The Freelancer’s Guide to the Galaxy: The Perks + Challenges of Self-Employment

10 Thursday Sep 2015

Posted by melissaoconnor in Design in Business

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balance, create schedules, designer, fees, finances, finding work, freelance, freelancer's guide, freshbooks, invoicing, marketing, online invoicing, rates, self employment, taxes, work schedule

The Freelancer's Guide to the Galaxy

Being a freelancer can be really awesome in so many ways. You get to be your own boss and create your own schedule, allocate time how you see fit, work in your own environment, and set your own rates.

However, there are also a few challenges:

Constantly being on your game to find projects
You don’t have a job to go to everyday with assignments all set for you to do, so you have to work at finding new projects pretty much all the time. It takes dedication and perseverance, but once you get the hang of it, most of your clients should be steady at some point and even refer you to new ones.

You should also remember to be open to different outlets that may bring you income as well. If you are a designer, where can you sell your work? Thanks to the internet, there are many ways to do this. And the same with social networking, you don’t need to be everywhere, but you should be on the websites that are the best for you to market yourself.

Handling your admin work
Now unless you hire someone else to do it, you have to take care of the not so fun work like keeping tabs on accounts, updating your newsletter, and writing verbiage for your website and other documents. After awhile, its something you will just get used to doing.

Personally deal with clients when you may not want to
Let’s be honest, there will be days when you really don’t want to meet or talk with clients, but you will have to. You are the boss. I think emails make this so much easier, don’t you think? It always helps to be clear about your project and get all details necessary before you get started to avoid any repetitive communication that may get annoying.

Not have a steady paycheck
This certainly sucks and at times it can get scary. But you took the leap and decided you wanted to be self employed so this sadly comes along with that. Just make sure your rates are fair without selling yourself short and keep that work flowing.

Learn how to balance your personal and professional
life if you work from home
This can be very hard, especially when you first start out. It’s definitely an adjustment and can be very challenging if you have children. Working from home is awesome but it has its drawbacks. Just stay focused and keep yourself organized enough so your schedule doesn’t overrun you. It’s a good idea to set certain times when you plan to work and even have a dedicated space, away from the rest of the living space, to do it. Distractions are the worst!

Try to learn about taxes so you aren’t in the dark about your money
I have done my own taxes for years and continue to do it for my husband and I. I am the type of person who tries to understand every aspect of my business and taxes are a part of that. Now, if you are totally not interested, then hiring a professional to help you is the best thing to do. I recommend Amy Northard, who works specifically with creatives and knows the ins and outs of tax time and beyond. You can also check out my post, Get Your Finances Straight: A Short Guide for Freelancers and Small Business Owners, to learn my easy methods of keeping your purchases organized and income easy to track throughout the year.

Handle invoices and discussing fees
Not everyone likes to talk about money. I, for one, never felt that comfortable discussing rates to my clients. BUT, this is something you have to do. It’s your livelihood and no one else is going to do it for you. Always research what the going rates are for the type of services you offer so you are not selling yourself short. And consider your VALUE a huge factor when figuring out what to charge.

When it comes to invoicing there are a bunch of services out there to make that department much easier. If you are old school and simply send a PDF invoice to your clients, that works. I prefer Paypal invoicing because its my main account for my business and using all their tools just makes my life easier. There is also an online service like FreshBooks that can surely help with super smooth invoicing and tools that make sense. Definitely something you should consider checking out.

Always having to market yourself to the world
Marketing should be on top of your list and a major focus in your business. Whether its social media, mailers, advertising, or blog posts, getting your name and work out there is a must for any business to grow. Since I am a designer, I handle all of this, which I don’t mind doing. For me, its a creative outlet to introduce myself to more potential clients and present my work to all different kinds of communities. But if you have to hire someone to take care of the marketing end of your business, then do it. Bad marketing is bad for business. Period.

I am currently working on a new course, Branding + Marketing 101: A Guide to Boost Your Business, Inspire Ideas, and Help Create a Brand that Represents You and Your Work, that I am very excited about. I plan to launch it late September/early October so keep your eyes peeled!

Let’s just say there are way more things you are responsible for than if you worked a 9 to 5 job. It could take years to get your business booming and hold a steady amount of clients, but if you are passionate about what you do and know in your heart that freelancing is the best option, then everything will fall into place.

My friends over at Freshbooks sent me a fun info graphic to share. It goes through all the things you probably will encounter on your journey of self-employment. Enjoy!

Creating Balance and Harmony at Home Using Feng Shui’s Five Elements

06 Tuesday Nov 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Guest Posts, Maria Samuels, The Home

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abundance, art, balance, creativity, design, earth, energy, family, Feng Shui, Fire, harmony, health, In Style Modern, intimate relationships, manifestations, Marial Samuels, metal, water, wood, yin and yang

The art of consciously choosing the designs that support people’s life path is called feng shui. And the aspects of your life you consider as important, such as your family, health, abundance, intimate relationships and creativity, are mirrored by your home. The walls, tables and other accessories you place at home are physical manifestations of your beliefs on life in general. This also applies to the structures, patterns and colors that you surround yourself. Each one sends an energy vibration which may be useful or harmful to you.

Understanding how you use feng shui at home is the key to reaping the energy that helps you live a better life. But first you must determine what chi is moving through your body and your environment. This is where the concept of yin and yang emerges as these two dictate the energy that flows in people’s lives. The presence of too much yin energy has negative impact on health, affects the chi flow and shuts down the body. Meanwhile, an excess of yang energy also results in ill health, most noticeable effect include increased heart rate and blood pressure.

The most important part is to balance the yin and yang energy movements to establish a whole state, thus, paving the way for healing, emotionally, mentally and physically. It is also noteworthy to remember that no person carries an entire yin or yang energy. This is because our energy changes with the current season as well as the food people eat and the time of a day.

Here are the 5 enhancing element energy designs in feng shui that can aid you to controlling the yin and yang chi in your life:

Fire
Fire energy is synonymous with expansion and transformation. This means that you are more open to new ideas and are more willing to sharing your gifts with others.

You can add fire energy at home by using any bright color, such as red or orange, or any active color that helps energy and light to bounce. To send up more energy into a room, use the following shapes: diamonds, triangles, pyramids and sunbursts. You can also add lamps, a carved wooden box, spotlights, lanterns, red or green candles, backlit plants, palm trees or yucca trees, pillars, tall chairs, and any groupings of three.

Earth
Earth helps you become more grounded, thus, helping you to feel more protected, stabilized, secure and safe. Aside from moving downward, earth energy is slow on its motion and is represented by nurturing, soft objects as well as solid, heavy objects.

The goal of earth energy is to serve as reminder to people that the physical body, physical world and physical needs must be given due honor. Earth colors are subdued and are usually represented by yellow and brown. Also, the shapes and structures associated with earth energy stone, adobe, straw and brick. Think of warm cozy blankets, terra-cotta pots, a rock garden, brightly colored pillows, pottery, and pillows

Water
Water energy helps you to a relaxed state where you release the things that have been bothering you for the day. To attain physical and emotional healing, make it a ritual to start your day in a water environment and end it as well on similar surrounding.

Black and dark blue are the water colors, thus, adding white tiles around the bath, a curved path, a white vase, a black or dark blue birdbath. I’ve always loved indoor fountains and this copper fountain has stolen my heart, and hanging plants are perfect ways to experience water energy.

Wood
Wood energy manifests creativity and growth in your life.

Definitely not pastel, wood colors bring in clarity and energy in your life. And these are purple to allow expression and bring in abundance as well as green to grow and heal at the same time. To ensure growth is achieved, you must not pick colors that are too muddy or have lots of gray. Objects that are related to wood include vertical blinds, flowing curtains, a blue or green vase, sloping or tall furniture pieces.

Metal
Metal represents the mind energy, with two essential aspects: the intellectual left-brained and the creative right-brained. Too much of this energy, however, can influence people to be sarcastic and overly critical of others.

For the left-brained, the colors associated are gray, white and silver. These are most beneficial for people engaged in accounting or computer programming or any job that requires detailed tasks. To avoid any sharp edge, you can color your room with a soft warm color as well or just opt for creamy or rosy white. For the right-brained, rainbow colors are ideal to bring out your creativity at the same time allow body healing.

Adding bells, metal chimes, a brick pathway, long comfortable sofa, low, wide furniture will bring in the metal energy in your life

Written by Marial Samuels

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

28 Monday May 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, The Home

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balance, color, design, interior design, nature, rugs, small spaces, space, texture

Here is another collection of ideas that will help you redefine spaces in your home. Sometimes it just takes a few tips to get you started and then you are set to go. There are easy and simple ways of accomplishing successful design. You just have to keep the space in mind and figure out what works best.

Have a stairwell in need of some love? Hanging photos or artwork on the walls will usually do the trick but what about the corner of the stairwell? Don’t think you can’t do anything with them just because it is a small space. Shop around for a corner piece of furniture or place a plant on a plant stand. Two ideas that will solve the problem and look beautiful. You can also dress up the stairs! Get creative and have some fun.

Corners in a room are very important. In my previous apartment I had glass bookshelves in the corner which looks great but still seemed a little empty. I happened to have a big branch that I found in my backyard that I felt would be perfect for the spot. I already had it in an oversized vase on the floor but it wasn’t doing much where I originally had it. This corner was the ideal spot. Not only does it fill up the space, it brings a natural and whimsical feel to the room.

Bringing natural elements into your home is one idea I always recommend people do. The Earth is such a beautiful place and it gives us so much to work with. This is one thing you can take for granted because most of the time it’s free and best of all, it enhances your everyday life in the process.

For natural elements, look around your local parks or even around your backyard. Remember not to settle with an item just because you want to get the project out of the way. Bringing in plants and flowers will always brighten up a room. Your home is an extension of who you are so allow it to represent your style and personality to the fullest.

Another problem I feel people have with defining space is understanding ways to open it up. If you have a small room, you shouldn’t bring heavy, dark furniture into the space. It will just make it look smaller. That doesn’t mean you can’t use browns and darker colors, it just means you should watch how you combine the elements in the room. It should always feel balanced. Knowing your measurements should help solve that problem.

You can have a big, lofty room and still have it feel relaxing, airy and warm. If you want to fill up the space nicely and can use large furniture, then go for it. For big spaces you can choose from many colors that are warm or cool. It’s just a matter of how you want the space to feel. Color plays a big part as well. The warmer the hue (reds, oranges and browns) the space will seem cozier. The cooler the hue (whites, creams, blues and grays) the space will feel more open and airy. But as long you have a nice balance between color, furniture and texture, you can create the space of your dreams.

For my living room, I chose a cool blue/gray palette on my walls and included a lot of white. I balanced that out with metal and dark gray furniture. Although its nice to have a lot of light neutrals in the space, there should be some weight to help balance everything out. This is why I chose darker gray metal pieces with a mix of wood to fill in areas.

Textures also play an important role when balancing a space. Again, if you are stuck with a small room, brighten it up with a high textured rug but don’t hide it with a heavy coffee table. To show the rug off you want to purchase a table that you can see through or has a very light feeling.

Try to be creative when it comes to furniture. You don’t always have to buy something already made. Make it yourself! A year ago I purchased several crates from Etsy and stacked them to make shelves. Once I placed some of my vintage accessories on them, it stood out brilliantly. Keeping a collection together is more dramatic than spreading it around so try to pair up pieces by style, form or color.

For vintage crates and things of that nature, stop by garage sales in your neighborhood. You never know what you will find. There are a lot of things in my home I found at yard sales and for a very good price. Don’t forget about antique shops too! Get creative and work with the space you have. It’s all up to you to make it functional and beautiful.

Hope you all have fun playing around with some of these ideas. Remember, it’s easy to design your space and balance it out. Just keep these tips in mind and DIY your way to brilliance.