Articles on: freelancing

[caption id="attachment_11838" align="alignnone" width="620"] Photo by Jeff Sheldon[/caption] You’re sore and bored, so you skip the gym. You reschedule an appointment that’s making you break out in hives.

[caption id="attachment_11566" align="alignnone" width="620"] Photo by Thanun Buranapong[/caption] Between marketing, invoicing, and actually working, freelancing can feel like a grind. Add a bit of cold weather, some post-holiday ennui, and a bit of same-old, same-old and the new year may feel more like a long slog than a clean slate.

[caption id="attachment_11512" align="alignnone" width="620"] Image via Flickr[/caption] Freelancing has a multitude of benefits -- flexible schedule, command over your income, the ability to work almost anywhere -- but ask anyone who's worked as a contractor what the hardest part is and, just after exhaling a mammoth sigh, they'll whisper cautiously: "Taxes. " Oh, Taxes.

[caption id="attachment_11386" align="alignnone" width="620"] Photo: Lee Scott[/caption] Depending on which jobs reports you read, the month of December was either totally flat or. .

What do freelancers need, other than more clients and more hours in the day? Plenty of things -- and even if they don't, they might still like a thoughtful present that says "even though I don't have a single clue what it is you actually do, I hope you continue to do it well in the new year!

[caption id="attachment_10669" align="alignnone" width="620"] Photo via Kate Hisock via Flickr[/caption] Self-employed people and freelancers know: The holiday season is both a blessing and a curse. With no real PTO, the dreaded approach of tax season, and, often, clients who don't really care if you have to work through the weekend or holiday if it means the work gets done, this time of cheer and joy can actually turn into an exercise in white-knuckled will-power.