Knowing the Steps to Growth

Are you ready to hire? How bringing on a Project Manager changed everything

When I was a freelancer, I thought hiring someone meant losing money. Bringing on my first hire - a project manager - was the moment I stopped just doing the work and started building a creative studio.

The business side of freelancing and the 6 traits of those who succeed

At some point in the past you've likely been an employee of someone else's business. You had a skill that served them and felt you could take that skill elsewhere, to serve yourself. That was the plan at least. You…

Raise your rate by 20% for an existing client, in less than 150 words

You know the type, that client we all love to... well... accommodate. They pay on time (mostly), are kinda bearable to work with and keep you going with regular work which helps in the lean times. You genuinely find their…

How to find time for a commitment to be ‘doing better’ – with Justin Jackson

We all have a pretty clear idea of what it might take to earn more or 'do better'. Growing lists of ideas borrowed from blog posts lay atop sprawling Evernote folders and pages of iPhone notes we tapped out while…

10 things I learned failing spectacularly as a freelancer and how I overcame them

I've failed plenty of times. Indeed, I thought I'd never make it back to freelancing after almost losing the shirt on my back about five years ago . As we all do, I tried to 'stem' the losses and offset…

Surviving 26 years as a freelancer with sanity intact - with Shawn Hesketh

It’s sometimes difficult to consider how we’ll still be around in 26 hours as a freelancer, let alone 26 years . So it was a pleasure to host my latest guest on the Freelancelift Q&A call, Shawn Hesketh. A freelancer…

Is it really possible to build a $1m freelance design business?

I’m a sucker for numbers. Big, complicated, ugly-ass numbers. It defines the way I do business; strategic, process-driven, pragmatic and above all, ambitious. Digging back through my historical business data and making it work for future business strategy is something…

A simple guide to building a predictable freelance business

Is inconsistent client work or your unpredictable income getting to you? Are you frustrated with not knowing how much you’ll be working each week? Is it hard for you to schedule time off or make plans with your friends or…

How I write ebooks, and why you should steal my process (free structure guide)

I'm often asked how I find the time to create relatively in-depth short books, which I generally give away for free on Freelancelift. I consider myself to be relatively adept at sitting down and being able to produce something of…

What Corbett Barr's journey to 6 figures can teach you (even as a freelancer)

A short while ago, I interviewed Corbett Barr of the awesome Fizzle on developing your "Me Project". The interview was a roaring success and it highlighted some key moves you can make in content, audience development and productising your expertise.…

10 things Las Vegas can teach you about being a better freelancer

I just returned from a week in Vegas (was attending a conference but did manage to fit in some leisure time!) the place is awe inspiring. Nestled beneath the neon lights and obvious distractions though are some sound business principles…

Why freelancing is broken and how to fix it

Simple, don't do freelancing the way you're told to do it You'll make it more stable when you stop this self imposed limitation on the business growth you're capable of. Whether you've come to terms with it or not, billing…

What a colourwheel freakout has to do with your business progress

I’m sketching out this post on my iPhone with the WordPress app (which is pretty awesome by the way) as my machine has just gone into colorwheel ‘goodbye cruel world’ mode. The freakout began innocently at first with a few…

14 traits of successful people - how many do you have?

I've been fortunate to have been exposed to some of the most successful online entrepreneurs in this space and I've certainly learned a lot from the Q&A call time I've spent with most of them. When it comes to growing…

The freelance evolution video series