All Recent Posts

How to Spend Your Tax Refund

Now, let me start out by saying this: if your freelance writing business is making enough money, there’s a good chance you may not be getting too much back in your tax refund this year. In fact, freelance writing businesses that are really shakin’ are going to instead have to pay in taxes – not just right now, but once a quarter. We’ll get into that at a later date. The reality is, though, that many freelance writers, especially those with children, find themselves in a bit of a “sweet spot” when it comes to taxes. They can expect a decent tax refund for one of two reasons: 1. They made enough money to fall... [Read More...]

Prepare Your Family for Your Freelance Writing Business

If you’re serious about your freelance writing business, you need to know that it’s going to take some serious changes to your life to be successful at it. Whether you’re coming into freelance writing from another career, or whether you’ve been a work-at-home mom or dad, it’s a whole different ballgame. Not only are you going to need to make some adjustments, so is your family. To make the transition easier on everyone, here are some basic things you can do: Talk with your family Let them know what kinds of changes are coming. If freelance writing is, initially, going to reduce your income, let them know that they’re... [Read More...]

Do You Have Clients or Bosses?

// We talked last time about your business self-image. We talked about whether you see yourself as a business or as an employee, and why being a business is both preferable and more realistic. Today, I want to look at one part of that issue: how your business self-image affects the way you deal with customers. When folks first get started freelance writing, they’re often just looking for a job. Look at the success of the Freelance Writing Jobs blog network in the search engines if you don’t believe me. Now, I don’t object to the idea of freelance writing jobs. But, it’s important how we think about that last word: jobs.... [Read More...]

What is Your Freelance Writing Business Self-Image?

// The vast majority of freelance writers are self-employed and the sole employee of their business. Many of those freelance writing businesses don’t really even see themselves so much as a business, but as a writer who works for someone else. There are some folks, for example, who write exclusively for Demand Studios and think of themselves as more of an employee. This isn’t too different from how many contractors see themselves. After all, when I worked in Information Technology as a network admin, I didn’t really think of myself as a sole proprietorship. After all, I had a single client who provided my entire paycheck.... [Read More...]

Create A Freelance Writing Discount Structure

The freelance writing business is, by its very nature, a different beast. Many freelance writers, at least in the beginning, think about what they do more as a freelance writing job rather than a small business. If you don’t believe me, just think about the success of this website. Note that it’s the Freelance Writing Jobs network, not the Freelance Writing Business network. This difference is important in a number of ways. Small businesses have expenses; employees don’t. Small businesses have to do marketing; people who have jobs don’t. Small businesses often have sales or offer discounts – employees don’t.... [Read More...]

What to Do if You Get Audited

// We’ve been talking about IRS tax audits and your freelance writing business for the past few posts. While there isn’t much you can do to prevent an audit, once an audit starts there are some things you can do to be sure it goes your way. Here are some of the most effective tips to follow when your freelance writing business gets audited: Get Organized From the moment you’re notified that you’re being audited, you need to start pulling your stuff together. Create a filing system that you understand (if you don’t already have one) and get every piece of paper where it needs to be. You want to be able to provide... [Read More...]

When Your Freelance Writing Business Gets Audited – What to Expect

// Last time, we talked about some of the types of tax audits your freelance writing business could face. Today, I want to cover some of the things that you can expect at your tax audit, so that you can become mentally prepared for when it happens. Next time, we’ll cover some specific tactics for handling your audit. Here’s what you can count on at your audit: There will be stress. Audits are time consuming and they’re stressful. It feels like you vs. them, only they get to make the rules. You’re going to get asked about events that happened years ago, about things you probably don’t even remember. There will be... [Read More...]

When Your Freelance Writing Business Gets Audited

// Freelance writing businesses are as susceptible as any small business to an audit. The very thought of the IRS honing its sights in on you is enough to make even the toughest among us break out in a cold sweat. The IRS tends to see small business owners as guilty until proven innocent, and it can really cause untold amounts of stress. Over the next few posts, I want to explore the idea of a tax audit for your freelance business. We’ll talk about the types of audits today, and we’ll go from there into looking at what you can expect when you do get audited and what you can do to prepare for an audit later on. There are a few basic... [Read More...]

7 New Year’s Resolutions to Rock Your Freelance Writing Business

// It’s that time again. We human beings have this funny attachment to our calendars, our time keepers and our numbers. Twenty-Ten is not only the rollover of a new year, but the start of a new decade. While I’m an advocate for making every day the best it can be for your freelance writing business, here are 7 New Year’s resolutions that will help you push onward and upward through the next year: 1. Get Control of Your Bookkeeping. Seriously. Hire an accountant if you need to, but get a handle on it. You’ll be thanking me in 16 months when you’re trying to get your 2010 taxes together. 2. Hone Your Craft. Becoming... [Read More...]

A Rate You Can Live With

// I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that most of you don’t get paid a dollar a word. Now, I know there’s some long-form sales page writer that’s going to object and claim they get that kind of a rate, and I’m sure they do – on occasion. I’ve never come close to that kind of a rate. My best-paying gig was a rush job on some product descriptions for a catalog. I hit about 60 cents a word on that one. I did something like a hundred product descriptions in an afternoon, and that gig carried me through an otherwise unimpressive month, in terms of revenue. I’ve also worked for much less.... [Read More...]

And to All, a Good Night

// As the holiday season comes to a close, I wanted to tell you all about my friend Kelly. Kelly runs a small business here in mid-Michigan. He and his father are appraisers. The look at homes and businesses and assign a value to them, usually for purposes of getting loans against those homes or businesses. They also do assessing for several of the local townships, which involves determining the value of properties for tax purposes. Each year, Kelly buys a number of cheese trays from one of our other local businesses – a cheese store. He takes those trays and drives them to the offices of some of their best customers. Township supervisors,... [Read More...]

Year-End Tax Tips for Freelance Writing Businesses

// Like other small businesses, the end of the calendar year is an important milestone for a freelance writing business. A part of your overall business strategy should be to maximize your bookkeeping efforts during these final days of December. Making just a few small changes or adjustments can save you hundreds of dollars next April. Here are a handful of ways to maximize your freelance business bookkeeping before the new year: 1. Bring your books current. You need to know where your business stands. If you’ve been a good little businessperson, you’ve kept at least monthly books. If not, you’ve got some serious paperwork... [Read More...]

Freelance Writing Branding That Sells

// One of the most well-known freelance writing bloggers, and the former writer for Business Tips for Writers is James Chartrand. James Chartrand is a woman. Of course, you already know that, because he told you himself, or maybe because you read Deb Ng’s take on the issue. I’ve had the privilege to work with James for about the past year and a half on a number of different projects. Early on, I put two and two together and figured out what you all have just learned: he is a she. This didn’t phase me at all, and I felt much better about knowing the true identity of a person with whom I was doing business. (Incidentally, I... [Read More...]

What Does Your Dream Business Look Like?

// You know, the more I talk with freelance writing business owners, the more I realize we really are a diverse bunch. There are stay-at-home moms, out-of-work factory rats, English majors and just about everything in between. Education levels go from High School grad to Ph.D. It’s not only backgrounds that differ, though. The vision of the future that freelance writers have can vary greatly from one to the next, too. What I hope my freelance writing business looks like in five years may be vastly different from what you hope yours looks like. I, for example, like the path I’m on. I relish in the entrepreneurial aspect of things.... [Read More...]

3 Dynamic Sales Models for Your Freelance Writing Business

// My previous post about hiring a salesperson for your freelance business generated quite a bit of interest, both on and off this blog. While I could spend days answering questions, I thought it might be more productive to explore the options available to freelance writing businesses, and tell you about how I’m doing it along the way. As I see it, there are several sales models for a freelance business, all of which have amazing potential and none of which fit every situation: Sales Model #1: Do-It-Yourself Sales This is the sales model most freelance writing businesses follow. Most freelance writing businesses are a one-person shop.... [Read More...]