July 25, 2017
Weekly Newsletter for Freelancers
Should a Freelancer be Concerned about the EUGDPR?
What is the EUGDPR you may very well ask, but it is very important because it is going to have a significant impact on all our lives, truly! What the acronym stands for is the European Union General Data Protection Regulation.
The EU and its trading partners are busily preparing for its introduction on the 25/5/2018. The best one sentence summary of the EUGDPR purpose that I have read is this:
“The primary objectives of the GDPR are to give control back to
citizens and residents over their personal data and to simplify
the regulatory environment for international business by
unifying the regulation within the EU.”
That quote is from Wikipedia and you can read more about EUGDPR here.
There is another result that cyber criminals will not like to hear. It is going to strengthen cyber security throughout the world. If you have ever been hacked, had your identity stolen or suffered cyber bullying of yourself, friends or family this change in strengthening global cyber security is good news!
The EU is one of the biggest trading blocs in the world. You can see its relevance. You can also see an infographic of the EUGDPR by clicking on my Cyber Security website here.
The answer to the question at the top of this article is clearly, yes! The EUGDPR impact is going to be worldwide and for the better.
Motivate Yourself!
“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t
turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”
– Michael Jordan
Have you Checked Whether your Freelancing Industry is in the Top 10?
Knowing where you are going and how you are going to get there is important especially in freelancing. This is because you are the boss and are in charge of strategic planning for your business.
We all know what happened to Kodak when the photography market changed to digital photography over a relatively short space of time. The same is true for many of the industries that are conducted over the internet. Technology is constantly evolving and new industries or niche markets within industries are an ongoing occurrence.
If you were a Google Adsense specialist as a freelancer you would know that Google Adsense advertising system’s algorithms changed quickly to stop the gaming of the system; it is also known as fraud.
The freelancers involved in that industry would have very quickly found themselves without a job. That is why you need to regularly keep abreast with the top ten jobs and what is trending in the market place. This will motivate you to be constantly on the lookout for new opportunities to develop your freelancing skills. You can see Upwork releases of its 2017 Skills Index, ranking the fastest-growing skills for freelancers by clicking here.
Jared Lindzon has written an article for Fast Company about this topic called The Top 10 industries for freelancers. You can read it by clicking here.
Productivity Tip Of The Week
Are You a Minimalist Freelancer or Broke?
When you are starting out as a freelancer very often you do so with a supplementary income goal in mind or else to see whether freelancing is a viable proposition or not. It is the safe way to start out freelancing. For many, it means that they will have a tight budget and resources will be scare.
This quote is very appropriate for freelancers starting out:
“Don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I’ll
tell you what you value.” Joe Biden
Joe Biden’s quote is spot on for when you are starting out. You have to consider what tools will be the most valuable for you. It is something that you will learn by experience if you are not able to see that there must be a better way to make sure that you have the right minimalist tools. There is a better way, of course. It is to learn from others’ experience and copy what has been successful for them.
Jeriann Ireland has written an article entitled The essential toolkit for minimalist (or broke) freelancers for the Freelancers Union Blog. You can read it here.
Work-Life Balance Tip Of The Week
Do You Have a Plan for a Vacation?
I know that going on a vacation can be tough because it is difficult to plan the flow of your work when you are reliant on gigs for your income. This is because you might miss out on a great gig that will help you reach your income goal, right?
Planning for a vacation also links in with having a core of quality clients that will lead to having a steady flow of gigs and charging a fair and
reasonable price for your goods or services. When you have achieved that goal you can become more relaxed about your work flow. It means that while you are away enjoying your vacation your mind can stop thinking about work because you have planned for your vacation away from work.
Monika Kanokova has written an article entitled 7 Steps to planning for a vacation as a freelancer for the Freelancers Union Blog. You can read it here.
Financial Tip Of The Week
Do You Enjoy Bookkeeping for Your Freelance Business?
Do you know what the cost to you is of not keeping good records for your freelancing business? Your accountant would be able to tell you quite easily! In fact, I am sure that they would love to do just that. Imagine that you earned, say, $50,000 a year and had all up expenses of $15,000 which would give you net assessable income of $35,000, right?
Now just imagine that for the first time you decided it was all too hard and you decided to go to the accountant who worships at your church. He tells you that you have missed out claiming expenses for your home office and other related expenses of $1,500 p.a. for the last five years.
You of course, would say, “What? You’re joking!” At this stage he would give you his best accountant smile and say “but I can help you get some of it back“. I know that this is true because I have seen it happen many times in my previous career as a financial planner where I dealt with accountants a lot.
Nearly all countries’ tax offices have online calculators that allow you to get a quick estimate of how much taxation you will pay as a business, which is what freelancing is. In Australia the link is here, but your country will have a similar link which a Google search will find. It might be the easiest money you have earned all year! That is how important keeping records and using an accountant is.
Nick Chowdrey has written an article for the Upwork Blog entitled 5 bookkeeping tips for DIY freelancers. You can read Nick’s article here. However, I believe in keeping good records and using an accountant.
Freelancers And Cyber Security
We have gained approval from Robert Siciliano to bring you extracts from his books related to cyber security for freelancers. Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert and consultant. He also gives self defense and personal safety seminars. Robert provides safety and identity theft fraud prevention tips and advice on multimedia channels in the United States. We have his approval to bring you weekly extracts from his books:
