cherry pick your clients!

In a day job, there may be times when you don’t always get along with every single supervisor, coworker or client that comes into the office.

One of the benefits of being a freelancer is that you get to pick & choose your clients. (Sure, sometimes money is tight and you don’t have the luxury to be incredibly picky).

You will be speaking to this person on a regular basis, so make sure you consult first with a face-to-face over coffee. Are they on the other side of the country? Enjoy a continental cup o’ joe over skype. The point is, get a feel for the client personally before moving on to any sort of proposal. Read more…

(a tribute to the movie premiere that has me bubbling with excitement like a fresh brew of butterbeer.)

JK really knew what she was doing.

Don’t worry, I am not talking about turning my home office into Hogwarts or anything, but there are a few tricks up my freelance sleeve that I can attribute to my four-eyed friend.

Modesty is underrated. Think about it. When Harry was a small, insecure orphan and he found out his powers were indeed, magic, he did not go around lifting up his bangs, Bieber-style, pointing out his lighting scar. Everybody else talked him up, gushing about his legacy and foreshadowing his importance. Even when he first demonstrated telltale acts of bravery, he did not inflate his accomplishments. Only when he gets cocky for a chapter or two does it backfire on him. Moral: Let your actions speak for themselves. Don’t just tell a prospective client what you will do for them – do it. Give them an example of two of the types of ideas you can bring to the table.

It’s okay to acknowledge and say the name of your “evil enemy.”
Initially, everyone in the Wizarding World would gasp in horror if they heard the name “Voldemort” escape someone’s lips. Harry learned to defy this concept later on in the series, realizing that just saying the name wouldn’t bring destruction. It would, however, let your enemy know you are still a formidable opponent, and force their hand, putting the proverbial Quiddich ball in their court. Read more…

You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.
~Mark Twain

The competition is fierce out there, no matter what your industry.

From designing an illustrious billboard or scripting a masterpiece of a press release, to innovatively cutting [the right] corners so you stay “in the black” this quarter… one thing remains certain: creativity is a must-have these days, not a luxury.

Creativity block?

Ever leave a brainstorming meeting in the morning, only to have your mind flooded with great ideas later that day, when you are cruising with the windows down and music blasting? It’s just as inevitable as thinking of the perfect ‘comeback’ to a bully an hour after he leaves. Sometimes, it’s unavoidable. But other times, you may be able to tinker with fate by psyching yourself out long enough to plan a preemptive “creativity block” attack.
Read more…