholesale changes in how you approach your work. With freelancing, it's not about just getting the work. It's mainly about supporting the work and the client. Keeping yourself in the loop with your client's can get you a lot of work.

Freelancing is a great way to be self employed. However, you have to make sure you can handle this crazy business. You'll see a link below in my resource box to a free report on starting your own freelancing business. It's a good read if you're seriously thinking of going into the freelancing business.

Good Luck.

Want to start your own freelancing business? Get my free report at http://www.beinbusiness.net and get the facts about how to start freelancing The report covers all you need to know to get started.

Career Experts And Bloggers Spotlight Promising Opportunities For Job-seekers

While the economy is showing signs of recovery, indications that the recovery will continue to be "jobless" casts a pall over hopes for a full bounceback. Job Action Day (see JobActionDay.com), the second annual event spearheaded by Quintessential Careers, addresses the jobless recovery by spotlighting promising areas in which the unemployed and other job-seekers may find opportunities.

"The idea is that job-seekers can take plenty of action steps right now - today - to move forward in their careers, even if they're unemployed and have been for some time," said Quintessential Careers Founder and Publisher Dr. Randall S. Hansen. "We established Job Action Day last year as a day for job-seekers pummeled by the economic meltdown to take control of their careers and initiate action," Hansen said. "Where last year shock, fear, and paralysis may have inhibited action, this year, the gloom of prolonged unemployment may be de-motivating job-seekers."

But Hansen underscores his belief that job-seekers can take action today in his Job Action Day article, 10 Things (Activities) You Can Do Today for Your Job Search (http://www.quintcareers.com/job-search_activities.html).

Quintessential Careers and a cadre of Job Action Day writers and bloggers have targeted several areas as offering bright spots of opportunity:

-- Federal Jobs: The federal government plans to fill 293,000 mission-critical jobs over the next five years, reports Barbara Safani on her CareerSolvers blog, citing a presentation by Barbara Adams, president of CareerPro Global Inc. The Obama administration will expand the number of civilians in the executive branch by 140,000 to reach a total of 2 million, the highest number since President Clinton took office in 1992. The federal government is the only national employer that will continue to fill jobs regardless of economic conditions, and because more than 40 percent of the 1.5 million federal employees will retire in the next five years (totaling 300,000 jobs, writes Nancy F. Smith on CBS MoneyWatch), turnover will create additional opportunities. Job-seekers can learn about the complex federal application process in a Job Action Day article by Diane Hudson Burns, A Crash Course in How to Apply for Federal Employment (http://www.quintcareers.com/federal_government_jobs.html).

-- Green/Clean Energy Jobs: Adams also reports that the Obama administration is creating 5 million new green jobs through its stimulus plan, Safani writes. Smith notes that the stimulus is pumping $50 billion into “projects as diverse as mass transit, modernizing the electric power grid, and weathering government buildings.” In her Job Action Day article, It's Green at the Top and at the Bottom: A Brief Comparison of Green-related Skills Needs from the Senior-Executive Level to the Entry Level (http://www.quintcareers.com/green_career_skills.html), Chandlee Bryan looks at in-demand skills that can translate to green jobs, while Nancy Miller's sidebar, Green Jobs and Green Careers Embrace Many Possibilities (http://www.quintcareers.com/green_jobs_careers.html), characterizes ways to be green in the workplace.

-- Stimulus Jobs: In addition to the federal government's role in boosting federal and green/clean-energy jobs, stimulus money is targeting jobs in healthcare and the natural sciences. Smith reports that the healthcare industry is adding jobs at a rate of 17,000 monthly, and stimulus money "will flow into science and research projects as well as into support for local Medicaid expenditures, children's health programs, and health-insurance premiums for laid-off workers." In the natural-sciences arena, Smith notes that "research institutions will see more funding than they've had over the past five years combined." In her Job Action Day article, Quintessential Careers regular contributor Maureen Crawford Hentz provides a comprehensive primer on researching and applying for jobs created by stimulus money, Getting a Job in a Down - But Stimulated - Economy (http://www.quintcareers.com/stimulus_jobs.html).

-- Entrepreneurship and career-reinvention opportunities motivated by unemployment: One of the brightest spots is the ingenuity and innovation that many unemployed workers have applied to solopreneur, small-business, and freelance opportunities. "When we put out a call for folks who had lost their jobs in this recession but found new opportunity," Hansen says, "we received an outpouring of stories from people who successfully turned their unemployment into everything from mystery-novel-writing to puppet-show creation." Hansen reports that Quint Careers heard from inventors, green-business founders, authors, eBay merchants, a food purveyor, a professional organizer, a motivational speaker, a virtual worker, and more - all of whom had lost their jobs in the last year or so. In many cases, job loss turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to these folks, Hansen says, because it enabled them to reinvent themselves and pursue their true passions. Many of these stories appear in Job Action Day entries on the Quintessential Careers family of blogs, including the Quintessential Careers Blog, Career Doctor Blog, Quintessential Resume and Cover Letter Tips Blog, and A Storied Career.

In her Job Action Day article Turn Unemployment into Self-Employment: 5 Tips on How to Start (http://www.quintcareers.com/unemployment_self-employment.html), author Suzanne Caplan outlines variations on entrepreneurial pursuits, while Teena Rose discusses pockets of entrepreneurial opportunity in her sidebar, Economic Downturn Can Give Birth to Innovation and Entrepreneurship (http://www.quintcareers.com/innovation_entrepreneurship.html). Randi Bussin guides prospective career reinventors to discover what kinds of opportunities best suit them in her Job Action Day article, In a Down Economy, Maybe Career Reinvention Is in the Cards (http://www.quintcareers.com/career_reinvention.html)

New Book Helps Christian Work At Home Moms Start Their Own Home-Based Business

Home-based businesses are estimated to be a $427 billion-a-year industry. In recent studies it was found that as many as 105 million people in North America alone were working at home. Considering this information, it is obvious that home-based businesses can be successful -- and authors Jill Hart and Diana Ennen will help you succeed with your own business with their new book, So You Want to Be A Work-At-Home Mom.

So You Want to Be a Work-at-Home Mom details all the basics of starting a business in a spiritual, motivational, and comprehensive manner. From deciding what type of business to start to keeping your family and faith first, this helpful tool details every aspect of establishing a business. With proven success tips utilized by the authors and others who own work-at-home businesses, this inspirational approach will provide you with the resources you need to start your own home-based business.

So You Want to Be a Work-at-Home Mom includes: detailed information on types of businesses to start; ideas for setting up your workspace; assistance in starting and operating your business, definitions and descriptions of work-at-home terminology and processes; help for developing your website, explanations of the business "nuts and bolts," including bookkeeping, taxes, and more "how to" for marketing your business.

The authors have over 30 years of working at home combined. Jill Hart is the founder of Christian Work at Home Moms, CWAHM.com. She graduated from Grace University with a Bachelor's Degree in Human Development/Family Studies and Bible. Hart has worked from home since 2000 and started her own home-based business to assist other Christians who desire to work from home while maintaining a godly life. Jill and her husband Allen reside in Nebraska with their two children.

Diana Ennen has been a leader and mentor in the work-at-home industry since starting her business in 1985. She is the President of Virtual Word Publishing, VirtualWordPublishing.com and the author of numerous books, including Virtual Assistant the Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA. She resides in Margate, Florida with her husband Greg and three children.

Website: www.beaconhillbooks.com

2ble Media Launches Blog On Freelancing

How2Freelance.com is the latest creation of the well established marketing company 2ble Media. On the new resource blog visitors are now able to find a large amount of resources from the freelance sector, regardless of their job orientation. How2Freelance.com is meant to become the main source for comprehensive information, advice, and tools for everyone wanting to earn online through freelance jobs. How 2 Freelance is owned and operated by Amod, a well respected and professional freelancer who has a more than impressive track record. His article on freelancing marketplaces was featured on Entrepreneur.com

The information presented on How2Freelance.com is the result of an extensive and comprehensive research process that was carried out with one objective. And that is to be more precise, presenting information, tips, scam alerts, news and relevant resources on freelancing to the large number of freelancers out there trying to get a grip on the freelance process and learn everything it takes to earn online. Since the creator of How2Freelance.com is aware of the difficulties encountered by all those trying to get their first freelance job, the blog is presenting a large volume of resource and information meant to help those interested in freelance jobs to take their first steps towards their goal to earn online.

Here is an example of the tips found on How2Freelance.com that are proven to be very useful to anyone in their incipient stages of freelancing. The first important aspect to anyone interested in becoming an online freelance professional is his work profile. If you are lacking ideas, it is a smart move to check out the competition’s profiles. Don’t just look at couple of them. Instead, in order to draft up an appealing work profile, review a few dozen. Find profiles that match the direction of your work. So, for example, if you are interested in ghost writing look up some professional writers’ profiles, and learn from them. Try to capture the best style of presenting the service, and then incorporate those ideas and ways of presenting the service in your own profile.

For more information about the blog and the available services, please visit: http://www.how2freelance.com/

Free Copywriting Course Launched

Phil Coleman, an experienced Copywriter and Internet Marketer, has just launched HiddenMarketingProfits.com, primarily to give away his easy to understand and implement, profitable copywriting course.

Well written sales copy can increase visitor to customer conversions and therefore profits, literally overnight. In fact the big difference between poorly performing sites and successful, cash producing sites is usually the quality of the copy.

In an online interview, Coleman said: “To make your website profitable, you only need 3 things; highly targeted visitors, an offer that converts your visitors into buyers and a way to capture your visitors contact details, to ensure they become repeat buyers. Good copywriting is utterly essential for all 3. The words you use on your website, will literally make it a failure or a raging success. Underestimate this fact at your peril.”

Coleman’s copywriting course called Copywriting Made Easy, is available completely free for subscribers to his newsletter at www.HiddenMarketingProfits.com and outlines the main factors of a highly converting salespage, such as: Exactly how to double, triple or even quadruple the website profits - without increasing the traffic, how to write a killer headline in 10 minutes or less, why bullet points are crucial and how to easily master the art of writing them in 3 steps and how to use ’Power Transitions’ to guarantee prospects read every word of a copy.

Coleman’s free newsletter will continue building on the techniques in his copywriting course, as well as adding a host of other profit increasing tactics. This information has been proven time after time to increase conversions and when applied to a website subscribers will see the benefits immediately.

For more information please visit http://www.hiddenmarketingprofits.com/

Freelancing Career - New Ray of Hope by James Alina

It is an exciting career for many as it offers multiple benefits. Now any professional can render his specialized services to a freelance project from anywhere and anytime.

Here are some benefits of working as a freelancer:

1. Freelance freedom- One of the biggest benefits of freelancing is to work independently. A freelancer can self set his working schedule as per his own convenience. It also keep a professional away from general distractions, office politics, numerous meetings over unattainable goals etc.

2. Liberty of choice and timings- Freelancing allows a professional to devote as much time he wants to put in to particular task assigned. Freelancing means flexibility as it enables a professional to work anytime, anywhere as per his choice and schedule. A freelancer can keep full control over the choice of projects, timelines, milestones and price he wants to quote on the project.

3. Cost effectiveness- Freelancers usually work from home, hence the daily expenses are automatically curtailed. He can save money on commuting expenses, traveling time, petrol bills etc. Also a freelancer can also cut on different expenses like new clothes, dresses and other expenses he might face at the time of working as a full time employee.

4. Opportunities to make more money- Freelancing brings a chance to widen your horizon by showcasing your specialized skills across the globe. It also gives you an unlimited scope to execute projects and earn money for successfully accomplishing a freelance project. Social networking channels can also help you in earning great profits and also a chance to connect with professionals & companies all around the globe.

Most of the online services marketplaces, such as Elance, LimeExchange, ODesk, Guru, etc., also offer free profile posting where a freelancer can get access to varied projects matching his domain of expertise.

5. Less Pressure and work stress - The level of frustration and resultant stress is relatively very low in freelancing as compared to that in a full-time job. As freelancing keeps a professional away from the work pressure and annoying bosses which results in improved efficiency. This will help a freelancer in executing the projects and building a triumphant online presence.

Less pressure and stress brings a lot of opportunities for freelancer to put in their best every time in a project.

6. No job risks- The current global slowdown has resulted in massive job layoffs across the globe but for freelancers this has turned out to be a bright opportunity to acquire more projects. Also, professionals who have lost their jobs have started freelancing as this helps them survive and bring a substantial source of earning to them.

In order to thrive successfully in freelance business, a freelancer needs to stay updated with latest technologies, trends, demands and the market. He needs keep his learning process on as there would be less exposure to office environment. In that case, a freelancer can make use of tools/resources available online to avoid these difficulties and realize the benefits of this opportunity instantly and effectively.

Hope these benefits will help you explore new avenue to make money online. I welcome your feedback and suggestions on the same.

Alina, a competent result oriented freelance professional and consultant with more than 4 years of extensive experience in Content writing and website development. Writes articles on varied topics such as freelancing, trends, market, jobs, resources, etc.

Home Based Business Tips For Freelancing by Chris Simpson

Many people who decide to get involved in a home based business decide to do so by freelancing. Although many people think of freelancing in relation to writing, there are other freelancing options. Yes, freelance writing is one, but there is freelance photography, freelance computer programming, and so much more.

Essentially freelancing means you don't work for one specific company, but you work for various companies on an as needed basis. If you are considering getting involved in some type of freelancing from home as a business, there are a variety of important tips that can help you get started and become successful.

Tip #1 - Have a Website of Your Own - First of all, if you are going to get involved in any type of freelancing home based business, it will definitely be important to have a website of your own. A website is usually not that expensive, and when you are trying to bring in work, having a website where you can send prospective clients to is important. This definitely lends you credibility and show you are a professional. Invest in a good website and design it professionally if you are going to be successful.

Tip #2 - Use Cold Calling - As a freelancer, you are going to need to learn how to cold call for business. This is one of the best ways to drum up the business that you need. The problem is that it can take quite a bit of your time and it's difficult; however, it is worth it. You can get great leads this way. Just make sure you take the time to learn how to appropriate handle cold calls professionally.

Tip #3 - Check Out Job Databases - Often you are going to find yourself looking for work if you are a freelancer. Even if you already have a lot of work, you should never stop looking. The great thing is that there are plenty of great freelancing sites where jobs for freelancers are posted. Some are free, while others you may have to pay a small fee for. Some of the fee based databases are excellent.

Tip #4 - Have Samples of Your Work - No matter what type of freelancing you are involved in, you always need to have some samples of your work. You can use these samples to bring in more clients and to show people the quality of the work that they do. You may even want to give out a sample in some cases of freelancing to bring in more customers and to get future work from them.

Tip #5 - Buy Accounting Software - Last of all, if you are going to run a home freelancing business, buy accounting software. All that invoicing can be difficult to keep up with. You may think that you can keep track of it all, but accounting software can do wonders for you. Something like MYOB or QuickBooks will be a huge help when it comes time to do your taxes.

HomeNetPro is dedicated to helping people find honest and legitimate work at home opportunities and home business ideas. Find a legitimate home based business and learn to work from home today by visiting: HomeNetPro.com