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Before You Go on Freelancing, Ask Yourself Posted: 01 Jun 2009 12:41 PM PDT Kyle asked me over email just the other day: I am a web and graphic developer who works in Makati. My salary is not sufficient so I'm trying to look for ways to augment my income. I had created an account in oDesk but I am confused. Please help me. The original wordings of these sentences are in Taglish (mixed Tagalog and English), but I had translated Kyle's question for the benefit of the majority of the readers. I usually get these kinds of emails but I had already grown tired of the typical responses I give. Usually I'd say they should visit this post about how oDesk works to get an overview of the entire system. Then I would give them this post on additional tips on how to land on that oDesk assignment. I would also mention the useful tips on how to collect their payment from the internet. Too often many fulltime workers start their freelance career on the wrong mindset. These employees are often trained on how to perform well at their job. Freelancing is entirely different. Even the best tips on how to draft a good cover letter and write a very good freelancer profile is not simply enough. I realized that successful freelancers possess on vital ingredient for success: proper mindset and attitude for the job. I replied to Kyle, "before you go on freelancing, ask yourself these questions": Do you have time to commit to a job? Most freelance sites start out by bidding on projects. If a client is interested, he or she would initiate an interview, which is can be done over instant messaging, email and even voice calls. Even if the employee prefers to speak to clients outside of this work, he might find that arrangement difficult. Too often clients aren't much sensitive to the preferred chat time of the freelancer. Freelancers lost their jobs to other available freelancers. Do you have entrepreneurial skills? Freelancing is more of a business rather than having an employer-employee relationship which is typical to any corporate workplace. The client is still the boss, because of the fact that he pays and he directs all the instructions needed to execute the project. Am I able to communicate well? Communication plays a big role in the success of a project. Even the best designer isn't able to satisfy a client's expectation if the project expectations aren't relayed well. I believe freelancers are the ones who should get into the way of making clients comfortable to the task. Very good communicators know ways on how to determine a client's needs before the client realizes that he needs that in the project. Are you able to market yourself? This is somehow related the second point, because this is a part of being business minded. An ideal provider to me is the one who know how much his services are worth and knows how to seal the deal. He would also need to walk out from any bad negotiation. Everybody may want to be freelancers, but not everyone are fit enough to be successful freelancers. If you believe you have those four points, then you are not far to being a good freelancer. I would bet that you might even consider to eventually quit your day job. Check out these other great posts A New Look on a New Home Too! Withdrawing Paypal Funds: Should I Choose “Withdraw to Bank” or “Withdraw to Card”? Earn by Doing Paid Reviews with PayPerPost The World is Changing: Thoughts on the Changing Workforce About Me Do the Plurk Talk! SocialSpark: A Paid Review Site with a Social Networking Twist Paypal to Smart Money: It’s Possible! More Advertisements Added with the Clean Look in Mind Useful Firefox Extensions for Writing and Promoting Blogs Please share!

General Motors Reduces Its Workforce Posted: 23 May 2009 11:44 AM PDT The financial crisis is far from over. Financial analysts say the crisis will still remain for several years. News over the internet spoke the same thing: General Motors had filed bankruptcy protection. This hundred year old automaker had already released a list of 14 plants that are to be closed - the list is published in this GM website. The entire GM will not be closed off to production. They will still be producing Cadillacs and Chevrolets and produce less of Buick and GMC. As a result, around 20,000 jobs will be lost. I feel sad to the growing number people who are losing their jobs due to the US economic recession. My country is affected by this economic downfall. Several days ago, it was all over the news that the Philippines is already on the brink of recession. Personally, I had noticed the increase of prices and the decline of peso-dollar exchange rates. Just today, I learned that Moog Controls are taking steps to reduce their workforce by 200 people. However, Texas Instruments, which is near Moog Controls, is slowly picking up and hiring new staff. Call center companies such as Client Logic and People's Support seemed to be recession-proof businesses. Most call centers in the country were hiring staff during the time when people lost their jobs from company layoffs. Check out these other great posts A New Look on a New Home Too! Withdrawing Paypal Funds: Should I Choose “Withdraw to Bank” or “Withdraw to Card”? Earn by Doing Paid Reviews with PayPerPost The World is Changing: Thoughts on the Changing Workforce About Me Do the Plurk Talk! SocialSpark: A Paid Review Site with a Social Networking Twist Paypal to Smart Money: It’s Possible! More Advertisements Added with the Clean Look in Mind Useful Firefox Extensions for Writing and Promoting Blogs Please share!

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