January 24, 2012 – 9:43 am
As a freelancer, it can be hard to know where the market is for your skill sets. Many of the freelancers I know continue to market towards what has worked for them in the past. And why not? If it’s not broke, then don’t fix it. Makes sense, right?
Though that may work as a short term solution, even freelancers need to look towards trends. Freelancer.com, the largest outsourcing marketplace, has recently released its list of the top 50 freelance job trends for the fourth quarter of 2011. Freelancer.com has gathered stats from 134,820 online jobs that were posted over the last quarter of 2011, which represent a 18.3% increase from Q3. Here are the important trending freelance jobs:
According to Freelancer.com:
Android takes off again in Q4. After a slow Q3, Android jobs rocketed up 33% (to 2,454) in Q4. Apple iPhone jobs grew 18% (to 3,682). By the end of 2012, Android should be close to overtaking the iPhone for the rate of development of new applications. Apple iPad jobs rose 22% (to 1692). Blackberry jobs were flat, up 2%, but with volumes too low to register on the Fast 50. As reported before, Symbian and Windows phone applications do [...]
By Ja-Naé Duane
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Posted in Business Tools, Entrepreneurship, Uncategorized
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Also tagged freelance, freelance freelance, freelance it, freelance jobs, how to freelance, i freelance, Ja-Nae, janae, live anywhere, start a startup, what is freelance
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We all dream about living somewhere else, right? Even if we love where we live now, it is the romantic notion of trying something new, something exotic. Am I right?
I posed this question on Facebook this morning, “If you could move anywhere, where would you go and why?” Here are some of the answers:
“I live where I most want to be. Not sure why anyone would do otherwise.” -Michael Troiano
Though I agree with Mr. Michael, I am somewhat nomadic in nature and like to test out places before I decide to hang my hat and call somewhere home. Why? before I commit to a significant move, I want to know that I can be equally as happy in my new location as I am in Boston.
For the freelancers out there, here are 3 ways to discover new cities and which location would make you happiest.
I. Air BnB: The beauty of being a freelancer is that you can work from anywhere. So, why not sublet your place out and try out a new city for a month. I love using Air BnB because of the built in community component, rating system, as well as the variety of housing possibilities. You can [...]
By Ja-Naé Duane
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Posted in Adventure, Creativity, Happiness, Spirituality, Strategy, Travel, Uncategorized
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Also tagged achieving happiness, Adventure, Happiness, land living, life style, lifestyle, lifestyle online, live anywhere
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I was talking with my friend Kathy over lunch who had a clever idea for a business but did not believe she had the skills necessary to execute it. This made me think of how most people believe successful people are multi-skilled individuals with jack-of-all trade talents and abilities. But the truth is one of the most ubiquitous trait of a successful business owner is being able to find and keep the right people for the right jobs.
Successful businesses attract the right talent. Therefore, becoming a talent magnet should be at the top of every manager’s list. Here are three habits you should cultivate in order to create a team of talented individuals:
1. Build relationships with talented people before you need them. Don’t wait until you need someone with a specific skill before engaging with such a person. For example, you might be able to handle your own accounting now, but when your business grows you’ll want a talented and reliable accountant to handle that end of your business. Never stop networking in your industry. Determine who has the talent are and what inspires them about their work. Cultivate these relationships early because they will come in handy later.
2. Emphasize [...]
By Ja-Naé Duane
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Posted in Business Tools, Entrepreneurship, Strategy, Uncategorized
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Also tagged business, entrepreneurs, home-based business, how to start a business, leadership, small business, wahm, working from home
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December 27, 2010 – 9:26 am
Freelancers are constantly struggling with self-discipline, maintenance, and motivation to keep their nose to the grindstone. So I thought of some tips that all freelancers should consider before 2011.
November 15, 2010 – 9:25 am
Starting a business can be very scary. Believe me, I know. One of the truths of starting a business, is at the beginning (and often many years after that) you don’t have the luxury of choosing who you work for. You will work for whoever will pay you. Unfortunately, that means you will often end up having to manage difficult clients. It can be a tricky subject, and one that is often difficult to navigate.
I wrote this article for one of my Biz100 Tour sponsor, Legal Zoom. Read below to find out my tips for managing difficult clients. I hope they help you as much as they have helped me.
7 Steps to Managing Difficult Clients
Whether you have just become an entrepreneur or have been for years, it is guaranteed you will run into the same problem again and again: managing difficult clients. That’s why it’s so important to have a game plan in place for when you are dealing with someone who makes your job harder than it has to be.
1.) Plan Ahead
Being able to anticipate ahead of time what a client is going to ask for is a great way to [...]
In order to succeed in business, you have to be unique and find the niche that works for you and the people you serve. Today at The Momentum Summit (#mosum, if you’re on Twitter), Ben Fischman, CEO of Rue La La remarked at his morning interview, “I believe in unique unfair advantages.” Rue La La has found theirs. What’s yours? Here are three steps to finding your unique, unfair advantage:
1) Ask: Why do people depend on you? What is it about you or your company that is working and happens naturally? How can you improve upon that? Survey your friends, clients, and colleagues for their feedback.
2) What’s Important? To Rue La La, exclusivity became important. The need to protect their customers, led to an unsearchable site. Of course, this resulted in an aire of mystique around the brand. Understand what is important to your customers and to your company and treasure it.
3) Experiment: What you perceive as your unique, unfair advantage may not actually be the case. Do some measurable tests to see what is working and what is not. Your experimentation may lead to an avenue you hadn’t thought of before.
What other ways can you find your unique, [...]
By Ja-Naé Duane
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Posted in Business Tools, Creativity, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Marketing, Strategy, Uncategorized
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Also tagged creative strategy, how to start a business, imagination, starting a business, the creative mind, wahm
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I have been receiving a bunch of emails requesting more blog posts for the freelancer. I went through some of my favorite blogs and websites and compiled a list of over 201+ tools and resources:
35+ Online Tools to Make Your Life Easier
5 Online Tools For Dealing With Clients in Other Time Zones
PIXELMATOR : LOW BUDGET TOOL
15 Online Financial Tools for Freelance Designers
25 Free Online Tools for Web Designers, Developers, Freelancers and Individuals
14 Free Things for Writers
You can also bid for work on Elance or Freelance.com
What are your favorite Freelancing tools and websites? Feel free to share them with us. We would love to hear about them.
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