I've actually had lots of things to blog about over the last week - our latest book club meeting, a new split pea soup recipe, my dilemma over whether to buy new windows for the house - but no time to do it. I've been busy finally getting my professional act in gear.
Although I've been an independent contractor in the web and graphics design business for most of the last 6 years, the preponderance of my work was for a single client. The work from that direction has been drying up, though, and it's time for me to become a real freelancer. That means buying my own domain for my online portfolio, updating my resume, printing my own business cards, putting together sample contracts and invoices, and setting up appointments with several prospective clients - plus telling my previous "boss" that our relationship is changing. Fun (and not-so-fun) stuff.
While uploading my portfolio files to my new domain yesterday I realized that it doesn't have some of my best recent work on it, so today I'll be revising the website. I hope. I'm on the fence as to whether I should just rebuild it from scratch. My previous host was my Internet ISP; they provided free personal webspace for email clients, but didn't allow it to be used for business. That meant I could use it to display my work but not to actively solicit clients. This is probably the right moment to say, "Show me the money!"
Next step: call my accountant and see what I need to do to keep things straight from a tax perspective. More not-so-fun stuff - but when I'm all done I should have the pleasure of choosing my own clients, preferably all within easy commuting distance. I'm starting to feel like a real grown-up.
"The freelance writer is a man who is paid per piece or per word or perhaps. " ~Robert Benchley
Well said by Robert Benchley that the freelance writer is a man who is paid per piece or per word.
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