5 years ago, freelancing was something people did mainly in major cities where there was enough work to go around for artists, desktop publishers, writers and other creative types. Today, however, the freelance arena has changed drastically.  Even with the economic downturn and widespread downsizing, freelancing is still strong if not stronger.  I was always taught to look for two things when faced with obstacles in life: opportunity and alternatives.  Companies that are laying off workers are not saying that they do not value what that particular employee did for them, they are simply saying that they cannot afford to pay that person the same salary AND remain profitable.  In simpler terms, they need to find someone who will do that same job for a lower salary and with little to no employer-provided benefits.  You just have to learn to adapt like these companies are adapting.

As a freelancer, you can live practically anywhere in the world and conduct business.  Not to mention that the creative fields aren’t the only areas where freelancing is popular any more.  Accountants, consultants, trainers, computer technicians and writers are all able to earn a living as freelancers.  Regardless of the field you are interested in, there are some important things you should consider to help you get started and to ensure your success.

Before I talk about those, however, I need to talk briefly about the advantages and the disadvantages of being a freelancer. You need to know both sides before you make your decision so you truly understand what you’re getting into.  If you have a hard time with self-discipline, time management and following up then I would recommend seriously working on those areas because being lax in them can significantly hinder you progress.

Freelancer’s Advantages

1. You set your own hours.
As a freelancer, you get to determine what time you start your morning (or day) and what time you call it a day (or night).  You get to decide how much vacation time you can afford to take for the year and you can decide to skip work one day to spend time with your family.  I only consider Sundays my day off but I have done work for clients on Sundays on several occasions.

2. You don’t work for a boss.
Even though you have a professional responsibility to your clients, they don’t brandish the same power over your career that a boss does.  Yes, they can fire you, but you also have the option of deciding to work with an individual, group, organization or company or not; and that decision will not accompany negative consequences.  I choose who I market to which allows me to be in total control of the clients I work for and with.

3. You determine how much you make.
While your typical job pays a set salary regardless of how hard or long you work, freelancing allows you to build virtually any pay scale you wish because you determine the value of your services, the rate for those services and how many jobs you take on at any given time.  I love the fact that when I have a good month I’m confident that I can do the same next month if not better.

4. You are able to work from virtually anywhere.
Whether you prefer working in a home office (like me) or renting space somewhere to do your business, you are in charge of designing and maintaining your own workspace.  You get to pick the people you work with. You get to pick the type of computer(s), office supplies and office furniture that you utilize on a daily basis as well.  You can even work while you’re on vacation if you’re family will allow you to!

Freelancer’s Disadvantages

1. You can get worn-out rapidly.
Once you have a steady workload and an increasing client base, it becomes nearly impossible for you to schedule a much needed vacation.  You have new projects and clients that need your constant attention, so taking a short vacation or getting sick even for a day can cause your work to stockpile.  I have been freelancing long enough to know that taking several mini-vacations are  more realistic and reasonable than taking one or two week trips.  After a few years you will see when your slow months are and when subsequently, you can take a break.

2. You have to deal with clients who can be more difficult than bosses.
Most of the clients that you will deal with as a freelancer are genuinely good people, but there are others out there that are not.  Every freelancer has probably been ripped off by a client at one time or another, even if they take steps to protect themselves.  This is just one on those things that you will have to be mindful of.  I typically try to avoid working with someone who has difficulty returning emails, phone calls or shows no respect for my time.  If you are mindful of who you market to, you will not have to deal with these headaches much.

3. You do not have a fixed income.
Unless you have one or two truly reliable clients, you can expect your income to fluctuate dramatically.  Some months you may feel like you don’t have enough time for all the work that you are contracted for while others may feel like you need to update your resume and start a job search, especially during your first year.  This is inevitable as a freelancer!  The way I deal with it simple – I have become a much better saver since I was laid off in 2004.  If you fail to plan you ultimately plan to fail.

4. Separating work life from personal life can be difficult.
If you work in a home office, you may find it difficult to recognize the difference between being at home and being at work which means that while your watching television or eating dinner you may begin to feel like you’re actually still on the clock.  I only have office equipment and furniture in my home office – no TV!  It helps me stay focused.

As you can see, each advantage has a reciprocating disadvantage.  However, all of the disadvantages can be easily overcome once you have experience as a freelancer.  Here are a few tips to help you get started as a freelancer.

Find Something You Love Doing

This is crucial for your success.  If you don’t have an idea of what you want to do as a freelancer, find something ASAP!  Some people are lucky enough to already be working in a field they love but just don’t particularly care for the company they work for.

Remember, you will be doing this every day so it is imperative that YOU enjoy doing it.  Also, the more you enjoy your work, the more passionate you are about it and the less it feels like WORK.  Potential clients will be able to see that passion in you and the way you conduct business with them and will be more inclined to work with you.

Save, Save, Save

Most freelancers actually start out in a corporate job that is in the same field that they want to work in.  In fact, many of them maintain regular jobs in addition to their freelance work for the sake of a stable income, medical benefits and work experience.  Unfortunately, I did not have that luxury.  I was laid off before I decided to be a full-time freelancer.  It was a struggle at first but I always had a “Plan B” just in case.  If you choose to be a freelancer full-time, I recommend you establish a comfortable nest egg, preferably in a interest-bearing account.

Most experts agree that you should have enough money in your savings to cover 3-6 months of your monthly liabilities and living expenses.  If that sounds a bit overwhelming, then that’s a good indication that you aren’t ready to go full-time.  While you are working your full time job, save up all of the money you earn from your freelance work and use that as your nest egg.  This is not a requirement but it will make your transition much, much smoother.  You’ll thank me for it later!

Start Finding Clients… Right Now

One of the biggest mistakes that freelancers make is that they start networking and marketing their services AFTER they went full time.  The truth is that if you are SERIOUSLY considering becoming a freelancer, the time to start networking and marketing is not now, but RIGHT NOW!  Let everyone know what you do and ask them to send you referrals to build your client base.

Start building a pipeline of  job leads through any source imaginable.  In fact, you may want to line up some long term clients beforehand so you can be certain of having an income as soon as you decide to go full time.  It may even be necessary (it was in my case) to do some “pro bono” work in order to get your name out there and showcase your work.  If you have a passion for what you do, it will be evident in your work and after a while clients will seek you out.  This is why it is imperative to find something you love doing.

Be Over-Prepared, Not Overlooked

Your potential clients will request references and/or samples of your work before they give you a project.  This is where you will create your value to your clients and also justify your rate.  It is better to have your references prepared in advance than to answer with “I’ll get those to you tomorrow.” Don’t wait until someone calls to possibly offer you a project to get your portfolio in order or to organize your references.  Having this readily available shows you didn’t start this gig last week and you are well prepared.  It could also make or break some contracts for you.

Bookkeeping 101

The most difficult part of freelancing, unfortunately, is keeping good financial records.  Tracking invoices, balance your freelance business checkbook, determining your overhead and tracking your expenses are very important.  If you don’t have a firm grasp of these things, they can eat up a lot of time that you could be using to complete your projects.  You don’t have to go out and hire a bookkeeper or accountant but you need to find someone or something to make this aspect of  your business seamless and cost-effective.  I personally hate paperwork so I prefer online tools for my day-to-day operations.  A few tools that I can’t work without are FreshBooks, Phone.com’s Virtual Office and Revolution Money Exchange.

FreshBooks is an online invoicing and time tracking tool that helps me manage my business quickly, professionally and effectively.  Virtual Office from Phone.com is a small business/home business phone system that makes my freelance business look like a large professional company without the large professional expense.  Revolution Money Exchange is the FREE alternative to PayPal – I don’t have to pay to get paid. Nice!

Start a Web Site

Use the web to your advantage.  As a freelancer, time management is crucial.  If your website can handle 90% of your day-to-day operations like sales questions, client inquiries and support requests while you are busy working, spending quality time with your family or even sleeping, then it is worth whatever it costs to get one!   Create a professional but simple website showcasing your skills, experience and your services, then tell everyone you know about it!  It’s one of the best ways of obtaining new clients.  If you need to hire an established web designer that you are familiar with, contact me for a quote.  Or you can build your very own website online!

These tips will help you decide whether freelancing is right for you.  If you are one that gives up easily or doesn’t finish projects that you start, you may not succeed as a freelancer. You must be able to deal with rejection and objections.  You must also be self-motivated and persistent because you will not have a supervisor hounding you for being 2 hours late for work.  One of my favorite quotes is “life is what you make it” (hence the name of the blog) and it is true no matter what you do for a living.

If being a freelancer is something you are seriously considering doing then you must understand that everything that you have learned in the corporate world holds true as a freelancer, except the politics.  I honestly wish I would have been laid off sooner but everything happens when they do for a reason.  Below, I have listed a few links for tools and services that I use as a freelancer.  I hope that you find use for them in your journey as well.  Good luck!

Useful Freelance Tools:

FreshBooks

Phone.com

Revolution Money Exchange

Yugma Web Conferencing

Get A Freelancer

oDesk

Elance

Disney Vacation Homes

eHealth Insurance

DentalPlans.com

I’ll keep you guys up to date on my progress…  I promise I will be blogging at least 3 times a week from now on!

FOUR!

If you have more than 5 social networking profiles like I do (10 and counting), updating them can sometimes require you to wake up an hour earlier than you normally do.  I use Ping.fm to update my status’ via the Ping.fm Dashboard, text message or email from my cell phone!  One message, text or email = updates for all of my social networking profile = more time for doing actual work )

Currently, Ping.fm supports 30+ social networking sites.  Here is a short list of the more popular ones:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• MySpace
• Wordpress
• Flickr
• LinkedIn
• Plaxo
• Delicious
• Friendster

You don’t have to thank me for saving you a couple hours a day, time with your wife and family or your job )  but you can!

~ by Rick Ferguson

I just received a Facebook message from a friend; it was a pretty standard one that is beginning to look familiar to a lot of us I am sure.

Figure 1. Fake Facebook Message

What surprised me though, was the page that the link led to. On the face of it is a very familiar looking spoofed version of YouTube, complete with bogus comments from “viewers”.

Figure 2. Fake YouTube website

Take a second look though, the link had taken me to a site supposedly hosting a video posted by the same person that I had received the Facebook message from. In fact not only was the malicious landing page displaying his name, it had also pulled the photo from his Facebook profile. A very neat little piece of social engineering.

Clicking the Install button redirects to a download site for the file setup.exe which is the new Koobface variant detected as WORM_KOOBFACE.AZ. It is hosted on an IP address in another part of the world, and in the last hour, we’ve seen 300+ different unique IP addresses hosting setup.exe and we’re expecting more. All seen IP addresses hosting the said malicious file are now detected as HTML_KOOBFACE.BA.

Analysis by our engineers reveal that WORM_KOOBFACE.AZ propagates through other social networking sites as well. It first searches for cookies created by the following sites:

• facebook.com
• hi5.com
• friendster.com
• myyearbook.com
• myspace.com
• bebo.com
• tagged.com
• netlog.com
• fubar.com
• livejournal.com

The worm connects to a respective site using login credentials stored in the gathered cookies. It then searches for an infected user’s friends, who are then sent messages containing a link where a copy of the worm is downloaded. It also sends and receives information from an infected machine by connecting to several servers. This allows hackers to execute commands on the affected machine.

Users of the Trend Micro Smart Protection Network are protected from this threat, as both URL and malicious file are blocked and detected, respectively. Other users are advised to ignore such messages, and refrain from clicking links in unsolicited messages, even out of curiosity.

Twitter is a micro-blogging website that allows you to post snippets of what you are doing in 140 characters or less.  It’s become a big thing in the last 9 months.  Diddy told Ellen about how many “followers” (equivalent to friends on MySpace or Facebook) he had at the time which was about 160K.  Well, Ellen was so amazed by this new craze that she decided to get her own Twitter!  She set a goal to get 1 MILLION followers… 

Well in just 7 days she currently has just over 173K followers!  Could your business use 173K potentially new clients?  Is your business structurally ready to handle such a boost in numbers in such a short amount of time?

Before you get too excited, keep in mind that The Ellen Show airs Monday through Friday and already has a very strong viewing audience.  However, it still goes to show you that Twitter makes perfect sense when it comes to driving traffic to your website and your business.  Any social networking web site these days will provide the amount of traffic needed for any effective business to thrive.

Reports suggest that social networking is now more popular than email.  Twitter in particular grew 33% in only a month according to Compete data.  Skittles increased its own traffic by 1332% in one day after a campaign that sent Skittles.com directly to a Tweet-stream (the site has since moved to different strategies of a similar nature like a Facebook page and currentlya Wikipedia entry, which is in itself another interesting story).  Many brands large and small are realizing the potential that Twitter provides. “As exciting as it may be to hear about what your friends, or total strangers for that matter, ate for breakfast, some companies are realizing that a more effective use of Twitter is to mine it for clients, recruit employees and answer customer service questions,” notes Kim Hart with the Washington Post.

Twitter is becoming a primary traffic source for many sites as John Battelle points out (Facebook is driving a lot of traffic as well). This will only continue to increase as real-time search continues to grow.

“Social search has been predicted (and funded) for years,” says Battelle. “It’s finally happening. The conversation is evolving, from short bursts of declared intent inside a query bar, to ongoing, ambient declaration of social actions. Both will continue, but it’s increasingly clear why Google’s obsessed with Facebook (and Facebook with Twitter). And they are not alone.”

Marketing Pilgrim’s Andy Beal and many others expect Twitter to eventually be acquired by Google. “Twitter is becoming an important communications channel–intrinsic to the web,” says Beal. “Aside from the being able to pick up the company for a fraction of the $15 billion Google has in cash, Twitter is a key component of the search engines’ ambitious goal: to organize the world’s information.” Beal finds what he perceives to be hints in the following interview between Charlie Rose and Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

“When people ask me when Twitter will make money, I tell them, ‘In due time,’ says Twitter CEO Evan Williams in a quick bio-piece chronicling his professional life up to the present. “They forget that we’re only 30 employees who have just gotten started.  Right now, anything we would do to make money would take our time away from acquiring more users.  We have patient investors.”

The average user doesn’t care about how Twitter is monetizing its business though.  And the users are what drive any success that it will ever have.  Users are clearly finding plenty to get out of the service.

What businesses can get from Twitter:

1. Traffic. Social networks have taken over email in terms of popularity. Twitter is a very popular one, and continues to grow rapidly.
2. People can “opt in” to follow your Tweets, so your messages will be well targeted. This makes it a great place to make announcements to your most loyal customers.
3. Twitter can serve as a great channel for customer service if you keep up with it like these brands are.
4. It lets you interact with the public while increasing brand awareness.
5. Twitter’s search function can help businesses better manage their online reputations in real time.
6. Facebook apps can let you update Twitter/Facebook together.  This means your Tweets can become your Facebook status and vice versa.  Facebook is the most popular network around.  Between Facebook and Twitter, you can build quite a following!

There are quite a few benefits for a company without a known revenue model and a service that many people still don’t understand the point of.  As Twitter grows, that seems to be changing though. 

Ask me how to capitalize on social networking and micro-blogging to increase your bottom line – it just makes sense… LITTERALLY!

A friend of mine forwarded this to me via email the other day.  I normally don’t forward emails unless they are useful and more importantly, legit.  I verified this myself and was shocked when I learned how long this has been circulating since I never heard about it.  The use of bump keys initially was intended for licensed locksmiths but the technique has reached the internet and we all know what that means – global circulation in a matter of days. 

You can avoid being a victim of a bump key burglar by having a security system installed and also installing security locks that have disc tumblers instead of pin tumblers.  You can find them at your local locksmith or specialty home security retailer. I found a few websites that are spreading the word as well:

• Pickbuster
• Ban The Bump Key
• Anitbump Locks

Please forward this post to all of your family, friends and other people that you care about.  Imagine if this tool was used by more than just your clever burglar, what if rapists and pedafiles started using this?  I am a father of a 7 month old so this was a huge concern for me.  I only hope this reaches everyone before something happens.

Samsung HDTV:  The new Samsung LED HDTV’s get internet connectivity.  Samsung will supply a wireless, WiFi dongle to attach to one of the television’s USB ports. Once connected, the 7000 Series and the 8000 Series will have their new INFOLINK feature built in. INFOLINK will provide an interactive, connected experience, with a focus on RSS-like access to feeds, as well as the ability to run standard widgets on the TV itself.  The most predictable widgets will be available from an online gallery, including weather widgets and stock reporting widgets, but with third-party developer support, I’d expect to see widgets for Twitter, MySpace and plenty of other popular Web destinations as well.  So this all means that I will be able to check the weather, my emails and update my status via Ping.fm all while still in bed – nice.  I personally would connect a PC to the TV in addition to using the INFOLINK feature, but that’s just me…

Peek:  Looking at the cellphone bill over the last few months this one may be the most practical.  I see it becoming very popular with teenagers (and their parents) in the very near future.  Especially with tax time looming.  The gist of this cool little gadget is that you get unlimited email AND text communication on it for $19.95 a month.  The device itself runs $49.95 and there is NO CONTRACT.  The only drawback in my opinion is the fact that you can only set up 3 email accounts max on it.  For a real techie like myself that has over 30 email addresses (no joke) it wouldn’t benefit me to carry around my Palm Treo AND this device. 

Logitech Harmony 1100:  I have about 12 remote controls for the various pieces of electronic equipment in my home entertainment center.  One for the TV, DVD player, PS3, A/V receiver, DirecTV box, sub-woofer, PC, CD Jukebox, ceiling fans and the list goes on.  It gets to be a pain when you are on the couch with the remote to turn the receiver for the surround sound up or down and you want to change the actual channel and you realize that the DirecTV remote is still on the coffee table… Grrr!  Well this little gadget not only will save me the pain of having to get up off the couch BUT it will also save me money on batteries (since the 1100 has a recharging base stand), electricity (since it is back-lit and I can control the lights on the ceiling fans with it) and time (it is programmable to complete many tasks with the push of one button).  With a child in the house this is a good thing to have – keeping one remote out of sight is better than trying to hide 12 that you need!

What if you didn’t need those pesky USB cables for your digital camera or even a card reader for that matter?  What if your camera had built in WiFi?  WOW!  Ok, so I’m really kicking myself right now because 3 years ago I thought about this very concept while digging through a box of USB cables looking for the right one for my digital camera.  Don’t believe me?  It doesn’t matter if you believe me or not because Sony beat me to the invention table anyway.  That’s right the Sony DSC-G3 has built in WiFi so there’s no need to even take the SD card out of the camera or even connecting it to your computer via USB.  This is going to change the game.  I’ve always loved Sony because they are always daring to be different.  Two thumbs up in my book.

Of course, I saved the best for last!  If you are still going to the local Blockbuster or fiddling around with scratched up DVD’s from Netflix then you need to really consider getting yourself a Vudu Box.  Don’t let the name fool you, it is far from evil!  The bells and whistles on this thing will wow you to no end so I will only highlight the most important and, in my opinion, the most impressive! 

In a nutshell, the Vudu Box is a video store in a set top box.  It houses over 13,000 built-in movies AND TV shows.  You ever heard of HBO OnDemand?  Well this is Movies OnDemand, but in your living room.  No monthly fees and you can rent OR buy the movies.  Rent standard definition movies from 99¢ to $3.99, high definition and HDX movies from $3.99 to $5.99. Purchase TV episodes for $1.99. Purchase movies from $4.99 to $19.99. No monthly subscriptions or contracts. 

You probably thought that I made a typo with the “HDX” reference above.  That was no mistake my friend!  HDX is Vudu’s groundbreaking new video format that delivers the highest quality true High Definition 1080p content available from any Internet, broadcast or satellite OnDemand service.  Vudu’s technology optimizes the encoding, transmission and display of  HDX movies on 40-inch HDTVs and larger Home Theater screens.  If your screen isn’t 40 inches don’t be discouraged.  As long as you have an HDTV you will not lose quality.  Oh, there is one thing you will need to enjoy the Vudu box to the fullest and that’s a really high speed internet connection.  VUDU requires a minimum available bandwidth of 4.0 Mbps for instant HD (High Definition) playback of movies, or a minimum bandwidth of 2.0 Mbps for instant playback of SD (Standard Definition) movies.  Before you go pick one up I suggest running the bandwidth test they have on their website.

Ok, well there’s my list.  What do you think? If you have your own list you can post it in a comment or post a trackback or link to it.

We often make rash decisions or come to drastic conclusions when we see or hear the truth.  Whether in our relationships, in our neighborhoods or on the job, when we hear something that is  far from what we initially believed to be reality it causes most of us to go into a state of disbelief and even anger.  Chapter (or Day) 4 in “30 Days To Taming Your Tongue” is titled The Hasty Tongue.  I read this book a year or so ago and had to go back and re-read this chapter again.

Stop, think, and pray before you speak. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak. James 1:19 KJV

How could I make such a rash decision without first discussing this with my immediate family?  Being a father for the first time has opened my eyes to a great deal of things.  I think differently.  I drive differently.  I sleep differently.  I walk and talk differently.  Life isn’t just about ME anymore.  I have other people in my life that depend on me now.  I have more responsibility now more than every before. 

So how on earth could I expect to just pick up a leave just because I was unhappy with it?  How could I not practice what I preach?  I am always saying “if you don’t like something, change it.”  It’s practically the meaning of the name of this blog!  When I saw Al Gore crying when he heard Will.I.Am singing a song he wrote called “Take Our Planet Back”  it nearly drove me to tears.  So if Al Gore could at one point sat in one of the highest seats of US Government and witnessed what is going on in today’s economy and environment and made an effort to influence change instead of influencing abandonment, why can’t I?  President Obama said, “we must be the change we want to see in the world.”  I don’t see any reason why things can’t change.  Look at how far we’ve come already?  Can you imagine life without a telephone? A computer? A car?  These are all things that were produced to improve our quality of life.  There’s no reason to believe that we are going to continue to go backwards as a society or as a people or even as a human race.  If you’re reading this it is only proof that we can change anything we want to because the very instrument you are using to view this blog was not in existance 50 years ago.

So what can you do you ask?  Well, you can start by getting invloved in a cause.  Do some volunteer work.  Join a activist group.  Do something that does not come with a paycheck but with a sense of pride that you did it for you, the people around you and the people that will be here after you.  If enough of us do this we will enhance the lives of those that will come after us, just as those that came before us have done for you and I today.

Here is a short list of some of the organizations I am invloved with.  Maybe this will give you some ideas.

American Diabetes Association

We Can Solve It

Progressive Future

NBA Cares

Make-A-Wish Foundation

All Children’s Hospital

United Negro College Fund

NAACP

The Venus Project

The ONE Campaign

So what do you think?  Are you in shock?  Do you understand why things are the way they are in the world we live in today?  Can you envision yourself living in a world without a corrupt money system?  Well believe it.  It starts with you.  Everyone you know should be given the opportunity to see this video.  Also check out The Venus Project when you are ready to see the future in action.