Where do you usually come up with your best ideas? When hard at work at your desk? In a serious business meeting?

I don’t know about you, but my brain usually shifts into creative mode when I’m doing something else entirely. Places like:

• The shower. Which is why I’m eyeing up this Aqua Notes notepad.
• While driving. My best blog post ideas pop up in my head while driving. I used to jot it all down once I’d finished driving, but now I have Siri I can shout it out into a note.
• At the gym. Hahahahaha….yeah, this doesn’t happen very often. When I’m not hating every second of it, an idea occasionally pops into my head.
• At 3am. These ideas aren’t usually my best.

Point being, you need to take a break sometimes in order to be at your most creative. Get away from your desk and go have a little adventure. Spend time with people who inspire you, or make time to be on your own. Create a creative environment at home where you can relax and think. Switch off your tech. Try something new. Anything to free your brain up a bit.

There’s nothing better than getting a really good idea. Give yourself the chance to do that!

What are your top tips for getting creative?

By the time you read this, I’ll hopefully be all checked in to my honeymoon cruise with my new hubby and preparing to sail around places like Oslo, St Petersberg and Tallin for a whole 13 days. Hopefully with a ridiculous cocktail in my hand. Bliss.

I’ve been on a few 3-4 day breaks over the last few years, but this is the first proper holiday I’ve been on in over five years – and the husband’s first in over a decade. To say it’s overdue is an overstatement. Not least because I haven’t been practicing what I preach about taking breaks.

The very best bit? There will be no wifi and very little signal. So I really won’t be able to work while I’m away. My iPhone will be getting a proper break too. While this wasn’t the only reason we went for a cruise (hello unlimited buffet and onboard crazy golf), it’s certainly a great perk.

I’ve got a couple of posts scheduled to go up over the next couple of weeks, so it won’t be entirely quiet here. And I’m sure I’ll be back with a notebook full of post ideas.

When was the last time you took a proper holiday from freelancing?

When someone asks you what you do, what’s your usual response?

I’ve been freelancing for nearly five years, but I still don’t know how to answer that question. Right now, I’m doing everything from copywriting and blogging to social media planning and consulting. I love the variety of my work. But there isn’t one term to cover all of it – and freelancer doesn’t cut it.

Which means I have the following options when introducing myself to others:

• List what I do. While I occasionally do this, especially when out networking, it’s hardly the most interesting option. And it all sounds like I have a scatter-gun approach to business rather than offer the whole digital content package.
• Tailor it to my audience. This can be a great option if you’re looking to give your services a little sales boost. For example, when meeting a business owner with no social media presence, I’ll mention my social media services first.
• Introduce myself as an entrepreneur. I’ll be honest – I’m uncomfortable with this term. Like the term ‘blogger’, I think it’s developed a bit of a reputation. It also feels like a label others should give you, not one you should give yourself.
• Create a term. Recently, I’ve been trying out Digital Content Consultant. It covers social media and online content, and hopefully comes across as more professional than ‘I’m a freelancer who writes and tweets stuff’.

I still don’t think I’ve found the right answer. In fact, the world of digital media changes so quickly that it’s hard to find a correct label that is applicable for more than a few months. But Digital Content Consultant seems to work for now.

How do you introduce yourself as a freelancer?

Last night, I had my first big Q&A for The Freelance Lifestyle, answering questions like:

• How do I get into being freelance?
• How to find time for learning new things in your industry when keeping on top of your work load?
• What to do in a freelance slump (either mentally or from a lack of work situation)
• How to maintain confidence when being a freelancer
  
• I’ve pitched an article idea. Ed said may use in future mag edition. How do I follow up without seeming pushy
• How do I deal with filming a Hangout in a boiling hot room where ventilation is limited due to the extra loud wildlife outside (Spoiler! Not well)

My good friend Sally from Flourish PR joined me, and shared some of her insights too. Particularly worth checking out her thoughts on how to follow up on a pitched idea, and how to deal with a freelance slump. Sally has done stupendously well in the last couple of years,

If you want to catch up, I’ve popped the hangout below. Potentially if enough of you are interested, I might just make it a monthly 30 min thing with a theme (finance, finding clients, family/friends), and grab some other lovely freelancers to jump on too. There are some kinks to iron out, like where to film (I may or may not have run around the house in a bit of a tizz in the 5-10 minutes before trying to find somewhere with good lighting. I failed). No one ever started doing something perfectly though, did they? I’m a big fan of jumping in and planning as I go. Clearly.

That’s enough chattering. Tune in below to see….well, more of me chattering.

p.s Who’s coming to Blognix tomorrow? Looking forward to seeing all your faces! 

p.p.s The next few weeks are likely to be a little unusual on the blog as I’m off on honeymoon on Thursday (finally). If you fancy guest posting about your freelancing experiences (freelancers only please, no businesses who want to argue the basics of nofollow policies and sponsored posts) drop me an email!

Anyway, I wanted to follow that up with a Google+ hangout to answer any questions you might have about freelancing. It’ll be an hour long, and streamed live to YouTube, so if you miss it you can catch up there.

Want your question answered? You’ve got a few options.

• Tweet me @Freelance_life, using the hashtag #freelancehangout
• Leave me a comment on Facebook.
• On the G+ event page
• On the YouTube video below
• Or by dropping me an email!

I’ve recorded a three minute Freelance Lifestyle Tea Break Challenge below to go over the details.

 What questions would YOU like answered?

In just over a week, I’ll be on my way to Birmingham, to a place called The Custard Factory, to speak about social media, enjoy a picnic and chat to some of the most exciting bloggers in the UK.

Sounds interesting? It’s Blognix!

Blognix is a blogger event organised by Elizabeth Sellers from Rosalilium.  A successful blogger in her own right, Elizabeth has gathered together a group of us bloggers to speak about a topic of our choice. Speakers include:

• El Jones from A Thrifty Mrs
• Jen Holmes from A Little Bird Told Me
• Kim Lawler from Kim Lawler Creative and Finest Imaginary
• Colleen Bulfin from Reward Style
• Hazel Paterson from It’s not f***ing rocket science and Domestic Sluttery

(I actually read and love most of these blogs already, so I’m going to have to keep my fan girl face in check. More info on them on Rosalilium’s blog)

As a blogger, you can expect to learn about:

• Working with PR’s
• Social Media Tips and Techniques
• Turning Blogging into a Career
• Blogging Ethics and Best Practice
• Photography for Blogging
• Blog Design
• and more!

The bloggers who are in the line up all make an income from blogging, so you’ll get great advice you can really put into practice.

Did I mention there will be a picnic? In a place called The Custard Factory? The really awesome bit is, tickets are just £20. D’ya know what else you can buy for £20?

• One cinema ticket for a two hour film. And maybe a nasty hot dog.
• Three magazines. Maybe four if you like the ‘My grandmother was also my mother’ type of weeklies.
• A McDonald’s drive through
• A cocktail in London

Buy a £20 ticket for Blognix, and you’ll get:

• A whole day of tutorials and sessions with bloggers
• A Q&A session
• A picnic lunch and refreshments through the day
• A great networking experience with likeminded people.

That’s just good maths.

Most of the tickets have now gone, but there are a few left. You can snap them up on the Blognix event page.

If you can’t make it, you can follow the #Blognix hashtag on Twitter for the latest updates.

So, who’s coming to Blognix?

Tweet

Read on for my guide on how to get started as a part-time freelancer…

Choosing what to do:

You can do anything! Here are a few of the most popular options:

• Virtual assistant – admin generally.
• Social Media
• Pet sitting
• Baby sitting
• Baking
• Cleaning
• Ironing
• Graphic design
• Blog design
• Make Up
• Hairdressing
• Teaching/Tutorials
• Wedding planning
• DIY jobs
• Decluttering
• Gardening
• Renting – You can rent out anything, from items you own to your home for filming!

Where to find freelance work:

When you want to find freelance work, but don’t have the time or money to promote yourself or network, there are plenty of tools you can use.

• Fiverr - This task marketplace lets you offer a small service for $5. This is a great way to make a small amount of money while building up your portfolio.
• People Per Hour – Another bidding marketplace, People Per Hour can be useful for picking up the odd job you can do during the evening or at the weekends. I occasionally pick up writing work through PPH, so it’s worth signing up for.
• Task Squad – I wrote recently about Task Squad. If you’re 18-25, you can do ad hoc jobs through Task Squad, ranging from public stunts to event supervision.
• Get your friends involved. Do you offer a service like baking, sewing, graphic design or child/pet care? Ask your friends to keep their ears open for any potential opportunities.
• Get social. Creating a Facebook page for your work is a great way to promote your product or service, with no costs and little time commitment.

Tax and finances

If you’re hoping to freelance on the side of a full time job, you’ll need to get legal. When it comes to tax and NI, HMRC has a pretty detailed page about this. Essentially, your tax situation at work shouldn’t change, but you’ll need to start putting money aside from all your freelance earnings, to pay your tax bill and NI. I usually try to put 30% of my income away for tax/NI/business stuff (then whatever I have left after paying my bills goes on fun stuff.)

Work/Life Balance

One of the important things when considering free time freelancing, is working out how much time you want to dedicate to it. While it might be tempting to fill your free time with extra work to earn extra money, you’re not doing yourself any favours. Try to keep at least a couple of evenings or a day at the weekend free from work, so you have a chance to recharge. You might also want to check your contract, as some employers prefer that you don’t do the same work for other clients, especially if they’re possible competitors.

Are you tempted to do some free time freelancing? 

This morning, after a couple of technical difficulties, I managed to have a great hangout with the lovely Rosie from One Man Band Accounting. We discussed a topic that I think a lot of you might find interesting – freelance marketplaces. Sites like Elance, People Per Hour and Fiverr, where you can bid on jobs or project against freelancers all over the world.

Want to know what we thought? Hit the play button below to watch our hangout (30 mins)!

Listen in to find out:

• Who freelance marketplaces are best suited to
• Which sites we rate
• What to look out for if you’re a freelancer
• What to look out for if you’re hiring.

Do you use freelance marketplaces? What do you think about them? Let me know in the comments below! 

This week’s A-Z of freelancing is ‘bad clients’, voted for by the fans over on The Freelance Lifestyle Facebook page.

I can see why they want it covered. Dealing with bad clients is tricky, time-consuming and frustrating. It can take freelancing from fun to a big fat fail.

I’ve discussed before that bad clients come in lots of different disguises, in my post Five difficult clients and how to deal with them. You’ve got late payers, the goal post changers, the vague ones, the ones that expect you to be on call 24/7 and the manipulative ones.

In that post, I’ve outlined how to deal with bad clients. But how do you spot them and avoid them in the first place?

It’s not always easy. But there are some things you can do.

• Do your research. Have a search of their business online, on Twitter and Facebook. It’s best to know the full picture before you go forward.
• Offer a consultation session. This is a great way to get to know them and their business without a commitment. 
• Go with your gut. If your gut isn’t sure, either don’t go for it (or make sure you charge enough to make it worth it!)
• Send your Terms of Business, and don’t work with them until they’ve agreed to them (on paper/email). Include your hours, the maximum use of free revisions if applicable, where your work can be used and payment terms.
• Ask for an initial payment, if it’s a big project. This will weed out the flighty ones, and often the late payers too.
• Be firm and confident. Potential clients that constantly request or expect a discount don’t respect your work – and are therefore likely to be tricky further down the line.

Chances are, you’ll pick up the odd bad client here and there. To be completely blunt, a well-paid project can often blind us to downsides of a particular client. And even great clients can occasionally become bad clients. The key is how you deal with them.

How do you spot bad clients?

The little favour

I have a little favour to ask of you, dear readers.

Remember a few weeks ago when I told you about Task Squad, a project that helps young people get paid temporary work? Helping young people find work is something I’m really passionate about, and I know the team at Vinspired are just as passionate about it.

As a disclosure, my friends Sam and Lea from The High Tea Cast are involved with this (in fact, Task Squad was an idea pitched by Sam to her bosses) 

Anyway, the favour. Task Squad is up for the Google Global Impact Award. There are just 10 UK organisations up for this award. This is a huge deal for them, and could lead to a £500k award that could help 270,000 young people get access to paid work over the next 3 years. So I’m asking for your votes, which takes just a second to do. You don’t need to give any info, just click the ‘vote’ button.

Want to know a little more? Jump on the Twitter Q&A on 28 May from 1-2pm.

It’s time for the Freelance Lifestyle Tea Break Challenge!

(Can we all pretend I’m not actually late posting this challenge? Yes? Wonderful!)

So, this week, it’s all about community. Working from home or freelancing definitely has perks, but sometimes you just want to talk to someone other than the cat. Getting to know your local community means you can meet new contacts, friends, potential clients and discover lots of new things about the area.

Check out the animation of five steps to get to know your community better, then let me know how YOU’RE going to get to know your community a little better this week.