Passion or Profit: Should You Start a Freelance Business?
The commonly-given advice is: Do what you love and the money will follow. This is a great ideal, because no one wants to spend the majority
Alvalyn Lundgren
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ARTICLES.
Tips and Insights on Mission, Mindset, Mechanics, and Marketing for Freelance Creatives
Tactics for Better Business Networking
If you are a self-employed creative, business networking is a significant part of your marketing mix. While designers, illustrators and photographers naturally get together with other creatives for mutual support and trend
Alvalyn Lundgren
159. To Quit, Or Not To Quit
How do you know if you should quit or not? Sometimes quitting is in fact, the wise and right option. Freelancing isn’t easy. It takes courage and tenacity to push through. It starts out being fun, like a great adventure, especially when you land your first couple of clients and get paid for the projects. But when obstacles and opposition show up, what will you choose?
AlvalynCreative
How To Attract Your Ideal Clients
First of all, let’s define who your ideal clients are. An ideal client is one for whom you do the kind of work you want to do, and
Alvalyn Lundgren
Creating Rituals To Do Significant Work
I recently read Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, in which the author, Cal Newport, makes the case for engaging in sdeliberate, uninterrupted
Alvalyn Lundgren
How to Build Your Prospecting Pipeline
As an independent creative, prospecting is a practical and necessary business activity that needs focused attention to. It requires work to maintain a pipeline of
Alvalyn Lundgren
12 Rules for Freelance Success
Setting and maintaining boundaries will help you avoid relationships and circumstances that are potentially harmful.
Alvalyn Lundgren
Risk and Reward: How Taking Risks Helps Your Freelance Career
Risk. It’s a small word with big impact. Taking risks involves change and the unknown. We’re not all that comfortable with either concept. I was
Alvalyn Lundgren
5 Stages of Customer Loyalty
To be meaningful, design needs to connect on five successive levels of significance…
Alvalyn Lundgren
Why You Can’t Be My Client
Since I established my design studio over thirteen years ago, I have worked with clients large and small, designed for sole proprietors and for publicly-held
Alvalyn Lundgren
Should You Display Your Pricing On Your Website?
Every project and every client is different. Freelance creatives need to consider the unique needs and objectives of each client when determining their fees.
AlvalynCreative
Close The Sale With The Socratic Approach
Having a different sort of spirit when pitching to prospective clients can prove to be the difference for your creative brand and business. What do
AlvalynCreative
How to Avoid Spam in Your Blog Comments
One thing I really appreciate about using WordPress for my website platform is the multitude of time-saving plug-ins available. One plug-in I really appreciate is Akismet. Akismet recognizes and
Alvalyn Lundgren
How To Handle Special Requests From Clients
I was asked about how to deal with unusual requests. Once someone finds out you are a designer, writer, photographer… any type of creative, you
Alvalyn Lundgren
How To Change Your Mind About Money: 5 Simple Ways To Deal With Fluctuating Freelance Income
One thing I struggled with in the past as an independent creative is money. I have a lot of experience with the all too common
Alvalyn Lundgren
Why Freelancers Should Have an Agency-Styled Website To Attract Clients
If you’re an independent creative professional, you probably already have a website showcasing your amazing portfolio. Portfolios are a necessary component of any freelancer’s website,
Alvalyn Lundgren
5 Limiting Lies Freelancers Should Stop Believing
Successful soloism is about 80% mindset and 20% mechanics. I’ve learned from experience that you can get the mechanics right, but still not be thinking right. Much of what holds us back as creatives and independent business owners is our mindset.
Alvalyn Lundgren
What Kind Of Freelancer Are You?
Did you know that there is more than one way to be a freelancer? Independent creatives — freelancers — can choose a variety of working scenarios
Alvalyn Lundgren
Designing a Successful Year
Each December I take a couple weeks off to celebrate the holidays and go through a visioning and goal-setting process in preparation for the new
Alvalyn Lundgren
5 Reasons Why I Can’t Be Your Designer
I wish I hadn’t said, “Yes” to certain design projects. It’s not that the projects were a problem, but something about the clients’ approaches, actions or expectations
Alvalyn Lundgren
How To Go From Being A $25/Hour Freelancer To A $100.00/hour Freelancer
Do you feel like you’re stuck in a rut with your pricing? Do you want to charge more per hour or per project, but for
Alvalyn Lundgren
Creative Freelancer Q&A: What Do You Do About Scope Creep?
What do you do about scope creep? Avoid it? Agree to it? Stress out about it? Scope creep is when the amount of work originally agreed
Alvalyn Lundgren
Six Things Freelancers Should Do to Communicate Their Value
The difference between discounting your services for Client A and charging Client B full price is one of positioning and communication. Both of these are value propositions.
Alvalyn Lundgren
3 Reasons Why Creative Freelancers Should Go Bold Or Go Home
A long time ago in a faraway place called Pasadena, CA, I sat in a classroom and heard my instructor say, “You can’t sit around
Alvalyn Lundgren