July 6, 2013

Freelancing On A Shoestring Budget Made Easy With Following Tips

‘We might come closer to balancing the budget if all of us lived closer to the Commandments and the Golden Rule’ – Ronald Regan

In my last post about the importance of budgeting, we discussed about why it is important for all freelancers to maintain a budget at all times. The unpredictable payment structure of your job as a freelancer will not let you have a fixed budget for every month of the year and there will times when you might be operating on a shoestring budget. In this post, we will discuss about some easy tips, which you can use to make a budget that will help you sail through difficult times without having to give up your freelancing dream.

Be realistic

The first thing to do when making your budget is to be realistic. Take the help of online budgeting tools or sit down with pen and paper and calculate your expenditure/ income ratio for the past one year. The easiest way to do that is to divide your income by 12 to find out the average income. For expenditure check your bank balance for the last year and calculate. Once you have the expenditure/income ratio, (which ideally should be less than one) then multiply is by ¾ and this should be your aim for the next year.

Most people tend be overshoot a bit when making the budget because they see the large picture with big amount of money. This is where you have to rein yourself, and make a budget, which looks achievable.

Fix a salary for yourself

This is my secret of budgeting and maintaining the budget at all the times. I have two bank accounts, one in which all the payments come in and the other which is my personal account. At the beginning of each month, I give myself a fixed salary and leave the rest of the amount in the other account. I have been following this practice for two years and have found out that I actually end up saving more than my budget indicated. My monthly budget is then based on the fixed salary that I get.

Ditch the credit cards

Credit cards are easy to carry and use but they can also be the greatest sources of factors that can upset your budget. The ‘buy now pay later policy’ can be quite misleading as you often end up paying more in terms of interests and fees. Therefore, ditch the credit cards when you are working on a shoestring budgets and pay only by cash. This way you will know exactly what you spent and how much you have left with you.

Create an emergency fund

‘Forearmed is forewarned.’ Every budget should have an emergency fund over and above the personal and business accounts. Set aside some money to spend in emergencies such as hospitals, broken computers, extra equipment etc. You can cut down on your monthly expense budget but on no account you should cut down on the emergency fund budget. Keep the emergency funds at a place where you can access the easily.

An emergency fund is the money that you can bank on to keep you afloat during the months in which you are looking for new jobs or have taken a break from working.

Be prudent in spending and bargain wherever you can

Of course, the first rule is that you should not buy what you need. However when you are out shopping for things that you do need, it will not hurt to be prudent in your spending. Check online and newspapers for deals and sales at various stores before you go shopping. You can always bargain for things from the local shop. Before going shopping make a list and stick to it. In fact, if you can take only amount of money that you will need so that you don’t end up buying anything else.

Operating on a budget needs some practice but if you follow through then by the end of six months you will be surprised to see the amount of saving you have.

 

K Saravana Kumar

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July 3, 2013

Freelance Mystery Shopper

According to Oprah Winfrey, being a mystery shopper is one of the most uniquely satisfying careers ever. It can never go out of style and there is always a demand for mystery shoppers. Freelance mystery shoppers have a lot of potential in their hands to make it really big for themselves. Every organization values independent and unbiased opinions about their services and products to stay about the competition.

Mystery shopper is a person who is hired by a company or independent agencies to literally ‘check out’ the services. Mystery shopping can include tasting food, evaluating customer care services, checking the quality of products etc. A freelance mystery shopper has the freedom to say no for a job. In order to become a successful mystery shopper you need to have the following skills/qualities:

Excellent Memory

As a freelance mystery shopper, you can’t just walk in to a store and start noting down points and observation. You will have to do after you are out of the store and therefore you need to have excellent memory to retain what you saw and observed. Having a good memory will also help you keep in mind the employer guidelines when on a project and this way you will be able to observe better.

Ability to remain Unnamed

A mystery shopper must know how to conceal his/her true identity. You have to remain unnamed and carry out the instructions precisely. There are a number of showrooms that have web cameras, which the employer will use to verify your shopping experience. If you reveal your identity then the whole object of mystery shopping fails.

Great observation skills

Most people have good observations skill but a mystery shopper has to have great observation stills. Being aware of what is going around you when you are on a project is very important. Missing out a single detail can lead to a faulty report.

Writing Skills

Most employers don’t ask for a very good writing skill but you should have basic and good writing skills. Basic knowledge of grammar and punctuation will help a lot on writing a good report. You must also have a basic knowledge of excel sheets to maintain a record.

Availability at all times

Mystery shopping is not a 9 to 5 job. The projects can have various timelines. Sometimes you might have to visit just as the store/service is opening or sometime you have visit during rush hour or sometimes during the closing time. Therefore, you need to be available at all time to take on a job. Another thing to keep in mind that freelance mystery shopping is not a regular job and there are no fixed durations.

Ability to meet deadlines

As we said in the last point mystery shopping assignment, don’t give you much time to complete them. Most service checks or mystery shopping assignments have to be completed in a day or two of assignment. Therefore, you much be committed and reliable in terms of meeting deadlines.

Honesty and Professionalism

When you submit your report as a mystery writer it will be read by the location which you have visited therefore you must at all times keep your report professional at all times. Offensive comments and works are unnecessary. Be honest at all times and don’t try to fib in your report. Many mystery shoppers tend to make the mistake of lying on the report or being biased in their opinion in order to appear good. This kind of practice is to be avoided at all times.

Mystery shopping can be a lot of fun and highly satisfying if you do it by the book.

K Saravana Kumar

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June 27, 2013

Things A Freelancer Should Never Say To A Client

The best part about being a freelancer is that you gain a kind of experience that a regular job. You get to meet a number of people, you get to work on a variety of projects and expand your horizons. However, you also will have to learn how to deal with different kinds of people and learn to adapt yourself to the project demand. Of course, not everything is perfect every time and you will make mistakes sometimes but you can always learn from them.

Here is my list of things, which you should never say to a client:

I will submit the work later: Deadlines are deadlines and a freelancer is always expected to follow them. Even if you want an extended deadline then let the client know about it well in advance. Also instead of using the word ‘later’ give a definite time frame for example will submit by xyz date etc.

Sorry for not replying sooner: When a client hires you for a project he/she expects to be communicated with regularly with the progress of the project. The client is not going to be happy with a freelancer who takes up a project and then vanishes to reappear with completed project within the give deadline. As a freelancer make sure that you reply to client emails/phone calls as soon as possible.

I have given you a discount: When you are starting as a freelancer you might be tempted to give ‘discount’ to clients in order to get work. This is a wrong word to use. When you tell a client that you have given them discounts they immediately think that you overcharged them and now giving the actual price. Do not give ‘discounts’ when not asked for. If the client persists then you can may be negotiate a little.

I know a better way to do this: Nobody and with it I mean not even you as a freelancer would like to be told a better way to do your job and that the other way is better. The same goes for the client. Don’t tell the client a better way to do his job. You can talk about the particular section of project that you are working on but unless asked don’t try to turn into a business advisor.

Thnx, OMG, u, hey, and other text language: Keep things professional at all times. Email should be responded to in the correct manner and with correct spellings. I have had some freelancers working for me who did not even bother to spell my name right or took the liberty to shorten my name. Needless to say I did not work with them again. The way you write your email or letters or take the phone calls says a lot about your professionalism. Avoid the text language and use proper words.

I have made some changes to make it look better: Every client loves an enthusiastic freelancer. But to present the client with a completed work very different from what he/she asked for is a completely different thing. Knowing that the freelancer has changed the final work will not make your client happy. Get a green signal from the client before making any changes. There will some core things in a project that the client will not want to change.

I can do it: I admit I am guilty of using this sentient. I have said to a client that I can do the project even though I had no idea how to go about it. I was able to do the project but it involved a lot of extra work on my part. Don’t say yes to things, which you don’t know about.

K Saravana Kumar

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March 20, 2013

Things A Freelancer Should Never Do

Striking out on your own or freelancing, as it called is never easy. You will have to answer a lot of question from your peers, you will have to work double hard to make a name for yourself. When you are trying to do something different there will always be people who will try to pull you down. But you should always keep in mind that it is only a small step that paves the road to success.

Today’s communication savvy world holds a vast number of freelancing jobs like software designing, writing, programing, web designing, data entry, interior designing, dress designing, research etc. Every job has different requirements, which will vary depending on the client needs, but there are a few rules, which apply everywhere. In this post, we will discuss about some things that a freelancer should never do:

Don’t procrastinate: This is the golden rule, which a freelancer should always remember. The more you drag your feet in submitting your assignments the more you lose the clients faith. Similarly, when you are in a process of discussing or giving an interview then make sure that you are quick in precise and correct response.

Don’t deviate from client instructions: This is one mistake that most freelancers make (although not consciously) is that they deviate from client instruction in order to make the project ‘better’. If you have any ideas, which will make the project better or will give better value to client then discuss with the client first and incorporate any changes if and only if the client agrees to it. Remember nobody likes surprises, which they did not ask for.

Don’t use ‘wrong’ language: When you are freelancing, the client will watch your every move because he/she has put their faith in you especially since you are not on their payroll. Therefore, you need to watch what you are saying at all the times. Don’t be too over familiar even when you have been working for the client for a long-long time. Always use the correct salutations, correct write up even when you are in chat. Don’t use icons, or acronyms or SMS language with words like thanx, BRB, ttyl etc.

Don’t change your fees: This is another one big mistake, which a freelancer should never ever make if he or she wants to really succeed in making a career out of freelancing. If you increase your fees in between the project or change the payment terms then the client is not going to be happy with you ever. Some freelancers start haggling for more payment once the job is near completion or they come to know that client is now dependent on the project or requires it urgently. This is an unethical practice.  This rule also includes not over charging the client.

Don’t take a job because money is good: A good freelancer knows what his/her skills are and knows what kind of jobs he or she can do. Imagine taking a software-designing job when you have a writing background just because the money is good. If you don’t have the necessary skills then how will you deliver a good product? Your reputation is more important than money in freelancing jobs.

Don’t compromise on your rates: If you are bidding for a job and see that, others have bid lower for the job then don’t compromise on your rates. If you know that, you can do a very good job then bid accordingly and in your bid write to the client about why you will be suitable for the job. Try to bid for the amount that will justify your skills and expertise.

K Saravana Kumar

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March 15, 2013

Communication Is The Key To Winning When Freelancing

You cannot freelance without using some or the other form of communication. In fact, it is not just communication but good communication that is the key to winning when freelancing. As a freelancer, there will be very few instances where you will ever come face to face with the client during the course of projects and therefore you need to brush up your communication skills to the full.

There are many forms of communications but they can be broadly classified as oral and written. In this post, we will take a look at both the forms of communication and learn how they are important to further your career as a freelancer.

Oral communication

Oral communication means communicating verbally with your client or the team. Oral communications can be done on phone, through video conferencing, or through face-to-face meetings. Here are few points, which you should keep in mind when interacting with a client through oral communications.

  • Be there on time: Always be there on time for meeting. Be prepared. The client is less likely to trust you when you have not come prepared for the meeting. Putting the client on hold while you search for materials or stuttering during the conversation does not present you in good light.
  • Be clear and straightforward: Take care that your diction and grammar correct at all the times. Remember that when you are taking on phone or on a video conference over the internet the voice clarity depends on the carrier, therefore speak slowly and clearly.
  • Make points before the conversation: It would help you a lot if you have some points that you would like to address during the conversation written down with you. This will help you in being concise during the conversation. You can also take down notes during the conversation or record it for future reference.

Written communication

Written communication includes written letters or applications, emails and chat conversation. For a freelancer written communication is very important as it forms the foundation long lasting client relationships. You have to pay more attention to written communication than oral communication because you cannot take the written words back. Keep the following points in mind:

  • Reply quickly: Reply to emails, letters and chat messages as soon as you can. Of course, this does not mean that you should be online 24 hours and check your accounts every minute. Make sure that the client and prospective clients all know about your working hours so that they can easily reach you. Don’t keep your clients waiting for reply.
  • Be honest: Be honest when writing an email or letter. Do not commit in written what you cannot do.
    Always proofread: Use the spell check on Microsoft word, use the spell check within the emails to check for any spelling, or formatting mistakes in the document. It is easy to

Apart from the above types of communications, there are some common points, which you need to keep in mind when communicating with old, current or prospective clients:

  • Do not oversell: When conversing it is very easy for freelancers to over commit in order to secure a client or when deciding the payment of the job. Commit only what you can do in the stipulated time given. In freelancing jobs, time is always a crucial key.
  • Listen to instructions: When working, keep the instructions that the client gave you always in your mind. If you have any doubts with the instructions in mind write to the client immediately and clear the doubts.
  • Don’t make changes without informing: Don’t deliver purple when the client asked for yellow. One of the main reasons why you need to keep the lines of conversation open is that you should be aware of any changes that need to be made.

K Saravana Kumar

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March 13, 2013

Get Freelancing Jobs Using Your Social Connections

Love it or hate it social connections are a key to success to every business. By social connections, we mean both physical and online social connections. Online social connections are popularly known as social media connections.

Even the person that you befriend on the train ride becomes the part of your social connection. Social connections are a part of your everyday life. As an established or starting freelancer, you can easily utilize you social connections to get great jobs. In this article, we will take a brief look at the type of people you should connect with how you can use those connections for your benefit.

Family: Your family can help you further a career by putting in a good word about your freelancing career. It is always a good idea to keep your family in loop with your freelancing work. They will be able to give you their honest and true opinion.

Friends: The kind of support and recommendation that your friend can provide you is something, which you will not get anywhere. Friends of your friends are more likely to trust you if they know that you have a common connection.

Current and former co-workers: Your co-workers already know your work and therefore they can give you a good recommendation based on their experience. Many of them may move to a position where they might require your freelancing skills. Networking with current freelancer gives you a platform to share your doubts and feelings with people who are or have been in the same situation. You can discuss projects with your co-workers and even join forces for new projects.

Clients: If your current and former clients are happy with your work they will always consider you for the new jobs you have. My last two freelancing jobs were originally intended to be two months projects but the client extended the projects for one year because my work was good. Keeping in social touch with your former and current clients will help you make a solid base for future projects.

Teachers and Professors: Open your old class yearbook and get in touch with your schoolteachers and college professors. It will be interesting to learn what they have been up to. Most of them might have some kind of freelancing jobs that might suit you.

Local Businesses: Every local business is always looking for ways to increase their business and your freelancing skills can be of their help. But you have to go to them and interact on various social levels to get them to send some business your way. You can also learn a lot from them in way how they run their business.

Prospective clients: You cannot sit hand on hand waiting for jobs to come to you. You might know the prospective clients today but in the future you can develop long term connects with them. It is always a good idea to initiate a conversation either physically or through social media. You can strike up conversations by commenting on their posts, blogs etc. and following them on twitter.

The more you network, the more are the chances of you being able to make your presence known. You must make a dedicated effort to join forums that appeal to your interest. Make it known that you are interested in taking new jobs. Don’t be afraid to let your skills be known to the world. People tend to hire those freelancers you have confidence in their work and skills.

However, there are some points, which you must keep in mind when interacting over social media. Be careful about how much information you are giving out. Do not be too persistent. Remember you want to make your presence known but do now want to overwhelm everybody.

K Saravana Kumar

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March 6, 2013

20 Must Have Skills As A Freelancer

There has been a rise in the number of people who are opting to work as a freelancer. One of the biggest advantages that many people see is the flexibility in working that they can avail. Freelancing basically means that that you work independently on short and long-term projects for a fixed payment. However, with so many people opting for the freelancing jobs the competition has increased an in order to make sure that you stay on the top you have to have the extra edge over others.

Here is a list of the top must have skills as a freelancer that you need to keep in mind and implement:

1.    Learn the tricks of the trade: Nobody wants to hire a freelancer who does not know the tricks of his/her trade. If you are a freelance salesperson then you must know all about the product you are selling. You must also develop your skill as a salesperson i.e. develops the interpersonal skills.

2.    Be adaptive: As a freelancer, you must learn to be adaptive. You will have to mold your work according to client requirements. You might even have to adjust your timings and workdays according to the client’s need.

3.    Be patient: Another important skill that a freelancer must possess is to be patient at all times. When you are working with somebody on a contractual basis, you have to be very patient in understanding the needs. Also patience is a virtue, which will come in handy when you are applying for jobs.

4.    Be confident: As a freelancer one of your biggest assets is your confidence. You will need to be confident when you are interacting with new clients so that they believe in your work.

5.    Learn the importance of time: The most important skill that every freelancer must cultivate and follow is the art of being punctual. If you cannot deliver the right product on time then you will easily lose the client trust and mar your reputation forever.

6.    Be competitive: The key to being successful in freelancing is that you remain competitive at all times. If you are competitive you will remain in limelight always and clients will pay attention to you.

7.    Be firm: Most of the freelancers lose their credibility when they are not firm with the conditions of the job. If you have agreed to paint a mural on a particular wall then make sure that that is the wall, you work on and give it your best.

8.    Learn to Observe: A good freelancer learns how to observe thing around them and take inspiration from them.  This skill helps them keep up with the latest things and further their career as a successful freelancer.

9.    Self-Motivation: Another important skill that you must develop is self-motivation. In a regular office there will be somebody standing on your head to get the work done. But as a freelancer you have to be self-motivated to deliver your work.

10.    Reliability: To convince a client that you are worthy of more jobs from them you have to prove that you are reliable at all times. Being reliable is one of the skills, which is a combination of self-motivation and respect for timing.

11.    Discipline: Maintaining discipline at all time is not an easy task but being disciplined at all times is a skill, which you would need to stick to at all, times.

12.    Organization:  A freelancer should have excellent organizational skills. This will help keep track of work, get new work and balance the payments. It will also help you save a lot of time.

13.    Communication: As a freelancer you will be working independently and therefore your communication skill (both written and verbal) should be top notch. This skill will not only help you land new jobs but also convince your clients that you are on the job.

14.    Willing to learn new skills: The list of skills is never ending and in order to broaden your horizons you should be willing to learn new skills at all the times. This will show the clients that you are committed to the job.

15.    Recognize the flaws: Be prepared to admit and recognize your flaws. This will help you in avoiding mistakes and pitfalls and help increase your strengths.

16.    Learn to handle failure and criticism: Being thorough with your work and applying many jobs does not mean that you will get every job you apply for and every job that you submit will turn out to be perfect. Therefore, learn how to handle failure and criticism so that you can recover quickly and move on.

17.    Idea generation: Another skill, which is an asset to a freelancer, is idea generation. New ideas regarding the ways of doing work or increasing efficiency will be always welcome with everybody.

18.    Open to try new things: A freelancer should be open to try new things at all times because no two jobs are ever the same.

19.    Email skills: Keeping up with simple technological skills such as writing engaging emails is a skill that will come in handy to every freelancer. The world is fast moving to a paperless office and you need to keep pace with it.

20.    Versatility: Versatility is a skill that many freelancers tend to ignore. But in fact it is a skill, which will help you a lot if you are looking for a long-term career as a freelancer. As the famous saying goes ‘Don’t put all your money at a single place’, it goes true for freelancing jobs. For example as a freelance writer don’t limit yourself to blog writing only but also try out website content, article writing etc.

K Saravana Kumar

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March 4, 2013

Getting Started As A Freelancer

“When inspiration does not come to me, I go halfway to meet it.” – Sigmund Freud

Getting started as a freelancer is very much like chasing your own dream. Freelancers have full freedom to make a career out of whatever they wish to be. As they say  that it is the first step that is difficult; this short guide on how to get started as a freelancer will help you take that first step to a successful and fulfilling career.

How much time do you have?

The first step is to decide on how much time you can devote every day to working. You can work full time, part time or vary your timing depending on the project on hand. The amount of time you have in hand will help you decide the amount of work you can undertake and help you build up a schedule.

What is your area of interest?

The next step is to figure out your area of interest in which you want to work in. The biggest advantage of working as a freelancer is that you don’t have to limit yourself to one particular field only. There are many fields for you to choose from such as writing, software design, software testing, acting, designing and producing artifacts, tele calling, counseling, translation, tutoring etc. Even these fields have many subfields, for example, writing includes blog writing, article writing, website content etc.  Similarly tutoring freelancing jobs can be based on language, subjects etc.

Prepare yourself

Once you have decided on which area you are going to look for work for, it is then time to prepare yourself.  By preparing yourself we mean that you should brush up your knowledge about your area of interest.  Checkout various freelance directories to what kind of jobs are being posted on the board there. This will give you an idea of what is ‘in’.
For example if you are interesting in online or distance tutoring the it would be helpful to you if you brush up your tutoring skills and knowledge on the subject you are going to teach. If you are looking for jobs in web design then make sure that you know about the latest languages in use.

Prepare a portfolio

Some might call it a resume but we prefer to call it a portfolio. Your portfolio will be a showcase of the all that you know. It should contain all the information about you. It should concisely indicate all the work that you have done in the past. List your qualifications in such a way that they make it relevant in the area you are planning to work in. If you have any samples of your work then you can include them in the portfolio too.

How much to charge?

Now it is the time to decide how much you are going to charge for the work. You can charge by the hour or by word or by projects. Make your rate competitive. Remember you can always change your rate after projects and as you gain experience.

Start Applying

With all the above preparations, you are now ready to apply for jobs.  You can list yourself in freelance directories and also apply for jobs individually. If you are applying online then give them a two or three days to reply and make sure that you aim to build a long time contact.
Keep your mind open about some basic negotiations. Remember you are working freelance and therefore you can work on your terms.

Work ethics

It is very important for a freelancer to maintain his/her reputation at all the times. When you make a commitment make sure that you keep it at all times. Do not charge for something, which you have not done. Keep the communication lines open at all the times so that the client can reach you anytime.

By following the above steps, you will have a much easier journey in getting started as a freelancer. Happy bidding!

K Saravana Kumar

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