5 Outreach Steps For Winning Better Clients
Successful freelancing is a matter of finding the right clients in the right places for the right reasons. Every client you take on affects your
Alvalyn Lundgren
risk and reward
ARTICLES.
Tips and Insights on Mission, Mindset, Mechanics, and Marketing for Freelance Creatives
Should Freelancers List With Online Business Directories?
Q: As a freelancer, is it worth having business listings like Yelp and YP? A: It depends upon what directories you choose and why you choose
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Do Freelancers Need Business Insurance?
One thing that’s great about flying solo as a freelancer is all the freedom you have in who you work with, where, when and how
Alvalyn Lundgren
Self-Promotion Tips for Creative Freelancers
Self promotion is the practice of telling potential clients about what you do. With it you build your brand, engage prospects and find clients. As a
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
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.
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Good Success
The Practice and Principle of Accomplishing Something Upon learning about what I do by trade, an employed acquaintance asked with some concern, “But will you
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How’s Business? Five Tested Ways To Help Your Freelance Business Thrive
Did you know that your creative business thrives because of how you do business and not because of the quality of your work or your
Alvalyn Lundgren
A 5-Point Tune Up For Your Freelance Business
As with vehicles, your freelance business needs regular tune-ups to ensure smooth performance and prevent breakdowns. If you’re the owner of an independent creative services
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Being Remarkable
My friend, Mary, was in a community theatre production of The Mikado, and was asked to write her bio for the printed program. This being her first theatrical
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Job Listings and Special Considerations
If a hiring firm wants to give special consideration to candidates from a specific school, that’s its right. But then it should carry on its notification processes within the sphere of that school’s alumni and career counseling office
Alvalyn Lundgren
Creating Lovability
How can you invest your product or service with “lovability” and create devotion in your customers? Here are some options: Love it yourself. If you’re
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Advice For Emerging Designers
…your process of emerging from school into the (design) profession needs to be as carefully framed and designed as any of your projects.
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How To Manage Your Brand
In Part 1 of this article I focused on what a brand is, and the visual and conceptual components of an effective brand. Brand is
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Advice for Freelancers: On Being an Owner
Ownership is simply the idea that something belongs to someone. In the case of your freelance business, you own it. It belongs to you. You
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Property Rights
Although it’s a common assumption, clients are not automatically entitled to a designer’s working files. The tools, preliminary concepts and layouts remain the property of
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The Importance of Knowing Why
How many people set goals and never achieve them? How many creatives start a business and then watch it fizzle out Are you someone who,
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The Internship Epidemic
It is the responsibility of design professionals, teachers and school administrators to value the next generation of designers so that the profession is respected, appreciated and thrives. Unpaid internships won’t accomplish that.
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3 Types of Freelance Contracts and Which Ones to Avoid
Because pretty much everything runs on design and other forms of visual communication, the role of the visual communicator (designer, illustrator, photographer) is more in
Alvalyn Lundgren
Leads and Referrals — What’s the Difference?
Early in my freelance journey I joined a business networking group through my chamber of commerce for the purpose of generating leads and referrals. Networking groups
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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
3 Things To Do Before The End Of The Year
One of the benefits of freelancing is: You get to decide for yourself what you will accomplish in any given year. You’re able to set
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7 Things You Must Do To Start Your Creative Freelance Business
With the excitement and anticipation of embarking on a freelance career, we can easily get caught up in the ideas of freedom, of getting paid
Alvalyn Lundgren
Green Scheduling: 6 Tips for Sustaining Your Creative Time
Design your time. Time is wasted when we do the wrong thing at the wrong time. It’s easier to keep your time boundaries and your well-being intact if you plan ahead.
Alvalyn Lundgren