Advance Finance Blog » Writing

Lost Your Job? How About Freelancing Until Things Improve?

admin — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:28:22 +0000

Freelancing may be an ideal solution for you

For most of us, having a good and steady job is of vital importance. But a major problem arises when that job goes out the window as is happening to many people in these tough times. Many people cannot face the thought of having to start looking for another job. To make matters worse, the deeper the recession, the tougher the competition among jobseekers and the harder the hiring conditions.

Alternative

There is an alternative to working for a boss: Freelancing. In simple terms this means getting onto your feet and peddling your particular skill or knowledge in the market place. Basic requirements may involve putting up some cash or taking a loan in order to pay for the printing of business cards and advertising material such as flyers, distribution costs and advertising in the local press or on the internet.

What can you offer?

Common freelancing fields include many different types of writing such as technical writing, business writing, grant writing, copywriting, journalism, computer programming and graphic design, consulting, and many other professional and creative services. A newer type of writing is blog writing which seems to be attracting many freelancers.

Your deal

Freelance practice varies greatly. Some freelancers ask clients to sign written contracts or vice-versa, while others may take work based on verbal agreements. Some freelancers may provide written estimates of work and request deposits from clients. A certain amount of care must be taken. I once undertook freelance work on the basis of an exchange of emails. The work was ordered, I did the writing, submitted it and it was graciously accepted with thanks. I’m sure the work was used and I never heard from the client again and the email address I had been writing to never worked again.

Payment

Payment also varies greatly. Freelancers may charge by the day or hour, or on a lump sum basis. Some consultants adopt a value-based pricing method based on the perceived value of the results to the client. Payment arrangements may be upfront, percentage upfront, or all on completion. For more complex projects, a contract may set a payment schedule based on milestones or outcomes.

The advantages

Most of the benefits are pretty basic:

No boss
No fixed hours.
No driving to work if you work from home.
Wide variety of assignments.
Possibility of establishing a good network of clients.

The disadvantages

These are pretty clear too

No fixed salary.
No regular cash flow.
You have to deal with the income tax department.
You may have to organize your own health insurance
You can only earn as much as you can work.
No bonuses, holiday pay or other perks.
The loneliness of the freelance worker.

The internet

Once again it’s the internet to the rescue. The internet has opened up many freelance opportunities and provides access to available markets. Outsourcing, which is popular in slow economic times, is heavily reliant on the internet to provide access to remote workers. It’s up to the freelancer to take advantage.

Having a Rough Time Financially? Go Write a Book

admin — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 09:45:54 +0000

You won’t be the first to write his way out of money trouble
I never thought of writing as a means of making money until I went to listen to a talk by Geoffrey Archer, the British novelist who went straight into politics and the House of Commons after he graduated from university. He told a story of how he was a casualty of a fraudulent investment scheme which cost him his family fortune and left him penniless and without any skills he could use to earn a living. He considered himself a great story-teller so he sat down, wrote a best-seller and then proceeded to make a fortune from writing books.

Harry Potter
This week public events were held in cities around the world to celebrate the opening of the final Harry Potter movie. Forbes magazine also shows J. K. Rowling, creator of Harry Potter, to be worth 1 billion dollars. This is a remarkable story.

J. K. Rowling
Rowling is famous for her “rags to riches” life story, in which she progressed from living on benefits to multi-millionaire status within five years. As of March 2011, when its latest world billionaires list was published, Forbes estimated Rowling’s net worth to be US$1 billion. Forbes ranked Rowling as the forty-eighth most powerful celebrity of 2007, and Time magazine named her as a runner-up for its 2007 Person of the Year, noting the social, moral, and political inspiration she has given her fandom.

What happened?
This is pure speculation on my part. I reckon Rowling, who was a writer at the time, had an idea of a story plot that she thought was different and would appeal to a young readership. Every fiction writer dreams of having an idea like that. She began writing, liked what she wrote, read it, edited it, re-read it, re-edited it and then simply sailed along with the story as her imagination, now self-fueling, carried her. The result: a winner beyond her wildest dreams. Without being unkind, I would call it the perfect fluke, a shot in a million, a once in a lifetime. And the more you write it, the wilder and better it gets. The readers get carried along on the same wave, demanding more and demanding wilder.

The comics
Remember the comics, Superman, Batman and company? They were of the same genre, something that lit the imagination of the readers to the point where they couldn’t get enough. And how about Ian Fleming’s James Bond, whose movies have been pulling in crowds since 1954?

Try it
Why don’t you try it? You too may have a brainwave, a scene flashing onto your mental screen for a split second, just long enough for you to grab. You will see a fleeting shot of a schoolboy zooming past on his broomstick or an image of a Superman holding back the Titanic from the iceberg with one hand.

How do you start?
I’m not sure, but I’m convinced it’s not by sitting on the porch with a cold beer in hand staring out at nothing and waiting for something to flash across the screen.

You Need Extra Money Over The Coming Months? Here’s A Way

admin — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 06:31:02 +0000

Websites to help you earn extra money
Times are tough and then there are times when they are even tougher. If you need a way to earn money fast, take a look at these websites; perhaps one of them will help you earn a few bucks. Some require advanced skills while other ones are appropriate for anyone.

Amazon Mechanical Turk
Here anyone can make a few bucks if they have some time to spare. Amazon Mechanical Turk won’t make you rich. It won’t even make you enough to pay your rent this month, though you might pick up enough extra cash to help pay for some groceries. Basically, the site has jobs that range from a penny a piece, such as “liking” a Facebook page, to as much as a few dollars for writing an article.

uTest
My brother actually does something like this professionally and describes himself as the 800 pound gorilla stomping on a Samsonite suitcase, an old commercial from the 80s. Here you test software or websites and help the company to find out if they work well.

Tongal
This site allows you to create advertising campaigns for companies and awards the best of them with cash prizes. This isn’t a traditional way to earn money since it’s like a contest.

oDesk/Elance/Guru
These are grouped together because they all do the same thing. These are general freelancing websites where companies can hire people to do jobs for them and where professionals such as writers, webmasters, programmers, etc. can register to sell their services to people who seek them.

Maven
This is for professionals like lawyers and MBAs. You can sell your services here for fees ranging from $50 to $200 per hour. The site doesn’t attract those without advanced degrees.

LiveOps
Have you always dreamed of working in a call center? You won’t have to do so if you work for LiveOps. You can work from home and answer calls from people needing various kinds of services. The money is nothing special, but it’s easy work.

Cloud Crowd
This one is an interesting way to get money when you need it. The idea is similar to Amazon Mechanical Turk, mentioned above where you get paid for doing various “cloud” based projects such as checking facts and the like.

99Designs
This is for webmasters and those who like to design websites. The site is designed to let you earn money for building websites which people want. You can also work here at designing logos for companies and doing other design-related jobs. The money is pretty good but you do need to be a professional to do it.

Bottom Line
None of these are get rich quick schemes. They will help you make money online, but they will not make it really easy to do. Some will do more than help you earn money when you need it. Others will just give you a few bucks in your pocket when you need it. Check them out!