How much should I charge for two small illustrations that will be printed on wedding invitations? [more inside]
posted by Mizu on Nov 5, 2009 - 11 answers

What books can I read that will give me some idea of what it might take for me to make my living as a writer or journalist? [more inside]
posted by AAAA on Nov 3, 2009 - 19 answers

I am a freelancer in a sub-genre of graphic design. In a bid to get more clients, I'm attempting (through Craigslist) to hire a marketing professional (or professionals). My general idea is that they would work to get me more clients, and I would give them a percentage of sales resulting from my work with those clients. My question here is what the specifics of the deal should be. My initial thought was 15% of income for life on the clients they bring me. Does that sound reasonable? Too much? Too little? The wrong way to go about it entirely? I really like the commission model, at least for now, because I don't have money to lay out up front and I like that we both benefit or both don't. Is there any kind of standard for this kind of relationship?
posted by The Dutchman on Oct 7, 2009 - 13 answers

Talented, creative, experienced (but mostly non-German-speaking) Canadian digital artist looking for postproduction/retouching work in Berlin. Got any leads or advice for my girlfriend? [more inside]
posted by freudenschade on Oct 5, 2009 - 0 answers

I've nearly finished my degree. Help me work out my future. [more inside]
posted by b33j on Sep 28, 2009 - 5 answers

I am planning to leave my current job in about a year, and hope to be able to make some money (I don't need a lot) by doing freelance web development/programming. While I have a bit of experience with programming and very basic web design ((X)HTML/CSS), this would pretty much be a new field for me. I guess I'm wondering - is this a realistic goal? And if so, what steps should I take to help me get there? [more inside]
posted by shaun uh on Sep 24, 2009 - 10 answers

Fellow freelancers and/or marketing gurus: where is the fine line between staying on a potential employer’s radar and being a pest--and how do I get as close to it as possible? [more inside]
posted by gottabefunky on Sep 14, 2009 - 5 answers

How do I successfully do freelance writing (my night job) about my industry (my day job)? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Sep 10, 2009 - 3 answers

Sometimes I get small job requests that come from outside my fulltime job. They don't pay much (barely over 1k this year) but it's enough to require me to report myself as a business. Does that mean it's a second job?
posted by mallow005 on Sep 10, 2009 - 11 answers

Is there anything similar to Mechanical Turk on the Internet? [more inside]
posted by VC Drake on Aug 25, 2009 - 5 answers

Freelancers, if you're subcontracted by company A to work for a big client, company B, do you include both company A and company B in your portfolio? Does this change if you're actually employeed by company A, but still want to maintain a freelance portfolio? [more inside]
posted by miniape on Aug 22, 2009 - 12 answers

How would I best go about making a web-based writing portfolio with limited internet abilities? [more inside]
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! on Aug 17, 2009 - 4 answers

Do you work less than 5 days/week (9am-5pm)? and/or do you work from home? If so, what is your job, and how did you obtain it? [more inside]
posted by Jason and Laszlo on Aug 5, 2009 - 28 answers

I want to start to do freelance programming in Ruby on Rails. Although I have experiences, in programming, architectures, rails, I would like to get good sources for finding orders. Can you give me advices, how to do it well? [more inside]
posted by fifigyuri on Aug 3, 2009 - 4 answers

How do you find freelance work? [more inside]
posted by barc0001 on Jul 31, 2009 - 10 answers

How long to deploy CMS? [more inside]
posted by Fuzzy Dog on Jul 24, 2009 - 11 answers

Tell me what I need to do, or which bums I need to kiss, to write a storyline for a video game. [more inside]
posted by metalheart on Jul 8, 2009 - 15 answers

I found a job posting from a Mac software developer for a support/QA guru that pretty much sums up exactly what I want in a job right now. However, circumstances are not right for this particular position. How can I still do this as a job? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jul 7, 2009 - 1 answer

Freelance web designers - what factors do you use to estimate the number of hours you'll spend on a project? I'm looking for examples of reasonable rough estimates (based on scope). [more inside]
posted by Fifi Firefox on Jul 7, 2009 - 7 answers

Freelance writing: how to indicate that you would like compensation for your work after an article has been accepted? [more inside]
posted by Wavelet on Jul 2, 2009 - 13 answers

How do I get my money from a client who is trying to dodge me? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jun 28, 2009 - 18 answers

I'm going to be moving around and traveling a lot for the next few years. Help me figure out how to live a responsible lifestyle as a modern day nomad. [more inside]
posted by crackingdes on Jun 20, 2009 - 18 answers

How to politely fire a client? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jun 15, 2009 - 18 answers

What are your best tips for a small business/entrepreneur/freelancer? [more inside]
posted by Wolfster on Jun 15, 2009 - 5 answers

I want to be an adventurous, globe-trotting photographer! How do I do that? I can't really see my current situation leading to any globe-trotting, so I'm leaving in August to travel through South America for a few months and find some place I like enough to stay. What can I do right now to make it easier to sell photos and pursue my dream when I get there? [more inside]
posted by borkingchikapa on Jun 7, 2009 - 7 answers

How much do I pay a freelance blogger? [more inside]
posted by ben242 on May 22, 2009 - 5 answers

Consulting to help create a "draw" to bring people into booth at medical tradeshow. How much should I charge? [more inside]
posted by UMDirector on May 14, 2009 - 1 answer

I wowed folks at my job interview for the full-time position being a webmaster / graphic designer / marketer. But they want me as a contractor first due to the economy. Thoughts on compensation? [more inside]
posted by umlaut on May 14, 2009 - 15 answers

I want to start building a network of contacts for branching out into freelance writing / editing / consulting work but I don't want my employer to know about it. I'm not planning to do the "me" work in working hours, but I don't want my name showing up on Facebook or my blog about how I'm trying to leave my lousy job appearing in google with my name attached to it... yet I want to (surely need to!) use social media to promote myself. When I've built more contacts, I can 'fess up and leave my day job, but until then... Any advice? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on May 13, 2009 - 10 answers

How do I prepare myself for freelancing with regard to taxes? [more inside]
posted by the matching mole on Apr 18, 2009 - 10 answers

I want to find a type of work that I can do from my laptop while travelling, potentially indefinitely. Ideas for my new occupation? [more inside]
posted by baking soda on Mar 27, 2009 - 9 answers

Freelance Filter: I've resigned due to timeline pressures, the arrival of another awesome opportunity, and the fact that I'm 8 months pregnant. I've done six weeks of work which have contributed social capital and goodwill to the project, and organizational/planning work which will be of benefit to my replacement. The "contract" we signed was vague and was only really a statement of work, rather than conditions. In my letter of resignation I proposed to keep 20% of the 1st payment for the work done to date. The team that hired me wants all the money back, I think mainly because they're deeply disappointed that I have quit. It's not like I've been sitting on my hands, and my work to date will benefit them. Before I hand over all my work to date and write the cheque to refund the 50%, how should I word my request that they reconsider allowing me to keep a portion of the fee? (Giant background story included, to explain the usual & unusual complications which lead to my departure.) [more inside]
posted by Mrs Hilksom on Mar 26, 2009 - 22 answers

I'd like to hire some designers/copywriters as contractors, how do I handle stuff like "comps" for my clients? Also, is it a common practice to tell the contractor that they will get paid when I get paid by the client? I have some more questions inside. These are partly business process questions and partly "contractor etiquette" questions. [more inside]
posted by sideshow on Mar 23, 2009 - 16 answers

How does disability insurance work for a freelancer? [more inside]
posted by thebestsophist on Mar 22, 2009 - 6 answers

I suspect my former company is guilty of tax evasion after paying me like a freelancer instead of a full-time employee, unless I'm operating under a serious misconception of tax rights. I quit under duress, but now I'm filing taxes and I'd like to report their behavior if it has indeed been inappropriate. Please tell me whether or not I'm right to do so, and if so, how I should report them to the IRS with very little concrete evidence other than hearsay and my own 1099 form. [more inside]
posted by zoomorphic on Mar 18, 2009 - 21 answers

Am I really paying $1,000 in taxes to freelance? [more inside]
posted by evil holiday magic on Mar 14, 2009 - 22 answers

I'm a web developer and have been working the same job for 9 years. Recently, due to challenging economic circumstances, I've decided to start looking for freelance work to supplement my income, if not replace it. Are you a freelance web developer or designer? If so, where do you go to find work online? [more inside]
posted by Vorteks on Mar 14, 2009 - 13 answers

Can one make decent money (over $100/month) by writing eHow.com articles? If so, any tips? [more inside]
posted by spacefire on Mar 11, 2009 - 1 answer

Ways to make extra cash during the economic downturn? [more inside]
posted by mintchip on Mar 11, 2009 - 10 answers

I'm being asked to do a freelance project and I have no idea what I'm doing! [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Mar 4, 2009 - 12 answers

What does a writing portfolio look like these days? [more inside]
posted by Miko on Mar 2, 2009 - 5 answers

I have the attention span of a gnat. [more inside]
posted by pseudostrabismus on Feb 28, 2009 - 20 answers

Self-employment tax help for out-of-state web work [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Feb 24, 2009 - 9 answers

TaxFilter, specifically Department of Part-time Expatriate Freelance Taxation. A thorn in my side, inside. [more inside]
posted by foxy_hedgehog on Feb 20, 2009 - 9 answers

Freelancer needs to process large credit card transactions. [more inside]
posted by ottereroticist on Feb 19, 2009 - 9 answers

What's the best way, once I tell a client I'm done with her, to protect myself from claims of unauthorized access or sabotage on the systems I configured for her? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Feb 18, 2009 - 7 answers

What sort of state of organization are the financial records of most sole proprietorships in? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Feb 17, 2009 - 5 answers

I am a freelance video editor and I am being asked to work on spec (as in do the work and the producers will pay for my work if they like it). I want to draft some sort of contract outlining what I am doing, and their use of my work if they do like it, but I don't know exactly what I should include in a contract like this. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
posted by helios410 on Feb 15, 2009 - 6 answers

I hate hate hate hate my job. It's killing me, every day, to know that I work for people who have no interest in my well-being while I create utter, meaningless drivel. I don't think I can do this anymore. But I might have an escape. Is it reasonable to quit in light of the economy and the inevitable instability of switching to freelance writing and babysitting? [more inside]
posted by Viola on Feb 12, 2009 - 29 answers

I want to build a web app, but can't do it all myself. What's the best way to make sure my ideas aren't picked up by others? [more inside]
posted by MatJ on Feb 8, 2009 - 11 answers