The Principles of Successful Freelancing by SitePoint

  Jul 26, 2009     9378 Views      Books       Comments (3)   

Yesterday, I finished reading the "The Principles of Successful Freelancing", written by Miles Burke and Published by SitePoint. Deciding to be a freelancer as part-time or full-time is a tough decision but this book will help you to gain all the knowledge you need to have in the freelancing.

This book will be yours beginners guide if you have recently graduated or currently employed and want to become your own boss as a freelancer. Also it will guide by giving valuable ideas and suggestion if you've recently chosen your freelance path and struggling to moving forward and managing stuff's in your freelance carrier.

The Principles of Successful Freelancing contains 8 chapters which elucidate us on about various aspects of Freelancing from the point of considering freelancing, managing the cash flow, winning the work, providing great service to the client and achieving work-life balance. The books teach us on the following key concepts to head-start our freelancing carrier.

• Understanding the pros and cons and acknowledging our technical, business, organization, interpersonal skills for successful freelancing.
• Establishing our goals, milestones and naming our freelance business and engaging assistance by having an informal mentor for your freelancing carrier.
• A separate chapter which talks about the basics of accounting that we need to understand and how to encourage prompt payment from clients and considering insurance and applying loans to help us on start-up costs.
• Planning the location of your home office, time management and tracking our time in projects.
• A chapter on which elucidate us on understanding the art of selling the products, identifying our competitors and creating our own Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and promoting your brand and engaging public speaking and networking with communities.
• Key concepts on providing great service to the clients, resolving issues and understanding and admitting our mistakes will provide clear communication and great service to the Clients.
• A chapter on how to achieve our work and life balance and staying connected with peoples and supporting and volunteering by providing donations to charities.
• Finally a chapter on understanding the pros and cons of the freelancing journey by keeping working as solo or by considering outsourcing co-working with virtual teams.

At the end of every chapter there is a case study associated and which tells about the story of two imaginary peoples who recently head-down to the freelancing path. The story is arranged in a progressive manner based on that chapter and tells us about how both of them are moving towards in the freelance world. This is one of the excellent approaches we can find in the book. The book also includes some of the author interview with the well known peoples in the freelancing and tells about their experience, challenges, advantages, work-life balance, achievement, branding and managing cash flow and finance in their freelancing field.

Overall the Principles of Successful freelancing is an excellent guide for everyone who want to head-start their carrier in freelancing and also for people who are recently into freelancing. Thanks to Mikes Burke for his excellent book.

Links:
Buy From Amazon - The Principles of Successful Freelancing
Book Site - http://www.principlesofsuccessfulfreelancing.com