Deliberate Freelancer

Today’s guest is Eva Stabenow, a Pilates teacher and movement coach who helps freelance writers, translators and other desk workers heal their bodies through movement while continuing to pursue the work they love.  In the early 2010s, after a successful career as a German medical translator, Eva began to suffer from severe shoulder and wrist pain caused by long hours at her desk. After years of searching, Eva finally found lasting relief through corrective Pilates. This inspired her to seek comprehensive training and help other writers find the same lasting relief and enjoy the lifelong health benefits of a tailored Pilates practice. Today, in addition to empowering others to take charge of their health through movement, Eva works primarily as a health writer specializing in plain-language patient education. I invited Eva on the show to talk about how Pilates — but also just movement and stretching and strength training is important for our bodies, especially for those of who sit for long periods of time. I don’t think our human bodies were meant to sit in chairs all day, and human evolution hasn’t caught up to the modern world.  Eva shares with us a few things we can do throughout the day and in our lives, in general, to make our desk work less painful and better for our bodies and posture.  In this episode, Eva talks about: What Pilates is How Pilates helped Eva realign her body and relieve pain What happens to our body alignment when we sit too long (forward head posture, back roundness, low back pain, tight hip flexors) Why it’s important to strengthen your upper back muscles and move more throughout the day Stretching alone isn’t usually enough to prevent pain. You need to work to strengthen certain muscles too.  We also need to focus on strengthening our feet and ankles.  Think of your body as a “walking building” with a strong foundation that moves.  The importance of incorporating movement throughout your day—move in all planes of motion.  The various types of Pilates and how to do it at home versus taking a group or private class Standing desks, treadmill desks and other “solutions” to modern desk work Pilates moves to do at your desk: Mermaid stretch, Pilates roll down How Pilates helps with mental health also Setting timers or booking classes or friend meetups to remind yourself to get up and move How to build movement and exercise into habits How to find a good Pilates studio and teacher   Biz Bite: Make yourself and your physical health a priority.  Resources: Eva’s website: Sunroom Pilates Eva on LinkedIn Eva’s Sunroom Pilates on Instagram Eva’s Sunroom Pilates on Facebook Physical therapist Melanie follows on Instagram and video of hip flexor strengthening exercise Join the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group.  Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee.

Today’s episode features several guests who all have an interest in ChatGPT and generative artificial intelligence (AI). Their varying backgrounds and experiences in tech, writing and editing provide unique insights into the potential and risks of generative AI such as ChatGPT.   ChatGPT has risks and opportunities. Most of us are hearing how ChatGPT plagiarizes, how we can’t fact-check what the sources are, and how formulaic and repetitive the writing is. But we also have to remember this is the first iteration of this program, and it—or others like it—will continue to improve. I don’t think it’s going away.  We have to use ChatGPT with a lot of caution, but it does have benefits for freelancers right now, including helping you brainstorm and generate article and project ideas, do some research (as long as you fact-check it), and even write headlines.  In today’s episode, my guests provide their unique insight into what all this means for freelancers. My guests are:  Tori Liu, president and CEO of the Association for Intelligent Information Management Ernie Smith, a writer for Manifest content marketing agency and a technology nerd Michelle Rafter, a longtime freelance writer and former business reporter Adrienne Montgomerie, a longtime freelance editor who teaches editing at Canadian universities Ben Pines, director of content for AI21 Labs, which has developed its own generative AI tool called WordTune. Resources: The Washington Post article that mentions that ChatGPT makes up information when it doesn’t know the answer (type “Vincent” to go right to that section): “We asked ChatGPT to plan the perfect tour of D.C. Here’s how it went.” Tori’s blog post: “Unpacking ChatGPT for the Information Management Industry” Ernie’s article in Vice: “Are Google and Bing’s Chat AI Going to Change Search Forever?” Adrienne’s series Editor Vs. AI Michelle’s LinkedIn posts AI21Labs’ WordTune Futurism article: “CNET’s AI Journalist Appears to Have Committed Extensive Plagiarism” The New York Times: “A Conversation With Bing’s Chatbot Left Me Deeply Unsettled” The Associated Press (AP) has been using AI since 2014! “Unlocking the power of AI: 6 lessons from AP for publishers” American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) virtual conference June 13-15 Join the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group.  Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee.

Today’s guest is Michelle Jackson of Denver, Colorado. Michelle is a freelance content creator. She has been blogging, writing and talking about personal finance for the past decade—although she will tell us in today’s episode how she’s pivoting her business away from that.  But, I’ve been following Michelle on Twitter for a while and learning from what she has to say about earning and managing money as a freelancer. So, I invited her to come on the show to talk about how we can prepare ourselves for uncertain times. Many people are nervous right now about the economy, inflation and clients cutting back on work, so I hope this conversation will help you brainstorm potential new ventures ways to diversify your income.  Michelle’s website, The Brand Building Lab is where, in her own words, she gets to “geek out about all things online entrepreneurship while uplifting voices of color and allies who are doing the work … but may not get on center stage for whatever reason.” In this episode, Michelle talks about: Navigating uncertainty in the economy How freelancers underestimate the number of clients they need to sustain their business Why you always need systems to be bringing in new clients Relying too much on one client for your income Asking yourself: Who has the power in your business?  The importance of setting boundaries Understand how your clients make money and what the value is of your work versus what they are paying you Be intentional about the work you’re doing Why and how to diversify your income How to scale your expertise “Passive income isn’t passive until it’s passive”—it takes a long time to build up Getting comfortable with taking measured risks Apply for grants to support a project you want to pursue  Biz Bites: Be clear about your priorities each quarter; batch work; diversify your income; prioritize you.  Resources: Michelle’s website: BrandBuildinglab.com Michelle on Twitter Podcasters Getting Paid newsletter Michelle Is Money Hungry podcast Kaitlyn Arford’s freelance opportunities newsletter Grants for Creators Join the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group.  Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee.

Today’s guest is Miranda Marquit. She lives in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Miranda has been writing and podcasting about money on a freelance basis since 2006. Her work has appeared in various media, including CNBC, NPR, Forbes, and TIME.  She has a background in journalism and enjoys telling stories about finances and creating your own financial journey. Miranda has created a successful six-figure freelance career and recently released the second edition of her book about freelancing, “Confessions of a Professional Blogger.” She also developed a freelance writing course with two other successful freelancers, available on Gumroad.  Another freelancer recommended Miranda for the show and when I was doing a bit of research, I came across this blog post she had written about creating your own benefits package as a freelancer — things like health insurance, retirement and paid time off.  I liked how she framed that as a “benefits package.” I think that framing can help us start to plan for these types of things and put them all together into one package, not just randomly think about retirement and take vacations whenever.  As a financial writer, Miranda is also quite knowledgeable about these areas, and in this episode, she dives into the details of various benefits.  In this episode, Miranda talks about: When she began thinking of her freelancing as a business.  Why you should create your own benefits package as a solo business owner.  How to start to create a benefits package: look at your income and list the most important benefits you need to cover right now. You might not be able to have a full benefits package right now, but start to build one.  Start with health insurance (in the U.S. in particular).  Consider using a health savings account (HSA) — which provides a triple tax savings. Also consider: short-term and long-term disability. Disability coverage can be expensive, but see if your bank has any available plans or build your own “disability fund” or “emergency fund” as a savings account.  Why you need life insurance.  Know ahead of time what community resources are available if you need help.  Make retirement planning a priority and start now if you haven’t already. Even putting away $10 a week can add up.  Retirement options: Roth IRA (pay taxes now, no taxes when you withdraw the money) IRA and SEP IRA (deposit money now pre-tax, pay taxes when you withdraw money in retirement) Plan ahead for child care needs. Include vacation days in your benefits package (plan annually and in each quarter).   Build in deadline buffers, which can be helpful when you need to take a sick day.  Building good relationships with clients and always hitting deadlines makes it easier to ask for deadline extensions when you’re having an emergency.  Biz Bite: Outsource tasks Resources: Join the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group.  Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee. Miranda’s website Miranda on Twitter Miranda on Instagram Miranda’s book “Confessions of a Professional Blogger: How I make money as an online writer” Miranda’s courses for freelancers  Freelancers Union health plans Fidelity article: What is an HSA, and how does it work? Lively (company for HSAs) HealthEquity (company for HSAs) Forbes article: 5 Big Changes To Roth Accounts In Secure Act 2.0 Betterment online investing company Can You Claim the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit?

I finally have had a moment to reflect on last year and look at my numbers. I reflect briefly, taking a qualitative look back, but this is mostly a quantitative look.  Here’s what I share with you in this episode: My 2023 income goal (big and audacious!) My 2023 word of the year  A reflection on how 2022 was for me My Q4 recap, including an analysis of income and time tracking My 2022 total income  My weekly average number of hours worked last year The number of weeks of vacation I took (and one sick week) My number of clients and a reflection on “regular” clients vs. one-offs and anchor clients Why I fired one “good” client Six lessons learned—or gentle reminders I needed—from last year that might be helpful to you also Biz Bite: Overestimate your time for deep work The Bookshelf: “The Light Pirate” by Lily Brooks-Dalton Resources: Join the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group.  Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee. Episode #152 of Deliberate Freelancer: How Mary Tindall Began to Earn $200,000 a Year as a Freelancer Episode #127 of Deliberate Freelancer: Embrace LinkedIn to Improve Your Business, with Atlas Katari Episode #147 of Deliberate Freelancer: My Q3 Audit—Grief, Brain Fog and Better Times Ahead Episode #139 of Deliberate Freelancer: A Solo Biz Retreat After a Struggling Summer Episode #137 of Deliberate Freelancer: I’m Grieving. How Can I Keep My Business Running?

Today’s guest is Mary Tindall. Mary launched Mary Tindall Communications in 2018. She is a content marketer and thought leadership strategist in Orlando, Florida. Mary leads a boutique agency team that specializes in healthcare content marketing, working with leading institutions and innovative startups across the U.S.  Mary became a six-figure freelancer in 2020, which was a goal of hers. Then she grew even more and began to earn $200K in gross revenue on her own. As revenue continued to grow, she hired subcontractors to help with the workload and built a small agency model. In this episode, Mary talks about: The key lessons that led her to earning $200K Her work and family structure How many hours she works Playing the comparison game Why getting confident as an expert on a sales call is so important The importance of following your energy—not mimicking someone else’s schedule Freelancers who are overly flexible or overly rigid What she struggles with  What her daily and weekly schedule looks like How she thinks through pricing projects (Hint: Get on the phone and get super clear on the scope of work) Figuring out her ideal client—what clients make your blood pressure rise versus the ones you love working with How she finds clients, particularly on LinkedIn Biz Bite: Otter.ai transcription services Resources: Institute for Independent Journalists conference Mary Tindal’s program Break Into B2B is a mentorship course for aspiring B2B health care writers. A new cohort will relaunch later this year. Join the waitlist by visiting her LinkedIn profile. Mary’s website Connect with Mary on LinkedIn Email Mary Join the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group.  Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee.

As the year ends, please consider supporting this free podcast at Buy Me a Coffee. Your support is helpful financially, obviously, but it also boosts my spirits and keeps the show going.  Today’s show is my special wrap-up episode where I share my top 10 books of the year. I read 65 books in 2022, as of December 19, and narrowed down my favorite to 10. Eight of the top 10 were published in 2022, while two were published in 2021. Those were two books I didn’t finish in 2021 and purposely scheduled to read early in 2022, and I’m so glad I did.  I also share which book I hated and wanted to throw across the room, a few disappointing books, and a few extras that were great books, even though they didn’t make my top 10. And I end with a few books that I’m looking forward to that will be published in 2023. Join us in the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group where we’ll be talking about our best and worst books of 2022!  I don’t want to spoil where my top 10 books fell in the list, so the following books are ones I recommended during this episode, but you’ll have to tune in to hear the top 10. Also, I didn’t list the books I hated below because I don’t want people to think I’m recommending them.   Nonfiction: Unmasked: My Life-Solving America’s Cold Cases by Paul Holes I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung (memoir) Fiction: Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner The Night Shift by Alex Finlay Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel The Measure by Nikki Erlick How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu Bewilderment by Richard Powers Hell of a Book by Jason Mott Exit West by Mohsin Hamid Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley Flying Solo by Linda Holmes Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix The Dry (first in the Aaron Falk series) by Jane Harper Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane 2023 Books I’m Looking Forward to: How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix, publishes January 17  Exiles by Jane Harper, publishes January 31  I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai, publishes February 21  A Living Remedy by Nicole Chung (memoir), publishes April 4 The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane, publishes May 2 Resources: Chat books (and freelancing!) in the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group.  Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee. Episode #122 of Deliberate Freelancer: My Best Books of 2021 (and Anticipated 2022 Releases) Episode #104 of Deliberate Freelancer: Best Books of 2021 So Far—and New Releases This Fall Episode #87 of Deliberate Freelancer: My Most Anticipated 2021 Books (and Fave 2020 Books) Episode #17 of Deliberate Freelancer: My Favorite Books of the Year So Far (2019)

Podcast news: After much deliberation, I’m changing the schedule of Deliberate Freelancer slightly. We will stick to weekly Thursday episodes, and the episode format will remain the same. However, I will now publish in two big seasons, with breaks in between. So, after December 22, 2022, the podcast will go on hiatus until February. Then, the schedule will resume through May. I will take a summer hiatus, likely June through August, then return for the fall season. I will take another break next year likely similar to this year’s: Christmas through January.  The Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group will remain active during these breaks, so be sure to join us there. And you can also continue to listen to Melanie talk with others about building a successful freelance business on other podcasts she’s been a guest on. You can access those episodes on the Deliberate Freelancer website.  Bookworm alert! Next week’s final episode of the year will be my annual book episode, where I share my favorite books of 2022, disappointing books, books I hated and my most anticipated books coming out in 2023. Tune in December 22!  In today’s episode, I talk about how you can start your own podcast — what you should think about, how much work it entails, how to think about structure and format and some of the technical things you need to know.  Podcasts are still booming! Here are some stats for you:  41% of the U.S. population 12 and older have listened to at least one podcast in the last month. That’s nearly half the country. That actually increased in 2020 and again 2021, during the pandemic — even though people lost their prime podcast commuting time.  In 2020, 24% of the U.S. population said they listen to a podcast every week. In early 2021, that had already increased to 28% — or about 80 million people!  Podcasting has gotten more diverse. What started out as primarily a white boys’ club now has a monthly audience that is 43% non-white. Podcast creators have also become way more diverse.  Podfade: the tendency to start a podcast but quickly stop recording after only a few shows because of the time and effort it takes. The vast majority of shows don’t make it to 20 episodes.  My podcast 3 C’s are consistency, content and clarity.  Consistency: Whether you’re weekly, every other week or monthly, you need to be consistent. Your audience can’t stick with you if you’re putting out episodes on a whim. You need to pick a day and stick to it.  Content: This might sound obvious, but pick a topic you love. Don’t pick a topic based on the market or what you think might be successful. This is a subject you are going to need to talk about a lot so you better like it.  Clarity: Be clear on why you are starting a podcast. It shouldn’t be for the money because very few people make a living solely off podcasting. And it can take a long time to make enough money to have podcasting replace even one good client. So, why do you want to start a podcast? What is its purpose? Who is its audience?  Here are 5 lessons I’ve learned along the way: Lesson #1: Don’t wait.  You have to just get in there and do it or you’ll never start. The beauty of podcasting is you can grow and learn and get better along the way. But you have to dive in.  Set a realistic launch date to hold yourself accountable and then work backward from there to create your to-do list and deadlines.  You’ll need to consider your podcast name, music, podcast logo and a podcast hosting site.  Lesson #2: Get help if you can.  Hire someone to help you launch or to teach you audio editing. Or, hire an audio editing company or freelance editor.  Consider hiring a virtual assistant to help with aspects of your podcast. They can help with scheduling guests, writing show notes, uploading to your website and podcast hosting site, and creating and scheduling your social media promos. You can even hire someone who specializes in podcasting and use them only to help you launch.  Lesson #3: Focus on sound quality.  People will turn off a podcast whose topic is perfect for them if the sound quality is poor. So make sure you invest in a good microphone, headphones and audio editor or learn editing yourself. (Audacity is free easy-to-learn editing online software you can use to record and edit.) Lesson #4: Create a social media strategy for your launch and for each episode. Lesson #5: Embrace your voice. Stop criticizing your voice. You do not have to have radio voice. In fact, it helps if you don’t. Women especially, stop channeling sexism stop saying “I hate the sound of my voice.”  I launched a second podcast, Association Station in June 2022 and used lessons I learned from Deliberate Freelancer to make the process easier.  Association Station is marketing and brand awareness for my client base. It’s an interview show with membership association leaders about content, publications and media. That shows my expertise and expands my network in the association industry, where my clients are.  One lesson is that I made every episode a guest episode. It takes about the same amount of work for me to do a guest episode as it does to script out and create a solo episode. However, it’s a different type of work. I have to research and find guests and schedule and record interviews. But I don’t have to create an episode from scratch on my own, which takes more time and creativity.  I also pared down my show notes. Deliberate Freelancer show notes are often written like blog posts. For Association Station, I just include the guest bio at the top and then list out bullet points of topics or themes we discussed.  Association Station is a seasonal podcast. I knew it wouldn’t be sustainable to do it every week and I wasn’t interested in even doing it every month. So, I created a nine-episode season and launched it right before a membership association conference so I could promote it there. I’m hoping to have a second season sometime in early 2023.  Biz Bite: Notice something delightful every day.  Dr. Laurie Santos The One You Feed podcast “The Book of Delights” by Ross Gay The Bookshelf: “The Book of Unknown Americans” by Cristina Henríquez Resources: Join the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group.  Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee. Check out my second podcast: Association Station Pro Podcast Solutions “So You Want to Start a Podcast” by podcaster Kristen Meinzer Libsyn podcast hosting site Melanie’s microphone: Audio-Technica ATR2100x-USB dynamic microphone

Podcast news: After much deliberation, I’m changing the schedule of Deliberate Freelancer slightly. We will stick to weekly Thursday episodes, and the episode format will remain the same. However, I will now publish in two big seasons, with breaks in between. So, after December 22, 2022, the podcast will go on hiatus until February. Then, the schedule will resume through May. I will take a summer hiatus, likely June through August, then return for the fall season. I will take another break next year likely similar to this year’s: Christmas through January.  The Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group will remain active during these breaks, so be sure to join us there. And you can also continue to listen to Melanie talk with others about building a successful freelance business on other podcasts she’s been a guest on. You can access those episodes on the Deliberate Freelancer website.  Today’s episode walks you through some ways to evaluate your client list to set you up for a strong 2023. This practice is something I do during my regular solo business retreats. It’s one of the many ways I look at the big picture of my business and set goals for myself.  But first, let’s talk about income goals. Do you set income goals? Do you set and track a yearly, quarterly, monthly or weekly income goal? Setting an income goal not only helps you pay the bills, but it helps you track and stay on track financially, can keep you motivated and can push you beyond what you think you might be able to earn. As you take time to evaluate your income for the year, go a bit beyond just the final number. Start with how much you earned and then ask yourself a few questions: 1. Where did the bulk of your money come from? Accounting software can run these reports for you. I think it can be enlightening to do the math and figure out the percentages of how much income came from specific clients and then how much came from specific services.  2. Did you enjoy your work this past year? Break that down and ask yourself what bothered you this past year, what drove you bananas, what stressed you out—and then what brought you joy, what energized you, what got you into that flow state.  Your answers could be related both to your clients and to you. Then, dig deeper and figure out how to solve some of those struggles or lean into the joyful areas.  After this, take time to rate and rank your clients. I go into detail in the podcast how to do this, but the formula is: list out all your clients, create categories that you want to rate, rank each client 1-5 (5 is best), and then rank them from top (most points) to bottom (fewest points).  What do the numbers tell you? Did anything surprise you?  Look at the clients at the bottom first. What is the problem there? Can you solve it to improve your relationship or do you need to fire those clients? Or raise their rates to the point that certain things don’t bother you anymore?  Look at your best clients. Can you work with them more? Be creative. What services can you create to help them? Can you offer them a retainer? Or do you simply need to be sure you reach out to them more often for work?  Also, why do you love them? Can you lean into that and find more clients that fit those criteria?  As you take in all this information together—how much money you made, which clients brought in the most income, which clients rank highest in your list—consider if you should raise your rates. And remember: You’re not asking to raise your rates. You’re telling them: I wanted to let you know my rates will increase to XXX on February 1.  By going through this process of rating and ranking my clients every year for the past several years I realized this past summer, after going through this exercise, that I currently love all my clients. What a great place to be!  I firmly believe this evaluation process—and following through with the best and worst ranked in some manner—got me to this place. I’ve fired clients and turned down work. And I’ve really homed in on the types of services I love to provide and that pay well.  Biz Bite: Create a “work declined” email folder. The Bookshelf: “Love & Saffron” by Kim Fay and bonus pick “84, Charing Cross Road” by Helene Hanff Resources: Join me for the ASJA webinar on Dec. 13 “How to Host a Solo Business Retreat and Gear Up for 2023.”  Join the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group.  Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee. Listen to Melanie as a guest on other podcasts. Review all back episodes and their show notes and resources at DeliberateFreelancer.com. 

If you’re like me, you’ve learned the hard way that if you don’t plan for January right now, you might have a very slow start to the new year.  A lot of places shut down between Christmas and New Year’s Day, which can make that a great time of year to take off from your freelance business — but it can also be a great time to catch up on work or work on your business,  But those last two weeks of the year are not usually a good time to reach out to clients. I highly encourage you to do that outreach now to ensure some income come January. I’ve said before that my best way to get new clients is through referrals. And while referrals work well for getting new clients, the easiest way for me to get new projects from existing clients is simply to email clients. In this episode, I share my very basic formula and some suggested email language for January outreach. I focus first on a top-tier group, my favorite clients to work with, and then a larger, broader group. I track it via a spreadsheet.  Another thing I’ve been doing more of is posting on LinkedIn when I have availability for work. See the link below under Resources for an example.  Start your LinkedIn post by clearly focusing on your target audience or call to action, because as people scroll through their feeds they only see the first couple of lines of a LinkedIn post and you want to catch their attention.  Another way to potentially line up work for January is to send a holiday card — this reminds clients you’re out there and available. Email cards are easy, but a paper, snail mail card with a handwritten personalized note will stand out.  Biz Bite: Do a software and tools audit The Bookshelf: “The Kaiju Preservation Society” by John Scalzi Resources: Join me for the ASJA webinar on Dec. 13 “How to Host a Solo Business Retreat and Gear Up for 2023.”  Join the Deliberate Freelancer Facebook group.  Support Deliberate Freelancer at Buy Me a Coffee. Melanie’s LinkedIn marketing post