March 21, 2017
Weekly Newsletter for Freelancers
Established Freelancers are Very Fortunate Workers.
Being an established freelancer during a market correction can be a blessing for your family. You would think that when a market correction occurs that we would have learned lessons from the last correction and would have moved to prevent it happening again. However, people forget and cyclical downturns occur every twenty years or so because greed takes over. It is during these times that you can look with admiration at the work that the Freelancers Union has done for unaffiliated workers and AARP for the over the fifties.
In the United States, a lot of work has been done by AARP to help people recover from the crisis in 2008 by extending their working lives. Kerry Hannon from AARP calls this “retiring part time” to supplement retirement income and/or extend the longevity of their retirement savings. Naturally, there is the social, emotional and physical benefit of doing something useful. AARP estimates that 20% of retirees over the age of 65 have retired part time.
It does not matter in which country you live, these events will occur and continue to occur. If you have friends or family that require support to transition to freelancing, whether part time or full time, I would recommend joining the Freelancers Union and the AARP (both accept international members) or your local equivalent if you live in another country. You can read Kerry Hannon’s article on retiring part time here and the Freelancers Union benefits here.
Motivate Yourself!
“Fundamentally, work is not a fixed pie which machines are eating
a bigger and bigger piece of while humans have less and less.
Instead, work is generated by businesses and entrepreneurs who
identify economic opportunities based on problems that need to
be fixed.” — Stephane Kasriel, CEO of Upwork.
Should You Feel Concerned About The Long Term Future Of Freelancing Work?
There is no doubt that a fundamental shift in employment is underway. This may be because more and more work can be done by remote workers and artificial intelligence plus automation is removing the need for human intervention. Should you be concerned about the long term future of freelancing?
Stephane Kasriel co-chaired the World Economic Forum’s council on education, gender and work and has a very good understanding on the future of work. He is optimistic about the future of work and he has written an article for Quartz explaining why. You can read Stephane’s article here.
Productivity Tip Of The Week
Did You Know That Mindfulness Can Help Your Productivity?
Calmness and serenity can help freelancers a lot. It improves focus and that increases productivity. If you have been freelancing for a while you will know that freelancing deadlines and family commitments can clash. This can lead to agitation and loss of sleep. I am sure that you will know some freelancers that have got up at 4.00 a.m. while the family was asleep and crept into their office
with the family pet and quietly closed the door to sneak a few hours of work before a family outing. Not me or you of course!
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could learn the secret of being calm under pressure? Megan Leatherman knows the secret and Megan has shared it with us in the Freelancers Union Blog.
You can read Megan’s article here.
I am also a member of the Freelancers Union and you can read my Top Ten Reasons for Being a Member of the Freelancers Union here.
Work-Life Balance Tip Of The Week
Affirmations Are Powerful Tools Which Every Freelancer Should Use.
Affirmations are very powerful tools that every freelancer should know about because they can change your subconscious mind. There are various forms of affirmations, but they have one thing in common – they seek to change your feelings about yourself. This is important because, in the gig economy where you are the boss of everything, including how you feel, things will go wrong. It is guaranteed that this will happen and managing how you feel is important.
Deb from the Freelancers Union Blog knows how to manage frustrations and how she feels about them. Deb shows insight and understanding in spiritualising work and self management. You can read her article here. I love the expression on Deb’s dog!
Financial Tip Of The Week
Do You Lose Money By Not Having A Separate Freelancing Bank Account?
A lot of people start out freelancing part time to supplement their 9 to 5 employment income or to see if it is possible to be a freelancer full time. Whatever the reason for starting out freelancing, there is a common denominator – earning money! However, there is another side to the equation and that is making sure that you keep good records and claim the allowable deductions for your freelancing activities.
Nellie Akalp has written an article about why you should have a separate business account. Nellie’s article appears very appropriately in the FreshBooks Blog and you can read about it here.
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:
