Note (11/2/10): We've got the first session lined up! "So you want to be a freelancer...now what?" will be hosted by freelance coach and blogger Robert Dempsey on Thurs., Nov. 11 at 11:30 and 5:30.
Register at Eventbrite

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Today I fielded questions from a couple of our members regarding the fundamentals of self-employment, specifically: "How do I make more sales?" and "How much should I charge?"

Those of us who have been in the creative/communications business for some time have developed our own hard-won tricks on how to make sales, write proposals and such. Perhaps we conveniently forget how hard it was to achieve "critical mass" in our own freelance practices.

Of course much has changed since this writer got his start some 15 years ago: there are tons more freelancers and small shops vying for work across a broad spectrum of specialties. Some of us are established and working off our referral networks. But many more of us are working on borrowed time, as measured by unemployment checks, savings or available credit.

This is a problem. Our freelance market is too big to fail. We already do a lot as a community to share head knowledge. But now it's time to band together and start sharing street knowledge.

So, here's the deal: We want to open our doors for freelancers to come and learn tricks of the trade. Especially in those areas that nobody ever teaches you about (but that if you don't master quickly, you're toast).

The format

• Wednesdays, from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m., in November and December (starting Nov. 10?)
• At CoCo in Lowertown St. Paul (map)
• Free attendance!
• BYOL (Bring your own lunch) or pay $5 for pizza & pop
• Registration: we'll post an Eventbrite just as soon as we pin down our first couple sessions/speakers

The topics
These are just a few suggestions to prime the pump. Many of them overlap and could be handled in the same session.

• How to focus your business (because you can't be all things to all people...)
• How to create a damn good elevator speech
• How to develop prospects
• How to close sales
• How to price your services
• How to negotiate on pricing
• How to manage scope creep (and avoid coutless unbillable hours)
• Should you even be a freelancer? (or are there other biz arrangements that make more sense?)
• How to build your reputation
• How to get better, more strategic work
• How to get work from bigger clients (with bigger budgets)
• How to get work from other markets
• How to get work from overseas?
• How to find work in places you didn't know existed
• How should you bill for your services?
• What to do about deadbeat clients?

Are these the right topics? If you're one of those scrappy freelancers out there, trying to take your creative business to the next level (or perhaps just the first level!), what's standing in your way? I'd like to hear from you.

Who's invited
Everyone's invited, of course. I'm imagining the content being pertinent to people in creative fields like the ones listed below, but who knows? Maybe there are some specialties that I'm totally unaware of. If so, please let me know and we'll try to accommodate you.

• Copywriters
• Designers
• Web developers
• SEO consultants
• Illustrators
• Photographers
• Consultants (of many stripes)
• Coaches
• Marketing strategists/planners
• Media buyers
• PR practitioners

A call for help
Even though we'll do great just sharing tips and tricks P2P style, I think it will help tremendously to hear from some seasoned pros who can offer some hard-earned wisdom. In particular, I hope we can corral some former freelancers who were able to grow their practices into larger businesses.

BAM!
At each session we'll be giving away a month of coworking at CoCo to some lucky freelancer. Because if you're freelancing, you really oughta be coworking!