Managing a Freelancer's Finances
I have a number of clients and friends who run freelancing businesses, and while the business is exciting and fulfilling, there is a very big challenge in how to best manage their finances; and these financial challenges not only apply to freelancer's but also solopreneurs, small business owners, and anyone who has an erratic income stream.Carrie Smith, founder of Careful Cents, is not only a freelancer/solopreneur, but she coaches other's in how to best manage their businesses. It's one of my longer podcasts; however, there is so much great information here and I think it's a must listen for any freelancer, solopreneur, small business owner, or someone thinking about making the leap into this world.
What Are We Drinking?
Espresso Martinis1 oz cold espresso or coffee2 oz vanilla vodka1 oz Baileys(1 oz of half and half or some other creamer is optional)Shake all of the ingredients over ice, pour into a martini glass and enjoy!
Podcast Notes
Shannon and Carrie discuss the ups and downs and pros and cons of starting your own business and important things to remember about the choice to do it
Freelancing Tips
Figure out how much you need to live and determine if you can realistically achieve this on your own before you start your business.
Understand what you are worth. What your time is worth and make sure you are getting it.
Create a client comparison system where you can evaluate the clients based on your efficiency, productivity and enjoyment working for them
Make sure you work out your income pie with your time pie. Are you getting paid enough for the time you are spending working on it?
Think about quoting custom rates based on your clients and your expertise
Remember that you can benefit from working with clients in other ways than just money
We talk about managing the erratic income stream to build your wealth while building your business
Carrie stresses the importance of automating your processes as much as possible to conserve time for making money rather than managing it
Carrie shares some great ideas for how to managing getting paid from clients
As you grow your business, remember to diversify your streams of income to manage your risk of not getting paid for your work
Carrie discusses the importance of managing taxes as a freelancer
We talk about business expenses that make sense as far as your business is concerned
Carrie weighs in on whether or not freelancers should set up as an LLC or not
Here is the link to many of the resources Carrie mentioned during the podcast
Random Three Questions
Your husband is a chef, what is your favorite meal that he makes?
When was the last time you cried?
What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?