I slowly sipped the cool liquid energy from a can of Mountain Dew. It would only be a matter of minutes before it joined the school of empty cans surrounding my workspace as a reminder that I was out of creative juice. Caffeine does a pretty good job of keeping me awake. Exercise keeps my blood flowing. But it’s microprojects that keep my creative juices pumping.

What’s a microproject?

Photo by Repoort (license)

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 9% [?]

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Have you ever wondered how to deal with people who leave blatantly self-promoting comments? Try replacing their links with this.

Popularity: 4% [?]

This is the first in a series on a type of website mistakes that I call “unprofessionalisms.” But they aren’t just any mistakes. To qualify as an unprofessionalism, it must:

• Be relatively common.
• Detract from the professionalism of a website.
• Be something that ordinary users would notice.

Now that you have some idea of what I’m talking about, here is the first unprofessionalism.

Blog Dis-Integration

These days, most online businesses realize that they need a blog of some sort. Unfortunately, many of those businesses think that just adding a link from their static site to a WordPress.com (or worse, Blogger) account fills that need. There are a few reasons why this approach doesn’t work:

1. The blog design doesn’t match the site design, which can be quite jarring, and causes the user to notice that…
2. The blog design is a template they’ve seen on dozens of other sites…
3. The web address doesn’t match, because it isn’t mybusiness.com, but mybusiness.blogspot.com…
4. Which means that in the user’s mind the business either didn’t have the money to look professional or just didn’t care. 

Obviously, this sequence is much more damaging for high-end businesses than “Mom & Pop’s,” but even small businesses suffer from reduced confidence.

The Alternative: An Integrated Blog

If blogs like those I mentioned above are dis-integrated, the alternative is to integrate them with the main website’s branding and design. This can be done either through full integration, or through development of a related identity for the blog.

With full integration, the blog:

• Matches the site design almost exactly.
• Resides on the same website address, such as mybusiness.com/blog/

With a related identity, the blog:

• Has a related, but not identical design.
• Resides on a related website address, such as mybusinessblog.com or blog.mybusiness.com

Each approach has it’s advantages. Full integration tends to require less additional work on design, programming, and development of a new sub-brand, while a related identity can allow a normally formal brand to expand into the blogosphere’s more casual environment without losing its central identity.

Whichever approach you decide to take, avoid the dis-integrated blog!

Popularity: 20% [?]

It’s been a little while since the first installment of the Ultimate List of Freelancing Resources, but I haven’t forgotten it. This time we go from 26 to 50 in the list.

1. How To Turn a Blank CD Into a Profitable Contract
   This post at Create Business Growth talks about how you can use a blank CD and screencast software to land a great contract.
2. Consulting: a Getting Started Guide
   Skellie offers a great guide to getting started as a web-based consultant, including types of consulting you could do, how to be a good consultant, and how much you should charge.
3. Groupthink: How Do Freelancers Find Business?
   Samuel at Wake Up Later hosts a really fascinating group discussion on how freelancers find business. Reading through the comments is a must.
4. How I’ve Been Holding Myself Back And How to Avoid Stagnation In Your Business
   Have you been holding yourself back by staying comfortable? Christine tells you how to break free of limiting beliefs.
5. Is Your Elevator Pitch a Home Run?
   James Chartrand guest posts at Freelance Folder, and gives three simple steps to a home run elevator pitch.
6. How to Double Your Sales (Over and Over Again)
   Think you’d like to double your sales? Dave Navarro shows you how you can figure out your bottlenecks and make big improvements without too much effort.
7. Jonathan Fields And The Art Of Building Many Businesses At Once
   Jarkko Laine conducts an insightful interview with Jonathan Fields, learning some of the secrets to running a lot of businesses at once.
8. Finding Your Muse Business
   Skellie gives a good introduction to Tim Ferris’s idea of the “muse” business which allows you to earn income almost automatically.
9. 3 Uncomfortable Ways To Make More Money As A Freelancer
   Dave Navarro guest posts on Freelance Folder with three ideas that are guaranteed to make you squirm but will probably be good for your bottom line.
10. The seven deadly sins of a side business entrepreneur
    Jarkko identifies seven sins that steal from your business. You’ll want to make sure that you don’t have any habits on this list.
11. Building A Perfect Website? Are You Too Perfectionist?
    Alan Johnson offers tips for understanding when to stop being so perfectionist with your projects (even if they aren’t websites).
12. 80-20 Freelancing
    If you aren’t already familiar with the 80/20 rule or the Pareto Principle, the idea is that 80% of results are achieved with 20% of effort. In this post on Freelance Switch, Skellie shows how you can use this idea to improve your freelancing.
13. Challenge: Stop Existing And Start Living An Amazing Life
    Christine challenges you to stop just floating along in your life and start directing things the way you want them to be. Excellent advice for your business life as well.
14. 46 Must-Read Productivity Tips for Freelancers
    Leo Babauta, the productivity blogger himself, offers a giant list of productivity tips.
15. The Location Independent Destination Guide
    This is a guide to world destinations which appeal to Location Independent Professionals (aka freelancers), complete with information on internet access and the best local coffee shops!
16. Frogs
    Have you ever considered what frogs have to do with freelancing? Neither had I until I read Timothy Coote’s explanation of finding your goal and hopping back to a method one lilypad at a time.
17. When Fine Is Plenty 
    Naomi Dunford rips the cult of “excellence” to shreds, and explains why sometimes being “fine” or “average” is good enough.
18. You Weren’t Meant to Have a Boss
    Paul Graham dives into the sociological reasons that humans weren’t meant to have bosses. A really interesting (and inspiring) read. 
19. Is it Better to Be a Creative Generalist or a Specialist?
    Mark McGuinness does some pretty deep analysis of the advantages of being a specialist or a generalist. A great thing for freelancers to consider.
20. Turn your Marketing into a Fun Game
    Eric Davis gives an overview of how to make marketing into a game so that you stay involved even when you wouldn’t ordinarily be inclined to.
21. Your Marketing Game
    In this followup, Eric details the exact steps of his marketing game. I suggest trying his version for a little while, then adapting to your needs.
22. How a Side Business Forces You To Balance Your Life
    Jarkko writes about one of the not-so-obvious benefits of running a side business (or freelancing in general): the fact that you are forced into balancing your life. And balance is a wonderful thing.
23. The Wrong Way To Think About Your Goals (And How To Fix It)
    Dave Navarro explains why you need to stop thinking of your goals and start thinking from them instead.
24. Three Tips For Finding Top-Shelf Clients
    Most freelancers have run across the problem of starting out with clients who prize “savings” over quality work. Copywriter Michael Fortin offers three ways of moving up the client hierarchy.
25. Become a Lifestyle Entrepreneur: Complete Guide and 40+ Resources
    When Skellie calls something a “complete guide,” she isn’t kidding. If you’re interested in the lifestyle side of freelancing and entrepreneurship, this is a must read.

Popularity: 100% [?]

If you’ve been in your feedreader at all this morning, you may have noticed a lot of people talking about a new blogger-run nonprofit called Train for Humanity. I think that’s totally awesome, particularly since I had the chance to design their website.

What is Train for Humanity?

TFH is a nonprofit whose mission is to “unite the training efforts of everyday regular athletes and the power of social media and blogging to help raise funds and awareness for those who are suffering.” In other words, welcome to nonprofits 2.0.

While the idea of nonprofits using social media is a powerful one, the problem is that social media is particularly hard for institutions to master. That’s where the who comes in.

Who’s behind Train for Humanity?

The guys behind Train for Humanity know exactly what social media is all about. They include:

• Mark Hayward of My Tropical Escape
• Dan Clements of Escape 101
• Leo Babauta of Zen Habits

Where does the money go?

For the launch phase, TFH is raising $50,000 to support the Darfur Peace & Development Organization, which provides humanitarian relief to victims of genocide in Darfur.

Are you still here? Go check out Train for Humanity!

Popularity: 12% [?]

Though there are some great examples of web designers writing on typography recently, one thing that I’ve always wanted is a quick little reference to help me remember both the terms and how the typographic toolkit should be used. This is the beginning of such a reference.

I’ve included both typographical terms and the related CSS properties. Obviously this glossary is far from complete, but I hope it will prove useful.

Photo by Shaylor (license)

Glossary

Ampersand — A symbol denoting the word “and,” whose form is derived from the Latin “et.” (Thus “&c.” for “etc.”) It is often considered the most interesting standard character in a typeface. In addition, typographers suggest using the best available ampersand rather than the default ampersand.

Anti-aliasing — A technique for smoothly rendering graphics that don’t conform to the pixel grids of most computer monitors by using pixels (or sub-pixels) of varying shades to visually “smooth” the curves. In font anti-aliasing, the result is greater readability. See also Cleartype. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 95% [?]

As most of you know, in addition to freelancing, I also work part-time in an office environment. And on my desk sits a shiny new Intel-based Mac, complete with dual monitors, Adobe CS3 and every other application I could possibly want. Yet I rarely use it, preferring to carry my laptop around with me everywhere. Why?

It isn’t configured for me to work efficiently.

Now, part of this problem is simply due to the fact that it is a Mac, and I’ve not been able to overcome my dislike for the way the OSX works. But there is also the larger factor that my laptop is mine, meaning I can:

• Install any software I own without having to worry about uninstalling it later
• Use reference material from past freelance projects to help speed up my office work
• Configure the machine in ways that would confuse others (for instance, Enso repurposes the caps-lock key)
• Avoid wasting time doing the above on a second computer

Privacy

Admittedly, this isn’t too big of an issue for me, but if you ever do any banking or visit other sites with sensitive data on your work computer, you’d want to be especially careful to clear that data before moving to a new job, or even before going home in the evening.

Your thoughts

Do you use an office computer? Or do you use your own? What advantages and disadvantages do you see?

Popularity: 14% [?]

It seems like everywhere I turn these days, people are talking about freelancing, running their own businesses, and escaping the rat race. Though I enjoy being a bit contrarian regarding trends, in this case I’m totally on board.

So here’s my contribution to the trend, my Ultimate List of Freelance Resources.

1. Identity Spectrum
   Mark Bixby discusses how to use an identity spectrum in design, but most of his insights can also be applied to figuring out where your business fits in the grand scheme of things.
2. What Does Your Business Card Say About You?
   Neil Patel of Quick Sprout covers the basics of figuring out how to create a business card that sends the message you want.
3. The Freelancer’s Toolset: 100 Web Apps for Everything You Will Possibly Need
   Since I’m focusing on freelancing information rather than tools, this list from Codswallop helps fill the gap.
4. 10 (More) Tips on Doing Productive Web Work with Kids in the House
   Do you have kids in (or near) your workspace? Leo Babauta has some great suggestions on making it manageable.
5. Earn More Money by Demanding It | Wise Bread
   Andrea Dickson discusses how to effectively ask for more money in a salary or contract situation.
6. 101 Ideas to Get More Freelance Work and Generate New Client Leads
   Just what the title says. And you know it’s good since it’s by Cyan Ta’eed of Freelance Switch.
7. The Monster List of Freelancing Job Sites
   Another great list by Cyan for when it’s time to hit the streets looking for work.
8. Jason Fried, 37signals Video Interview
   Insight into the business mindset of 37signals, whose lightweight approach is a great fit for many freelancers.
9. 7 Habits of a Highly Successful Freelance Web Designer
   Well known web designer Andy Budd shares his thoughts on freelancing.
10. You don’t need a plan, you need skills and a problem.
    Dushan Wegner of Shtikl.com addresses the problem of overplanning.
11. 10 Essential Steps to Making the Perfect Pitch
    Leo’s step by step guide to pitching your work.
12. Taking The Leap Into Entrepreneurship: Where Is That Financial Safety Net?
    Trent at the Simple Dollar discusses how to get started with a new business.
13. Coworking Wiki
    “Coworking is cafe-like community/collaboration space for developers, writers and independents. Or, it’s like this: start with a shared office and add cafe culture. Which is the opposite of most modern cafes. ;)” This wiki is the place to start if you’re looking for a relaxed office setting.
14. 5 Steps for Simple and Effective Marketing
    Eric Davis posts at the Shane & Peter Blog with an overview of the Get Clients Now! marketing process.
15. Freelancer’s Guide to Sales: Using Which-Craft
    Shane of Shane & Peter offers an excellent guide to using the word “which” to achieve the results you want.
16. 5 Things I Had to Unlearn to Become Self Made
    Sometimes the hardest part about going freelance isn’t learning new things, but unlearning old ones. Christine OKelly, the Self Made Chick tells about five things she had to unlearn.
17. 32 Must Reads To Ensure Small Business Success
    Naomi at IttyBiz has compiled a list of 32 excellent small biz resources. (Somehow I got an article into the list.)
18. 2008 Goals: Scare Yourself at The Shane & Peter Inc. Blog
    Another great post from Shane, this time on the subject of setting goals that make you a little bit afraid.
19. How I made $100,000 by spending 25 minutes and $0 on Marketing
    Christine points out the power of taking your first small steps. Sometimes the results you get will be amazingly out of proportion to the effort you put in. So why not try it?
20. How to get featured in magazines and newspapers with no connections…and turn it into mega-bucks
    Think you need great connections to make it into print? Jonathan Fields doesn’t think so.
21. Freelancer’s Guide to Sales: Making Friends
    Shane points out that all the techniques in the world won’t help you with sales if you can’t make friends.
22. One Word that Can Change Your Reality and Perception of What Is Possible
    Ever think about how the words you use change your perception of reality? Christine teaches her readers how to avoid constraining the possibilities.
23. Become A Master Networker By Changing These 3 Beliefs
    Dave Navarro rocks my day by challenging the myths of networking. Sample myth: networking is a natural skill.
24. New Opportunity For Tech-Savvy Bloggers: Remote Digital Coaching | Performancing.com
    Raj Dash points to an emerging market that freelancers are ideally positioned to fill.
25. How I Stopped Listening To Experts And Started Making Money
    Christine tackles more myths purveyed by the “experts.” You don’t need a fancy website (though if you want one give me a call ); you don’t need first page search rankings. You just need to get started.

That’s it the first installment of the Ultimate List of Freelancing Resources, but there’s a lot still to come. Go ahead and subscribe so you don’t miss anything!

Popularity: 45% [?]

As you’ve probably noticed, I haven’t been updating the blog very much recently. Between a part-time job, working like crazy on freelance projects, moving to a new apartment, and preparing for a wedding at the beginning of August, something had to give. In this case, it was actually two somethings: the blog, and my “top secret” product.

Now that things are beginning to settle down a bit from my move, I’m planning to bring a regular schedule back to the blog. But this whole experience got me thinking about the times when life gets in the way of our Big Plans.

When that happens, it’s really tempting to respond by trying to force things or give up completely. Unfortunately, those extremes don’t usually help. But here are three ideas that do.

1. Don’t try to force things

Though trying to force things by working ridiculous hours may produce results temporarily, long-term it isn’t a viable solution, and is likely to leave you disillusioned and discouraged. Remember, there is a reason you’re having difficulty with your Big Plans right now. Trying to solve it by just “buckling down” won’t solve things if you aren’t addressing the underlying problem.

2. Take baby steps

While trying to force things isn’t such a great idea, neither is just giving up. Do you really want to walk around with a question mark hanging over your head constantly asking “What might have been?” A better idea is to break down your Big Plan into the smallest possible component tasks and work on one task a day until you’ve accomplished your goal. This way you have the satisfaction of know that even if you aren’t moving as fast as you’d like, you’re still making progress.

3. Live your life

The most important thing to remember, though, is to live your life. Sometimes we can get so caught up in our Big Plans that we start living in the future and ignoring the present. But the present is a precious thing, and fleeting. If we’re always living for the future, what happens when that future becomes present?

Take time to play with your kids, go out with your spouse, or hang out with your friends. After all, it is these things that make all our Big Plans worthwhile.

Photo by jazzmasterson (license)

Popularity: 18% [?]

It seems like every day I see another batch of articles about the power of engagement, and the benefits of being permanently connected to the latest social networks, lifestreaming feeds, or Web 3.0 applications. There’s no denying that they can be wonderful tools, but just because you can be constantly connected doesn’t mean that you should be. What I want to focus on is the power of disengagement.

Photo by Fanboy30 (license)

More time

If there’s one resource that’s in short supply these days, it’s time. Yet for some reason, many people are willing to give massive amounts this resource to social networks without any clear idea of the benefits. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with this as long as you remain aware of the cost.

But if you’ve been spending all your time on forums, Facebook, or Twitter, maybe it’s time to consider taking it back. Imagine what you could do if you devoted all that time to a business or personal project.

Fewer distractions to interrupt flow

Social networks aren’t just a time sink. They’re also amazingly adept at reducing mental flow from a stream to a trickle.

It isn’t hard to see why. Flow requires sustained concentration on a single task (or group of tasks). When that concentration is broken, it can be extremely difficult to return to a state of flow. This means that non-trivial tasks become much harder to accomplish.

The short version? Even if social media distractions take only a few seconds at a time, you can get much more done without them.

Greater perception of value

Constant involvement in the social side of the web is often touted as a way of promoting yourself to more people. It’s certainly very good at that, but there’s a downside. When people see you spending huge amounts of time on socializing, they often begin to question the value of your products, services, or even your blog posts. After all, the reasoning goes, if you’re always instantly available via Twitter or Plurk, how in-demand can you actually be?

Obviously there are exceptions, particularly if your service is social media, or if you’re an insanely social person and everyone knows it.

On the other hand, if you’re only available occasionally, and always produce something of value, people will catch on to that fact. And when you speak, they’ll listen.

How to disengage

You might think that disengaging is relatively easy. But when you’ve built up weeks or months of habits, it can be much harder than it sounds. Here are a few suggestions to make it easier.

• Hide or uninstall any social toolbars
• Delete any shortcuts or bookmarks to social media services
• Set your computer not to start social apps on boot up

The point of all this is to make it just a little bit more inconvenient to return to old habits. If this isn’t enough, you might consider installing parental controls and blocking your favorite haunts. And if you really need help, have your spouse or a friend set the password.

What do you think? Do you prefer to use the power of engagement or the power of disengagement? Why? Let’s discuss it in the comments.

Popularity: 41% [?]