Blog Archives - Page 19 of 19

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.

36 Best Apps for Freelancers to Manage and Grow Their Business

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

Having the right tool for the job is important for the success of any project. You (hopefully) wouldn’t try drilling a hole in the wall with a wrench. But sometimes we forget to apply that same scrutiny to the digital tools we use every day. Just like physical tools, the apps we use make a huge difference in our day-to-day work lives. Whether you’re creating an Instagram post, an invoice, or trying to destress between meetings, there’s probably a great app out there to support you.

We know searching for apps and comparing functionality can be a headache, though. So below, we’ve compiled a foolproof list of the best apps for freelancers, from mindfulness apps to help you prepare or unwind from your workday to document management apps to keep you organized.

Having the right tool for the job is important for the success of any project.

Mental Health and Wellness Apps

Calm

Calm is our go-to app for soothing meditations to end the day. In addition to a great library full of meditations organized by theme, they also have Sleep Stories, which are narrated by celebrities and other folks with straight-up snooze-inducing voices. That would usually be an insult but, in this case, it’s a huge compliment.

Headspace

If you’re looking for help committing to daily meditations, Headspace might be the app for you. It has a guided program to help you deepen your practice. The app also offers a wide range of meditations with varying lengths. If you just have a few minutes between client calls, you can easily sneak in a 3-minute meditation. We also love the interface—it’s clean and clear, just like you want your brain to feel after a focused session.

CHANI

Into astrology? Honestly, even if you’re not, the CHANI app is worth a trial run. It distills your birth chart into consumable language, shares beautiful, customized horoscopes, and sends cute push notifications alerting you of the current energies. A productive way to take a break and get to know and understand yourself better.

Communication Apps

Slack

Most of us know this one, right? Slack is a leader in team communication. It revolutionized this industry years back, and has continued to expand its functionality and integrations. If you need a great app to connect with co-creators, coworkers, clients, or whoever else, give it a try. You can create a workspace for free and customize it to make it your own.

Twist

Need help focusing? Yeah, us too. Twist is a great choice for distraction-free communication. Its biggest selling point is that it consolidates your communication apps, so you don’t have to hop around between your email inbox and your chat apps and get lost Googling photos of cheetahs and their emotional support dogs in between. (But actually, go look that up.)

Voxer

Voice notes are great when you want to find that happy medium between texting and calling. If you’re looking for a secure option for real-time voice communication, Voxer is the app for you. Like a Walkie Talkie for teams, it allows you to listen to messages as people speak or save them for later. Plus, it’s compatible with iPhone, Android, and the web for platform-agnostic comms.

Grammarly

If you’re a freelancer, chances are you don’t have a copyeditor on standby to point out when your em dash is misplaced. Luckily, you do have Grammarly. This free online tool points out spelling and grammar errors and offers suggestions to improve your writing, like simplifying your language or shortening your sentences. It’s saved us from many embarrassing moments.

Hemingway Editor

Similar to Grammarly, the aptly named Hemingway App helps you up your writing game, color-coding misspellings, hard-to-read sections, weakening phrases, and more. It also gives your writing a readability score and an associated grade level. We like its simplicity and pretty colors.

Mixmax

Need help finding your email flow? With scheduling, tracking, and automation features, Mixmax is the crowned queen of email management. It helps you increase productivity by cutting down on keystrokes and manual tasks. You can even embed polls, surveys, and booking tools into your emails to spiff them out.

Accounting & Bookkeeping

Bench

Managing finances can be overwhelming for any small business owner, but especially so for freelancers. Luckily, we have Bench—the answer to our expense anxiety. Bench is an all-in-one bookkeeping service to help you stay on top of your finances. You even get access to a dedicated bookkeeper who can answer your trickiest questions.

Truebill

If you’re as subscription-happy as we are, you might find yourself scouring your business credit card statement confused about where that $3.99 recurring charge came from. Truebill adds transparency to your spending, tracking credit card charges, flagging new subscriptions, and alerting you of upcoming charges so you can keep on top of what you’re paying for. Managing dollars going out of your business is important!

Learning & Education

Coursera

Want to brush up your design skills? Or learn more about customer marketing? Coursera offers skill-building courses from over 200 top universities around the world. You can even earn a certificate or a degree online with this powerful learning system. So when you’re ready to expand your service offerings or build a new skillset, scope their wide array of classes.

Udemy

Like Coursera, Udemy offers tons of engaging courses designed to enhance your skill set. The courses are led by experts in their respective fields, and there are over 155,000 to choose from, so you will literally never run out of options for new paths to explore.

Creative & Social Media

Canva

We love Canva. It makes designing visual content easy and fun. Whether you’re creating a social media post or a pitch presentation, its intuitive interface and powerful features will help you make something truly stunning. Our favorite part: They have a library of amazing templates to choose from, so you never have to start from scratch. Oh, and they have a free version!

InVision

The name says it all. InVision helps you turn your imagination into reality. Its powerful product design platform is built for creators of all kinds. You can create a wireframe for your client’s website, product mockups for your next Rad Idea™, brand moodboards to visualize a vibe, and so much more.

Note-Taking

Notion

We tried to resist the craze but it’s time to admit: We’re in love with Notion. Calling it a note-taking app is reductive. It’s, like, so much more than that. This code-free, drag-and-drop platform allows you to create amazing documents and dashboards to organize your thoughts, plan your projects, and streamline your brain.

Evernote

Evernote is the OG of the digital notebook world. It’s a fantastic companion for busybodies, creatives, and entrepreneurs (did I just say ‘freelancer’ in three words?) who want to capture their notes in one clean place and plan their next moves seamlessly. The app can even clip web pages, scan documents, and sync to your calendar for easy task scheduling.

Bear

Whether you’re a blogger, freelance writer, novelist, or poet, Bear can help you make the most of each burst of inspiration. The writing app is specifically designed for masters of prose, with markup features, focus mode, customizable typography, and more. Find your creative flow with this beautiful app.

Community

Workfrom

Do you miss the social aspect of the office? Or do you just want the perfect cafe with great wifi and free refills for an afternoon of work? Workfrom can help with both. This virtual work community crowdsources the best coworking spots from freelancers just like you. Plus, they have an awesome, thriving Slack community for freelancers to chat, connect, and collaborate.

Holisticism

Holisticism is an amazing hub for the spiritually-minded entrepreneur seeking connection. (Did we just write a personal ad?) This magical community offers free workshops and engaging content, and periodically opens its doors for new members to join the North Node—a sub-community that helps spiritual creatives and entrepreneurs learn and grow together.

Password Management

LassPass

What would we do without LastPass? Answer: Spend an hour a day resetting passwords. This handy password management app stores your passwords, generates secure ones, and allows you to access them across devices. You can even share passwords with your co-creators, family members, or clients to make for easy collaboration.

1Password

Geared toward businesses, 1Password is an enhanced security system for password storage, data protection, credit card protection, and more. It makes remote work easy for teams who share software and logins, and it allows for seamless form fills.

Calendar Management

Calendly

If you’re looking for a great scheduling tool that integrates with your calendar and automates meeting communications, look no further than Calendly. This easy-to-use appointment tool makes setting up client calls simple. Their free plan is awesome for basic scheduling needs.

Google Calendar

This one needs no introduction. Google Calendar has it all. It integrates with just about every calendar-friendly app out there (and, of course, every Google app), allowing you to schedule meetings quickly, customize your reminder settings, and share calendars with people who need to know what you’re up to.

Document Management

Dropbox

Dropbox is the giant of the document management space. It’s great for creators and businesses that have a whole lot of files to organize. It’s compatible with Android and iOS, so you can access your documents on the go from anywhere. And its collaboration features allow you to comment on files easily so you can simplify your workflow.

Google Drive

If you’re already a Google power user, Google Drive might be the answer to your document storage needs. Offering documents, spreadsheets, slides, and forms—and 15 GB of free storage—this system allows you to both create and organize all your files in one place. It’s easy to share and collaborate with other Google users too.

Contracts & Paperwork

LegalZoom

Advice is a few clicks away with LegalZoom, the go-to app for people seeking legal help for their businesses. They work with a network of independent attorneys and match you with someone who can meet your specific needs. Whether you’re forming your business, drafting an agreement, or facing a legal challenge, they’re here for you.

Termly

Need help creating your privacy policy or adhering to compliance laws? Termly is an all-in-one solution for freelancers who want to stay above board but don’t know where to start when it comes to drafting legally binding language. Their interface makes it easy—you just plug in your info and generate a custom policy that you can copy/paste or embed onto your website.

Payments

PayPal

PayPal makes paying and receiving money simple and secure. It integrates with many other platforms and services, so you can easily accept payments from clients.

Stripe

The go-to for online businesses, Stripe is a low-cost payment processing platform that allows you to accept payments and send payouts. Their business management system also makes it easy to track your sales and income, generate reports, and get a full picture into your business’s finances.

AI Tools

ChatGPT

This next-level AI content tool is perfect for creating long-form and short-form content. Use ChatGPT for all your content needs, get answers to questions, develop plans, and get inspired with detailed responses.

SEO.ai

Working in 50+ languages, SEO.ai is the number one AI writer for SEO. From SEO-optimized content to identifying relevant keywords, this tool helps make those time-consuming SEO tasks a breeze by creating high-quality SEO content in a fraction of the time.

Durable.co

Building websites is a time-consuming task, to say the least. That’s where Durable comes in. This AI website builder generates robust websites with copy, images, and more in seconds. If you’re a freelancer who’s just kicking off your freelance journey, Durable is a great way to get your business website up and running.

Aioseo.ai

This all-in-one WordPress SEO plugin effortlessly improves your website search rankings. Did we mention it seamlessly integrates with your favorite social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest? This SEO tool also effortlessly connects with your Google Search Console. Get more website traffic and identify new areas of opportunity with Aioseo.

Stockimg.ai

Stockimg.ai creates AI-generated images for logos, posters, book covers, and more in seconds. If you’re a small business owner in need of a new logo or a content writer in need of stock images for a client’s blog, this tool has got you covered.

Business Management

Harlow

Do you need an all-in-one system to streamline your day-to-day operations and get paid? We’ve got you. Harlow helps freelancers understand their priorities, get a full view into their clients and projects, and get paid for the amazing work they do. And best of all, it can all be done from one clean, centralized hub. Sign up today to give us a test drive.

Proposal or Contract: Which Do You Need?

by Samantha Anderl | Sep 9, 2021 | Blog, Resources

Let’s set the scene… You’ve just finished a discovery call with a potential client. It ended on a high note—they want to move forward! You feel the thrill of a new opportunity and you want to seal the deal ASAP. So… what now? Your brain begins to spin. Do you send them a detailed follow-up or just an overview? Do you share your pricing upfront? And is an email good enough or should you attach a fancy PDF with your branding and… AHHH!

It’s an all-too-familiar experience for freelancers. When your work requires you to self-promote—and your wallet requires you to generate income—you often feel the need to act quickly to lock in new clients. But in reality, slowing down and following best practices can set you up for greater success.

Slowing down and following best practices can set you up for greater success.

Proposal vs Contract: What’s the difference?

A proposal—also known as a statement of work (SOW)—is a detailed breakdown of the services you’re going to offer to a client, along with your pricing. It’s essentially an extension of your sales pitch. It may include packages and optional add-ons that the client can select from. A proposal is not a legally binding document, but rather a starting point to align on exactly what you’ll deliver.

A contract is a legally binding agreement required to officially kick off a business relationship with a client. It will generally re-iterate the statement of work, and include all the fine print that ensures you get paid (and protects you from liability), like terms and agreements around payment, confidentiality, intellectual property, and so on.

The goal of the proposal is to reach an agreement around the scope of work

A great contract is all about the details.

What makes for a great contract?

A great contract is all about the details. It’s critical to dot all your Is and cross all your Ts, because you’re entering a legally binding relationship with another party. This document keeps you safe from unjustified legal action on your client’s part, but it also requires you to deliver what you promise in writing. In other words: Take it seriously! Before you share a contract with a prospective client, consider consulting an attorney or make sure you’re using a contract that has been vetted by a lawyer, like the one you can find in Harlow if you’re a user. You won’t regret it.

Key elements of a great contract:

Clear payment terms and schedule of payments
Confidentiality, ownership of work, and IP ownership terms
Termination clause
Signature fields for both the Client and you, the Consultant

Pro Tip: When you’re ready to up your contract game, check out this Contracts 101 podcast episode from Brittany Ratelle, an attorney for creatives. She walks you through the legal fundamentals of contracts and explains why getting everything in writing is so important for freelancers and creatives.

Why it’s important to perfect the post-pitch process

Once you’ve nailed down the proposal and contract process, you’ll be sailing toward more successful client relationships. These two documents lay the foundation for all the work you do. They set clear boundaries and expectations from the get-go, which helps you deliver great work, make your clients happy, and get paid on time. And we love that for you, because you deserve all the amazing things freelancing life can bring.