One of my aims this year was to write more articles for external sites and magazines.

So here are the comments and insights into freelancing that I have provided FreelanceUK, from the interview questions they asked.

Two articles based on my feedback have been published.

Freelancing Blues? You’re not alone
http://www.freelanceuk.com/news/2505.shtml

Freelancers: we’d never work full-time again
http://www.freelanceuk.com/news/2510.shtml

Let me know your thoughts, I hope I can share my tips and knowledge I have learnt from new working practices and business techniques I have tried over the last few years.

On average I get around ten New Client Enquiries a week, around 3/4 of the enquiries are from the contact page of my web site.

The number often depends on many factors, the time of year, what my availability shows on my site, and how strongly the client wants to work with me.

I often find, people who ‘generally’ have their act together call me to discuss their initial requirements.

Also other emails are a lot of link requests, and outsourcing to Asia as well which maybe of use to some virtual companies.

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I’ve found some time and only gone and added extra functionality to Jayonline.

1/ AJAX functionality - to show the blog feed on the homepage which is in HTML format.

Partly due to Jeremy Keith writing ‘Bulletproof AJAX‘, a book which I have read recently. He has some examples of the code online, which is a great place to start playing around and seeing how the functionality can work for you.

The beauty of progressive enhancement. (more…)

Quote from the businessman who turned around Swatch in the 1980’s. Today responsible for around 25% of the worlds watch sales. Also on his portfolio are Calvin Klein, Omega and Tissot.

Best piece of advice

“I never follow advice, That’s because whenever I wanted to take a risk and create something new, I was advised not to do it. But I always went ahead and did it anyway.”

An exciting move for me, and a natural progression for most freelancers is to get a office for their business.

I have moved into the bustling North Laine area of Brighton. I have a second floor office on the corner of Jew Steet and Church Street. And no, it isn’t a shared workspace community.

I been in there 3 days and it’s a bit like moving house, you have to live and work there a while to get a feel for how you want everything around you. Of course, i’ve bought the obligatory Ikea office bits, a nice lamp and have room for my macbook and windows laptop.

The office has meeting facilities and room for my folding bike, its a really nice ‘next step’ in my freelance life.

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or “ethical ways of making your business or freelance life more eco-friendly” and save costs at the same time.

I thought I would compile a list, as the topic of ethical business has been in conversation recently with colleagues at the Brighton Farm and Vine Brighton.

I’m hoping my ideas will save you money, as well as making you become more aware of the resources you use, and the importance of our individual impact on our local and international ecosystems.

Here’s the list:

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.. and useful web services in a web 2.0 environment

want some quick tips on how to increase your productivity? Want to save less time trying to find the information you ‘filed’ last week?

Some are free, some are a few pounds, all well worth checking out to see of they can help you, like they have with me.

They are all about sharing, storing and using information efficiently:

• basecamp - without a doubt, essential tool from 37signals- let your clients know at what stage you are with that all important project.. this is a lifesaver.. should of been using it earlier!
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