How to Go It Alone

The Wall Street Journal is calling this the “age of going solo.” The reasons are obvious: more people are working independently, because they gave up on the corporate world or were chucked out. A startling 20-plus percent of US workers are freelancers, consultants, contractors or (my personal favorite) “micropreneurs.”

Are you one of them? Could you be? The Journal’s story by Richard Greenwald offers some powerful tips on how to succeed. Read the original article for more, like what to beware of in a professional network.

Think long term

You might see this as a temporary, in-between jobs situation. But it might not be. And if you think of it that way, you won’t be very good at it. And with competition for gigs fierce, your halfhearted approach won’t make you a pile of money.

Learn and teach

You need cutting-edge skills, both to justify your rates and improve your chances of getting a full-time gig, should you want one.

Instead of Ditching Your Day Job, You Could…

Feeling stuck in a job you hate? Get in line.

A recent survey of 5,000 households found that only 45 percent of Americans are satisfied with their jobs right now, the lowest level on record since the Conference Board research group began issuing the annual survey 22 years ago.

Why don’t these unhappy employees just leave if they’re so bummed out? It’s the economy, stupid. With unemployment levels at record highs, quitting a gig that pays the bills is not high on everyone’s list of comfortable risks…

Love in the Time of Layoff: The Appeal of Employment

Raj had me almost at hello, but he didn’t seem to realize it. As so often happens, the same was true in the reverse, as well—but we two somewhat wary people didn’t realize it on our first meeting. We had sat in the park after a friend suggested we meet (we could “be good contacts for one another”) and shared stories from our lives. We parted with no further plans.

As weeks passed, I wondered if there was a way to meet up with Raj again. I planned to invite him to a party I would throw. And then, out of nowhere, an email: “Call me urgently.” Two minutes later, we were on the phone. He was charming and funny—and he had a proposal, a potentially very lucrative project that would come from one of his clients. My thrill at hearing from Raj was a bit deflated by the absence of romance in it, but I was also very happy and relieved to have work fall into my lap, as I needed it very badly.

It’s always tricky to mix up work and romance, but in this downturn, I couldn’t ignore the very real tug of the rent, loans, bills piling up. So if I couldn’t have Raj as my boyfriend, at least there was something else I might get out of this encounter: some much needed peace of mind…

The Freelancer’s Tip Sheet

The Recession provides excellent opportunities for freelancers as companies shed regular staff and look to freelance workers for contract jobs. There’s no magic formula for freelancing, but these tips may help you be more effective:

1. Keep meticulous records.
Be sure to keep receipts for everything relating to your work for potential tax deductions. Things like magazine subscriptions, web domains, and dedicated phone lines can all potentially be listed. This is especially important if you have a clearly defined home office area. You can write off some expenses based on ratio of office space to home.

2. Create a formula for what to charge.
Many freelancers use this simple formula: $D /B hrs. D is how much you want to earn in a year. B is the total number of billable hours that you think you can secure in a year. Most freelancers estimate B on the basis of 15 billable days per month, for an 8-hour day (15 d/mth x 8 hr/d x 12 mth/yr = 1440 hrs/yr)…