Deliberate Freelancer

On today’s episode, we’re talking about goals—setting them, working on them, tracking them, achieving them. Goal-setting can be tough, and I think part of that is the words we use. For example, New Year’s resolutions are essentially goals, but about 80 percent of New Year’s resolutions fail by February. We’re all eager in January to jump on those resolutions, but then we get bored, or we forget or life gets too busy and gets in the way. Goal-setting can happen at any time. You can wait for that feeling to hit you that you want to work toward some new things, or you can be proactive throughout the year. To get started, I recommend setting only a few big goals at a time. Otherwise, you fall into that New Year’s resolutions trap again. First, start by setting one to three goals for your business. Your goals should be specific so that you can later tie them to step-by-step goals and habits to implement. Saying you want to grow your business is not a specific goal. On the personal side, wanting to become a better runner or get in shape are not specific goals. To set goals for your business, take a few hours or even a day to focus on what you want for your freelance business. This is deep work. Turn off the phone and social media notifications. Better yet, set your computer aside and use pen and paper. Physically writing when you’re brainstorming helps spark your creativity and solidify your ideas. And make it fun. This year—although I admitted to myself that I wasn’t going to use the actual calendar in a planner—I bought a planner for inspiration and brainstorming. I bought the Alter planner, which was made just for freelancers. Once you have evaluated some potential goals, you need to set goals that are actually doable, attainable and specific enough that you know how to get started on them. Use the SMART technique: Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Time-based When you have a couple of goals that meet all the criteria in the SMART formula, you need to put an actual plan in place to work on those goals. James Clear, author of “Atomic Habits,” says: “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” That means if you don’t put a system and habits in place for each of your goals, they’ll just be goals with no structure or plan. You need to create a step-by-step plan for how to achieve each of these goals. Start with one of your goals and begin to write down all the “to do” items you need to make that happen. Then, begin to think of a structure—and the habits you need—to get that to-do list accomplished. Part of the SMART goal formula is to develop a goal that is measurable. Tracking and measuring your goal is critical to that goal’s success, but this is often an area we struggle in. As you set up your systems and habits, include a process for how and when you will measure that goal. I use an Excel spreadsheet to track my financial goals and keep that sheet open all the time on my laptop. There are also dozens of apps that will track things, so a phone app might be the best option for you and your goals. Track your goals regularly, maybe weekly or monthly. But then do a more intensive check-in and measuring of your goal each quarter to make sure that goal is still working for you. Even if you don’t hit your goal, you’ll likely get closer than if you had no goal at all. Or, you might realize you need to adjust your goal at some point throughout the year, and that’s OK. Biz Bite: Create a ta-da list The Bookshelf: “Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder” by Caroline Fraser Resources: Alter planner The Essential Guide to Writing SMART Goals Episode #3 of Deliberate Freelancer: Host a Solo Business Retreat Episode #13 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Set Better Goals for Your Business, with Andrena Sawyer Episode #23 of Deliberate Freelancer: Five Questions to Evaluate and Diversify Your Services Episode #26 of Deliberate Freelancer: Delegate, Automate and Terminate to Improve Your Business Episode #40 of Deliberate Freelancer: Reflect, Analyze and Plan Now for the New Year

On today’s show I am going over 33 ways you can find new clients. But before you embark on that project, you’ll need to do a little prep work. First, consider what type of work you truly want more of. What do you love to do? What work pays well? Focus on that. Next, raise your rates. Then, be crystal clear on what you want to say to those potential clients. Focus on how you can help them and what they want. Now, you’re ready to find new clients. Here are my tips (scroll down to the Resources section for a printable pdf of this list): Ask current clients for new work. Ask current or past clients for referrals. Go to industry conferences. Maximize your LinkedIn profile and add keywords. Send a ridiculous number of letters of introduction (LOIs). Follow up on past LOIs or with people you’ve met in real life. Add a new service. Apply to speak at conferences as an expert in your field. Reach out to your contacts who are at new jobs. Write a guest blog post in your industry. Ramp up your social media game. Go old school and mail out postcards to a select group. Join organizations and make sure to fill out your profile in the online directory. Apply to win awards in your field. Be active in Facebook groups and/or Twitter chats. Create a private Twitter list of potential clients. Launch or revive your blog. Create an email list. Create a newsletter. Create a freebie. Set up keyword searches on Twitter. Ask for testimonials from happy clients. Ask for LinkedIn recommendations. Try Facebook Live or Instagram Stories. Be a guest on a podcast. Revamp your website. Update your online portfolio. Consider partnerships. Answer job ads. Go to local events. Connect with a co-working space. Tell everyone you meet what you do. Fire a client.   Biz Bite: Stop reading and listening to things that make you angry.   The Bookshelf: “Daisy Jones & the Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid   Resources: 33 Ways to Find More Clients printable pdf Episode #23 of Deliberate Freelancer: Five Questions to Evaluate and Diversify Your Services Episode #18 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Set Higher Rates Episode 22 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Create a Better Work-Life Balance, with Laura Poole Episode #6 of Deliberate Freelancer: Make the Most of Conferences Episode #24 of Deliberate Freelancer: Networking Tips, Especially as an Introvert Episode #20 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Use LinkedIn Better to Find Clients, with Phaedra Brotherton

On today’s show, I’m going to report on what I did during my most recent solo business retreat and my lessons learned. Some of you already know I love taking a solo business retreat about once a quarter—or at minimum, twice a year. A solo business retreat is just you, away from your regular workspace—even in that means just heading to another room in your home—and taking a half day, entire day or even two days to step back. It’s a time to think big and to work ON your business, not just IN your business. In episode 3, I talk about how to host your own solo business retreat—what you need, where you can go to do it, what to think about. Two episodes ago, episode 40, I gave tips and hopefully some inspiration for things that would work well during a solo business retreat—how you could evaluate the past year of your business and then analyze what you needed to do differently this year. I also mentioned in that episode that I was going to host my first solo business retreat outside my city. It was in Chicago last week, and it was amazing.   I started by making a list of all my clients and how much I made from each one of them last year. Then, I marked which ones were likely one-offs because they were one-time projects from the client’s perspective and which ones were one-offs because I didn’t want to work with that client anymore. The good news is that only two were ones I didn’t want to work with anymore—in one case, it was a one-off project, and in the other I think the client felt the same way I did. So, I didn’t have to fire any clients! My calculations also confirmed what I already knew from past years: My primary anchor client is about 48% of my net income each year. That’s a lot. That security also comes with cautions: What if that client suddenly lets me go or kills our project? The challenge is that because the workload for this client is like a part-time job, I can’t take on a lot of other big anchor clients. So, I’ve tried to prepare myself for losing this client, though I hope that never happens. First, it helps just that I’m aware of it. Knowing that relying on one client for 48% of your income is a gamble is the first step. You don’t want to be blindsided if the client goes away. I’ve also been working to build up my savings to provide a cushion, and I continue to market and stay in touch with past clients. It’s important to always be marketing. It can take months or even years in some cases to get a project from a potential client. Waiting until you need the work will not likely pay off—plus, it can make you desperate. You might take on low-paying clients or clients who don’t treat you well. After calculating where my money came from last year, I made a short list of the clients I really loved who I wanted to work with more. Some of these were newer clients that have started off great, and I want to keep that momentum going. Others are longer-time clients that I need to reach out to more. I also had one client where my editor left last year. So, I quickly looked up the new person’s contact information so I could email them a letter of introduction. The next part of my business retreat was to make a list of my successes, failures and challenges from last year. My successes included two regular clients that I worked with substantially more last year. Other successes were two new regular clients and my podcast launch. Failures included a client who was really difficult to work with. Another was not keeping up with my business receipts in a timely manner. On the list of challenges I added batching, the idea of doing like work all at once and saving time from switching tasks. I’m still working on doing a better job of batching. Another challenge was taking on projects that are not in my sweet spot. I should have said no. In fact, I’ve dubbed 2020 as the year of saying no, particularly saying “no” to volunteering so much in my industry. I love helping other freelancers build their businesses—that’s why I do this podcast—and I also love helping out in my industries. But I need to be careful what I say “yes” to because it can eat into the time I should be focused on paid work or my personal life. It often leads to me feeling overwhelmed and stressed. So, I’m being really picky about this year. One thing that has been harder to say “no” to are coffee dates or email requests. I have had some well-intended friends or acquaintances email me and connect me with a connection of theirs. Usually they say something like “my friend wants to become a freelancer. Can you give her some tips?” First, I would prefer the person I know to ask me first, not assume or pass of the person off to me. Second, those types of questions are vague and broad. And third, I don’t have time to help every stranger who wants a personal list of what they should do to become successful. So, I’m still figuring out how best to say “no” to those requests without feeling rude. My retreat wrapped up with me making a list of the healthy work habits I want to implement this year. Then, I made a list of the systems I could create to make those happen. I talk about habits and how you need a system to make them actually stick in last week’s episode, episode 41. At the end of my retreat, I had dinner with my friend and fellow writer Megy Karydes. Megy was a guest on episode 10, and she reminded me how regimented she is in sticking with her systems each day. Megy knows—to the penny—how much she needs to earn each DAY. And, she keeps diligent track of it. I was inspired to try to do better tracking of my income goals. I will likely break down my monthly goals into weekly goals to track. I hope to tie this into time tracking—which Megy is also quite diligent about—because when I do time tracking it helps me stay on task and be more efficient. Plus, I gather important data about how long certain types of projects take so that I know how to charge for them. Biz Bite: Create an end-of-the-day routine. The Bookshelf: “The Yellow House” by Sarah M. Broom   Resources: Episode #3 of Deliberate Freelancer: Host a Solo Business Retreat Episode #40 of Deliberate Freelancer: Reflect, Analyze and Plan Now for the New Year Episode #41 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Create and Stick to Habits—the Backbone of Your Life and Business Episode #19 of Deliberate Freelancer: Visualize Your Perfect Work Day—Then Create It Episode #10 of Deliberate Freelancer: Think Like a Marketer to Grow Your Business, with Megy Karydes

On today’s show I am going to go through several tips and tools for creating and sticking to new habits, as outlined and inspired by James Clear’s book “Atomic Habits.” But first, please consider donating $5–10 to a fellow freelancer, Cat DiStasio, who is recovering from a severe stroke that happened right before Christmas 2019. Cat was my guest on episode 30 about how a virtual assistant (VA) can help your business. She is a former VA and now focuses on writing and project management. Cat is a single parent and the sole income earner for her and her child. Unfortunately, in the U.S., we don’t have a safety net system when things like this happen to people. We have to rely on our community and the goodwill of others. Under Resources below, you will find the link to a GoFundMe account set up by fellow freelance writer Jennifer Goforth Gregory. As a fellow freelancer, I’m sure you understand the fear of what would happen if you got sick or injured and couldn’t work—especially if you are the sole or primary income earner for yourself or your family. So, please consider donating whatever you can. On the last episode, the Biz Bite I recommended was to pick a word of the year. I love this process because it allows me to focus on what I want to accomplish or improve in the coming year. For 2020, I have two words: Explore + Act. Now, on to habit creation … I believe habits are the backbones of our lives—and they can be the backbones of your freelance business too. Building a system of habits doesn’t mean you have to have this impossible, rigid structure throughout your day. It doesn’t mean you’re going to become a robot. You can still have spontaneity. You can have unstructured time in your days. But when you truly embrace a new habit, it becomes old hat. You don’t even think about it anymore. It can be something you look forward to. A habit takes away the mental energy and anxiety and stress of thinking about what you should be doing next and the process and steps it takes. Clear says something that I absolutely love and agree with: “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” How many times do we set a goal for ourselves or for our businesses and then don’t really put a system in place to achieve that goal? This is one of the reasons New Year’s resolutions fail so miserably. What system have you put in place to achieve a goal? It’s not about willpower. It’s not even about reminding yourself of this goal. You need a system—you need a series of steps that will make this a habit. Clear also says: “Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.” This means you will not notice an improvement the first time you start a new habit; you may not even see improvements week after week. Transformation takes time. Clear believes we should aim to improve by just 1 percent each day. That doesn’t seem like much. But it definitely adds up. For me, I’m trying to meditate every work day, anywhere from 5–15 minutes. I don’t really notice a difference right now. I feel the same. It feels like this weird chore I’m doing, maybe even a waste of time. But if I meditate day after day, there will be a cumulative effect that I will eventually realize. The goal of meditation is not just to meditate. For me, it’s to build a healthy habit so that eventually meditation will help reduce any anxiety I am feeling and will calm down my racing mind before a busy, hectic day. Meditation will be the thing I know I can turn to when I’m feeling overwhelmed and need to take a quiet moment to calm myself, slow my breathing. That is my goal. But I need a system to make sure I stick with the habit. So, I have a Post-It note on my laptop that says “Meditate.” That is my cue each morning. And I’ve paired meditation with my tea. So, after I fix my tea, I take a lovely sip and then set it aside while I do my meditation, returning to my tea treat after I meditate. I also use a meditation app. In my case, I use the Breathe app. And it tallies my meditation streak—I want to keep my streak going. Plus, it gives me little badges for meditation milestones. One of the concrete things Clear provides in his book are the four simple steps to building better habits: Cue Craving Response Reward The cue is what triggers your brain to start a behavior. The cravings are what motivate you to do the habit. There has to be some sort of desire for you to do the thing or you won’t do it. The response is the actual habit. And the reward is what you get out of it. To put that into action for your freelance business, think of a good habit you want to implement. Let’s say you want to be at your desk, ready to work, at 8 a.m. every day. To implement any habit, Clear takes his idea of cue, craving, response and reward and creates a practical way to implement it. He calls this the Four Laws of Behavior Change. They are: Make it obvious. Make it attractive. Make it easy. Make it satisfying. For every habit ask yourself how you can make it obvious, attractive, easy or satisfying. If you’re working on breaking a bad habit, you just inverse this: Make the habit not obvious, unattractive, difficult and unsatisfying. I also highly recommend checking out Gretchen Rubin’s work on this. Her book “Better than Before” is all about habit change, and she gives dozens of ways you can create and stick with habits. So, for example, let’s take “obvious” and “easy” together. If you want to be at your desk at 8 a.m. every day, you need a system that makes that obvious for you each morning. First, you need to decide what time you need to get up to be at your desk by 8 a.m. What time do you need to wake up to be ready? What time, then, do you need to go to bed to get up at that time? Maybe you need to set a bedtime alarm to remind yourself to go to bed. Another way to make a habit obvious is to design your environment. One habit I’m working on is to eat apples as snacks, instead of reaching for chocolate. So, instead of having candy out and within my eyesight, I placed a bowl of apples on our coffee table. That’s the first food option I see when I’m thinking about snacking at night. I designed my environment to support my habit. On the Happier podcast, Rubin and her sister, Elizabeth Craft, talk about the idea of reframing. Two ways to do this that I like is: Ask yourself what kind of person you want to be. Put a positive spin on a habit by saying you “get” to do something, not that you “have” to do something. (“I get to go to the gym. I get to eat healthy food.”) Think also about how you can make your habit irresistible or attractive. I like to use the strategies of pairing and rewards. What would be a healthy treat for you each morning? How could you pair that with your morning routine or your 8 a.m. start? One thing I do for exercise is I pair walking with listening to a podcast. I scroll through the latest podcast episodes each morning and listen to something while I get ready for my day. But, if I’m supposed to work out that day, I save the episode I really want to listen to and only allow myself to listen to it when I go for my walk. It’s a treat that I look forward to. Clear’s last rule of habit change is to make it satisfying. He gives an example of a couple who wanted to stop eating out so much. They created an online savings account and named it “Trip to Europe.” Every time they wanted to go out to eat but didn’t, they transferred $50 into that account. As you think about the habits you want to create, don’t just think about what habits you think would be good for you: more exercise, healthier eating, more sleep. Ask yourself the bigger questions: Who do you want to be? What do you want your freelance business to look like? What do you want to accomplish this year? What major lifestyle changes do you want to implement? What bad habits have gone on way too long in your life that you’re sick of and you want to change? Scan through your day and week and analyze how you spend your time. What is good about that and what could be improved? What is missing from your life? What do you want more of? Then, break down those aspirations into habit goals. From there, use the tools offered by people like Clear and Rubin to build the systems into your life and your business that will allow you to meet those goals.   Biz Bite: Set your non-negotiables   The Bookshelf: “Final Girls” by Riley Sager`   Resources: GoFundMe: Help Cat DiStasio Pay Bills After a Stroke Episode #30 of Deliberate Freelancer: How a Virtual Assistant Can Help Your Business, with Cat DiStasio Episode #40 of Deliberate Freelancer: Reflect, Analyze and Plan Now for the New Year “Atomic Habits” by James Clear—book, blog and website “Better than Before” by Gretchen Rubin—book, videos and blog Happier podcast

Where do you want to go in the new year (metaphorically)? On today’s show, we’re going to set you up right for the new year. I’m going to talk about how you can reflect back on the past year, analyze the good and the bad, and then plan for next year. The end of the year is the perfect time to think about the big questions surrounding your freelance business. What does success and growth look like to you? To me, growing my business means continuing to earn more money in less time, so I can have a personal life, pursue new interests outside of work and travel a lot. This is the perfect time to schedule a solo business retreat—a time of reflection, analysis and evaluation of the INSIDE of your business. It’s a time to step away from client work and the busyness of our lives. First up, you need to look back to look forward. Evaluate your freelance business in 2019. What were five successes you had or five things you really loved about your work this year? Write them down. Next, write down five things you disliked or hated or that were frustrating this past year. Even areas where you thought you failed spectacularly. Write them down. Now, begin to evaluate those lists. What areas do you love that you want to double-down on? What areas do you hate that you want to avoid getting into next year? Are there things you want to accomplish or achieve, but you’ve just felt stuck? How can you get unstuck from projects? Were there red flags with clients that got you involved in a project that is now frustrating you in some way? Are there clients that just get you down? Do you get emails from certain people and immediately want to run and hide? Maybe it’s time to fire some clients and/or look how to replace that income. Now, do a mini performance evaluation of yourself. What do you personally need to improve upon, what areas do you struggle with, what are you not great at? This is where you can think of the things in your business that you can delegate, automate and terminate. Some things you can delegate to others; some things you can automate through apps and services; and some things you can just terminate from your business. When it comes to delegation, hiring a virtual assistant (VA) might be a good option. Another thing you might want to think about for next year is defining or redefining your value proposition. Your value proposition is WHY someone should hire you. What do you offer that no one else can? What sets you apart? A few years ago, I created an ultimate goal that defines me for the year. My goal states: To be a respected, go-to writer-and editor in the association industry. I printed out that goal, which is hanging near my desk. That sign reminds me constantly that everything I do needs to go back to that goal—unless I have a good reason that a project or client doesn’t meet that goal. This process really helps me from straying too far from what I want to do with my business. So, what would be your big goal that everything goes back to? What are you trying to do with your business? Who do you want to reach? What projects do you want to focus on? See if you can put that in one sentence that encompasses most of what you want to strive to do with your business. Lightning-round questions you could also consider during your solo business retreat: If money were no object, but you still had a freelance business, what would you be doing? What are your non-negotiables? What do you want to stop doing in 2020? What marketing tool or event would you like to invest in? What is your big financial goal next year? Be bold! What is a dream client or project? Quotes about Failure: Bill Gates: “It’s fine to celebrate success, but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.” Biz Bite: Pick a word of the year The Bookshelf: “Station Eleven” by Emily St. John Mandel   Resources: Paul Jarvis’ idea of the Company of One (book, podcast) Episode #3 of Deliberate Freelancer: Host a Solo Business Retreat Episode #36 of Deliberate Freelancer: Spotting Red Flags and Scope Creep Episode #39 of Deliberate Freelancer: Raise Your Rates—Without Emotion Episode #30 of Deliberate Freelancer: How a Virtual Assistant Can Help Your Business, with Cat DiStasio Episode #26 of Deliberate Freelancer: Delegate, Automate and Terminate to Improve Your Business

Today’s episode focuses on how to raise your rates. Raising your rates is not about if you should raise them, but when and how. On episode 28 of Deliberate Freelancer, my guest Pam Capalad talked about the need to take the emotion out of raising your rates. I thought that was so smart—and easier said than done. Pam recognized that a lot of issues tend to pop up when we talk about raising our rates: imposter syndrome, fear of rejection, wanting to be liked. All of that is emotion. I wish I could help you instantly channel the confidence of a successful businessman who was born into privilege and never questions how much he charges his customers. But I can’t, so let’s talk about how to raise rates for your freelance business. Start by eliminating your hourly rate. Start charging by the project. If you work fast, you are penalized for charging an hourly rate. And, an hourly rate doesn’t recognize the value you’re bringing to a project. Instead, create a secret hourly rate. Aim to earn way more than your secret hourly rate. This is where project rates shine. Don’t underestimate that nagging, resentful, frustrated feeling. Don’t agree to rates that you don’t feel good about! Take a beat every time you come up with a rate—right before you send the proposal off—and gauge your feelings on it. This is where it’s OK for emotion to come into play. And if the potential client comes back to your proposal with a counter-offer, take another pause and make sure you are comfortable with the lower rate they are suggesting. All clients are not created equal. One mistake a lot of freelancers make in the beginning is having one rate for everyone. Don’t. You may have rates that are higher for corporations that have more money than what you charge a small nonprofit in your community. You may charge more for more technical projects or projects that are a pain in the butt or have challenging clients. There are a million reasons you might charge differently. Look at each client and each project on a case-by-case basis. Raise your rates for all new clients. Create project rates based on your new secret hourly rate for all new clients. Raise your rates for existing clients. Start by making a list of all your clients and how much you charge them. Go down the list—treating each client differently—and ask yourself how much you could raise the rate. Once you decide on the new rates, you need to email your clients and inform them of the new rates. Don’t ASK them if the new rate is OK. TELL them what your new rate is. Track your time on specific projects. Time-tracking specific types of projects you do often will give you a sense of how much time certain types of projects will take you. You might be surprised to learn you are underestimating or overestimating how long a project takes. Be sure to include your research, all that emailing back and forth, any phone conversations. It all adds up.   Biz Bite: Stop talking. The Bookshelf: “Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries” by Kory Stamper   Resources: Episode #28 of Deliberate Freelancer: Take Charge of Your Finances, with Pamela Capalad Episode #22 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Create a Better Work-Life Balance, with Laura Poole Episode #28 of Deliberate Freelancer: Spotting Red Flags and Scope Creep Toggl time-tracking app

On today’s show, I’m going to take you through my nutrition journey and how I’ve learned to eat healthier over the past few years, which is invaluable to me as a freelance business owner. As freelancers, in particular, we need to focus on our health. Often, we sit at home all day behind a computer. Many of us are not getting enough exercise—we’re not even getting up enough throughout the day to stand, walk or stretch. And food temptations are just a room or two away. As freelancers, if we don’t work, we don’t make money. If you’re eating foods that make you feel sluggish, or you’re dehydrated and tired, or you’re hopped up on too much caffeine, you’re not going to do your best work. Your brain might not be as sharp that day, or you’re just tired and want a nap. As an employee, you can feel this way and either push through or just suffer through the day—but you get paid either way. Not so as a freelancer. You need to be on your game and doing your best work. This episode is not about weight, even though I do want to lose a few pounds. I’m trying really hard to focus on the health aspects in my own life, which does include not gaining any more weight. First up: water. I have finally embraced how magnificent water is. Of course, I knew this intellectually. But I never drank it. Instead, throughout my 20s, I would drink 3–6 cans of Mountain Dew every day. In my 30s, I switched to Diet Mountain Dew to get away from the calories, but now I was consuming the aspartame sweetener also. I tried to give up caffeine several times and finally succeeded in giving it up cold turkey in 2009. To do that, I started on a Thursday so I could suffer my caffeine withdrawals mostly over the weekend. However, for several years, I just replaced my Diet Mountain Dew with Sprite or Sierra Mist or root beer. I did start drinking caffeinated tea a few years ago, but I make sure not to get addicted. In fact, this year I switched to drinking mostly rooibos tea, which is delicious and doesn’t have caffeine. Then, just a couple of years ago I finally gave up Sprite and all soda in favor of water. But I needed help to do so. I’m a former newspaper reporter and a very curious person. I’m also a “questioner,” according to Gretchen Rubin’s book “The Four Tendencies.” Gretchen divides people into four categories based on how we respond to expectations and make decisions in our life. A questioner tends to meet inner expectations when we set our mind to something—like when I finally decided to quit caffeine cold turkey—but we tend to resist outer expectations if there’s no reason we can believe in. The catch is that I will meet outer societal expectations if I respect the rule, the person or the process. With that in mind, I decided to hire a nutritionist at Third Space Wellness here in Silver Spring, Maryland, a few years ago, to help me out on my journey. I worked with my nutritionist, Susie, for a couple of months. She presented me with facts about food, and she worked to help me develop new healthy habits into my life. Our first step: getting rid of Sprite. And drinking water. Susie helped me realize that to drink more water I needed to have it with me all the time. So I bought an insulated water bottle and began by drinking 8–16 oz. of water every day and worked my way up to more. Another tip from Susie: Fill up your water bottle at night and put it on your nightstand. We all start out our mornings already dehydrated, so drinking 8–16 oz. of water each morning starts us off on the right path. Susie also helped me find healthier snacks. She encouraged me to take a fun field trip to local markets new to me and scour the shelves for healthier alternatives. I headed to Mom’s Organic Market, where Susie recommended I try Hope’s spicy avocado hummus. I now eat it with Jovial organic einkorn sourdough crackers. I also eat more fruit and am trying out Medjool dates, which are a sweet, soft and chewy fruit. My dad is an avid cyclist. He has been tall and thin and in great shape all of his adult life. However, his cholesterol was sky-high, no matter how much he exercised. So, last year, my dad adopted a whole-food, plant-based lifestyle, which is essentially vegan—except he’s doing it solely for health reasons. Dad heard about the whole-food, plant-based lifestyle from his cycling friend Ian Cramer, an allied health care professional with degrees in kinesiology and athletic training. Ian has a podcast called the Ian Cramer Podcast, where he interviews doctors and scholars of lifestyle medicine and plant-based nutrition. My dad had long conversations with Ian about this new lifestyle and decided to try it. He’s lucky that my mom loves to cook and was willing to switch over all of her cooking for both of them to vegan meals. They had fun looking for and trying out new recipes together. Dad ate Brussels sprouts for the first time, discovering he loved them. He bought a Ninja blender to make smoothies with almond milk and fruit. After six months or so, he dropped 20 pounds—he’s leaner and even healthier looking now. And his bad cholesterol level dropped 62 points! He has kept track of his bike rides for years, and after changing his diet, his cycling app showed him riding faster up hills and riding more miles overall. I was inspired. So, August 11, 2018, was the last time I ate meat. I don’t miss it, and it was easy for me to give it up, which was a huge surprise. However, I still eat fish and seafood, which I love, though I’ve definitely cut back and usually only eat it in restaurants, not at home. The other thing I gave up was dairy—mostly. I love cheese, but, again, I cut way back. I don’t have it in the house and usually only eat it when I go out to eat, as a treat. If it’s just a topping, I often ask for the cheese to be left off. But I gave up milk, yogurt, butter, ice cream, plus eggs. I consider myself about 80% whole-food, plant-based. On most days, I’m fully living a whole-food, plant-based lifestyle. Other days, I’m vegetarian, and some days I’m pescatarian—eating fish that day. But it’s a journey. So, what do I eat? I usually start off my day with oatmeal: Nature’s Path’s Blueberry Cinnamon Flax instant oatmeal. I add chia seeds, flax seeds, cinnamon and fresh blueberries and strawberries. On days when I’m in a hurry, I eat KIND blueberry almond breakfast bars. I’ve been trying to eat more beans for fiber and protein. I eat a lot of vegetables—I love mushrooms. I love to cook, but I also aim for convenience, so rice bowls with jasmine rice are an easy meal. I also like tacos and fajitas and trying new Indian and Asian recipes. If you like sandwiches, you can make meatless sandwiches that are filling and tasty. I use a vegan mayo or hummus for the spread and then fill the sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes and avocado. I especially love buying unique types of tomatoes at the farmers market when they’re in season and trying all those different flavors. My next step in my nutrition journey is to cut back on sugar. This will probably be the hardest food-related action I’ve ever taken. I think I’m more addicted to sugar than I ever was to caffeine. I’m not quite ready to say I’m cutting out sugar completely though. I’ll be testing myself this holiday season to cut back on sugar, to sometimes refuse the cookies or cakes, pies or candy. Biz Bite: Use an app to remind you to drink more water. Some apps to choose from: My Water Balance; Drink Water Reminder; Daily Water; Waterlogged   The Bookshelf: “Ask Again, Yes” by Mary Beth Keane   Resources: “The Four Tendencies” by Gretchen Rubin Third Space Wellness in Silver Spring, Maryland Ian Cramer Podcast Melanie’s dad’s blog post: “1000s of miles of cycling couldn’t save me from a poor diet” Learn more about whole-food, plant-based living at Forks Over Knives.   Churchill’s Fine Teas in Cincinnati Mom’s Organic Market Hope spicy avocado hummus Jovial einkorn sourdough crackers Nature’s Path Blueberry Cinnamon Flax instant oatmeal KIND blueberry almond breakfast bars   Forks Over Knives vegan Thanksgiving recipes Creamy avocado basil pesto spaghetti Maple-glazed cooked carrots Vegan Chickpea Cauliflower Tots Tot sauce: mix equal parts vegan mayo and honey together; add Dijon mustard to taste.   Linguine with sautéed asparagus (1 bunch, cut in small pieces) and cremini mushrooms (8–12 ounces): Sauté the vegetables together and add one-fourth cup of white cooking wine and two tablespoons of lemon juice and stir. Add one-fourth teaspoon of red pepper flakes, more if you like heat. Mix sauce with cooked linguine in a large serving bowl.

Today’s episode is a little different. I have invited a guest on to explain a dangerous new law in California called AB5 that all freelancers need to know about. It threatens the very existence of freelancing. Even if you don’t live in California, you need to know about this law because other states are following suit. In fact, after I recorded this episode, I learned that New Jersey Democrats are enthusiastically supporting a bill based on California’s bill. New York state is also working on a similar law, and every Democratic presidential candidate is said to support this type of law because they see it as pro labor. So what is this and why should we worry? Assembly Bill 5—or AB5—takes effect in California on January 1. My guest in this episode, Randy Dotinga, a fellow freelance writer, explains the law and its ramifications to us. Randy is the former president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) and has been a full-time freelance writer for 20 years. He lives in California and continues to advocate against this law to state lawmakers. AB5 includes a three-pronged test that says California residents who are paid for their labor or services should be employees unless the companies paying them prove individuals meet the following three things: They must be free from the company’s control They must perform tasks outside the company’s main business They must operate a truly independent business It’s that second prong that will be particularly harmful to freelancers. As a writer working for a news site, newspaper or magazine, I am NOT performing tasks outside their main business. Therefore, I don’t meet that criteria and might have to be hired as an employee. One good note for freelance writers and photographers is that they were able to get included in the law a cap, which states that freelance writers and photographers can work as a freelancer for one company for up to 35 submissions of content per year. But after 35 submissions, they should be employees. As Randy says: “It’s like [the AB5 bill author] saved our lives, but it’s like she made us cut off a limb. I don’t know how grateful we should be about that.” And the law is not that simple. In fact, there are a lot of exemptions for certain industries. For some reason, grant writers, marketing professionals and graphic designers were awarded exemptions. Those freelancers who weren’t so lucky and were not exempt include writers, photographers, editors, audio editors, videographers, transcriptionists, translators, court reporters, truck drivers and on and on.   What you’ll hear in this episode from Randy: Companies outside California have already stopped hiring California freelancers. It’s the company’s responsibility to make sure freelancers meet the criteria to NOT be considered employees. It’s complicated and cumbersome, so companies are just looking elsewhere—they can easily hire freelancers in other states that don’t potentially jeopardize their company. Alternative newspapers and websites run by underrepresented communities rely on freelancers and cannot afford to hire writers as employees. In one example, a taxi driver who writes a weekly column about driving a cab for the local alternative newspaper will no longer be able to write that column. Randy says they’ve heard from people with disabilities who say freelancing allows them to have a flexible schedule, something being an employee doesn’t often provide. The law does have a business-to-business exemption. But there is a long list of criteria an individual has to meet to be considered a small business. Creating an LLC doesn’t seem to protect people because the law covers any independent contractor. However, creating an LLC may help convince your clients that you are a small business and make them feel more comfortable about hiring you. New York and other states—particularly Democrat-run states—support this type of law. Just this week, New Jersey announced a bill similar to California’s. Randy is working with ASJA and other groups to try to get the law changed. But they’re up against strong unions and other pro-labor groups. There’s a private Facebook group of mostly California writers organizing against this law. Search for Randy on Facebook and ask him for an invite. There are about 700 members now.   Resources: The full text of AB5   Friend Randy on Facebook and ask to be invited to the Facebook group of California freelancers organizing against this law. Even if you’re not in California, the group can help you get educated on this issue and how to fight it. Randy Dotinga on Twitter American Society of Journalists and Authors American Society of Journalists and Authors on Twitter Associated Press: “Truckers File 1st Lawsuit Against California Gig Economy Law” Washington Examiner: “Proposed New Jersey Legislation Threatens Independent Contractors” New York Law Journal: “Generation Gig: Can New York State Learn From California’s Legislation?” Dame magazine: “Will This California Law End Freelance Work?” The Hollywood Reporter: “‘Everybody Is Freaking Out’: Freelance Writers Scramble to Make Sense of New California Law” Los Angeles Times column: “Freelancers Fear California’s New Gig Worker Law Will Wipe Them Out”  

On today’s show I am going to outline several red flags to look out for when you’re a freelance business owner. I’m sure many of you have learned some of these the hard way. I know I have. But it’s important to recognize when they happen and keep a mental list of what to watch out for. In some “red flag” cases, you can find a work-around and figure out a solution that works for you. In other cases, you need to run screaming in the other direction. Red flag #1: Not respecting your rate or low-balling you. Red flag #2: Wanting to jump on the phone too quickly. Red flag #3: An amorphous deadline. Or no deadline. Red flag #4: A client who doesn’t know what they want. Red flag #5: The dreaded phrase from a potential client “let’s see how it goes.” Red flag #6: Scope creep. Red flag #7: Not respecting your boundaries. Red flag #8: A potential client’s personality that doesn’t mesh with yours.   Biz Bite: Calendly The Bookshelf: “Molly” by Colin Butcher   Resources: Episode #4 of Deliberate Freelancer: Work Only with Nice Clients, with Jennifer Goforth Gregory Episode #34 of Deliberate Freelancer: Recognize and Relieve Burnout with a Refill Plan, with Latisha Carr Boomerang email scheduling tool

Today’s guest is Jonathan Small, an award-winning journalist and editor based in Los Angeles. He is the host of the podcast Write About Now, where he interviews successful writers about their journeys and what they’ve learned along the way. He is also the founder of Write About Now Media, a creative consultancy group specializing in non-fiction writing, editing and podcast production. He is also editor-in-chief of Green Entrepreneur, which is a new website and print magazine about the cannabis industry that is published by the editors of Entrepreneur magazine. Jonathan has had an interesting career, moving from editing major magazines in New York, including Stuff, Glamour and Fitness. Then, he moved to LA and got into film and video and later was the vice president of content for the Game Show Network and later the chief creative officer at DanceOn, a YouTube-funded dance and pop culture channel co-owned by Madonna. Jonathan likes being his own boss and believes freelancers need to be self-starters and know how to organize their days. You also have to know when to give yourself a break and take time off of work. Jonathan aims to structure his day each morning by saying things such as “I’m going to give myself three hours to work on this project today.” However, things pop up that are out of his control, so he needs to be flexible too. When he needs to do deep work, he shuts down his email and internet tabs so he can focus. He also likes the advice to designate only a few times a day to look at your email inbox, instead of constantly looking at it all day long. He hasn’t embraced that approach yet, but he does try to flag important emails to get back to them later in the afternoon. Having steady gigs, not pitching, is better for a sustainable freelance business. For a long time, Jonathan wrote the Ask Him Anything column for Cosmo magazine. Now as a magazine editor he is seeing freelancers who are difficult to work with. Yeah, don’t be that guy. You can’t sustain your business by being difficult. Jonathan’s freelancer maxim: Under-promise, over-deliver. You can advocate for yourself and ask for more money, but when the answer is no, you have to take it or leave it. Complaining about it only means that that editor is not going to hire you again and will not refer you to others. Around 2000–2001 Jonathan was getting burnt out on magazines, so he pivoted and moved from New York City to LA to work with a friend who was starting a business in the film industry. He pivoted a few more times, to digital publishing, then video production and branded content. It was helpful for Jonathan to learn new skills and be able to course-correct at various times in his career. Turned out that podcasting has been his favorite part of his career. It’s hard to make a living solely pitching as a journalist nowadays. We’re no longer able to routinely earn $2/word at print magazines. On the flip side, there are a lot more avenues open to freelance writers, like podcasting, content marketing and creating blogs. Jonathan believes it’s important to establish your brand. Jonathan started his Write About Now podcast through a digital marketing class assignment. The podcast has morphed into a show where he interviews successful journalists and writers about their careers and what they learned along the way. Podcasting combined everything he loves into one thing: interviewing people, creating audio, hosting, telling stories. Most of his listeners are aspiring writers, but about 30% of his audience are non-writers who just like hearing good stories. On a recent episode, Mignon Fogarty, aka Grammar Girl, dove into grammar with him. That episode includes fun conversations about how Webster wrote his dictionary and the history of the semicolon.   Biz Bite: Run Your Content Through Grammarly   Resources: Write About Now website and podcast Green Entrepreneur magazine Jonathan on Twitter Write About Now podcast on Instagram Grammar Girl podcast episode Jonathan on Grammar Girl’s podcast