{"id":46429,"date":"2014-07-16T11:35:43","date_gmt":"2014-07-16T16:35:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=46429"},"modified":"2014-07-16T00:21:03","modified_gmt":"2014-07-16T05:21:03","slug":"footloose-and-fancy-freelancing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=46429","title":{"rendered":"Footloose and Fancy Freelancing"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Veda Darby Soberman, former Head Editor, INALJ Hawaii<\/a><\/em>
\npreviously published 11\/6\/13<\/em><\/p>\n

Footloose and Fancy Freelancing<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"veda.darby.soberman\"<\/a>If you are unemployed, underemployed, or just looking for a change, why not consider freelancing?\u00a0A lot of the skills and knowledge of the information professional are sought after in the freelance market.\u00a0 Beyond the usual suspects of writer, editor, researcher or web designer, information professional related freelance jobs could include archivist, indexer, records manager, information broker, database administrator, grant writer, genealogist and much more.\u00a0Look at the list to the list of \u201cKeywords for Job Searching\u201d here on INALJ.com<\/a>.\u00a0Most of those jobs could also be done on a freelance basis.\u00a0A growing number of organizations are seeking temporary expert help for special projects, or to fill needs without having to commit to hiring an employee.\u00a0Here are a few key things that may help if you are thinking about starting a freelance business:<\/p>\n

Determine your focus.<\/b>\u00a0First, make an exhaustive list of what you have learned at various jobs, school, trainings, and on your own.\u00a0It doesn\u2019t matter if you think you are good at them or not, or if they are in demand.\u00a0Next, narrow your list to those items which you enjoy AND are in demand.\u00a0These are going to be the skills which you should consider the focus of your freelancing efforts.<\/p>\n

Build a portfolio, and collect testimonials.<\/b>\u00a0As a freelancer you will need to be creative and assertive with promoting your work.\u00a0It will take a lot of effort.\u00a0Your portfolio and testimonials will be one of the most important marketing tools for winning jobs.\u00a0Freelance clients are looking to get specific work done.\u00a0As such, they are likely to be less concerned with what is on your resume or in a cover letter than with what you are capable of doing as it relates to their needs.\u00a0Begin building your portfolio with work which you have done in previous jobs, or in school.\u00a0If you are just starting out, do pro bono work to add some actual freelance meat to your portfolio, and to get a few testimonials.\u00a0Don\u2019t forget to ask previous employers or colleagues to provide testimonials regarding your abilities, skills, and even character.\u00a0Of course you will want to have your portfolio and testimonials available online.\u00a0LinkedIn is an easy place to start, but you may eventually want begin a dedicated business website.<\/p>\n

Join professional organizations in your field(s) of focus, and those relating to freelance\/independent contract work.<\/b>\u00a0You will want to remain abreast of current trends and network with other professionals.This can be especially difficult if you are not clocking in and out each day at a larger organization where you can speak to colleagues and take advantage of the organization\u2019s connections.\u00a0An organization which is helpful for an information freelancer is the Association of Independent Information Professionals<\/a> (AIIP).<\/p>\n

Get legal.<\/b>\u00a0If you are a freelancer, you are a business owner.\u00a0As such, you will need to follow through with certain legal and regulatory matters.\u00a0Thankfully, these are not as complex as for other businesses.\u00a0Starting a Freelance Business \u2013 How to Take Care of Legal, Tax and Contractual Paperwork<\/i><\/a> at sba.gov<\/a> is a great article to get you started.<\/p>\n

Good luck!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Veda Darby Soberman, former Head Editor, INALJ Hawaii previously published 11\/6\/13 Footloose and Fancy Freelancing If you are unemployed, underemployed, or just looking for a change, why not consider freelancing?\u00a0A lot of the skills and knowledge of the information professional are sought after in the freelance market.\u00a0 Beyond the usual suspects of writer, editor,…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":58834,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[5646,69,5051,3592,5645,3607,3940,3941],"class_list":["post-46429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-aiip","tag-article","tag-association-of-independent-information-professionals","tag-blog","tag-freelancing","tag-inalj-hawaii","tag-portfolio","tag-veda-darby-soberman"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/veda.darby_.soberman1.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-c4R","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/58834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}