Freelancing Archives - Dawn Mentzer, Freelance Marketing Content Writer

Four Types of Writing Assignments I’m Gaga Over

I ghostwrite a lot of informational blog articles for clients. I enjoy that work and am thankful for it. However, what I’ve found I REALLY...

Rites of Passage for Freelancers

My friend’s 3-year-old granddaughter recently endured the painful (and wholly accidental) misfortune of getting her tiny hand caught in a car...

6 Gifts to Fuel Freelance Business Success

After you’ve given your friends and family gifts during this hustling, bustling holiday season, remember to give the solopreneur business...

Getting It Done Vs. Embracing the Purpose

My Dog, Our Walks, And The Difference the Right Mindset Makes I walk my dog nearly every day of the year—unless the weather prevents it. We adopted...

10 Years a Freelance Writer

In January 2010, I walked out of my office at the Windstream Communications’ Brownstown PA building for the last time. The other approximately 15...

Is Your To-Do List Killing You?

I’m a bit of a to-do list junkie. However, those lists can derail rather than boost productivity if you don’t create and manage them...

Three Simple Tips to Help You Manage Freelance Projects

In an ideal world, all clients would have their act together. But the real world isn’t ideal most of the time. Some clients don’t know what...

Four Must-Haves Solopreneurs Need But Don’t Know It

When you start out as a solopreneur, you know you need the usual business essentials to operate professionally: computer, phone, printer, Internet,...

4 Tips To Help Solopreneurs And Freelancers Survive Tax Tim

Another tax season wrapped up for Dawn Mentzer Freelance Writing, LLC. [Sighs with relief.] Over my past seven years as a self-employed freelancer,...

What if? “La La Land”-inspired Food For Thought

If you wander back in time through my posts on Twitter or Facebook, you’ll find evidence I fell in love with the movie “La La Land.” I’m...

What To Do When You’re Not In The “Write” Min

It’s not easy to admit, but I confess that I’ve been in a bit of a mental and motivational slump where my blog is concerned. Oh, I’ve been...

The Nitty Gritty Of Non-Disclosure Agreements For Your Smal...

I’ve been asked to sign—and have asked others to sign—non-disclosure agreements in the course of doing business with others. But are they...

Four Tips To Help You Stop Running Your Small Business In C...

As we start and grow our businesses, many of us adopt practices and take on administrative baggage that might hold us back from working toward our...

Good Karma For Your Small Business

I’ve written about the topic of strategic volunteerism on several occasions, most recently for national media personality, investment expert, and...

The Right Way To Earn Small Business Bragging Rights

Leadership expert Steve Gutzler wrote a post that made me pause to think about the qualities of being self-employed that I tend to emphasize when...

Does [Client] Size Matter?

The bigger the client, the better? That’s the mindset of some professional services solopreneurs and freelancers I’ve met. And what’s not to...

What You—And Only You—Can Take Responsibility For

I just wrote a guest post about accountability for the TDS Business blog that broached the subject from the standpoint of how to be accountable for...

Why You Might Not Get A 1099-MISC From Your Clients

You’re probably (hopefully!) aware that if your business is a sole proprietorship or LLC and a client has paid you more than $600 in non-employee...

Two Ways To Scale Your Solopreneur Business

As 2015 creeps upon us (O.K. Who am I kidding? It’s not creeping, it’s coming at us like a rushing bull at the rodeo!), I’ve been putting...

Asked To Tackle A Project That Uncharted Territory? Keep Th...

Even professionals in creative fields can sometimes feel the grind of working on the same types of projects over and over again. So, atypical (even...

What To Expect When Going From Corporate Employee To Self-...

A friend recently asked me to meet up over lunch to talk about his thoughts of making a career change. Not happy with the degree of autonomy or...

Why Being A “Solopreneur” Is B.S.

I can already see the angry mob of freelancers and one-person business owners with pitchforks and flaming torches rounding the corner in protest. But...

How Making Ends Meet Could Confuse (and Lose) Customers

The road to making a livable wage as a solopreneur can be longer than ideal. Starting out presents the challenges of building awareness, growing a...

Can You Handle a Full-time Freelance Career?

According to the 2012 Freelance Industry Report by Ed Gandia, 65.5% of freelancing professionals work full-time as freelancers. Their career is...

Want to Make a Smart Business Move? Ask Stupid Questions.

None of us like to appear uninformed, uneducated, or ignorant. Where’s the glory in that? But none of us knows everything there is to know...

Why Small Biz Owners and Solopreneurs Need to Get Enthusias...

Enthusiasm’s upside for solopreneurs and small business owners Enthusiasm is tough to fake…that’s what makes it so powerful in...

My Solopreneur Sanity Saver: Help At Last!

My last post focused on what solopreneurs should consider when exploring bringing on a freelance assistant to help them keep up – and keep...

7 Things Small Business Owners and Oscar Nominees have in C

I can’t say I’ve ever heard anyone describe running a small business as wildly glamorous. In fact, most small business owners and...

Freelancing and Project Management: Are You on the Same Pag

“Freelancing” has become somewhat synonymous with “independence.” And to a large degree that’s true of freelancers....

Client Relationships: There’s No Room for “Us&#...

Building strong relationships with clients stands at the center of the the small business universe. An “us” vs. “them”...

Building Professional Connections: No Riding Coattails!

“We need to get together and discuss how I can get involved in your networking circle.” Awhile back, someone posted this comment on one...

EVERY Small Biz Owner Has 168 Hours per Week to Work With. ...

Fact: We all have the same amount of time to work (and play) with. 24 hours in every day. 168 hours in every week. None of us who run our own...

Take Action Against Distraction in Your Small Business in 2

“Bounce rate.” If you’ve got a website, you know less is best when talking about that particular metric. But the bounce rate of...

So, You Want to be a Freelancer? Make Sure You Have This On...

According to a study by Intuit in 2010, an estimated over 40% of the American workforce will be “contingent workers” (i.e. independent...

5 Things Freelance Professionals Need to Get Over

To run your own freelance business, you can’t afford to be your own worst enemy. There are times when it gets tough having your work...

Solopreneur Startup Smarts: East Coast and West Coast Solos...

No matter where you live and work, you’re going to make some really smart – and some not so smart – choices as you start out as a solopreneur....

Boo! What’s Most Terrifying About Being a Solopreneur

Fear. I think every solopreneur feels it to varying degrees throughout the stages of their careers. And with good reason; starting and running a...

7 Myths and Misconceptions about Freelancers

Although freelancing has become a popular and socially accepted professional path, a lot of people still have misconceptions about what freelancers...

Be Like a Tree in Autumn: Shed to Grow Your Business

Right now in Lancaster County, PA, the leaves are in the process of turning from green to hues of orange, yellow, and brown. Fall is a beautiful...

4 Business Untruths Solopreneurs Need to Ignore

Don’t believe everything people tell you about running a business. As you start and build your business as a solopreneur, you’ll discover...

Wondering Where the Time Has Gone? Try Toggl for Tracking Y...

Time-tracking for the Solopreneur / Professional Services Provider – My Experience with Toggl A few months ago, I wrote a post to share some...

How to Get Unstuck from a Rut

The Roller Coaster Ride of Being in Business As fall fair season ramps up here in south central Pennsylvania, I can’t help but reflect on the...

An Unexpected Benefit of Being a Solopreneur

When I decided to follow the self-employment path, I had some expectations of the perks that would come with the territory… Flexible schedule...

Sounding Off on Social Media: What to Think About Before Ge...

There’s nothing wrong with having strong opinions. There’s nothing wrong with having strong beliefs. In fact, surviving as a solopreneur...

Top Solopreneur “Time Wasters”

If there’s anything that can make or break a solopreneur’s ability to accomplish everything that goes along with running a solo business, it’s...

Solopreneurs, Let’s Celebrate Independence this 4th o...

This 4th of July is for you! As we celebrate our independence as a nation, don’t forget to celebrate your independence as a solopreneurial...

How Low Should You Go? Factors to Consider When Prospects W...

If you’ve set your freelance rates fairly, most often you won’t find yourself in the position of negotiating with clients. There’s a value...

What Solopreneurs Need to Know and Do to Harness the “...

When I started reading “Customer CEO – How to Profit from the Power of Your Customers” by Chuck Wall (@CustomerCEO), I thought I’d write a...

Time Tracking Tools for Professional Services Solopreneurs

Like many freelancing solopreneurs, I bill for my time, effort and end product in a variety of ways. Most often, I propose a project rate that...

Ways to Whack Your Inner Whiner

When running a small business, you face a lot of challenges. And as a solopreneur whose quality of work can largely depend on your ability to stay...

Why Your Solopreneur Business Needs “Wiggle Room”

If you’re a professional services solopreneur, there’s great satisfaction in having a full plate of billable projects. After all, that’s what...

“Do Not Give Up. The Beginning is Always the Hardest....

It’s been a while since crafted a “Fortune Cookie Friday” post! For those of you not familiar, Fortune Cookie Friday involves me unwrapping –...

Small Efforts to Move You Closer to the Big Picture in Your...

Whether you’re laying the groundwork or are already up and running as a solopreneur, long-term goals and aspirations are probably at the very core...

Two C’s Every Solopreneur Needs to Consider BEFORE Accept...

When considering “yes” or “no” about taking on a project, it’s tempting to jump in with a resounding, “Yeah, I’ll do that!” if the...

Have I got a deal for you! Could Bartering Make Sense for y...

I haven’t paid a whole lot of attention to bartering as a way of business. As I’ve always understood it, to make a barter arrangement mutually...

4 Ways to Keep Love for your Business Alive after the Honey...

Starting a new business is exciting, exhilarating…and kind of sexy! There’s a great deal of satisfaction and gratification in putting in long...

How to Show that You Mean Business in your Freelance Busine

One of the biggest challenges with a freelancing career can be getting others to recognize that you’re running a business. Friends, family,...

3 Reasons Far-Reaching Solopreneurs Should Hold Fast to Loc...

Business technology is beautiful! It enables us to expand our reach far and wide as solopreneurs. We can network, communicate, collaborate and...

Thanks, But No Thanks! – When to Pull the Plug on a Prosp...

Knee-jerk reactions and doing business typically don’t a successful combination make, but sometimes you need to go with your gut as a solopreneur....

Success as a Solopreneur in 2013: 5 Tips to Take into the N...

With nearly three years under my belt as a solopreneur, I can in no way pretend to know all there is to know about being one. But I can honestly say...

4 Sure-fire Ways to Boost Your Freelance Business

Starting out as a freelancer is exciting – but it can be scary, too. When you’ve got specific income goals you want – or need – to meet,...

Pricing Your Freelance Services

When starting out as a freelancer, quoting your services to clients can cause you to question yourself. “Will they think it’s too much?” “Am...

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