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
security
ARTICLES.
Tips and Insights on Mission, Mindset, Mechanics, and Marketing for Freelance Creatives
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
What’s the Difference Between Pro Bono and Spec Work?
Is there a difference between pro bono and spec work? If so, what’s the difference? First, let’s compare them. With both, you work for free,
Alvalyn Lundgren
Is It Time To Get A New Rope?
For freelance creatives facing changing markets and uncertain futures the end of the rope is an immediate reality. When doing what you’ve been doing is not going to work anymore, getting another rope becomes necessary.
Alvalyn Lundgren
How Much Will It Cost?
All too often a business or organization seeks a designer to execute an untested, unrefined idea as quickly and cheaply as possible. A business that’s design-oriented will not regard design as an afterthought but as the basis for its marketing communications and brand awareness.
Alvalyn Lundgren
The New Facebook Algorithm Is All About Quality Time… and Money
Mark Zuckerberg wants Facebook to be a place for people to connect and engage. His post on January 11, 2018 decried the plethora of public
Alvalyn Lundgren
How To Work With Clients
10 Best Practices For Building Reputation and Relationships When you accept a client’s project, you need to make it your own. While you’re not creating for
Alvalyn Lundgren
Show Your Work: How Sharing Your Process Increases Your Value
When a client is looking for a creative firm, process and procedures are not obvious priorities in evaluating performance. The prospect is going to look
Alvalyn Lundgren
Debt, Taxes and Your Freelance Business: 2017 Tax Reform Bill
I’m a sole proprietor working with businesses and organizations, and so, like you, I had some concern about how the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs
Alvalyn Lundgren
How To Write An Effective Creative Brief
Creative freelancers can save time and avoid miscommunication when working with their if they use an effective creative brief in their process. Simply talking about project expectations
Alvalyn Lundgren
Technologically Incorrect: Why I Still Use a Paper Planner
It’s red. It’s can get up to 2 inches thick. It’s an almost constant companion. I am describing my paper planner: my planning/project/time management companion. It’s
Alvalyn Lundgren
Using LinkedIn Profinder To Find Freelance Gigs
This article was updated on February 8, 2017 by the author. Being always on the lookout for new client opportunities, I thought I’d give LinkedIn
Alvalyn Lundgren
Designing For Non-Profits
A significant percentage of my clients are non-profit enterprises. I have had many opportunities to design campaign materials, annual reports, and graphic assets for non-profit
Alvalyn Lundgren
How To Choose Good Clients
Good clients are integral to successful freelance projects and to your career overall. Beyond the project itself, a referral or recommendation from the right client can open doors
Alvalyn Lundgren
10 Proven Networking Strategies for Introverts (and Everyone Else)
Building a business requires connection with people: prospective clients, colleagues, mentors, customers, and sometimes even family members. When we connect, we share information, ideas and
Alvalyn Lundgren
Don’t Rely On Referral Business
It’s affirming when clients refer new business to you. Their recommendations are a testament to your expertise and experience. For a long time referrals alone
Alvalyn Lundgren
I Didn’t Get the Job
When you’re in business for yourself and you are regularly seeking new clients and projects, you will come across all types of prospects in your
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 Pay Yourself As A Freelancer
Paying yourself as a freelancer is often as perplexing as how to price your services. To simplify it, begin with the knowledge that there are
AlvalynCreative
Skills You’re Not Taught In Design School
There ‘s a book in my library titled, 101 Things to Learn in Art School by Kit White. It’s full of truths that every designer
Alvalyn Lundgren
Discovery Isn’t Strategy
A mistake freelance creatives can easily make is to diagnose and strategize with a prospective client before they become an actual client. This often happens
AlvalynCreative
Freelance or For Hire? Clarifying The Designer-Client Relationship
Misunderstandings can exist between clients and freelance designers regarding their working relationships. Questions of who owns what, what files are provided to the client, when and
Alvalyn Lundgren
GDPR Compliance Steps for US-Based Freelancers
The European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation goes into full effect on May 25, 2018. The internet and blogdom are all abuzz about getting
Alvalyn Lundgren
Should Part Time Freelancers Run A Business?
As a part-time freelancer, knowing the difference between having a hobby and running a business might seem confusing. And actually running a business might seem unnecessary. The thing is, it’s more necessary to have a bona fide business as a part-timer.
AlvalynCreative