Monday, December 27, 2010

How to Make Money Online by Freelancing by Mika Hamilton

Money is always welcome. No matter how much we earn, our income always falls short of our expenditure. The rising cost of living and materialistic approach towards life can be attributed to this human tendency. People are continuously on the lookout of finding ways of making more money. The internet has to some extent solved this problem by opening up various options of money making. It has to offer something to everyone irrespective of their age, gender, or locality. It is possible to work online for companies which may be situated thousands of miles away from us.

Every day, thousands of companies are being launched. Most of these companies have an official website. There is lot to be done online to keep the websites updated and to attract the customers. They need people to work for them online. Although, they have a salaried staff to work for them, but at times their requirements are so huge that they need extra manpower. Moreover, the payment and maintenance of in-house employees is quite high. Hence, the companies are now keener on outsourcing the jobs. They float their advertisements online to hire freelancers. These freelancers are paid per project. This works well with the employers as the cost involved here is far less than what they would have to incur if they officially employed the staff. It also serves as a good opportunity for freelancers who want to supplement their existing incomes.

Freelancers are required to write articles for various websites. There is also a great demand for web designers, graphic designers, and banner makers etc. There is no paucity of work; if one wants to take up a freelancing job. There are many well-known websites which help you to obtain freelancing assignments. You can register free in these websites. There are many freelancing jobs listed here. You can choose jobs which suit your expertise best. You will have to bid on these jobs. If you are selected by the provider then you will have to complete the assignment in the given time period. The website may charge you a small commission for using its services. If the provider is happy with your work then he may hire you for further projects as well.

Freelancing is a very good online tool for making money. If you have the patience and are ready to put in a few hours of hard work; then you are bound to make some good money through it.

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9 Things Your Website Is Doing to Drive Visitors Away - And How You Can Bring Them Back

Precision Marketing Group, a small business marketing firm focused on creating marketing that makes money for entrepreneurial organizations, has published a white paper that outlines some of the most common website mistakes and how companies can avoid them.

The paper, "9 Things Your Website Is Doing to Drive Visitors Away," outlines the typical problems that plague websites and supplies solutions aimed at attracting, engaging and converting visitors. Grounded in the years of hands-on experience that PMG has had with helping its clients create, optimize and market their websites successfully, this valuable resource is designed to help businesses to reduce clutter and confusion on their websites while increasing site traffic and enhancing lead generation. Download the white paper here: http://bit.ly/fketZp.

"Our tips, columns, articles, and resources are always created with the customer in mind, and this white paper is no exception," says Maureen Condon, principal, Precision Marketing Group. "Readers who choose to implement the changes suggested in this paper should see real results in their website's effectiveness."

Five Strategies to Save Money, Reduce Taxes, and Take Charge of Your Financial Future

As the year comes to a close, small business owners and entrepreneurs are reviewing their financial reports and thinking about taxes. Many tax deductions and benefits that expire at the end of the year can be incredibly helpful to small businesses and entrepreneurs. BizFilings, a leader in online incorporation services, urges small businesses to be aware of these strategies to save money and reduce taxes, and to take advantage of them before they're gone for good.

Five Savings Strategies for 2010:

1.    Take stock of your home office. If part of your home is designated solely for business, you may be eligible to claim a tax deduction for some of your expenses. Be careful what you claim, however. The part of your home that you are claiming must be the principal place of business and must be used for that sole purpose. To determine what you can and cannot deduct, explore the Home Office Deduction calculator on Toolkit.com.

2.    Think about retirement. If you're looking to minimize your taxes for 2010, you may consider maximizing your retirement account contributions. Contributing to a 401 (k) or IRA can reduce your 2010 taxable income. Contributing can also spare you from paying taxes on that money until you retire and deduct from that account. Alternatively, you can save for the future by putting money for retirement in a Roth account. Using a Roth means that you won't be able to get an immediate tax break, but it typically allows money in your account to grow tax-free.

3.    Accelerate your income. The largest tax hike in American history is scheduled for 2011, and it will affect every taxpayer--unless Congress acts before the end of the year. Income taxes and numerous credits and deductions, capital gains taxes, dividend taxes, and even estate taxes are all scheduled to increase, barring one more major piece of legislation from Washington DC in 2010. For example, if legislation is not passed and you are currently in the highest tax bracket of 35 percent, this bracket will increase to 39.6 percent if the tax cuts expire. This means it would benefit you to move income into the current year when it will be taxed at a lower rate. If you are self-employed, you have somewhat more flexibility over when you receive income than other workers do. As the year comes to a close, make sure you bill your customers and clients promptly and follow-up on past due accounts. If you are negotiating for new business or a new project, attempt to receive payment in advance.

4.    Invest in stock. If you purchase capital gains stock between September 27, 2010, and the end of the year, you can exempt all of that stock from your taxes. Making the decision to purchase stock can be useful as a personal or business investment, offering you maximum benefits when you take action before the end of the year.

5.    Consider incorporation. Incorporating has many benefits, and depending on your situation, may have certain tax advantages. Once your business is incorporated, business costs such as medical expenses, entertainment expenses and vehicle costs may be tax deductible. Incorporation also typically keeps your personal assets, like a home, vehicle and savings, separate from your business.

"Incorporating your business can help put you in charge of your financial future," says Karen Kobelski, general manager of BizFilings. "There are tax benefits that are often available to incorporated businesses, and more importantly, incorporation gives businesses a layer of protection and limits personal liability."

Monday, December 6, 2010

Be Your Own Boss: Top 5 Freelancing Jobs by Emily Sismour

In this tough economic climate, some people are turning to consulting and freelancing when full-time positions at companies aren't readily available. In fact, freelancers and consultants who aren't committed to long-term employment at a particular organization have the ability to network widely, develop their portfolio and enjoy a variety of different projects and assignments. The key to successful freelancing is catering your specific skill set to the appropriate industry and offering services that will benefit that client or company. Freelancers must be extremely self-disciplined, have well-honed entrepreneurial skills and be able to work in a number of different settings.

Let's take a look at five of the most "freelance-friendly jobs."


  1. Web Developer: As technology continues to expand throughout the global workforce, building websites or improving company's existing sites is a sure-fire way to obtain stable freelance work. Web development and programming knowledge is one of the most useful skills to have in today's digitally driven market. Freelance web developers are typically tasked with the design, implementation, and modification of company or personal websites.
  2. Graphic Designer: Graphic design is another occupation popularized by the expansion of the Internet. Traditionally, graphic designers have worked in the print medium, but current graphic designers work just as much, if not more, on the internet. Graphic designers who freelance are usually tasked with the visual development and creation of a company's messages and brand design.
  3. IT Consultant: IT consulting is one of the most in-demand freelancing jobs. As companies across the globe continue to implement technology to help their businesses run more effectively and to more efficiently meet company objectives, IT consultants are employed to advise and instruct businesses about this technology. IT consultants also help businesses stay ahead of the curve by keeping software and IT systems up to date and implementing new versions when applicable.
  4. Copy writer: Freelance copy writers enjoy versatile kinds of employment. Qualified writers are needed in all types of businesses and because of this copy writers can be employed in almost every business sector. Copy writers are tasked with the enormous responsibility of writing copy to promote a business or person. In doing so, they must articulately persuade readers and consumers of the value of a product or company. Copy writers who freelance often enjoy a variety of different projects and assignments.
  5. Photographer: More than half of professional photographers are self-employed making photography an extremely freelance-reliant field. Photographers often specialize in a specific type of photography like wedding, commercial, or scientific photography and through specialization can differentiate themselves.

These five examples of popular "freelance-friendly" jobs are five of many. Other popular freelance work can be found in writing, interior design, translating, and recruiting fields, among others. Can't find a job at a business or corporation, but have a valuable set of skills coupled with experience? Freelancing or consulting may be the best way to showcase these skills, earn a stable income, and participate in exciting and diverse projects.

Top 5 Freelance Sites by Nell Taliercio

Freelancing is a great way to work from home. Freelancers do anything from writing to graphic design to computer programming. They are often hired by businesses (small and large) for a particular project. It's a win- win situation.

The small business owner gets his website up and running, or his press release written without having to create a new position in his company to get the job done.

The Freelancer gets to do what he or she loves to do from home. The big question is how do the business owner and freelancer find each other? They do it through one of the freelance sites below.

On all five of these sites projects are posted and freelancers bid on how much they would charge for the work. It is up to the company / person posting the job to choose which freelancer they would like to work with.

1 )Guru.com

Guru is the largest freelance site out there. According to their site they connect over 520,000 freelancers with over 30,000 businesses and employers. Guru is organized into several categories and subcategories from Web and Graphic Design to Programming to Business Consulting.

2) Elance.com

Elance is the other big player when it comes to freelance sites that cover a wide variety of freelance work. Like Guru.com you can find projects from creative work like graphics and writing to computer programming.

3) Rentacoder.com

This freelance site caters primarily to programmers, coders, software engineers and IT professionals in general. You will find projects ranging from simple html pages to programming jobs that could last for several months.

4) Allfreelancework.com

In addition to finding projects posted on a variety of subjects, you will also find an extensive library of articles of interested to freelancers as well services and products, a forum and a newsletter.

5) Programmingbids.com

As the name suggest this site focuses mostly on freelance work for programmers. You will find projects from web and graphic design to flash to software development. They even have a new section that will allow you to sell scripts you have written.

Freelancing is a great way to get started working from home. You can easily take on a few small projects while keeping your day job. You can start gaining experience, add to your résumé and build a client base. This will make the transition to working from home exclusively much smoother. It is also a great way to test the water and see if you would like to work on projects from home in the long run.

Nell Taliercio is the owner and founder of [http://www.telecommutingmoms.com] – which is a leading resource website with work at home jobs and everything a telecommuting mom would need. Come visit us today!

Freelancing Work Tips - Use These Tricks to Get More Freelance Jobs by Gerard Mohamed

So you are just beginning to look for freelancing work and you don't know exactly where to start? That is okay because by the time you are done reading this article you will know how to get plenty of freelance jobs and clients. We will be talking about how to find clients, how to contact clients, and how to take action in full detail.

It does not matter if you have been doing freelancing work for a while or if you are looking for your first set of freelance jobs. The same question will always come up and that is "how do I get more clients?" Some freelancers lose lots of sleep over this very question, but I want to set you up for success.

The truth is very simple, if you want to have tons of freelancing work you will have to be able to move out of your comfort box. You will need to be able to present yourself in front of your audience. You may even need to resort to cold calling or cold emailing your clients. Either way, moving away from the fear of talking to strangers will greatly help you with getting freelance jobs.

A big myth within the freelancing work community is that finding clients is difficult. It may be so, if you are waiting at your computer for people to come and seek you out. The reality of it is simply this; if you do not ask for referrals from previous clients, or you are not marketing your business you will not make money. Believe me, there is a vast sea of people out there who want you to solve their problems by completing their freelance jobs. You just need to position yourself in front of them.

If you truly want freelancing work then you absolutely must start taking action. Put yourself in front of your prospective clients. Start out by emailing firms and clients that you are interested in working with. In a short email, tell them who you are, what service you provide and give them a fair price. The worst thing that can happen is you get turned down right? Even so, practice makes perfect in this business so you might as well get started now.

Don't be afraid to send out cold emails or cold call your prospective clients. These people/corporations are constantly looking for people to fulfill their freelance jobs. Who knows, they just may need an extra person to fill in that spot when you email them. If not they might put your contact information in their index.

So now you know exactly how to get plenty of freelancing work by cold calling and emailing prospective clients. Remember to put yourself in front of these people, as well as ask existing clients if they know anyone how may be in need of your services. Do this and there is no reason for you to not have lots of freelance jobs.

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