Blog Archives - Page 18 of 19

42 Freelancers to Follow on Twitter Today

by Samantha Anderl | Dec 1, 2021 | Blog, Resources

Having a thriving community can make all the difference as a freelancer. When you put time and energy into building your network, it can reward you tenfold. The freelancers you connect with and learn from are experiencing the same highs and lows as you. They can comfort you on the tough days, inspire you on the best days, and swap notes and funny stories in between.

Since Twitter is such a thriving spot to connect with other freelancers, we thought we’d give you a starting list of awesome humans to follow. These people are tweeting about freelancing on the reg, and we’ve learned a ton just from following them.

Follow these awesome freelancers on Twitter for tips, ideas, and real-talk about freelance life!

1. Nia Gyant (@optimized3x) tweets about freelancing and how to create effective messaging for your business and your clients.

2. Kat Boogaard (@kat_boogaard) tweets about freelance tips and resources. She offers a weekly newsletter with job leads and great content to help you expand your business.

3. Kaleigh Moore (@kaleighf) tweets about how to write well and freelance smarter. She specializes in writing for retail, eCommerce, and related SaaS, and offers content team scaling consulting services.

4. Emma Siemasko (@EmmaFayeS) writes about managing a freelance business, and helps brands “tell real stories from real people.” She creates case studies, long-form content, and web copy, in addition to coaching freelance writers.

5. Matthew Gattozzi (@MatthewGattozzi) tweets about content, social media, and his life as an entrepreneur. He creates photo and video content for direct-to-consumer brands.

6. Codi Johnson (@Codishaa) tweets about social media marketing and helps small business owners and entrepreneurs elevate their social media strategy.

7. Tom Basgil (@TomBasgil) tweets about social media, lead gen, and freelancing insights. He helps “regular folks become successful freelancers,” offering social media freelance services.

8. Rosemary Egbo (@rosemaryegbo) tweets about content creation and how to write well. As a content writer and strategist, she creates and distributes content to help businesses grow.

9. Kaitlyn Arford (@kaitarford) tweets about publishing and writing and her life as an award-winning freelance journalist.

10. Sara Beam (@itssarabeam) tweets about CRM design and sales enablement, and helps companies strengthen their customer relationship management processes as a CRM consultant.

11. Meira Gebel (@MeiraGebel) tweets about how to get started and make money as a freelancer. She helps freelancers get paid through OutVoice Pay, which offers payment solutions for publishers and the freelancers they hire.

12. Chauntelle JN LEwis (@cjnlewis_) tweets about Diversity and Inclusion (D&I), corporate culture, and community, and works as a D&I consultant and Inclusive Communities Manager.

13. Allison Grinberg-Funes (@agracefulgrin) tweets about web and UX writing, marketing, and novels, and works as a freelance writer and “idea catalyst.”

14. Laura Smith (@ellastcomms) tweets about copywriting and branding, and offers freelance copywriting services, including charity copywriting, small business copywriting, branding, and a copywriting course.

15. Masooma Memon (@inkandcopy) tweets about her journey as a freelancer, and works as a freelance writer for B2B SaaS companies.

16. Brooklin Nash (@realBrookNash) tweets about content marketing and creates “B2B content that WON’T make you sick and kill you.” The tag line should be enough for you to give him a follow.

17. Catherine Jones (@cleanslatecopy) tweets about copywriting, branding, writing, and more, and works as a freelance copywriter, brand strategist, and writing coach, helping you “write your future.”

18. Adrienne Barnes (@AdrienneNakohl) tweets about buyer personas and content strategies, offering freelance content marketing services to businesses.

19. Rachel Vandernick (@VandernickR) tweets about marketing and freelancing and offers digital strategy consulting to beauty, retail, and travel brands.

20. Wudan Yan (@wudanyan) tweets about creating a brighter world for freelancers and works as a freelance journalist, fact-checker, business coach, grant writer, and public speaker.

21. Komal Ahuja (@Komallahuja) tweets about freelancing, writing, and content marketing, working as a freelance writer for B2B SaaS brands.

22. Elise Dopson (@elisedopson) tweets about SaaS content creation, mentors freelancers, runs Help a B2B Writer, and works as a freelance writer for B2B SaaS brands.

23. Michelle Garrett (@PRisUs) tweets about small business marketing, PR, and freelance writing, and works as a freelance writer and PR consultant for B2B tech brands.

24. Tiffany Regaudie (@tregaudie) tweets about health, business, and marketing, and works as a content consultant and writer for brands in these industries.

25. Michael Keenan (@upmostmike) tweets about freelance content writing and is focused on helping other content writer grow their business. He also is half of Peak Freelance, a community for freelance writers.

26. Stefan Palios (@stefanpalios) tweets about how to create sustainable businesses and offers freelancer coaching, courses on growth and sales, and freelance writing services for businesses.

27. Megan Reyes (@megreyes_) tweets about sports marketing, social media, and branding. She is a content creator for sports media and the host of the AMPLIFIED podcast.

28. Alyssa Towns (Swantkoski) (@wordswithalyssa) tweets about productivity, personal growth, and wellness, and works as a freelance writer.

29. Dominic Kent (@DomKent) is a freelance content marketer who regularly shares tips and tricks with other freelancers. Expect everything from grammar suggestions to ways to avoid burnout.

30. Whitney Popa (@whitpopa), in her own words, is focused on building cool brands and raising good humans. She’s also one half of The Coast podcast which highlights freelancers, solopreneurs, and business owners who have chosen to create their own path.

31. Erin Booth (@ErinBoothVA) is a coach and virtual assistant who regularly tweets about how to grow your freelance business and leveraging VAs to do so.

32. Bani Kaur (@banikaur1997) is a content marketing expert that regularly tweets her advice and tips for content marketers, other freelancers, and growing B2B companies.

33. Jenni Gritters (@jenni_gritters) is a business coach for freelance creatives and one half of The Writer’s Co-op. You’ll find us regularly retweeting her posts that focus on empathy and anti-hustle culture.

34. Ankit Vora (@wordsbyankit) tweets about all things content writing and freelance. He’s always RTing and supporting other freelancers who also share marketing insights and ideas.

35. Adrienne Sheares (@AdriSheares) shares everything from social media tips to funny memes and gifs. Follow her for an authentic view of freelancing and running your own biz.

36. Sharanya (@sharanyamanola) tweets about marketing, motherhood, and writing. Follow along for tips, ideas, and funny (relatable!) thoughts on being a mom and a freelancer.

37. Melissa King (@LongLiveMelKing) is a freelance content marketer. She shares her and others’ work openly. (Thanks for the love, Melissa!)

38. Michelle Jackson (@michlovesmoney) tweets about building wealth as a female solopreneur and is the founder of the Michelle is Money Hungry Podcast where she hosts weekly financial conversations that are led with equity.

39. Maria West (@mariabestwest) is a copywriter for parenting brands in e-commerce and tech who tweets about her freelance career and her experience being a mother to her two boys.

40. Ashley Cummings (@ashleyrcummings) shares her wisdom and lessons learned during her 11 years of freelancing on Twitter and in her weekly newsletter. If you’re looking for advice from someone who gets it, give her a follow.

41. Corrie Oberdin (@corrieoberdin) is a social strategist and content developer for organizations that prioritize sustainable social media programs. She’s always RTing and supporting other fellow freelancers.

42. Matthew Fenton (@matthew_fenton) tweets about all things branding and business planning on his personal account, and shares strategies and tips for longevity, balance, and success on his other account, @winningsolo.

Have you followed all of our friends yet? Great. Our job here is done. We hope the next time you log into Twitter, you leave feeling jazzed and inspired by all the awesome humans filling your feed.

Uncover the Secret to Finding Your Perfect Freelance Client

by Matt Saunders | Nov 30, 2021 | Blog, Resources

This guest post is contributed by Matt Saunders. Matt Saunders is a business coach for creatives. Follow along with him on Twitter or LinkedIn.

If you’ve been in the freelance community for even a short space of time, the subject of “niching down” will have appeared on your radar, probably multiple times. Some are highly skeptical, where at the other end you’ll find evangelists who don’t believe you can even have a business unless you choose a niche.

I’m firmly in the latter camp, but before you roll your eyes and click the back button on your browser, allow me to offer you my niching advice from a slightly different perspective.

Who am I and what do I know about niching?

I’m a web developer (now working as a freelancer coach) with over 15 years experience in the industry. I’m somewhat sad to report that for the majority of that time, I didn’t really make the space to deeply understand what it was that I did, let alone who I did it for. I just showed up and pushed a few buttons in the right order. But a few years ago, all that changed. Things got more serious.

After coming into contact with a small charity to support their website project, I realized that I loved seeing the impact that my work had on their service users. I found the people at the charity highly personable and genuinely enjoyed working with them. So I intentionally sought out more charities to work with, and found similar stories. A pattern emerged: I really loved helping charities with their digital needs.

So I dropped everything and built an entire website offering around this audience. What followed was my most profitable, exciting and rewarding years as a web designer. I’m now passionate about supporting other freelancers whether copywriters, programmers, photographers or whatever creative discipline you’ve chosen, to identify their niche audience to achieve similar success. Let’s dig in.

Why conventional wisdom on niching is limited

It wasn’t until two years into working with charities as a web designer that I began to examine my journey. Just what was it that brought me here? Why charities? The answer, it seemed, could be found in what I deemed to be important in life.

Conventional thinking, particularly from a profit perspective, suggests that to niche down you must look for opportunities within the market. If a new product is expected to be a hit this Christmas, you should niche into it to make big bucks. But this never really sat well with me. I’m much more interested in, well, being interested. I realized that supporting those on the front line of poverty, abuse and education was what made my heart sing! And this is what I see is missing from the lives of so many freelancers; they spend their days going through the motions, bored by their work. Their true passions lie dormant.

Here are some ways in which you can begin to turn this around.

Uncovering your niche by looking at your values

From here on in I’m going to refer to niching as working for your ideal client community. When spoken of in this terminology, it sounds less business-y and more about something of servitude. You serve a community. And this mindset is essential if you want to build a prosperous business. Your goal is to find a community of people who share similar values to your own so you can help them.

Lean into your story

To begin uncovering your values – the things that are important to you – it helps to examine your own personal story. What events have happened in your life which have shaped who you are today? Here are some prompt questions to get you started:

When have I felt respected or empowered?
Which projects have I loved so much I would have done purely for the love of it?
When have I felt bored or distracted?
What about the world frustrates or disappoints me?
What are my proudest achievements?

For each question, spider diagram your answers on paper. Write down anything that comes to mind, so your diagram looks similar to the one below:

spider diagram finding the perfect client

You might find dozens and dozens of instances, but equally, there might only be a couple of answers to each question. This is okay. Take as long as you need. The next step is to ask more questions about each answer.

Uncovering a value

Each answer you give tells a little story. It gives a little more away about what makes you you. To understand this further, we must dig deeper into each facet of this story. Continue to spider your thinking across the page so you have an image similar to this:

uncovering value to find the perfect client

In the image above, we have expanded on a story (the decision to turn down a project that didn’t feel right). We leaned into the reasoning behind the decision by asking follow up questions, and this has shone light on a possible value – protecting and nurturing others.

When we understand our internal motivators, it means we can do work that satisfies them. This work keeps us engaged and interested, unlike niching down into a market sector that often fails to inspire. Go through this process over a number of days and weeks to find out what’s in your story.

The benefits of serving a community

A community does not need to be small. It doesn’t even need to be altruistic. It simply needs to align with your own values, whatever they are. These are your people. Aside from doing work that stimulates and holds your interest, you will enjoy a greater sense of wellbeing and personal accomplishment as you carry out work that you believe in.

And isn’t this the reason that we go freelance in the first place? To find greater fulfillment in our lives? To push away the 9-5, working-at-somebody-else’s-desk routine? To find freelance work that we truly enjoy?

For me, niching is what makes the freelance life great. It gives you the foundation of a real business, one that you could easily scale if you wanted. By serving a community, your marketing and messaging are simple and focused. Your impact is felt more acutely. And the people whom you help – they will offer wonderful returns in exchange for your service.

It’s time to look again at niching down. To get started finding your niche download Matt’s niching quiz.

Meet Harlow Founders, Andrea and Samantha

by Samantha Anderl | Nov 22, 2021 | Blog, Resources

We’re Samantha and Andrea, the founders of Harlow. In 2014, we met at Campaign Monitor, where we both worked in marketing. Andrea ultimately became the CMO and Samantha ran marketing for the self-service business. We both learned and grew a ton there, and eventually reached a place where we wanted more freedom and flexibility. So in 2018, we left Campaign Monitor to found a boutique consulting business (which is just our fancy way of saying we decided to freelance).

At our new company, Interimly, we experienced the ups and downs of freelancing first-hand. On top of supporting our clients, we were running a small business, and there’s a whole lot of (usually unpaid) work that goes into that: following up with prospects, creating proposals, chasing down invoices, and on and on.

We experienced the ups and downs of freelancing first-hand.

Even though we had a strong handle on the business and were growing our client base, the day-to-day management definitely wasn’t streamlined. We were watching other freelancers struggle and juggle the same responsibilities. All of us were attempting to manage complex workflows using a mishmash of different software and tools. The more we talked to our peers, the clearer our shared challenges became.

In early 2021, we got serious about solving some of these issues. After talking to a number of our freelancing friends, it became clear that there really wasn’t a fan favorite tool or solution out there specifically for the B2B freelancer. We have to navigate corporate HR departments, advocate for reasonable payment terms (Net 45 is NOT reasonable!), and sometimes work with multiple internal stakeholders rather than a single human.

We want to help freelancers transform their work lives.

And that’s why we started Harlow. We want to give freelancers like us an all-encompassing tool that would make managing their businesses a cinch, so they wouldn’t have to open ten browser tabs to run their business. We want to help freelancers manage and organize their day-to-day operations, get a full view into their clients, and get paid for the work they do – all in one centralized hub.

The more we talked through our vision, the more we recognized the opportunity to not only help freelancers upgrade their lives through the software they use, but also give them the resources they need to run their business—and by deepening our participation in this sprawling community—we could help magnify and advocate for our freelance pals.

We don’t just want to make software. We want to help freelancers transform their work lives. We want to help them find the pleasure and flow that can seem so unattainable when you’re managing everything from A to Z. And, we want to support them in finding and building supportive connections. (It can be lonely out there.)

We were lucky enough to have a strong network of fierce female freelancers to tap into for advice when we built Interimly, but not many people have that when they’re first starting out. So while we build this amazing software to help freelancers manage their day-to-day and get paid, we also want to create a supportive space for freelancers to grow—a resource for them to find answers, connect over common challenges, and experience solidarity.

We’re just beginning our journey with Harlow, but it’s already been so rewarding. We’re grateful to have lots of people behind us, supporting us in building this company. In September, we closed our first funding round of $1.15M to help us do just that. It was an incredible moment of celebration and affirmation for the months of focus we’ve put into this venture. This investment will help us turn our vision into a very real solution that will help so many amazing freelancers do better work and live happier lives.

Thanks for joining us on this wild ride. Be sure to join our newsletter and stay up to date on all things Harlow.

Why You Should Use a Virtual Assistant to Scale Your Freelance Business

by Andrea Wildt | Nov 3, 2021 | Blog, Resources

Running a freelance business keeps you busy. There’s an endless number of things you could be doing at any given time, from client work to biz-ops to marketing to accounting. For many freelancers, the idea of growing their business stalls at the thought of hiring.

Taking a one-person operation to a multi-person operation sounds hectic. Finding someone? Training them? Paying them?! When you’re used to managing everything on your own, the prospect of bringing in outside help can be scary. But the reality is if you want to grow and scale your business, bringing in extra help is necessary.

Luckily, finding help doesn’t have to be a dredge—or cost an arm and a leg. Instead of hiring a full-time or part-time employee, you can use virtual assistant services to scale your business. Many virtual assistants are freelancers themselves and, no matter what you need support with, you can likely find a virtual assistant (VA) to help.

Here’s what you need to know before welcoming a VA into your business.

If you want to grow and scale your business, bringing in extra help is necessary.

Why Hire a Virtual Assistant

First and foremost, virtual assistants help you delegate simple tasks and get back precious time that you can devote to more profitable to-dos. Some freelancers spend 50% of their time on prospecting, marketing, and administrative tasks. Sounds unbelievable, right? But if you were to break down your day hour-by-hour, you’d probably find that you spend a whole lot of time on tasks that you’d hope would actually occupy just a fraction of your day.

In addition to taking work off your plate, virtual assistants can augment your skillset, adding value significantly. Are there any tasks that you’re not so great at? Maybe it’s marketing, invoicing, or calendar management. Imagine if you could hand that off to someone else and focus on what you really enjoy and excel at? (Good news, you can!)

How to Use a Virtual Assistant

There are so many practical ways to put a virtual assistant to work. You can use them for admin work, customer service, basic accounting, marketing, and even personal life tasks, like scheduling travel or researching restaurants for dinner. Many virtual assistants specialize in specific areas, like graphic design or bookkeeping, alongside admin tasks like email and calendar management.

The first step to finding the perfect VA for your business is breaking down exactly what you do every day; right down to the nitty-gritty. In other words, be as specific as you can. Then, use the exercise I’m about to share to figure out which of those things you can take off your plate.

First: make a list of each area of your business and the tasks that fall within each one. For example:

Finance: expense tracking, invoicing, monthly reconciliation
Marketing: website updates, social media posting, cold outreach
Client work: research, scheduling, proposal management
Personal: groceries, appointment scheduling, travel planning

Once you have your list (remember to include everything!), decide which tasks a VA could do for you by answering these questions:

What do I hate doing?
What is something I can teach someone to do?
What doesn’t require my presence to get done?

Get ready to be shocked. I bet there are dozens of tasks that you hate doing, you can teach, or that don’t require you to be hands-on! And exhale—this is where the good stuff happens. Now it’s time to find someone to take those things on.

How to Find a Good Virtual Assistant

There are so many great virtual assistants out there. That can make choosing the right person overwhelming. Instead of opting for no help to avoid the overwhelm of finding someone, let’s break your search process down into three simple steps. (We love simple and easy!)

Step 1: Get Clear on Your Tasks

Go back to the list of tasks you came up with earlier and write a job ad. Remember: you want this ad to help you attract your dream VA, so imagine who that person is and put it on paper! Be specific, clear, and outline each and every task along with the traits, skills, and qualifications you’re looking for. I.E. great communication, knowledge of WordPress, etc. Here’s an example from our Twitter community.

Step 2: Determine Your Budget

There are three areas to look at when nailing down your VA budget.

The budget you can afford: While some may say “you can’t put a price on good help” your bank account may feel differently. Step one is deciding what you can reasonably spend each month. Starting slowly with a smaller budget, if that’s what you feel most comfortable with, is a great first step.

Hours you need: Now go back to that (potentially large) list of tasks and break it down into two parts: “NEED” and “WANT.” Where do you truly need support—the things that are taking time away from client work—and what would be nice to have? How many hours of work is this each month?

Estimated monthly costs: Finally, determine an estimated monthly cost based on an average hourly rate. According to UpWork the average hourly rates for VAs range from $18-$35/hour (and some cost even less while some cost more—it truly depends on the VA). You can use this range to get a general idea of how many hours you can afford and what will work within your budget.

Step 3: Search for Your Dream VA

There are so many places to find a great VA, starting with your community and immediate network. Our Harlow co-founder, Samantha, tweeted about looking for a VA and got tons of comments with recommendations! Another option is to simply reach out to other freelancers and business owners to get recommendations.

Finally, if you want to browse for options or work with an agency that can pair you with the perfect assistant for you (this sounds ideal), there are a few websites I recommend checking out:

How to Manage (and Keep!) a Good Virtual Assistant

Once you get a great VA, don’t forget about the work you need to put in to retain them! A little bit of effort and empathy can go a long way. Here are a few ways to make sure that your VA sticks around.

Set expectations around communication, tools to be used, and workflows. You set the pace and culture, so go ahead—step into that leadership role!
Create an SOP for your business so there’s total clarity on how things work. An SOP (standard operation procedure) is a step-by-step documentation for how to do various tasks within your business like onboarding a client. This is helpful because, ideally, you can simply hand the SOP over to your VA and they’ll know what to do! This makes onboarding them a breeze. You can make it even easier by using Loom to record yourself going through various steps and processes so they have a written document and video.
Make space in your day for checking in and asking questions as they get started. You know what it’s like to onboard with a new client, and now it’s your turn to be an understanding client yourself.
Give them brand guidelines, messaging docs, or anything else they need to be successful in their role. Create a list of what they’ll need before onboarding so you don’t forget anything in the process. (Reminder: you’re managing A LOT, lists make life easier!)
Give feedback in real-time. Emilie Given, the founder of She’s a Given, says not to wait until your next check-in to communicate that you want something done differently. Do it at that moment so the task is still fresh in their mind.

Are You Ready for a Virtual Assistant?

If you’re feeling overwhelmed with work or just ready to grow and scale your business, a virtual assistant may be the perfect addition to your team!

23 Tax Deductions You Can Make as a Freelancer

by Kendra Brown | Nov 3, 2021 | Blog, Resources

This guest post is contributed by Kendra Brown. Kendra is a CPA with nine years of experience in preparing tax returns. She has helped to guide several individuals like yourself in deducting the expenses that are appropriate within their small business.

Depending on how diligent you are about tracking your freelancer expenses, April can signal the splendid return of spring or migraine season. The fact is, most freelancers are less-than-thorough about claiming expenses on their tax return. An unbelievable 73% of freelancers don’t deduct any expenses at all.

In this case, the majority does not rule. Claiming expenses is critical if you want to save money come tax time, because it reduces your overall tax bill. Of course, just because you claim something doesn’t mean you’ll actually get the money back. But when you deduct expenses, it reduces the total income that you’re paying taxes on, meaning your overall taxable income is much lower, and so is the total you owe the IRS.

Below are some of the top expenses that freelancers can claim to make the biggest dent in their tax bill. Keep in mind that anything “ordinary & necessary in the course of business” is deductible in the eyes of the IRS.

Below are some of the top expenses that freelancers can claim to make the biggest dent in their tax bill.

1. Office Space

If you’re renting a workspace, the cost of rent is entirely tax-deductible. If you’re working from home, a portion of the rent you pay for your home can be applied to your taxes. If you own your home, a portion of your mortgage interest, property taxes, and homeowners insurance are deductible as well. It’s known as the Home Office Deduction, and you can calculate it by figuring out what percentage of your home is devoted to work (i.e. the square footage of your workspace compared to the total square footage of your home).

2. Utilities

Similar to above, the percentage of your utilities that are devoted to work can be deducted from your taxes. If you’re working from a rented office space that you pay utilities for, that means you can deduct the total you pay. If you’re working from home, you would run a similar calculation as you did above for rent. So, say your home office occupies 15% of your home. You could claim 15% of your total utilities.

3. Office Supplies

Post-it notes, stamps, notepads, organizers, and more are all tax-deductible. The next time you visit the Container Store and go crazy, be sure to hang onto that receipt.

4. Electronics

Did you purchase a new computer, phone, monitor, or printer? That’s definitely deductible, so long as you’re using it even partially for work purposes.

5. Internet

Your WiFi bill is an easy claim. Similar to utilities and rent, if you’re using your WiFi partially for personal use, just be sure to calculate the total accordingly.

6. Software

If you’re paying for any software or subscriptions required to run your business, like WordPress hosting, Slack, domains, or apps (including your tax software!), be sure to keep track of the receipts and totals so you can tack those onto your deductions in the spring.

7. Phone Bill

Do you use your phone for work? You can claim at least part of your phone bill on your taxes. Make sure it’s according to use. For instance, if you use your phone 25% of the time for work, then you can claim 25% of your total phone bill. This is difficult to demonstrate to the IRS, so it’s ideal to have a second line devoted to work, if possible.

8. Work-Related Educational Expenses

Taking an online class or attending a workshop or conference to further hone your craft? That’s deductible too. As long as you can demonstrate that your educational pursuits are relevant to your work, it’s considered an expense.

9. Publications & Subscriptions

If you subscribe to journals or online communities centered around your field, these expenses are potentially deductible. This is where it gets a little swampy, so be sure to consult a tax professional and do your due diligence before submitting anything that is not obviously professionally essential.

10. Professional Services

Did you meet with a business coach? Or hire a branding expert? Any legitimate outside services that you enlist in order to better run your business are considered deductible expenses.

11. Meals with Clients

If you’re wining and dining clients, you can expense those meals too. The key here is to make sure that the meal falls in line with your industry standard and isn’t too lavish in nature. On a normal year meals are 50% deductible, meaning if you had $1,000 in meal expenses you only get a $500 deduction. For one year only in 2021, the meal expenses are 100% deductible so make sure to count the business meals towards your total expenses.

12. Travel

Flying to meet a client? Taking a lyft to a pitch meeting across town? Any travel related to work can be deducted. Also make sure to include the meals from your work trip as part of your deductible expenses.

13. Vehicle Use

If you use your car for work, you can deduct 65.5 cents per mile as of 2023. Mileage-tracking apps like MileIQ are an awesome solution for people who don’t want to log every trip manually and then do wild math to calculate their expenses. *raises hand*

14. Advertising

Any costs associated with acquiring new clients can be deducted from your taxes too. That includes paid search ads, social media, brochures, swag, business cards, and more. A good rule of thumb? If it feels like a business expense, jot it down and save for later.

15. Contract Labor

Did you outsource work to another freelancer? Or did you use a virtual assistant? You can deduct any contract labor expense from your annual income. **Just remember that any contractor you pay over $600 to in a calendar year you need to send a 1099 before January 31st of the following year.

16. Health Insurance

Since freelancers typically pay for their own health insurance, we’re allowed to deduct the total cost from our taxes each year. Honestly, it’s the least the IRS could do.

17. Business Insurance

If you pay to cover your business, you can deduct that too.

18. Legal Services

When you consult a legal professional or pay to have business documents created, that also counts as a tax-deductible freelance expense.

19. Accounting Services

As you can see, navigating taxes as a freelancer can be complicated. We highly recommend consulting a tax professional, and then claiming whatever you pay them on your next tax return.

20. Credit Card & Loan Interest

If you took out a loan to help you grow your business or you have a business credit card that you’ve paid interest on, you can claim that.

21. Bank & Payment Fees

Are you paying $15 for every wire transfer when your client pays you? Have you paid fees to PayPal, Venmo, Stripe, or other payment processors? You can deduct those!

22. Retirement Contributions

Solo 401(k)s, Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRAs, Roth or Traditional IRA’s have generous funding limits and contributions (up to a certain point) that can be deducted from your taxes. All retirement plans come with different limits and benefits. Make sure to talk to a tax professional about which one is right for your circumstances.

23. Self-Employment Tax

This consists of the Social Security and Medicare taxes that you pay as a freelancer. When you’re a W2 employee, your employer pays half of these fees and you pay the other half. As a freelancer, you’re expected to pay it all. However, you can deduct ½ of the cost (i.e. the employer-equivalent of this expense) when you are self-employed. See what the IRS has to say about it here.

That’s about it! We wish you a very happy, stress-free and audit-free tax season.

Charge Your Worth. How to Discuss Freelancer Fees With Your Clients.

by Samantha Anderl | Sep 14, 2021 | Blog, Resources

Have you ever panic-priced yourself? It’s my term for when someone asks you for your rates and you spout off a sad number that is way lower than what you actually want to charge. I’ve done it more than a few times, especially early in my career—in job interviews, discovery calls, and casual chats with people who were genuinely interested in paying me a good rate. Imposter syndrome would possess me right at the moment I was prepared to advocate for myself, and I would sputter out something entirely different than what I had planned.

Talking about money is uncomfortable for most of us, and especially so when you’re first establishing yourself as a freelancer. It’s awkward to name a price for your own work when you’re still building confidence. And sticking to that price can be tough if you’re faced with any resistance, real or perceived.

Many of us are guilty of dropping our freelancer fees early on in order to appease clients. Sometimes you just need the money and options are slim. Sometimes an opportunity comes around that could lead to great referrals and future work, and it’s worth it to accommodate. But it’s important to recognize the difference between strategy and self-sabotage. The former moves you forward; the latter keeps you stuck in place. So before you go forth and rate-slash, try these tactics for navigating common scenarios.

Talking about money is uncomfortable for most of us.

Scenario #1: You present a price and your client pushes back.

First, a word: You do not need to negotiate. Read that again. If someone questions your price or asks for a lower rate outright, you are by no means required to work with them on it. Your rates are your rates, just like watermelons at the grocery store cost… watermelon prices. Of course, offering flexibility will help you land more clients in the long run, but it’s important to remember that you have not signed a blood oath requiring you to accommodate people just because they ask. Okay. Great.

Tweet from Kat Boorgaard reading potential client: can you do a lower rate if we commi to having way more regular work for you. me: does your utility company charge less when you use more power?

Now, there are a couple of simple ways to navigate this conversation. First, instead of lowering your price automatically, try explaining the actual value of what you’re offering. Give them a detailed breakdown of your services, focusing on the positive impact this work will have on their business. If you’ve done similar work for other clients with KPIs you can reference, this is a great time to whip out those examples. If they don’t bite, you could instead offer to reduce the scope of the project to honor their budget, so you’re still charging what you deserve.

Scenario #2: You’re in the middle of a project and your client wants to adjust the scope and add more work.

Remember: No. Blood. Oath. Unless your contract says so, you are not required to take on additional work or shift your priorities just because your client requests it. (Hopefully, your proposal and contract explicitly laid out the work you’re doing for them, so you can refer back to it in these moments.) So if you’re not interested or able to do the work that your client is suggesting, you can absolutely push back.

But let’s say your client comes to you and they want to switch gears because their priorities have shifted or there’s more work than expected. If it sounds like a good move for both of you, then you could try offering to adjust the scope of the project for an additional cost. Remind them of the original scope and explain to them that, because the scope is increasing or changing, there will be an additional charge. You can also offer to amend the contract to document these changes so everyone is on the same page. You should absolutely make sure any conversation around changing rates or scope is documented in writing so you can refer back to it later, just in case!

Scenario #3: A project is deemed complete but the client comes back with heavy follow-up questions or requests for revisions.

This is a very common scenario, and a great opportunity to practice boundaries with clients. It’s easy to jump right in and offer unpaid help to a client, especially once the invoice has been paid. But your time is not free. So when someone requests your help, it’s important to be clear about what you can and cannot do. One simple clarifying question? Sure. But if they send you time-intensive questions or make additional requests, then it’s time to discuss pricing (again).

In this situation, let your client know that you’d love to continue working with them. Then, share your hourly rate. If you had previously charged a project fee or some other price structure, they may not realize that you offer hourly work. You can give them a time estimate if possible and offer to send over an invoice for the extra hours if they’d like to move forward with your help.

Client pushback isn’t the signal to say no or give in entirely—it’s an opportunity to find a win-win.

The Takeaway

If you leave this post with one piece of wisdom, we hope it’s this: Client pushback isn’t the signal to say no or give in entirely—it’s an opportunity to find a win-win. These scenarios may test your confidence and your communication, which is kind of awesome. Having your freelancer fees questioned and navigating tricky conversations is great practice. It helps you build those muscles, so someday soon, you can have money conversations without stress.

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