• The 5 Big Mistakes I See When I Critique Proposals

    The 5 Big Mistakes I See When I Critique Proposals

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    Working with my coaching clients I regularly get asked to look at proposals before they’re sent out. Of the many proposals I’ve critiqued, here are the top five mistakes I see people make. 1. Rushing it. The first mistake — and in many ways the root of all other mistakes — is that most freelancers…

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  • The 6 sections of a good proposal

    The 6 sections of a good proposal

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    Just because you can generate leads doesn’t mean that you can get work. Your whole sales process starts with the lead and ends with the client paying you to work for them. In the middle there is the proposal, and you need to write a good one. 6 Sections of a good proposal Current Problem…

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  • How I let my ego get in the way of success

    How I let my ego get in the way of success

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    One of the many ‘jobs’ I’ve had is to run a live performance theatre. I put ‘job’ in quotes because I was in high school and this story comes from the drama club where I was the stage manager. I did also get paid to run the facility, but on one particular day I was…

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  • What is the right price for your services?

    What is the right price for your services?

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    Get two freelancers in a room and at some point they’ll be talking about estimating and pricing their services. Get two agencies in a room and at some point they’ll be talking about estimating and pricing their services. For the most part these discussions are helpful to all involved. Each party picks up a few…

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  • Pricing your prospects in to enemies

    Pricing your prospects in to enemies

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    The default pricing/billing method for pretty much everyone getting started with a business is hourly. Sure it makes sense to you because that’s how you’ve been paid before, but it’s a terrible idea.

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  • If you want to be successful you need a routine

    If you want to be successful you need a routine

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    When I first began working for myself, I worked from home and my daily routine resembled that of a millionaire with more money than sense. The issue was that I was focused on exercising my new found freedom but didn’t yet have the money to maintain a routine like that. That desire to exercise my…

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  • Want great clients? You need to be picky.

    Want great clients? You need to be picky.

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    When you’re starting your business, you may not be able to afford to be picky about the clients you work with. When I started I contacted 10 people a day I thought could use my services. I’d troll Craigslist and job boards, and if I didn’t find 10 leads I’d check out the local chamber…

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  • Before you start your business, get these things done

    Before you start your business, get these things done

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    I know you want to get out and run your business right now. You don’t want to wait, you’re so ready and so tired of the way work is going. Before you make that jump, make sure you’ve got yourself setup properly. Links 17Hats (my recommended billing software) From Start to finish: The guide to…

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  • You need to do this first if you want to run a good business

    You need to do this first if you want to run a good business

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    So, you think it sounds great to run your own business. You get to sit in coffee shops working on interesting projects for people you love and you get paid well to do it. The people you meet at these coffee shops find you interesting and you have great conversations about the state of the…

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  • If you want to expand your mind, read this!

    If you want to expand your mind, read this!

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    If you’ve enjoyed my series on learning, then you’re going to love today’s post because I’m going to point you to a wealth of other resources on learning. Going through these is going to help you be a better learner. When you learn more and can execute on what you’ve learned, you’re going to run…

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