hourly rate calculator for freelancer

Money, money, money
Freelance switch make the hourly rate calculator for freelancer, so it will make us easier to decide how much we will pay it, if you are web designer , web programmer, or design graphic .. it will be different hourly rate. so here the explanation

What is This?
We have developed this hourly rate calculator to give you a guide based on your costs, number of billable hours and desired profit. It is a simple tool for you to play with.

Remember your hourly rate should always take into account factors like market demand, industry standards, skill level and experience - things that unfortunately we can't put into a calculator!

Use these calculations as a guide and then modify to suit your circumstance and conditions.

It will take you about 5-20 minutes to complete depending on how
much attention you give each calculation.

more information via http://freelanceswitch.com/rates/

Guide to Make Passive Income

Money money money,

Getting paid by the hour is pretty neat, but it’s even better when you have income that comes in when you’re taking time off too! Freelancers are uniquely positioned to be able to spend time creating sources of passive income while still getting their main money earning work done.

Streams of passive income can take a bit of work to get started, some even take a little work to maintain, however they are well worth it. Having a steady source of income is particularly useful for a freelancer as it helps mitigate risk and balance out some of the ups and downs of freelancing. Besides who doesn’t want a source of income that keeps generating with or without your input!

you can learn more about passive income and get alot of money when you're taking time off too :D. more information via http://notbythehour.com/

7 Things You Can Do TODAY to Kickstart Your Freelancing Career

Collis Ta'eed

The start of a new year is traditionally the time to think about change. If a jump to freelancing is on your agenda, then read on for seven things you can do today to get your freelance career started.

Note that unless you’re superhuman, you probably can’t do all seven of these in one day, but you can certainly get started on them!

1. Create a Name and Logo

One of the most fun things about going freelance is coming up with a business name for yourself. I chose my business name and designed myself a logo when I still had a fulltime job, and wanted to daydream about working for myself.

There are a few important things to keep in mind when choosing a name:

1. It should be memorable – Almost anything can become memorable with repetition, but some names are just more boring than others. For example I would stay away from acronyms – RBC design, HSL programming… it all kind of sounds the same after a while.
2. It should be (relatively) distinct – It’s difficult to find anything totally unique, but try to make sure there isn’t already a company with your exact name doing the same thing as you. You can do this by Googling the name to see what shows up and checking government company registration records in your country. Here in Australia you can do this online and I’d guess most other countries offer the same service.
3. It should be you! – This is your freelance business after all, so make it personal. My freelance business is/was called Good – because my partner and I wanted to do good things for the world! Alas the government here wouldn’t let us register an adjective so technically it was Good Creative.

One choice that you will need to make is whether your business name should include your own name in it. So for example mine might have been “Collis Ta’eed Design” or something like that. There are advantages and disadvantages either way, so you may wish to read more on Naming Your Freelancing Business - To Personalize or Not?

Logo design is of course something that you’ll need a designer for. If you aren’t a designer yourself then you can either hire a freelancer (try posting a job for free on our FreelanceSwitch job boards) or, if you really don’t want to spend any money yet, then choose a nice typeface for yourself, a colour palette and just make sure you always write it exactly the same … and promise me that when you have the money you’ll hire a designer because branding is important and there’s more to it than you might think!

2. Register Your Business

Registering your business isn’t as fun as coming up with a name and a logo, but it’s an essential part of becoming a freelancer. There is also something very satisfying about receiving a letter from the government saying your business is now official.

Registering a business is different in different parts of the world, so the easiest thing to do is to search for ‘register small business your country” in Google and read up. The process is usually something like:

1. Choose a business structure
   Common business structures include sole proprietorship, partnership and company. Generally speaking the first two are easier and cheaper to register but offer less legal protection. A company structure will mean more tax and legal requirements but will limit how liable you are personally for anything that goes wrong. In really simple terms if everything was to go pear shaped in your business and you were being sued, having a company would mean that no-one could take your personal possessions – your house, your car. However a company, at least here in Australia, will also mean you have to do things like have directors, pay (higher) annual fees, jump through more hoops for your taxes and so on. This is of course an over-simplification, and you need to read up on the choices. It’s also a good idea to find an accountant or lawyer to help you particularly if you’re not sure what the benefits and drawbacks are.
2. Fill Out Some Forms & Lodge Them
   Once you know what sort of business you want to register, you will have to get a hold of some forms (here in Australia you can download them off the net) and fill them all out and send them off. Like all government forms, they are usually a bit troublesome but reasonably straight forward.
3. Wait for your Certificate of Registration
   Once registered you should receive some sort of certification, often with a business number. Here in Australia the number you receive is then a number you have to quote on all your bills/invoices when you do work.

(Note: If you’ve already registered your business in your country, I’d be curious to hear if the process is the same as I’ve outlined, so leave a comment and let us know! Oh and my apologies for making everything a bit Australia-centric)

3. Prepare Your Web Portfolio

When you apply for jobs you’re going to need something to show. Although you can get away with just sending samples of your work, it’s best to have a web portfolio. Having a portfolio online means you can easily refer people to your work through email, via a business card or in person. Without a web portfolio you are either using a physical portfolio (mostly only designers will do this) or sending samples via email. While both of these can be acceptable, they simply aren’t as efficient as having a website.

Caution to Web Designers: Although there is a temptation to produce the be-all, end-all portfolio for yourself, it is better to have something than nothing. So start simple and get it out, then you can always complicate and redesign later.

If you aren’t a web designer then fear not because there are plenty of services to help you get a portfolio online without touching code:

• CarbonMade - www.carbonmade.com - Example Portfolio
  It’s quick, it’s free for a small portfolio (5 projects) and it’s cool in a cutesy web way.
• Designer’s Toolbox - www.designerstoolbox.com/ - Example Portfolio
  Unlike the other services here you have to pay for this one. It’s $30 a month which is not a huge sum to pay if you’re getting work from your portfolio, so worth a look.
• Coroflot - www.coroflot.com - Example Portfolio
  I haven’t used Coroflot before, but they’ve been around for a while and have a ton of members so I figure they must be doing something right. The down side appears to be that you have a large Coroflot header on top of your portfolio.
• Behance - www.behance.net - Example Portfolio
  Like Coroflot, Behance is more of a social network with portfolios as the centre piece. Nonetheless
• Wordpress - wordpress.com
  Wordpress offer free blogging accounts on Wordpress.com which can be customised with themes. Why would you want a blog? Well you can turn it into a portfolio fairly easily, particularly if you’re a writer. Even if you want to show graphics, just use the posts as portfolio items.

Know some other portfolio services? Leave them in the comments!

You might also like to read our FreelanceSwitch portfolio articles - Build a Killer Online Portfolio in 9 Easy Steps, 5 Reasons Freelancers Should Blog, The Secret to Getting a Lot of Web Design Work and Portfolio Zen.

4. Take Some Work on the Side

You don’t need to quit your job to become a freelancer. In fact it’s often better to get a taste for freelancing by taking on jobs after-hours. Here are a few of the benefits of taking on side jobs:

1. You get to test the waters
   Freelancing isn’t for everyone and you may find that actually you quite like your regular job. Taking on some freelance jobs on the side means you can find this out and still have your job to fall back on should things not pan out. And if you do find you love freelancing, then you can still enjoy saying goodbye to your 9-5, with the satisfaction of knowing it’s permanent.
2. You can build a client list
   When you first start freelancing, you are starting from zero. No clients, no income, no experience. Freelancing on the side means you can get a bit of momentum going so that when you do switch to full time you’re already in a comfortable position.
3. It’s less stressful
   When you’re cut off from a regular income source it can be a bit stressful at first, wondering when and if you will get paid. Working on the side removes this stress and lets you get used to freelance income. You can also build up some extra cash to use as a fallback for when you cut off your job.

For many people freelancing on the side is in fact what they want to do. You may find that a few jobs here and there is all you really need for a bit of extra income and a bit more creative freedom. In that case moonlighting is an end in itself.

You can read more about freelancing on the side in our article On the Side or All the Way?

5. Prepare a Mailer

For many freelancers the first question they want answered is ‘where do I find jobs?’

The best place to find your first jobs is through people you know. You can do this by asking around of friends, colleagues, people you used to work with, extended family, and anyone you think might have appropriate connections or work.

A simple way to do this is to create a little mailer to send out, just to let people know you’re available for work. This was something I did early on which lead to my first five jobs. Some were direct contacts and others were the result of people I knew passing my name on to something they knew.

It’s important to make your mailer:

• Brief – Don’t bother your friends and colleagues with an epic email. Make it short and sweet.
• Professional – If you’re a designer, it’s not a bad idea to use a graphic. If you’re not then a well worded email will suffice.
• Contain a Call to Action – Make sure there is a phone number to call, a website to visit or an email to send if the person is interested.

Mailers don’t take long to create and are an effective way to kickstart your marketing. For other marketing ideas check out 101 Ideas to Get More Freelance Work and for more information about mailout marketing read our article: Harnessing Mailouts - a Complete How-To Guide to Email Marketing.

6. Scour the Job Boards for some First Jobs

Job boards are a great source of early leads when you don’t have that many contacts. As your freelance business develops you will be able to rely increasingly on referrals, but early on, your address book may be a little flat.

You should approach job boards for three types of work:

1. Work to bring in income
   Naturally most jobs you go for are to earn yourself money. Whatever type of job you accept, make sure you are fairly compensated.
2. Work to build your client list
   It’s important to develop a wide range of contacts and clients as these people will help get you work in the future. Referrals are a powerful mechanism for getting jobs, but first you need people to refer you on.
3. Work to build your portfolio
   There are many reasons you might want to build up your portfolio. It may be that you want to go in a different direction to your previous work, it may be that you aren’t permitted to show previous work because of a contract with your employer, or you may simply have not done much work. In all these cases it can be a good idea to take on some early work specifically to build up your portfolio.

There are plenty of job boards around, including FreelanceSwitch’s own Job Board. We also have a giant list of places to look for jobs in our Monster List of Freelancing Job Sites. Finally for a client’s take on job boards, read how not to apply for jobs on a job board.

7. Figure out how much to charge

Pricing yourself is a difficult exercise for any freelancer. There are lots of factors to consider and no common standards. The best way to go about pricing yourself is first to calculate your break even rate and then adjust according to what factors are important.

• Your Break Even Rate
  For every person there is an amount of money that you need to make each year just to maintain a basic lifestyle. Additionally there are a rough amount of hours that you are capable of working in a year. So if you combine these two things you can get your break even rate – the amount of money you need to charge per hour so that you can earn enough to survive. Fortunately we’ve developed a Javascript calculator to help you do the math, just visit freelanceswitch.com/rates and plug in a few numbers to calculate your break even hourly rate.
• Adjusting for Other Factors
  There are many factors to consider in your pricing such as – other people’s rates, your marketing strategy, how much money you need to make beyond breaking even, what kinds of jobs you want to attract – and so on. You might like to read our 9 essential factors to consider when determining your price to help you find a final rate.

At the end of the day though if you aren’t sure how much to charge the simplest thing to do is to talk to other freelancers. Here at the ‘Switch we have some forums with very nice people who can help you along your way to freelance freedom!

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7 Ways to Turn a Profit Online

These simple business models can help you get started, whether you want to create a Web site for your existing company or start from scratch with a new e-business.
By Corey Rudl

Going online can be a great adventure--and a lot of fun--for any small business. But if you want your Web site to be more than a hobby, you need to put some thought into how to make it profitable. No matter what your business is, you should always be thinking about ways to diversify your revenue streams to boost your profits.

So to get you thinking about new strategies, I've put together a list of the seven ways you can earn income on the Web, and then I've explained how you can incorporate all of these methods to create success.

Online Profit Steams
Whether you're just beginning to develop your business model or simply analyzing an existing business, your chief focus should be on how you're going to generate income. There are seven ways to generate revenue on the Web:

1. Sell your own products. The main advantage to selling your own products is that you ultimately control how much profit you make on every sale and you therefore have the potential for the biggest profit margin. You know exactly what each product costs, and you can try out different price points to see what works the best. People appreciate good value, and removing the middleman is a great way to provide your customers with competitive prices that keep them coming back for more.

2. Sell your own services. Whether you're a small-town dentist, a high-priced online legal consultant, a real estate agent, a tutor, a landscaper, a bed and breakfast owner, an auto-mechanic, a caterer, a fitness trainer or anything in between, you can profit from selling your service online. It's easy to get started selling a service online, but your revenue potential, in most cases, is limited. That's because, unlike someone selling a physical product that can be stored and shipped on demand, you can only provide as many services as your time allows.

When you sell a service, you're essentially selling a relationship with yourself. And this requires that you spend more time and effort establishing your credibility and developing rapport with your visitors than is typically required on a site selling a physical product. You not only need to establish the benefits of the service you're offering, you also need to establish the value of you providing this service.

3. Drop ship products. If you want to sell products without the hassles of tracking your inventory, setting up warehouse space and maintaining a confusing shipping/receiving infrastructure, drop-shipping may be the choice for you. Drop shipping lets you sell quality, brand-name products on your site for a hefty profit, while the drop shipper takes care of fulfilling the order. They warehouse the stock, pack the orders and ship them out to your customers.

4. Recommend affiliate products. Recommending affiliate products creates a "no-risk" partnership that allows you to promote another company's products or services on your site to earn a percentage of their sales. As one of the company's "affiliates" or promotion partners, you earn a commission each time someone you've referred to their site makes a purchase. To advertise their wares, you might post a banner on your site that links to the affiliate program's site, or you might publish an article about the company and their products in your newsletter.

5. Sell ad space. Once your site has lots of highly targeted traffic, or a large, targeted opt-in list, you may be able to sell advertising. Advertisers are willing to buy ads when they're being directed at large numbers of their target market. Nowadays, though, advertising revenues are a lot less than they used to be, so I don't recommend you plan on making this your sole source of income. Selling ad space can be a great additional profit stream, but it's unlikely to keep your business afloat on its own.

6. Create a joint venture with like-minded businesses. Joint ventures are all about related businesses teaming up and combining skills, products, services and resources to create new streams of income and profit. One great way to profit through joint ventures is to seek out products or services that would benefit your visitors, and then approach the companies that provide those products or services. Ask them if you can recommend their product or service on your site for a portion of the profits. Most companies will gladly agree to this arrangement--after all, there's no risk for them since they only pay you when you refer a paying customer.

7. Start an affiliate program. With your own affiliate program, you can recruit an army of people (your affiliates) who will recommend your product on their web site for a percentage of any sale they refer. You have the power to exponentially increase your income as more and more affiliates sign up and you continue to teach your existing affiliates how to increase their commission checks (and your income).

It's one of the most powerful forms of online advertising I know. It allows you to grow your profits while keeping your business small, since you don't have to go out and spend money on salespeople and advertising. Your affiliates do the advertising for you, and you only pay them when they make a sale.

via entrepreneur

Avoid Freelance Horror - 6 Lessons from Stephen King

Did you realize that Stephen King was an expert on the art of freelancing? Neither did I until I read Salem’s Lot. Surprisingly, King’s vampire novel has quite a bit to teach.

Warning: Mild spoilers ahead.

1. Trust the prickling on the back of your neck

When writer Ben Mears came to Salem’s Lot to write his story about the old Marsten house, looking at it gave him the creeps. Now imagine what the story would have been like if, instead of trying to investigate, he’d gotten as far away from it as possible. Not much of a horror story is it? Good. That’s what a freelancer wants.

2. When the locals say a house is haunted, don’t go ghost hunting

People like Ben get into nasty situations by not paying attention to the warnings of others.

It turns out that besides giving Ben the creeps, the locals had lots of eerie stories to tell about the house at the top of the hill. Undeterred, Ben continued to investigate it. Don’t be Ben. People like Ben get into nasty situations by not paying attention to the warnings of others. Ben’s job in the book is to advance the drama. The freelancer’s is to cut the drama short if at all possible.

3. Don’t hang around with people who suck the life out of you

Say you ignored lessons one and two, or maybe you just had the bad luck to get stuck with a client or partner who drains all the life from you and your work. There’s a name for these types of people: vampires. They may not drink your blood, but they’ll give you a long slow death nonetheless, taking away your dreams, ambitions, and even your will to live. Though you might can ward them off temporarily with a bit of garlic, in the long run there’s only one way to get rid of them; take a stake to the heart of whatever forces you to be around them.

4. When the problem is bigger than you are, get backup

Faced with the prospect of overwhelming evil, Ben finally turns to his friends for help. They include a priest who has the tools they need, an old English teacher who knows everything there is to know about vampires and the Marsten house, a girlfriend who inspires him, and a twelve year old boy who doesn’t seem afraid of anything. Because the team has all the skills they need, they can begin to stem the tide. When you are fighting overwhelming forces, don’t make the mistake of thinking that you have to do everything on your own. Others can help, whether they are mentors, subcontractors, or just friends willing to give you a hand.

5. There are three ways out of a situation gone bad

• You can stay, fight, and die a miserable death.
• You can stay, fight, and (barely) survive.
• You can run and hope that it doesn’t catch up to you.

In the freelance world, unlike a horror novel, if you stay with a project gone bad, you probably won’t die. But by the time it’s over you may wish you were dead. Once a project reaches the point of horror, the smart thing to do is run.

6. Keep the faith

At one point in the novel, one of the characters has the choice of whether to act on his faith in the Good or to rely just on his tools. It turns out that in a battle between good and evil, tools aren’t much good without faith. The same thing is true for freelancers. Even if you’ve got your technical skills down to perfection, it doesn’t matter a bit if you don’t have faith in the Goodness of your work.

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How to Freelance Your Expertise - Sesion 1

If you're tired of being on the employee treadmill, now may be the best time to consider freelancing your hard-earned skills.

By Andrea C. Poe

Are dreams of freelancing dancing through your head? If you're nodding yes, now's a great time to give it a whirl. As companies scale back on their expensive, benefit-heavy workforce, they're increasingly turning to outside--freelance--help. If you've got expertise in the right areas, there's a good chance you can parlay it into a freelance career by sharing your knowledge and skills with a variety of clients.

Let Freedom Ring

There's no question about it; freelance doesn't start with the word "free" for nothing. Freedom is a major perk of freelancing. As a full-time freelancer, you'll work when you want. You can take vacations when you want, for as long as you want. Weekend getaways won't have to be confined to weekends, and business suits are mostly a thing of the past. There's no boss breathing down your neck, nagging you. And there are no irritating co-workers slacking off at the water cooler, driving you nuts.

But in exchange for all those freedoms comes risk and insecurity. As a freelancer, your next paycheck is never guaranteed. Anxiety about where the next job is coming from plagues many freelancers, no matter how seasoned. But insecurity comes with the turf, and dedicated freelancers learn to make peace with it.

The best way to ensure your freelancing future is to offer a service you know people want. Just because you'd like to do something doesn't mean that there's a readymade market for it.

"'Follow your heart and do what you love' is just a slogan. You need to get real," says Kelly James-Enger, author of Six Figure Freelancing. "If you're not offering a service people are willing to spend money on, you're not going to be in business [for long]."

Search your local paper and the Internet to see who's doing what you want to do, what they charge and who their clients are. Talk to everyone you know until you turn up freelancers doing what you hope to do. Then call them up and pick their brains about which segments of the market are growing and where most of their work comes from. This information is critical to helping you carve out a niche and fill a current opening in the market.

Think about this: Ten years ago, web designers made a pretty penny freelancing their services to corporations, but today the demand has lessened as all those laid-off dotcomers have created a glut in the market. On the other hand, small-business owners are more keen then ever to learn web design themselves, as are retiring baby boomers, so teaching web design may prove more lucrative than doing the actual design work right now.

Don't Quit Your Day Job--Yet

Once you've decided what aspect of your field to freelance, take the time to establish yourself. "The biggest misconception people have is that they're going to jump right into it and start making money," cautions Laurie Rozakis. "Not true. Just because you build it doesn't mean they'll come."

Rosakis, who is a freelance writer and editor, and the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Making Money in Freelancing, says it can take months--even years--to develop a reputation and client base. For that reason, many freelancers start by moonlighting while still holding on to their day jobs.

"Everyone thinks it's going to happen overnight, but I don't know a single freelancer who immediately started making a six-figure income," maintains James-Enger.

A good rule of thumb is not to give up your day job until you have between six months and one year's worth of savings, more if you're the sole support for your household. "Don't leave your job until you're confident you can pay your mortgage and healthcare and put money into a retirement account," James-Enger advises.

Of course, moonlighting while working for your current employer can be tricky-especially if you're freelancing in the same field. Let's say you're an advertising copywriter who wants to start freelancing on the side. You'll probably need to tell your employer, who may require you to sign a noncompete agreement in which you promise not to steal, or "borrow," clients. If, on the other hand, you're an advertising copywriter who wants to do freelance Japanese translations, your employer probably doesn't even need to know what you're doing after hours.

-continue-
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How to Freelance Your Expertise - Sesion 2

If you're tired of being on the employee treadmill, now may be the best time to consider freelancing your hard-earned skills.

By Andrea C. Poe

Generating Business

As in any business, your freelancing career is only as strong as the sales you make. Finding clients is the number-one challenge for any freelancer just starting out. It's almost a catch-22: How do you attract clients when you've never had any? Here are some practical steps that will propel you out of the conundrum and into business:

1. Develop a portfolio to demonstrate the scope of your skills. If that means working for no pay or low pay initially, do it. Samples of your work will be your best calling card.

2. Tell everyone you know--colleagues, friends, family, neighbors--about your new freelance gig. Referrals will make up the bulk of your business initially.

3. Join professional organizations--online or in the community--that serve your field. In addition to all the other benefits you'll gain, you'll also pick up insider tips of where to find work.

4. Join local organizations, like the chamber of commerce or Rotary club. "Creative people often overlook organizations like these, thinking they'll be filled with stiff bankers and businesspeople," notes James-Enger. "And they may be--but that's who'll be hiring you to do your creative work."

5. Volunteer in the community doing something you love, and you'll broaden your network of potential clients.

6. Cold call. Yes, everyone hates cold calling, but the reason freelancers need to do this is because it works.

Another important point to remember is that freelancing doesn't solely mean doing the thing you love. It also means knowing how to sell and market your services. When starting out, about 90 percent of your time will be spent on sales and marketing tasks. "Work won't just stumble upon you," says James-Enger. "You can be as talented as anything, but it won't mean a thing if you can't sell yourself."

Rozakis agrees. "A lot of people go into freelancing thinking, 'I've got the talent.' What they need to realize is a lot of people have talent. What makes a successful freelance business is how strong your client list is."

And building a client base requires that you plug away tirelessly without getting discouraged. Expect rejection. It comes with the territory--and often. But don't let that stop you from trying again.

"Think of a salesperson at The Gap who gives you a pair of pants to try that don't fit," says James-Enger. "A good salesperson doesn't sulk away, dejected. She hands you another pair and another pair until you buy something."

Get Serious

When you see that you're starting to make enough money that your freelancing is becoming a viable career, it's time to start putting the business building blocks in place that will ensure that you--and your clients--take your business seriously. That means going beyond ordering hot-looking business cards.

No matter what your field, contracts are important. Many freelancers overlook developing their own, instead letting clients design contracts or foregoing them altogether. That's a mistake--and it can be a costly one.

"Protect yourself," stresses Rusty Fischer, who wrote Freedom To Freelance. He recommends checking out contracts used by other freelancers you know, so you can borrow the best of what they've got and incorporate those ideas into your own contract. Then run your contract by a lawyer to make sure your rights are protected. "It's well worth a few hundred bucks to get it right," he notes.

Establishing an accounting system is also imperative. Not only will it help you keep track of what you're due, but it will simplify your life. Freelancers are on the IRS radar anyway, so good record keeping will give you peace of mind and make any possible future audit less painful.

"Get a great accountant or [take a] community college course and learn software programs like Quicken to keep your books," Rozakis recommends. "You skip this aspect of the business, and you'll be very sorry."

Depending on your industry, having a website may be helpful in marketing your services. If you have visual examples of what you do, say landscape design or theatrical costuming, a website will act as a portfolio and introduce your work to prospective clients. (Websites are obviously less useful to freelancers without visual examples, say, home inspectors or medical billing administrators.)

Know Thy Self

One of the most important decision you'll have to make before fully committing to running a freelance business is to determine if this type of lifestyle matches your personality. "Know thyself," says Rozakis. "Really think this through before you make a commitment to a lifestyle and work style you just may not be suited for."

And while you no longer have a boss, you do have to answer to someone--yourself. That's why self-discipline is key to taking your freelancing gig from an interesting hobby to a viable business. "It really helps to be a Type A personality because you have to be able to motivate yourself and manage your time," says James-Enger. "You can't be a slacker and have a successful freelance career."

Tempting as it may be to cut out mid-afternoon for a movie or a walk with the dog, most days those kinds of things just aren't going to happen. "Not only will you normally work way more hours per week as a freelancer, but your schedule probably won't wind up being as flexible as you think," warns Fischer. "Most of your clients are working regular hours, from 9 to 5. Being available to them means that most of time, you'll be working very regular hours."

The freelance life is a solitary life. If you're someone who feeds off the energy of other people, freelancing may prove too lonely a road to travel. Fortunately, for those who seek them out, there are solutions to the lack of daily social contact. Many freelancers fill their need to interact with other people by taking on-site freelance gigs, where they work--at least temporarily--among other people. Others turn to freelancer support groups where they meet once a month over a cup of coffee to swap tales of glory and woe. And others work on collaborative projects with other freelancers.

It takes time to grow a freelance business; it takes time to establish yourself; and it takes time to make money. All of this can be nerve-wracking and cause countless sleepless nights. But with talent, patience, tenacity and a touch of luck, freelancing can be among the most rewarding--and lucrative--ways to make money.

"Would I ever go back to working for the 'man'?" laughs James-Enger. "No way. For all the struggles and unknowns, I wouldn't give up freelancing and be somebody's employee for anything."

Freelancing Options

Think the freelance life might be for you? The good part is, if you do it, there's a good chance you can freelance it. Here are some of the most frequently freelanced gigs around:

• Accountant/bookkeeper
• Appraiser
• Cartographer
• Chef
• Computer programmer
• Corporate event planner
• Data entry/processor
• Editor/copyeditor
• Engineer
• Esthetician
• Film animator
• Financial planner
• Floral arranger
• Fundraiser
• Furniture restorer/repairer
• Grant writer
• Graphic designer
• Home inspector
• Interior designer
• Landscape architect
• Massage therapist
• Medical administration (billing)
• Package design
• Party planner
• Photographer
• Political consultant
• Private investigator
• Professional organizer
• Sales/marketing consultant
• Seamstress
• Set designer
• Telemarketer
• Translator/interpreter
• Tutoring
• Upholsterer
• Web designer
• Writer

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