Depending on your field, freelancing doesn’t need to have a lot of expenses. All you really need is a computer, internet access, and plenty of coffee. One cost you can’t avoid as a freelancer, though, are your tax bills. Unlike typical W-2 employees, freelancers have to pay quarterly taxes at a rate of just over 15%, and that’s a big bill, especially if you’re not being paid on a regular basis. This leads many freelancers to fall behind on their taxes. [Read more…]
Tips On How Freelance Writers Can Start Day Trading While Traveling
Over the last couple of years, the freelance and digital nomad movement have proven to be some of the hardest working, innovative, and inventive group of people out there. Most of them are driven by an urge to explore and live life to the fullest, while also running successful freelance careers and even start-ups.
However, and as we all know, the life of a freelancer and especially a traveling freelancer is far from perfect, and all too often the lack of income is the biggest hurdle. Therefore, this lifestyle often makes people creative in the ways they make money. [Read more…]
Design Tips for Your Freelance Writing Portfolio
The best freelance writers (and pretty much every other freelancer: designers, developers, photographers, content marketers, etc.) have creative portfolios where they showcase their work. This is their business card that potential customers will carefully check before sending them an email.
A great portfolio will quickly demonstrate to potential clients and/or employers what kind of work you can do, and keep in mind that your portfolio itself is a project that you can use to showcase your skills. [Read more…]
Top Tips to Ensure Your Freelance Contracts Secure Your Financial Freedom – UK Edition
As of 2016, there are 2 million freelancers in the UK. With this in mind, we want to make sure that those living in the UK who have taken the self-employed route are making the best choices for their income and mental wellbeing, particularly when it comes to contracts between freelancer and client.
After all, you aren’t working as a freelancer because it’s easy. Most freelancers do what they do for: passion, a level of flexibility that can’t be experienced in an office or the possibility of great disposable income and financial freedom. [Read more…]
How Freelancers Can Utilize Expired Domains
In this era of super-fast internet, information is available all around, and every piece of data is competing to make itself visible to a broader audience. SEO or search engine optimization is widely used by freelancers to make their content stand out and gain organic traffic.
But sometimes, good content is not enough to get a high search engine ranking. The latest method of perfecting SEO is by using expired domains, and it is being used by freelancers very commonly. [Read more…]
How to Earn Repeat Freelance Copywriting Work from an SEO Agency
Freelance writers need to earn repeat work. Of course, finding new clients is vital too, but to give yourself as much job security as possible and to actually earn a decent wage, you need to get clients coming back to you with more assignments, time after time.
Repeat work from SEO and digital agencies can be a great earner for freelancers, because they’re likely to have multiple clients in need of quality copy, potentially month after month. And if they’re any good at their job – and you’re any good at yours – their need for copy will increase, and you will get first refusal of that work. [Read more…]
A Freelancer’s Guide on How to Organize Finances
The world of freelancing can be a fun, frustrating, and extremely lucrative one when approached correctly. However, with so many people jumping into this space with heavy expectations, without the right tools and work ethic in place, your valuable earnings might soon disappear right before your eyes. This can happen for a number of reasons, and many of which we will be covering in this article today — along with some importance tips on how to better manage your freelancer finances in the process.
First off, according to Statista, there are an estimated 62.2 million freelancers in 2019, across the United States. This number will just continue to rise, as third word country keep getting access to better internet and more freelance marketplaces open their doors to foreign markets.
This figure is set to rise in the upcoming years, and by 2027, there will be an estimated 85.6 million people who are freelancing. Being your own boss, setting your own hours, and doing your own thing are just some reasons why people are becoming freelancers.
Working from home on something you are passionate about is great, but freelancers also have to keep track of their finances. This is especially true if you are writing for a wide range of clients, while also working on various freelancer marketplaces.
If you are thinking about becoming a freelancer, here is everything you need to know about how to organize finances.
Best Ways to Manage Finances
If you have previously worked for other company’s or you have never worked before then thinking about how to manage your own finances can be difficult.
There are a number of financial costs involved with setting up your own freelance business and you also need to think about filing and paying your own tax.
We have the low-down on the tips and tricks on how to manage finances better if you are a freelancer.
1. Track Your Income
Make sure you know how much money you have earned each month. Keep a track of your income as this will help you:
- a) know how much wage you have that month
- b) know how much you earn each year (which makes filing your tax much easier).
A good way to keep track of your income is by creating a document that includes all your monthly going ins and going outs.
There are certain apps and software that allow you to put in your income information and keep track of your money, such as ThePayStubs.com.
2. Set Aside Money
There are two reasons why you need to set money aside because being a freelancer means that you don’t have a set income each month and that you also need to pay your own taxes.
One month you might earn a lot of money and work with many clients, whereas another month might be very quiet and you might not earn that much money. This is why it is very important to set money aside. Give yourself a strict freelancer budget and make sure you save some money each month.
You should also set aside enough money to pay for your tax. Often this is about 30% of your income, but it can always be good to set aside more, just so you are covered.
3. Accept As Many Payments As Possible
As a freelancer, it’s also important to make sure you aren’t limiting your incoming revenue and finances by only accepting payment certain forms of payment.
Depending on where you are located, you might be limited in this area already, but new payment options are opening up all the time. As pointed out by WPBeginner, there are plenty of payment options out there for accepting money online. This can prove quite useful if you have your own website or brand, and can accept payments directly.
Such payment solutions include:
- Stripe
- Transferwise
- Bitcoin
- Payoneer
- QuickBooks
- 2Checkout
- Google Wallet
However, when doing business with anyone in the United States, Paypal is going to be one of the most requested options for payments.
3. Get Insurance
If you are thinking of becoming a freelancer and are wondering how to organize your finances if something bad happens then you need to get insurance. Ensure that you have health insurance that can cover you if you have any health problems and need to take some time off.
If you don’t have insurance as a freelancer than you might be at risk of getting into a lot of debt. This is something many top freelancers have a problem with and also discuss through their websites and blogs to help other freelancers. Carol of MakingALivingWriting.com, recommends the following insurance options:
- Spouse’s policy
- COBRA
- Affordable Care Act
- Freelancer’s Union
- Private Insurance
There are a whole number of businesses that offer insurance for freelancers, so have a look around and find one that covers your business and needs.
How to Organize Finances and Make More Money
Being a freelancer is great because it gives you more freedom than working for somebody else, however, you need to make sure that you are smart when it comes to the money side of things. At the same time, don’t forget — millions of other freelancers are fighting to get work as well, so if you want to make money as a freelancer, you need to treat it like a serious business.
Follow our four simple, yet effective, tips on how to organize finances and you will be able to have a successful freelancing career.
5 E-commerce Business Ideas That Work Well For Writers
If you’re a writer, you’ll know that it’s an awesome job. You’re getting to do something you love — something most people aren’t able to do — and you’re getting paid for it.
Unfortunately, the pay as a writer isn’t always as high as we’d like it to be. Whether you’re a freelancer, part-time or novelist, it’s always a good idea to diversify your income and get cash flowing in more freely. The best way to do this? E-commerce. [Read more…]
How Do I Market My Freelance Writing Business?
If you’ve got a flair for writing and enjoy creating stimulating and informative articles, then you’re probably ready to start your own freelance writing business.
But, being good at writing isn’t enough. It’s a very competitive marketplace. You need your business to stand out from the crowd and to keep your present online; even when you’re not.
The best way of achieving this is to have an effective marketing strategy. [Read more…]
Writers Should Be SEEN and Not Just Heard in the Digital Age
Have you lost yours yet? Maybe you just used it as a coaster for your morning coffee or to wipe your windows on a writing-procrastination cleaning binge (we’ve all been there.) Whether you bemoaned the pages full of adverts or enjoyed the old school approach to romance in the classifieds, research from the Press Gazette found 40 local print newspapers closed in the UK in 2017. The local newspaper for my home town – a clipping of me holding a certificate was cut from this paper and remains to this day on my mother’s fridge – has just announced its end. [Read more…]
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