Many people are wary of moving from an office job to freelancing because they think they won't make enough money. They know all about the benefits, like setting up their own schedule, but they think that a steady income is not one of those benefits. It is a myth.
Freelancers earn more than office workers. But the main reason you may have decided to quit your dull and limited office job is to avoid mediocrity, right?
But if you do it right, you can earn twice as much as an office worker, and than most freelancers who consider freelancing as a craft.
Think big
One of the biggest freelancing dilemmas when starting out is how much to charge. Most people make the mistake of thinking that they have to set a low price until they earn a reputation, but they end up in a circle that is hard to get out of.
When good clients see a low rate, they associate it with bad skills. If you once worked for $6 an hour, how do you convince someone to pay you 5 or 6 times more?
Bet what you're worth. Think about all your expenses, especially the fact that you pay taxes yourself. Think about your skills. If you are a copywriter, do you meet (or exceed) the needs of those who are looking for freelance writers?
Choose your niche
Promoting yourself as a jack-of-all-trades won't make you more money. You may get more work, but it won't be valuable work. You run the risk of becoming an amateur, ready to do anything for money, and not having the proper skills.
Instead, you should use your competitive edge and market yourself as an expert in your industry.
Build a killer portfolio
Think of it like your ID. Building a stellar portfolio to showcase your expertise is absolutely essential for beginners. Since the goal is to present yourself in best light, choose only your best work. Avoid trying to include as much as possible, because in this case quality means more than quantity.
Do you have anything to show? Create a portfolio for your ideal client. Think about who the person or organization is and create jobs based on potential needs. You can create your own website (or hire someone to do it), or post your work on a freelance marketplace or other resources.
Create your online presence
You have to be everywhere, advertise yourself and build a network of contacts. You should spend some time designing your LinkedIn, Facebook or VKontakte profile, because, contrary to popular belief, there are a lot of your potential customers here.
Keep getting new skills
You cannot afford to stagnate. Freelance competition is on the rise. Those who fall behind their competitors will have a hard time getting a job, especially since freelancers in some parts of the world can afford to set their rates lower than you.
Study online lessons, watch videos and tutorials, read electronic books and learn from the best in your industry by reading their blogs and articles.
Work with different clients
Don't put all your eggs in one basket. One of the downsides of freelancing is that you will inevitably find yourself in a dry season (or two). To minimize bad consequences, you need to diversify your customers and income.
Keep your own blog, because it allows you to attract more customers to you, and not constantly run around in the search. Feel free to ask for recommendations. Good word of mouth is something many freelancers rely on.
After all, if you've done a great job for your clients, why not ask them to recommend you to their friends and colleagues?
This is one of the most effective and underutilized methods of finding new clients. A properly drafted quotation, and sent to the right place, can be the beginning of a good cooperation with new customers.
You don't know if they are interested in your services, so you can contact them to find out. What can you offer them? Put some links to your portfolio. Write some ideas to help them take their business to the next level. Show that you have spent some time researching their website or blog.
Learn to manage your time
As your freelance business grows, so does the number of projects. On the one hand, this is good, on the other hand, it creates some problems. You run the risk of not being able to do everything on time.
One of your biggest challenges is building trust. Bad publicity spreads like wildfire, and if you start getting rumors about being a freelancer who never delivers on time, it could be the beginning of the end of your career.
There is another aspect of time management that you need to pay attention to. While perfectionism can lead to better work, it's important not to let it get in the way of efficiency. Keep a balance and allow yourself to rest when necessary.
Find your ideal clients
Some freelancers complain that they don't have jobs because they can't compete with small players. It's just a bad excuse. They are not your competitors. You must find clients who appreciate your work and are willing to pay for it. Find out the type of business you want to work with.
Quality and dedication are rewarded. In office work, many external factors can influence your success. When you are a freelancer, your success is entirely up to you. Your chances are good if you are active and keep learning. Not only will you be happier than you were at the office, you will also be able to earn more money.
Therefore, I highly recommend that you read this article carefully, think it over, even if it seems to you that the money-making strategy described in it is completely obvious. Obviously, it is obvious, but if you turn to life, then a 99% error is made in life very often. At one time, and even now, this concept helped me to earn more or rather much more. She will help you too.
What is the concept of 99% of the result?
For 99% of the result, they do not pay at all or pay very little. They pay for 100% of the result.
Let me give you a primitive example. Let's say that there is a teacher at the institute. If he defends his Ph.D. (doctoral) dissertation, he will be paid a significantly higher salary. The management of the institute usually does not prevent the defense of the dissertation, but rather encourages it, since this is beneficial to the institute for various reasons.
Therefore, many begin to write dissertations.
But a very large part of dissertations are completed by 80-99% for various reasons. That is, if by 80%, then the main sections are written, you need to add an introduction, a conclusion. If 90%, then it has already been written, but you need to give it back supervisor for check. If 99%, then it is written, approved by the head, but does not reach the defense. Sometimes the candidate's minimum is not given, etc. I am already silent about the fact that a person sketches out somewhere on paper or a computer the main thoughts on a dissertation, which is somewhere around 30-40% of readiness. Such a sea.
What does a 99% dissertation give a person in money? As you can imagine, absolutely nothing. Just a sea of wasted time. For those hundreds and thousands of hours that a person spent on doing this work, he could get pretty decent money elsewhere, by working part-time, for example.
It would seem that such a situation, which is described in the previous example, is more an exception to the rule than the rule itself. In fact, the rule is precisely that the mass of any projects are not completed by 1-10% and the money received as a result of such unfinished projects is either minimal or non-existent.
Why is it that a fairly large number of people write their dissertations at 80-99%?
There are several reasons for this and we will talk about them a little below. The only thing is clear, if you can often bring your affairs to 100%, and not 95 or 99%, then your income will definitely increase and often very significantly. And, of course, vice versa. If you quite often will not bring your affairs to 100%, then there is no need to talk about any significant income.
The main reason why so many projects are 99% and not 100% ready is that we don't know or don't think about the fact that at the end we always expect much more resources than in the middle and even at the beginning of work. .
I often hear or read about how difficult it is to move something forward. It seems like the main difficulty lies in this. Then you just need to move and move, which is much easier.
However, this is only part of the reality. I will not deny that there are certain difficulties in getting a project off the ground. However, the main difficulties lie in wait for us not at the very beginning, but at the end, before the completion of a project.
Any resources before the completion of the project (patience, money, time, trust of clients or lenders) are already coming to an end or have basically disappeared, and the difficulties almost always increase. Very often, before the completion of the project, completely different skills are needed than those that you used to bring it to 99%. Sometimes you need other connections or something else.
Let's say that you write songs, poems for them, perform and you have a certain number of fans. (The example is taken for simplicity) You have been writing these songs for 10 years already. You already have several recorded albums. These songs good quality, about which uninterested people have already told you more than once. (We will assume that these songs are of really good quality and that when they get on television, the artist will become widely known).
In fact, the songwriter has already gone 90-95% of the road to good money, especially considering that competition among artists is high, and access to their songs High Quality have units. After all, he had been composing songs for 10 years, developing the ability to perform in front of an audience, most likely collecting suitable co-performers.
Now, it would seem, everything is very simple. If you get access to television, you can become famous in a few days, and start earning 1,000 times more than you are now in a few months.
But why can't our hero pass the remaining 5-10%? Largely because these 10% require completely different skills and completely different acquaintances. After all, even if we continue to compose and perform good songs for another 10 years, this may not advance our hero from an example to big money.
What to do? The answer is almost obvious. If you understand that at the end, when your task is 99% completed, there will be obviously predictable difficulties, won’t you behave differently in advance? Of course you will.
And this different behavior of yours will increase your chances of successfully completing the case 10 times. And if the case is completed, then you will receive your money. Sometimes this money will be big, sometimes not so much. But in any case, it will be money, not time wasted.
I mentioned above that completing a project often requires different skills and you often need to behave differently than usual. What does it mean to behave differently before completing a project? For each task - it can be its own actions. However, I will give a few examples.
You can spend your money in other ways. If earlier you would spend money approximately evenly, now you understand that at the end, before the completion of the project, there will always be spending several times more than usual. It would seem logical that if there is 5% left before the completion of the project, then 5% of the money should be left for these 5% of the time. In fact, for the remaining 5%, you need to leave somewhere around 20% of the money, or even more.
I can't give you specific numbers, of course. The main thing is that the completion of the project always requires an increased expenditure of money.
Where to get this money? More question for you. Where can you get money to complete? The most obvious way is to save money in conventional processes. This is often quite simple.
- Secondly, you can often predict in advance the problems that await you at the end, before big money, and, accordingly, start solving them in advance. For example, if our songwriter thought that in the end he would not only have to write and perform songs, but also somehow become famous, then he would somehow organize his activities in a different way. (If the goal is to make money in principle, and then it makes sense to go to the section by reference and read more articles).
I don't know exactly how to do it better. Maybe the first 3 years out of 10 and it would only be necessary to write songs and perform. In the next 7 years, you would need to devote some time and money to your promotion. Maybe it's a YouTube channel, maybe looking for opportunities to perform with other artists, maybe looking for opportunities to go on TV, moving to Moscow, etc.
- You would not mentally expect some kind of reward when the project is 99% ready. You would understand that now some new difficulties will almost certainly arise and you would be ready for them.
Then the inevitable difficulties that appeared before the completion of the project would not have taken you out of working condition. Difficulties, so difficulties. We will decide. Fortunately, money and deadlines are reserved for this, and people who specialize in solving such difficulties are already on the way.
In total, understand that for 90-99% of the readiness of something they usually don’t pay at all, or they pay several times less than for 100%. AT real life we often come across this concept, although we often do not even try to analyze the reasons for our own or others' failures.
If you take money, then very often the reasons for 1% are:
- The goods in one form or another are not finished. Sometimes it's hard to say what it is in your case.
For example, a woman comes to a beauty salon to do some cosmetic procedures. You might think, as I used to think, that the good execution of the procedure itself is the finished product.
In fact, in the opinion of most women (not all), this finished product also includes chatter (pleasant communication) about both with a beautician. If this is not the case, then this is just the classic 99% of the goods. It seems that everything is present on highest level, but something is missing for a certain type of customer, which is the majority. And if this 1% is not there, then clients can leave such a cosmetologist for other cosmetologists. The reasons for such transitions will often be completely incomprehensible for analysis.
After all, services seem to be at the highest level. The qualification, the effect, the quality of the creams used, everything is great. However, the reason for the low income of such a cosmetologist is the incompleteness of the goods for most of the clients. (It is clear that if there is competition, not so that this center is a monopolist in general, either in certain procedures or in the type of clients)
A product (service) is a complex concept. Sometimes there is not enough assembly, delivery, installments, legal registration (real estate), just beautiful design (packaging), training, settings, and some other elusive thing that the seller (executor) considers obvious. If such incompleteness exists, then money can be received many times less than it is possible or not received at all.
After all, what seems obvious and simple to you (for example, twist a light bulb) may not seem so simple to your customers at all.
- The second most common option is that you are trying to promote yourself, your product or services to the wrong people.
For example, you think that you need to work harder so that your immediate supervisor notices your efforts and when he notices, he will somehow raise you or increase your salary. (From how to move up the career ladder,)
In principle, this can be, but under a number of conditions. First, your boss is moving up sharply and will continue to move forward. Secondly, you have a finished product, which, in addition to good work, also includes an element of devotion to this boss.
If not, then all your work is useless. If this position is the ceiling for your leader, then it is clear that he will not move you anywhere. Where to move? For your position? Do not make me laugh. To a higher organization? So why would he let a good worker go somewhere? After all, then you will have to plow yourself for you or control someone who can’t do anything.
Another common example is advertising. For example, advertising of specialized services is served in a regular newspaper. But if your service is even potentially needed by only one in 100,000 people, then is it worth it to advertise it in a general newspaper. The efficiency of such advertising will be extremely low. This is the same as trying to grow a crop of wheat by scattering grains on the asphalt. Suddenly something will grow somewhere.
Maybe, of course, a couple of grains will sprout into an ear, but you won’t make money on this for sure.
In these options, you almost did everything right. That is, in the first version, they worked well and deserved the gratitude of the head. The only small mistake (1%) is that you tried in front of the wrong person. In the second option, you probably made a great text that will convince almost anyone, made a great design, etc. Here again, a small flaw of 1%, you are advertised in the wrong place.
I told you about several examples, when a small imperfection of a few percent leads to a complete or almost complete absence of a result, in this case of money.
These examples in life are found at every step. If you can figure out where you're missing those 1% or 5% of results, you can often increase your income very quickly. Sometimes this increase is huge, sometimes not so much.
What needs to be done for this? Try to mentally go through the elements of your actions that lead or should lead to a result. Where are you not finishing? Where are those 1-5% that nullify all your efforts. If you can’t find the answer mentally, then try looking at examples of those who have achieved results in your money model. Better, of course, a few examples, so as not to run into exceptions that only confirm some rule.
I'm sure that after spending a few days or weeks on such reflections, you will be able to find your 1%, which is not enough to completely change your approach to living good money.
Rashid Kirranov.
"If you want to raise good kids, spend half the money and twice the time on them." (Esther Selsdon)
I stumbled across this article by chance on the internet. I decided to save myself and show you at the same time) I hope it will come in handy.
Good parents are not at all those who make good money, give their children mobile phones, allow them to watch cartoons for hours and pay for education in foreign school. Rather, on the contrary, it is these people who grow up children who are not able to make decisions on their own, do not love themselves, and cannot create a happy family. Good mom and dad, first of all, give the child their time, care, attention and love. They know how to support, explain, direct, teach independence and self-control. Below are 5 rules that all parents must follow.
AttentionEveryone needs attention, and children are no exception. Parents who want to raise a mentally healthy child must devote quality time to it. Give your child 15-30 minutes every evening, but devote this time to him, without being distracted by anything else! Play with him railway, build a house out of blocks, read a book, sculpt, draw or just chat. But just don't do other things at the same time.
Leave for half an hour washing dishes, a computer and talking on the phone. All these worries can surely wait. Let the child understand that at this moment you are completely occupied with him, you are interested and fun with him. Children should know that for parents they are more important than cleanliness in the apartment, football on TV and friends from the social network.
hugs and smile
Psychologists say that for emotional balance, an adult needs to hug at least 8 times a day! Can you imagine how often you need to hug a child? All children from infancy unconsciously remember how good, cozy and safe it is in their mother's arms. hugs - essential tool communication with the child. So, on a non-verbal level, you inform him of your love, affection, readiness to always come to the rescue.
Smile more often, even if you have problems at work or just cats scratching your heart. With a sad face and tears, you still won’t fix the situation. Seeing your concern, the child may unconsciously take it personally and begin to think that he is bad, does something wrong and upsets his mother. Set aside the working negativity, do not let it into your home. Let the child, looking at you, learn to abstract from problems and switch from a work mood to a family one.
Subsequence
Be consistent in your actions: keep your word. This applies to both rewards and punishments. For example, if you promised your child to go to the zoo in it on the weekends, put him in the country behind the wheel of a car, jump on a trampoline - do it!
If you tell a child what kind of disobedience (for example, in the sandbox he throws sand in the eyes of other children) he will be punished (go home) - also do not throw words to the wind. Gather the child in an armful and go with him away from the playground. Let the child take you seriously. Just don’t give him empty promises like “I’ll give it to someone else’s uncle”, “I went home, but you stay” - the baby will very soon realize that you can’t be trusted, and your words are an empty phrase.
Show new places
Nothing develops the intellect like new emotions, impressions and sensations. Even the most Small child perfectly feels the change of scenery. Feel free to take your child to airports, museums, parks, guests, car rides, forests, big shops. Surely, painting in the Tretyakov Gallery will not interest him. But he will be happy to try his voice in the new acoustics, walk along the marble stairs with a carpet, touch the gilded railings, see the crystal chandeliers with hundreds of light bulbs. In shopping centers, he will ride escalators and glass elevators, pay for travel in a trolleybus.
In general, children, unlike adults, find a lot of pleasure in the most ordinary and everyday things. Not to mention foreign trips, seaside vacations or nature trips. Show children new places, expand their horizons! Children quite rightly consider themselves part of the family, and suffer greatly when their parents leave them to their relatives, while they themselves go to have fun.
Be confident
Don't doubt what you're doing. If the baby sees your indecision, he subconsciously becomes nervous. An older child in such cases will try to insist on his own. Do not react to provocations: if he demands to buy a toy and throws a tantrum for the whole store when you say "no", do not give in! And in no case do not buy a toy just because the baby is screaming, and everyone is looking at you. The child must not manipulate the parents under any circumstances!
Do not yell at the child and in any case do not hit him. Talk to your baby calmly and seriously. If the children have to go to bed at 10 pm, put them to bed at that time. Don't give in to the "5 more minutes" blandishments. But at the same time, be flexible. On the occasion of the arrival of relatives, visiting guests or celebrating the New Year, of course, exceptions must be made. Let the kids understand that you are able to adequately respond to circumstances, and learn from you to be flexible.
Those who work long hours deserve a luxury car. Undoubtedly, it will be one of the Bavarian masterpieces from BMW. But how to make the right choice, because the brand offers several worthy series? If you want to invest wisely in power, comfort and practicality, then the 2017 BMW 530i is your best bet. But if there is no difference where to spend money, then you should buy Alpina B7. But what will the owner get, what's the difference?
If you put an experienced, sophisticated driver in a regular BMW 5 Series - a new modification for 2017, and then he transfers to the "seven", then the sensations will practically not change. It's just that the older series is more spacious, but otherwise it's the same comfortable, elegant BMW with a user-friendly interface.
The advantages of the fifth series - myth or reality?
"Fives" are very good, it's impossible to argue with that. The owner sits in them and thinks: "Thank God, I did not buy a seven." Because if the choice was made in favor of this series, the owner would receive the status of a person who simply likes to spend money.
But when a person transfers to, everything around becomes a little more interesting and expensive. What is the difference?
Both models come from Germany, equipped with turbocharged engines, built on the same modular platform. The cars are also equipped with a "gesture control" system that allows you to wave your hands to increase the volume. They also have the usual volume control knob. Both models are extremely comfortable.
The cars have BMW badges on the hood and trunk and huge displays like they fit all 441 square feet of a Waldseemller map that's perfectly visible. Both vehicles are incredibly dynamic, about 90 kg lighter than their predecessors, and will quickly get passengers to their destinations.
If all you want is basic performance, hyper-tech, safety, a somewhat conservative exterior, there's no reason not to buy the . Here the acquisition of Alpina B7 will be a waste of money.
But it doesn't end there. The BMW 530i is equipped with a remarkably balanced 2.0-liter four-cylinder unit with 248 horsepower. But the Big 7, which is what the "B7" in the "Alpina B7" stands for, far exceeds those specs.
Alpina is an independent company that has been developing high-performance and luxurious versions of BMW cars for decades, including its own modifications with its own engines.
In this part, Alpina is only gaining momentum. Eight-cylinder V-shaped monster with a working volume of 4.4 liters, two turbochargers, 600 horsepower, top speed, electronically limited at the turn of 305 km / h, leaves no chance for the younger brother - 530i.
The B7, like the entire 7-series on which it is based, contains carbon fiber in the chassis, which, despite its impressive dimensions, allows the car to flutter. Majestic in size and bulk, with its long wheelbase allowing discerning passengers to recline in large rear thrones, it resembles a mythical creature that mere mortals can only dream of.
Alpina badges are everywhere, even on electronic devices. They remind you that this is not a "regular" BMW, and not even the vaunted "M". There is a manufacturer's note inside the door stating that it is in fact no longer a BMW. In fact, Alpina claims that she has changed, and the evidence for this is:
. adaptive steering;
. adaptive suspension;
. dampers;
. wheels;
. quiet turbo;
. economical fuel consumption;
. steering wheel leather, hand-stitched in traditional blue and green;
. intercooler;
. pistons from Mahle;
. gear shifting, which, in addition to the lever, is carried out by buttons located on the back of the steering wheel;
. the powertrain is a high-tech beast.
A sign of quality is also neat white stitching on brown leather.
What is better to choose with a limited budget and what to do if it is not limited?
If you discard all the "goodies" Alpina, leave the usual 7-series, you get a good, luxurious car. And all this is a great choice, if not for the fifth series, which is about as good and beautiful as the “seven”. This is a great option if you need a car that costs less than $73,000.
But if you have the opportunity to spend more than $150,000 and are desperately tormented by curiosity, then you won’t find a better one than the Alpina B7. And this is despite the weight exceeding 2 tons, all-wheel drive and incredible power, which is capable of accelerating the giant to 100 km / h in an incredible 3.6 seconds.
And when the B7 accelerates too fast, the driver becomes frightened, and the only insurance and reassurance is the brakes, which are hidden behind the spokes of 20-inch rims.
Technological magic, or not everything is so perfect
In the Bavarian masterpieces, for all their manufacturability, there are drawbacks. The autopilot system from is still rather weak. It forces the driver to constantly keep their hands on the wheel, which is stupid and pointless. In the future, it will be of better quality, but now it is better not to use it. Steering, despite a significant improvement, still does not provide feedback with a driver.
A matter of choice
When choosing between two Bavarians, priority is not specifications or the size of a wallet, but the essence of a person. Many, even if they have the opportunity, will not buy a five, much less an Alpina B7.
This is a choice for those who are important to emphasize the status even in small things, with comfort and quickly reach their destination. Bavarian masterpieces are not for those who consider social inequality a problem and are too proud of their success.
