The Freelance Podcast

Freelance Q&A takes listener questions and I spend the whole episode answering them.

This is my 3rd annual review of what my year as a full-time freelancer was like. I go into my most successful year, tell you the exact amount of dollars I made, and go into why this was a super challenging year for me.

I sent out a newsletter recently asking for questions that I could help other freelancers with. I got some really good questions and in this episode I go through and answer them all. We talk about pricing, getting pst the struggle of clients who don't want to pay what you charge, and what is my intake process like for new clients.

Sometimes you need to make sure you are taking all the noise coming your way and send it through your own personal filter. Never forget why you do what you do, and don't be afraid to stop other stuff so you can keep your foundation as a freelancer strong.

Freelancers shouldn't over think giving numbers and timeframes. In this episode I go over what your thought process should be in order to get the people who want to work with you the information they need.

Like the great white shark in the ocean, if a freelancer stops moving forward they die.

I had a chance to talk with fellow freelancer Christopher Hawkins this week. We talked about Christopher's new course on how to understand and handle client conflict for freelancers.

Perception is such a powerful thing, and perception on your end as well as your clients will dictate how your relationship and projects go.

I go over what that news is and then the pros and cons of retainers for freelancers.

I'll keep this short. You aren't always right about everything and instead of being a jerk about use it as an opportunity to educate your clients.

Scheduling can be really tough to get good at as a freelancer, and the last situation you want to find yourself in is one where you are buried in projects and missing deadlines. In this episode of The Freelance Podcast I go over how I think about scheduling projects and also give a framework for new freelancers to use so they don't overbook themselves.

As a full-time freelancer that works from home it can be super hard to turn off work most times. I have found that side projects and hobbies allow me to recharge and come back to my work refreshed.

I had a chance to talk with fellow freelancer Nathan Allotey this week. We talked about what his path to freelancing was like and we also dove into talking about different pricing strategies.

I recap my second year as a full-time freelancer.

The word HUSTLE has become both a great movement and a dangerous way to live your life. It can be so detrimental to the way you work when you compare yourself to others who you think are super successful and use hustle as an excuse why you are not there, or what you need to get there. Consistency is much more important and it is crucial you are honest with yourself and know what you want out of life and what you are capable of doing to get yourself there.

I have never been able to find a project management app that does exactly what I need it to. So like any normal person I decided to build my own, and I am calling it Hector.

Over the weekend I had an email exchange with a scam artist wanting me to do some work. I read you the entire email thread and give my thought process on why I said what I said.

We all face burnout as freelancers and not all of us have learned how to deal with it properly. In this episode I go over how to handle burnout and also explain the concept of capacity and how to be aware of it when making decisions about freelancing.

I talk about how to avoid the pitfalls of offering complimentary services. Even though it seems like a good idea to make some extra money it is most of the time going to come back and bite you in the butt.

I talk about the importance of a freelancers daily routine. I give you a run down of what my days look like and examples on how to prime yourself to be the most productive.

RJ elaborates on episode 2 where we talked about how to build your portfolio and goes over what is important to include in your portfolio and, almost more importantly, what is not important to include.

http://www.rjmccollam.com/podcast/16

RJ talks about how to stop wasting all the time, and how to avoid the disappointment, when dealing with potential clients that have a small budget.

I talk about the tools that I use and conclude the first season of The Freelance Podcast.

I talk about a recent failure and mental capacity.

In this episode I invite Kyle Johnson to help me answer a listener's question about starting as a front-end or back-end developer.

In this episode I interview Christopher Hawkins from Chasing Product.

I am sick, but wanted to get some quick thoughts out about patience.

In this episode I talk about my goals for 2015 and answer a listener question.

In this episode I talk about the importance and power that being a constant learner and always improving your skill set has for a freelancer.

In this episode I interview Kyle Johnson who is right in the middle of making the jump into full-tim freelancing.

In this episode I tell the story of my first year as a full-time freelancer. I talk about my reasons for making the jump, the support I had, the challenges, and I even tell you how much money I made.

In this episode we talk about what is a niche, the benefits of working in one, and how to define it.

In this episode we go over the pros and cons of choosing to present yourself as a solo freelancer or as a business.

In this episode we interview freelancer Kayli Barth, a freelance marketer and creator of The Freelance Hustle.

In this episode we talk about the importance of building your portfolio, a common excuse that stops freelancers from getting started, and we give 3 ways to both create/find work for your portfolio and get it published online.

In this inaugural episode RJ discusses the dream and potential that freelancing can bring as well as tells his story of becoming a full time freelancer.

This episode is an introduction to The Freelance Podcast. We answer the questions of who we are and what we're all about. Welcome to The Freelance Podcast.