Articles by Samantha Anderl

Office Hours: Mastering Mindfulness

by Samantha Anderl | May 18, 2023 | Blog, Resources

Freelance writer, editor, and business coach Jenni Gritters joined us as our guest for our May Harlow Office Hours Zoom Q&A, Mastering Mindfulness, where we discussed developing a mindfulness routine as a solopreneur, prioritizing personal well-being, setting boundaries, and more.

Tune into the recording here:

Jenni works with fellow solopreneurs and small business owners on writing projects and strategic business planning. In addition to her coaching and freelance practice, Jenni has a monthly newsletter called Mindset Mastery that’s full of real-life stories and exercises for solopreneurs who want to prioritize their well-being and incorporate mindfulness into their day-to-day.

Follow along with Jenni on Twitter and LinkedIn!

Freelance Interview Series – Being Your Own Best Boss

by Samantha Anderl | May 2, 2023 | Blog, Resources

Corrie is a solopreneur with over 22 years of digital marketing experience and 17 years of experience developing social media campaigns. She also has a newsletter, Chaos Freelancer, where she discusses the ups and downs that come along with the freelance career path and being your own boss.

How to Be Your Own Best Boss

Talk to us about what being your own best boss means to you.

Being your own best boss means being a good steward of the only resource I have as a solo marketing person – me. That means making sure that I’m:

Taking on projects that interest me & meet my financial needs,
Working a reasonable amount of time on those projects and not letting work overtake everything else,
Giving myself growth opportunities by investing in learning & training opportunities – sometimes in my field, sometimes outside of it,
Actively prevent burnout by hanging out with family & friends, doing things I like, resting – basically having a life,
Not saying yes to something in my work life (meetings, networking events, tasks, marketing activities, etc.) that take away from what I really need to do,
Make sure I get enough sleep, enough to eat, and enough movement in my day.

How has your definition of being your own best boss shifted throughout your years of being a business owner?

When I started freelancing, I had spent almost 8 years in a marketing agency lifestyle, which left me burned out and overworked. So you’d probably think that would mean I’d actively avoid making the same mistakes, right?

Wrong. I repeated my agency experience but in my own business. I thought more hours = better. More clients meant more success, no matter what it did to my personal life.

I thought I was my Best Boss by making myself do all these ridiculous things, but I was my own Worst Boss. It took me about 5 years of work on myself & my business to realize that to make my business sustainable; I had to start prioritizing myself.

How have your values shifted as you’ve progressed in your freelance career?

I used to value what other people thought of me SO MUCH. So to get more work (or to keep the work I had), I thought I couldn’t “rock the boat,” and said yes to meetings or networking events I didn’t have time for, agreed to deadlines that didn’t work for me, allowing way too much scope creep in projects, or even working through vacations. I let myself be pulled in 1000 different directions not to make waves or disappoint people.

About five years ago, I realized that clients who valued me, my work, and my time would understand if I had to say no, move a deadline, or take time off. By putting myself first – yes, even over client requests – I’ve been much happier (and get so much more done).

It’s so important to celebrate wins! What are some ways that you celebrate your own wins at work?

Celebrations are one of the things I’m still working on. More than celebrating, I’ll often make sure that I take time off after a big deadline (even if I’ve got other competing deadlines). I also usually celebrate by napping, because in addition to working for myself, I’m also a parent, and naps are gold.

What are some of your best practices for preventing burnout?

Take on only what you can handle. Period. This may mean turning away work, but you do yourself more harm than good if you accept more work than you have time or capacity for.
GET YOURSELF A HOBBY & engage in interests outside of work. Have you ever been stuck at a party talking to the one person who only wants to talk about their job? It was super boring, right? Find something you can engage with that isn’t your job.
Prioritize rest. Rest can mean sleep, sure, but also vacations, time off, WEEKENDS, no-phone days, etc.

What advice do you have for those just stepping into being their own boss?

It isn’t easy, and it is OK. I’ve been freelancing for almost 15 years, and I didn’t realize until 5 years ago that I was a terrible boss. Whatever point you are at in the journey, if you are taking steps to be a better steward of You, then that’s a better place than you were yesterday.

What advice do you have for those at the beginning of their freelance journey on becoming their very own best boss?

If you are just starting, remember that even though you are working for yourself, on your own, that culture matters and that your freelance business HAS a culture. Think about the kind of workplace you want and then take active steps to make that type of workplace happen.

Freelance Interview Series – Building Relationships Methodically

by Samantha Anderl | Apr 27, 2023 | Blog, Resources

Tim Noetzel is a freelance web developer and designer, business coach, and founder of Freelance GPS. Follow along with Tim on Twitter and subscribe to his newsletter to get his top tips for growing a successful freelance business, access to his courses, and more.

A Recipe for Relationship Building

Why should freelancers prioritize building relationships?

The most successful freelancers are the ones who work with top-tier clients, the types of companies that both understand and value the work.

Because these clients understand the work, they don’t require as much hand-holding. They ask smart questions and give good feedback. They don’t change the scope last minute and they treat you like a partner.

Because they value the work, they pay premium rates. They understand the care and time it takes to produce a good result and they believe that result is worth the effort.

Every freelancer wants these types of clients, but they’re hard to find because most of them aren’t on freelance sites and job boards.

Top-tier clients are well-informed and well-connected, so they typically find freelancers through their networks. So to land these types of clients, you have to build relationships, both with the clients themselves and with other freelancers who serve them.

How do you recommend those new to freelancing get started building their community?

I cover this in way more detail in my free course, but the short version is this:

Find your local hubs – Look for places where your clients, and freelancers serving your clients, are hanging out. These could be coworking spaces, industry meetups, Slack groups, startup accelerators, etc.
Go and participate – Ask for advice from other freelancers. Provide value by teaching about your area of expertise. Ask questions of others and show an interest.

How do you determine the level of energy you put into developing a relationship with a new client or other freelancers?

In his book Give and Take, psychologist and Wharton professor Adam Grant divides people into three groups: givers, takers, and matchers.

It’s a great book and well worth a read, but the headline is that the most successful professionals are people who focus on giving wisely.

Unlike takers who are in it for themselves and matchers who view relationships transactionally, givers are devoted to giving back. But the successful ones don’t do so indiscriminately. Instead, they focus, on giving in ways where they can actually make an impact efficiently and to those who have shared goals or interests.

Essentially, they think about expanding the pie for everyone.

In a freelancing context, this means thinking strategically about your expertise, your target clients, and other freelancers who offer complimentary services. Prioritize your efforts based on how relevant you are to them and how much of an impact you could make.

If you’re a freelance UX designer, for example, doing an elaborate favor for the owner of a solely brick-and-mortar business probably isn’t a great use of your time.

But running a free workshop for web developers on the importance of UX and how to spot common UX problems could be a fantastic way to give back. The attendees would get tons of value, and you’d demonstrate your expertise to potential clients and other freelancers.

How has prioritizing professional relationship-building impacted your career?

In terms of raw metrics, last year I earned nearly 3x what I ever did at a full time job, and 92% of that revenue was from clients who I met through referrals and other forms of relationship building.

But I think the non-financial impact has been even higher.

I have enough opportunities that I can turn down projects that don’t interest me. The clients I work with treat me like a partner, and I genuinely enjoy working with them. And most importantly, I’ve met some genuinely interesting people I never would have otherwise!

What advice do you have for freelancers who struggle to find the time to build meaningful relationships?

The nice thing about building relationships is that it actually takes substantially less time than many other approaches to marketing your freelancing.

Blogging and content creation are extremely time intensive. The so-called expert advice for freelancers on sites like UpWork is to submit 25-50 proposals per week.

But you can build relationships in just an hour or two per week.

So start small and reconnect with the people you already know and ask for introductions, or attend an industry meetup in your area. You never know who you’ll meet!

Freelance Interview Series – Freelance Finances 101

by Samantha Anderl | Apr 25, 2023 | Blog, Resources

Treyton DeVore is a creative entrepreneur, freelancer, financial planner, and founder of Creatorbread, a blog and newsletter created to answer all of those questions the self-employed have about money and business. Subscribe to his newsletter if you’re ready to take your business game to the next level.

Freelance Finances 101

How do you recommend freelancers structure their business?

For those just starting out, it makes sense to keep it simple and operate as a sole proprietor (which means you’re acting as a business but you have no established entity). You can accept payments, write off expenses, and offer professional services all without an LLC. But if you plan to stick with it for a while, I recommend setting up a single-member LLC. It’s essentially the same thing as being a sole proprietor, but you get a few extra benefits:

You can apply for an EIN, which is like a social security number for a business (so you can use that rather than your SSN when filling out W9s)
You can apply for business bank accounts
You can apply for business credit cards
You have more legal protection

If you plan to grow into an agency or you’re consistently hitting $10k months, it may make sense to establish an S Corp to save money on self-employment tax. This is complex and rules vary by state so you need to speak with an attorney or accountant before doing so. This’ll help ensure the right steps are taken and that it makes sense for your situation.

Why is it important to have a separate business bank account?

Mixing personal and business transactions in one account would be like managing work for two separate clients in one folder that they both have access to. When you go to file taxes, you need to know what expenses are tied to the business and what income is subject to self-employed taxes – so I recommend having separate business accounts to make your financial life 1000x easier. Without separate accounts, you’d have to go transaction-by-transaction through your personal bank and keep track of the numbers in a spreadsheet to maintain proper records.

You’ll also have cleaner insights into your business when you have accurate numbers. By connecting your business account to accounting software, like Freshbooks, you get all sorts of financial data and reports. Understanding these will help you make better decisions and ideally, make more money.

At what point in the freelance journey do you recommend bringing on a bookkeeper and/or accountant?

I recommend working with an account for tax filing from day one. It’ll cost a little bit of money ($200-1,000+), but even tools like TurboTax typically charge to file self-employed taxes. I like paying for peace of mind so the couple hundred dollars it costs to work with a CPA is beyond worth it. For bookkeeping, it typically makes sense once you’re doing more than $100,000 per year in business revenue. The monthly fees can be a little steep, which is why I recommend doing it yourself until you have extra money in the business to start outsourcing tasks & responsibilities.

What money management advice would you give to year 1 freelancers who want to plan appropriately for things like taxes and retirement?

Most importantly, make sure you’re setting aside something—anything—for taxes from every payment you receive. I recommend 25-30% as a general rule of thumb but the accurate percentage will depend on your unique situation.

Get paid $2,000? Move $500 into a separate account. Some banks, like Found or Novo, will do this automatically. Then you can make the necessary quarterly tax payments (which is required if you expect to owe more than $1,000 throughout the year) and have the funds ready to go.

For retirement, there are a few options available. The easiest way to get started is by opening a Roth or Traditional IRA. These can be opened at places like Vanguard or Fidelity and they’re almost like a bank account that lets you buy stocks. In 2023, you can only put $6,500 into either a Roth or Traditional IRA and there are also some income limits that start at $68,000. The limits change each year so be sure you’re staying up to date with new laws & numbers.

Outside of those two accounts, the best options will depend on how your business is set up. I wrote a fairly in-depth post here about the following accounts:

Solo 401k
SEP IRA
Taxable brokerage
Roth and Traditional IRA

Contrary to what most financial advisors would recommend, I don’t think retirement should be a priority when you’re just getting started, especially if money’s tight. There’s massive upside to getting started early, but there’s also value in financial stability and peace of mind – even more so if you have variable income. Personally, I haven’t invested much in retirement since I started the business. Less than $500. I’ve put all the money back into the business to grow it, paid myself, or saved it in cash. When the business is more established and I have a solid financial foundation, I’ll have more income to ramp up retirement savings in the future.

What expenses should small business owners be keeping track of?

Anything that’s “ordinary or necessary” for your business. That’s how the IRS defines a legitimate business write-off. Need a computer to write? Keep track of the expense and you can probably deduct the full amount on your taxes. Pay for a course to learn a specific skill? Write it off. If you want to learn more about taxes, I wrote a full breakdown of how tax write-offs work here.

What are your go-to podcasts, blogs, or other resources you’d recommend to small biz owners interested in learning more about finances?

Freelance Interview Series – Freelancing Through a Recession

by Samantha Anderl | Apr 5, 2023 | Blog, Resources

Michelle Garrett is a public relations consultant, writer, and public speaker who works with B2B brands helping them secure media coverage and create engaging content. She also hosts #FreelanceChat weekly on Twitter – if you’re a freelancer looking for support, we highly recommend checking it out!

Freelancing Through a Recession

Talk to us about your experience working through past recessions. How did your business shift during those times?

Let’s see, I worked through recessions in 2007-09 and then the brief one in 2020. The recession in 2007-09 nearly put my business under. I wasn’t well-positioned or prepared for it – and it lasted a LONG time. I was also returning from maternity leave after having my daughter, which probably compounded the issue. I had to take work that I normally wouldn’t in order to start rebuilding my consulting business. It was a situation I vowed I’d do my best to never find myself in again.

The recession in 2020 was less severe. I was in a much better position and didn’t see a decline in work during that time. If anything, there was MORE demand because businesses knew they had to focus on communicating online as everything was closed – and everyone was at home, looking at social media and spending time online.

Are there any resources you can share that have helped you plan and prepare for a recession?

This may sound simple, but paying attention to the news is important when you’re running a freelance business. Look for a source you trust (maybe that’s NPR, for example) and follow the economic stories so you’re not caught unaware if a recession is on the horizon.

Also, if you can talk with a financial planner, that person may be able to help you determine how much money you should put in savings or other accounts. I finally hired a financial planner and it really helped me find peace of mind as far as how to distribute funds so that I’d be covered in the event I needed to fall back on my rainy day fund.

How do you manage the stress that comes along with economic downturns?

It’s gotten easier over the years. I think you get used to it, to a degree.

I do believe in having a financial cushion – so I try to work as much as I can during times of economic growth, just in case my business takes a turn when the economy is more volatile.

Having that savings – just in case – helps lessen the stress.

Also, understanding that the economy is cyclical helps. A recession is always coming…they’re cyclical. It may be years away or months away – but the economy goes through its ups and downs.

In what ways do you lean on your community for support during these times?

I think freelancers are lucky when they have each other to support them. It’s great if you can let your community know that you’re in need of referrals – or maybe you just need someone to talk to or to reassure you that whatever is happening currently, won’t last. Things always change, so if your situation isn’t the best right now, your community can help remind you that brighter days are ahead.

What advice do you have for freelancers who want to properly prepare for a recession?

Make hay while the sun shines, as the old saying goes. Work – and save money – when you can.

And NEVER stop networking – by that I mean meeting and talking to people. The more people you know who know what you do – and feel good about potentially referring work your way – the better. Even when you’re busy with client work, you shouldn’t neglect your marketing and networking activities.