Not sure what to charge for services like freelance writing, photography or web design? Have you been told that your rates are too low or too high? Are you considering branching out into other freelance areas, but have no idea what to charge for your services? Today, we want to share some resources to help you decide what to charge as a freelancer.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received on setting freelance rates? Do you charge per project, per hour or per word? How much thought do you give to setting your freelance rates and what helps you arrive at a final decision? Your wisdom, advice and questions are welcome below.
Working from home requires strong organizational and time-management skill. It also requires a fair amount of collaboration with clients and even other team members. Equipping yourself with the right tools is imperative to any work at home mom’s success.
Here are a list of tools that not only help simplify your day and your workload, but that won’t break the bank in the process. While there are premium versions of some of the items I’m about to share, all can be used for free. Here we go:
A project management tool, Trello helps compartmentalize tasks whether you’re working with a team or solo. By creating boards for individual projects, a user can create separate lists for main tasks and break each one down into smaller ones just by adding a card. Managers of a Trello board can delegate tasks to members or members can volunteer for a task simply by adding themselves to a card.
Trello is also perfect for working solo as it allows you to set up todo lists, move tasks around and see, at-a-glance, exactly where you are in your workday or project. The free version is good for all of this, but a premium version offers a few additional perks like adding your own background image to cards, attaching power-up stickers, etc. At this time, members can earn a free month of premium service each time someone they refer signs up to become a Trello user. (Disclosure: The link above is my referral link.)
Here’s a brief video allowing you to see Trello in action:
For time-tracking and invoicing, Harvest is an excellent tool. There is a free 30-day trial version which allows you and your team to use it for multiple clients and projects. After the trial period ends, you can select the membership that best suits your needs or you can continue to use the free version, but only for one person (you!) and up to four clients.
Right now, their solo plan is only $12 per month. It allows one user to manage an unlimited number of clients and projects. You also receive $10 off for each person you refer who eventually signs up for premium service. Your referral gets $10 off of their first month, too. (Disclosure: The link above is my referral link.)
While there are other free tools that also offer time-tracking and invoicing, I chose Harvest because I like its user-interface best. I added the Google Chrome extension to my dashboard and also use it inside of Trello, which gives added convenience when tracking time spent on specific tasks.
Harvest is also useful for saving money on PayPal fees since an account can be configured to assess flat fees of only 50 cents per transaction as opposed to PayPal’s usual 2.9% PLUS 30 cents per transaction. With another service, called Stripe, each one of my online invoices features separate buttons allowing clients to either pay by credit card (via Stripe) or PayPal, with payments being automatically deposit into my business checking account. Payments take a few additional days for payments to actually clear, but it beats losing money to PayPal, depositing checks, etc. (NOTE: Use PayPal’s standard invoicing and cough up the fees if you can’t afford to wait the additional processing time through PayPal Business Payments.)
GOOGLE DRIVE
Having ditched Word years ago, Google Drive is my go-to for creating new documents, spreadsheets, sharing files, saving files, etc. Today, Word can be accessed from the cloud, but when I first began using Google Drive, this wasn’t the case. Drive was also (and still is) free with any Google account. I find it to be more user-friendly than anything else and I value being able to log into it from any browser on any device (or through an app on my tablet or phone). I also appreciate being able to collaborate in real time with others when I need to. Working on the same file or document at the same time is never an issue and work is saved with every single keystroke, so nothing is ever lost.
Contrary to what some may believe, Google Drive can also be set to work offline when needed and all work done offline immediately syncs as soon as your device reconnects to the Internet.
Need to share your screen with an individual or group? Join.Me gets the job done and doesn’t cost a cent to use. I often use this when teaching or consulting with someone who needs to see exactly how a thing should be done. While I also use Skype for screen-sharing, Join.Me is good for those times when the person I’m speaking to isn’t on Skype. Of course, upgrading to a paid service get you things like audio conferencing and other collaboration tools, but for basic screen-sharing, the free service is good enough.
By now, everyone has heard of Skype. Free VOIP service, some extra perks for paid service, unlimited Skype to Skype calling, group video calls, yada-yada-yada. Since many of my clients don’t reside in the same country as me, I find that Skype closes our communication gap quite nicely. Plus, I can always be online for instant messaging when someone needs me…or I need them. As mentioned above, it’s also a good tool for screen-sharing. (NOTE: My Skype I.D. is Lamasa7 if you ever need to connect.)
GOOGLE HANGOUTS
Another free VOIP service and it comes standard with every Google account. Hangouts was actually the first to start free group video calls, which made meetings so much easier. Today, I don’t use it as frequently as I once did mainly because most of the people I talk to prefer or only use Skype. Still a good tool to have in your arsenal, though.
A virtual office space, which allows you to collaborate with a team. Their starter package is free to use and comes with a Project Room for group meetings and a Breakout room. Perfect for getting that “always on” vibe going with a team who needs to interact from time-to-time, but still work solo. Gives work at home moms (and everyone else!) the feel of an office environment by allowing you to see (and know) others are working around you without sacrificing the peace and quiet needed to work alone.
GOOGLE CALENDAR
Something else that comes standard with every Google account is Google Calendar. Very user-friendly, you can keep separate calendars for business, personal, family, specific projects, etc. or even combine them into one view. Calendars can be shared with others and it even integrates well with other apps (like Trello). Seriously perfect for creating and sharing things like meeting schedules and editorial calendars.
Apps and Extensions
For most of the tools named here, there are, of course, mobile apps and browser extensions available. All of this makes collaborating and working on the go pretty seamless.
What Tools Do You Use?
So, there you have a (short) list of free tools that will help improve productivity and collaboration. Do you use any of these? Do you have other favorites not mentioned here? Feel free to add your recommendations in the comments section before you go.
Do you use podcasts to learn about new ideas while working from home? If not, you’re missing out on a wealth of information being shared by some of the foremost leaders in the business world. From interviews with experts to hard and fast tips designed to help your business run at optimal levels, there are a ton of free podcasts available on-demand, which can help you be a better more productive work at home mom.
Where to Listen to Free Podcasts
Podcasts are available for just about every device imaginable…except, of course, television and radio. Made for new media distribution, you can find informative talk shows and entertainment on various apps made for your smartphone or tablet, as well as your personal computer. I even listen to podcasts on my Roku streaming device. Simply head to your favorite app store and select the podcast player that’s right for you. I actually have a few that I’m pretty fond of, such as:
Really, Stitcher has just about everything I need, with the exception of one or two entertainment podcasts not yet available for that app. Also, there’s no Stitcher app for Roku, so I use TuneIn as a backup for times when I want to listen on my television, instead. There’s not too much that Stitcher doesn’t have in the way of business podcasts, though, so I highly recommend it for people listening outside of iTunes (sorry, I’m not an Apple user, so I can’t really speak to what’s on iTunes or not, but users tell me that all of the same programs are there, too).
Suggested Podcasts
I subscribe to a number of different podcasts, which I’ll list below. Some are just a few minutes in length while others run close to an hour or more. Needless to say, you probably won’t have time to keep up with them all on a regular basis, but they’re nice to have for those times when you need a little inspiration or even just “shop talk”. Working from home, especially online, can get a little lonely when few people in your personal circles really understand what it is that you do and how you keep it all together, which is why listening to conversations from people in the know can be a real boost when you need it.
So, without further delay, here’s a snapshot of the business podcasts on my station playlists:
The Smart Passive Income Podcast
AskPat
Jay Today TV
Biz Women Rock!
Social Media Marketing
The Social Media Examiner Show
B2B Content Marketing Leaders
The Self Publishing Podcast
Tropical MBA
SEO 101
The Tim Ferriss Show
Social Pros Podcast
Rainmaker.FM
1 Day Business Breakthrough
Maximize Your Social
The Lede from Copyblogger
Screw the Nine to Five Podcast
Marketing Over Coffee
Simply Measured
Social Media Happy Hour
The BeanCast Marketing Podcast
Eventual Millionaire
Marketing Access Pass
Inside PR
For Immediate Release Podcast
Chris Ducker Startup & Small ‘New Business’ Strategies for Entrepreneurs
The Podcast Answer Man
The Audacity to Podcast
The Podcasters’ Studio
The Art of Podcasting
Amy Porterfield
The Digital Marketing Podcast
Six Pixels of Separation
Social Media Marketing Happy Hour
Entrepreneur On Fire
HBR IdeaCast
The Growth Show
The Marketing Champion
The Content Champion
The Chalene Show
Build Your Tribe
PNR: This Old Marketing
One Minute Tip
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
Whew! Didn’t realize I had such a long list. And that’s just business podcasts! There are so many more for entertainment, news, parenting…you name it and there’s a podcast for it. And if you don’t find one you’re interested in, by all means start your own!
Other Podcasts for Work at Home Moms and Entrepreneurs
What are some of your favorites? Do you have a podcast that you’d like to recommend to our readers? The Work at Home Mom Center is all about sharing, so please leave your podcast suggestions in the comments section below.
Sponsor is looking for work at home bloggers to publish posts for cash. By sharing personal experience stories, opinions and advice about home security, and including a link to the sponsor's site and products, bloggers can earn money online. Freelance writing and blogging are excellent work at home careers and crafting sponsored blog posts can lead to very good income streams.
The IRS doesn’t care that you’ve got kids to feed or that you’re new to being a work-at-home mom. They will tax you where they can and you will hurt. This isn’t a threat, only a truth.
So, what to do about it? You’ll find that keeping proper business records for your home-based business is often inconvenient, usually confusing, and always a learning process. These tips—and a few tricks you’ll doubtlessly come up with yourself as time goes by—will ease the learning curb and make tax time significantly less painful.
1. Home office deduction. Read up on the IRS’s rules about the home office deduction (http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=108138,00.html) to see if you qualify. Don’t be scared to do it if you do qualify because you’ll be able to deduct a portion of your rent or mortgage and utilities bills as business expenses. Save all of your monthly payment bills if this is the case. Remember to not allow the kids into this room since it is your home office. A large amount of evidence—should the IRS come poking—that you’ve been mixing business with pleasure might void your deduction.
2. Keep receipts. If your printer runs out of paper while printing out documents for your business, keep the OfficeMax receipt. If your lamp loses a bulb, keep the receipt. Keep any and all receipts made for purchases for your home office and business, including office supplies and equipment (from sticky notes to your new Mac, as long as you use that computer primarily for business). Keep the receipts for Internet provider fees, phone bills, membership fees, and any other costs to keep your business running. Deduct these from your taxes as business expenses.
3. Advertising and professionals. If you advertise for your business or have hired a professional to help you (such as an accountant or printer), save the receipts.
4. Employee records. If you’re not working alone, keep an accurate record of your employees’ hours to make the W-9 forms easier to fill out during tax season as well as calculate salaries. If you’ve hired more than 10 people for your business, you’ll need to get an idea of what records OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) requires you to keep, including accident reports.
5. Accounting. If you ever make any kind of transaction for your business, you’re better off with evidence of it than without. Keep copies of them to back up your income and spending in case anyone comes inquiring. It’s best to accumulate all of your receipts and evidence of transactions in one place, like one notebook or filing cabinet, so you don’t lose things along the way.
Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education, where recently she’s been researching different bsw degree programs and blogging about student life. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.
Over the decade I’ve worked with dozens of friends and family in an attempt to help them build a passive income stream using the Internet. Throughout these attempts I’ve noticed two common problems.
Problem #1
People are very optimistic with the idea of making money online, however when they don’t see instant gratification and coupled with the monetary and time investments required in maintaining and promoting a web site, most people tend to quit before they ever start seeing any income.
Problem #2
Because it is human nature to get instant gratification, people tend to spend less time on the things they don’t know much about and wind up producing something that provides no end value to their users. The web site winds up being covered in ads essentially dragging down the overall quality of the Internet instead of making it better.
By not creating value for end users, regardless of how much time you spend marketing, it will be nearly impossible to create return visitors and even harder to get people talking about your web site or business.
The Solution
Create a space where users would not have to be burdened with the financial costs of owning, maintaining and marketing a website and could simply focus on producing quality content to share with the world while still earning a substantial passive income. By removing these problems we hope to increase the quality of content found on the internet and making it once again a safe place to find information.
In July 2008, with these ideals in mind InfoBarrel was born.
How it Works
InfoBarrel is a shared revenue crowd sourced community. Essentially what that means, is the content of the site is entirely created by the users who frequent the site. To compensate writers, we provide them with a minimum of 75% of the advertising impressions from Google Adsense, Chitika and Amazon. We also have an escalating revenue share percentage that allows writers to earn up to 90% revenue share if they hit certain criteria.
There is no cost to the writer, and the site has had extensive marketing time invested into it resulting in great organic search engine results. To date we have many writers making over $100 a month and a few making over $1000. InfoBarrel has become one of the top destinations to earn money writing on the Internet. Because of our passionate users and extensive marketing plan InfoBarrel has grown from a small site consisting of a few users to a thriving community with 31,000+ members that is growing on a daily basis. We are also very dedicated to supporting our writer community by allowing them to personally email us with any issues that they may have encountered while at the site. With one of our goals being to improve the quality of material found on the internet InfoBarrel also manually approves all new article submissions checking them for article quality and duplicate content among many other factors. The site been touted as the next best revenue sharing site by popular web entrepreneur Pat Flynn.
Why it’s Great for Work at Home Moms
Because of the opportunity to generate money while working from home, we have had an enormous surge of WAHMs publishing on InfoBarrel. Since InfoBarrel requires much less of a commitment than running your own website, mothers are able to sit down and write an article when they have a free moment before returning to their busy lives. We have a number of successful WAHMs most notably MommyMommyMommy.
Community
One of the things that I am most proud of in terms on InfoBarrel is how supportive our community has become. The InfoBarrel Writers’ Community is one of the most tight knit, friendly groups of people online. If you need advice on how to do something, even extremely simple, the community is there to help and there is never a stupid question.
Success Stories
InfoBarrel has been around for just over two years now and has already garnered several success stories, with at least two members making over $1000 a month, and a number of users making over $100.
The following are just a few success stories of members:
Attorney job leads weren’t at the top of our list when we first started posting work at home jobs for moms on this site. Admittedly, there was an assumption that attorneys either weren’t interested in work from home lawyer jobs or that they weren’t having a problem finding work and didn’t need our help. Instead, we focused our efforts more on freelance writing, social media, call center and transcription work at home jobs for moms. While we’d post work at home attorney jobs here and there, they were sort of an afterthought. We admit our mistake and we humbly apologize.
See, we now realize that attorney jobs are just as difficult to find in this scarce job market as other jobs– work from home or otherwise. New law school graduates are having a particularly difficult time finding work as inexperienced attorneys. Unfortunately, student loan debt, living expenses and other financial obligations still must be met and without a huge amount of lawyer jobs to choose from (and with stiff competition, in general) many are having to take jobs outside of the legal realm just to make ends meet. In this USA Today article, economist Richard Vedder warns that “we’re entering the age of the overeducated American”. In other words, more and more Americans with college degrees are being forced to take lower paying positions outside of their training realm just to get by.
Here at the Work at Home Mom Center, we feel your pain. If you are a lawyer, jobs may be a little scarce right now, but please consider some of the work at home opportunities posted in our job leads section, as well as across the web. Granted, for a lawyer, jobs that allow you to work from home aren’t as readily available as some of the others we share here, but as we do come across them, we will gladly do our best to bring them to your attention.
If you’d like to work at home as an attorney, jobs are available, so don’t give up! Keep checking our daily job leads and keep an open mind to the possibility that you can earn an income working from home. Aside from our job leads section, consider also searching on LinkedIn, Indeed and CareerBuilder.
If you’re looking for legitimate work at home jobs, please bypass assembly and seamstress jobs. They are among the oldest work from home opportunities advertised, but you can do a lot better. And, while each and every one of them may not be a scam, most of them are.
For decades, I’ve heard of people losing time and money with these types of gigs. Pretty much, people work for hours on end assembling products or sewing different pieces only to be told that their work is sub-par and that they won’t be paid for their efforts. Trust me, you’re better than this.
Instead, take the time to assess your skills and find work that’s more suitable for you, personally. This quiz on working from home may help. Legitimate work at home jobs abound and we list plenty of them for you here. There’s really no need for you to fall for one of the oldest work at home scams in the book!
If you’ve been suckered by one of these, or similar, scams in the past, don’t beat yourself up too badly about it. Instead, learn from your mistake and join the crusade to warn others about the dangers of working from home. Continue your search for legitimate work at home jobs and continue to believe that you can find one. We’re here to help you as much as we can, so we hope you’ll listen to our advice and visit often.
In case you’re wondering what kinds of legitimate work at home jobs are available, take a look at a couple of our posts on the subject:
A virtual PBX receptionist is one who works remotely receiving incoming calls and routes them elsewhere. And, yes, these positions are available as work at home jobs for moms! Such are frequently advertised as call center positions or as virtual receptionist jobs. From time to time, you’ll find them in our job leads section, as well as advertised elsewhere on the web.
Virtual PBX Companies Are Changing the Game
Gone are the days of old-fashioned, costly call centers. Of course, some of these dinosaurs are still in operation, but the industry is definitely changing. Using special software, virtual PBX centers can now be established almost anywhere in the world. While traditionally the hardware used in PBX systems required workers to all be stationed in one location, virtual PBX software has now created more options for business owners who can save money and broaden their virtual PBX recruitment efforts by allowing receptionists to work virtually from home!
Things You Should Know About Virtual PBX Jobs
Be aware that many virtual PBX jobs hire virtual receptionists as independent contractors instead of as employees. As such, a virtual receptionist is expected to have her own equipment, such as a compatible computer system and a special quality headset. There are also no benefits offered if hired as an independent contractor.
Also, it should be noted that some virtual PBX companies and call centers even require workers to pay for their own training. We’ve shared our thoughts about this practice in a previous post, so we won’t repeat ourselves here, but it’s up to you whether or not you choose to go this route. One agency in particular, Arise, requires workers to pay for training. The request to pay for training or training materials is usually a red flag when searching for work at home jobs for moms, as most of these ads are work at home scams. Yet, Arise isn’t a scam and, in fact, they remain one of the most popular sources for work at home jobs for moms despite the fact that they charge for training.
Virtual PBX jobs also require a quiet environment and, often, rigid work hours. It’s not unusual for these hours to include evenings and weekends. Moms with small children may not find this too easy to juggle, but, for others, working at home as a virtual PBX receptionist can be a pretty steady, solid gig.
Do You Have Virtual PBX Experience?
Have you done virtual PBX work before? How would you rate this work against other types of work at home jobs for moms? If you are now or have ever been a virtual receptionist, we’d love to hear from you!
Working at home may not be what you expect. Although it may be an ideal fit for some, it takes a particular type of people to succeed at home.
It is very important work-at-home wannabes completely understand what it really means to work at home. Sometimes I get the impression the idea of a WAH career is clouded with glitter and music. While working at home has its many advantages, it is not always, what many expect. The following guide will help anyone thinking of turning down this path of home based work knows if it is genuinely for them.
Working from home means WORK
There have been a number of people approach me to help them get started working from home. As we go through the many options they have, I begin to realize they are becoming more and more dissatisfied by the fact they will actually have to work! Working at home often requires you to work harder than you would in a brick and mortar building! You will read more about this as you continue.
There is no job in cyberspace that will pay you a substantial amount of money while you turn on your computer, in your pajamas and play Farmville. Generally, the more money you expect to make, the more work you will have to do. If you are looking for a get rich quick scheme…please exit this page now…you will not find one here! And once you find this scheme and are required to have 100 people signed up by the end of the month…DO NOT come to me with your business ‘opportunity’. I am not interested and anyone looking for legitimate work should not be interested in any marketing schemes either. Expect to work!
Your Attention is Needed
While there are the random small jobs that allow you to do mindless work, if you are looking for substantial income, please realize your attention will be needed. You may sometimes need a babysitter, a spouse to watch the children or may have to use every minute of time you have while kids are sleeping to work. Even non-phone jobs that do not require background noise generally require you to be able to have some sort of concentration and focus to the task at hand. So either expect the rate at which you work to slow down substantially or choose to work when you are alone. The flexibility of working at home is the best part for most of us! However, it usually means the work I could have completed at a job-site in 8 hours, will now take a complete day in between caring for my children, house and husband.
You MUST Have Motivation
I think any WAHmer can agree with me here. The hardest thing about creating your own schedule is sticking to it! When you have no one to answer to but yourself, it is easy to let work sit or give up the shift you signed up for. Then when bills come due or those shoes you have been wanting go on sale, you feel like an idiot. We all have to work out our own ways of keeping up our motivation.
You Are Accountable For Yourself
Many work at home jobs hire agents as Independent Contractors versus Employees. This means you are responsible for your equipment (computer, phone, headset…), your quality of work, the amount of time spent and most importantly your TAXES. As an Independent Contractor, you may find yourself owing taxes come April! So be sure to get in touch with a professional accountant who can help you plan for the year and hold back a portion of each check.
Of course, there are many upsides to working at home, from the flexibility to not having a boss breathing down your neck. Some people simply need the structure of an on-site job. There is nothing wrong with that. I just hope before making any life changing choices you can look at yourself and decide if you have what it takes to depend solely on yourself!
More About Today’s Guest Blogger:
Miranda Grimm is the author of the Work at Home Adventures blog, a work at home mother of two and Full time college student. After spending many hours researching the multiple home based jobs available online, she now shares her compounded information freely through her blog.
EDITOR’S NOTE: If you would like to contribute a guest post, please contact us for details.
