5 Legal Tips Every Freelancer Needs To Know

5 Legal Tips Every Freelancer Needs To Know

Today, my friend (and awesome attorney) Jackie is here to teach you five legal tips all freelancers should know. Legally protecting your business is important- we all know that- but doing it right can seem hard and intimidating. 

Jackie is here to take that confusion away.

Look out for her tips on copyrights- they're golden! 

Nesha xo

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There’s so much involved in being a freelancer – you want to concentrate on your amazing work but you also need to worry about the business side too. Things like all the legal mumbo-jumbo tend to get pushed to the back burner.

As a lawyer, freelance social media manager and part-time blogger, I get it. But I also know the importance of understanding the legal basics to make sure that you and your business are covered. Today, I’m sharing 5 legal tips every freelancer needs to know.

(Before we go too much further, it’s time for a quick legal disclaimer: I am an attorney, but I am not your attorney. The information in this article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. This article does not create an attorney-client relationship. I am a US licensed attorney and the info presented here is based on US laws and regulations. If you need specific legal advice, consult with an attorney who specializes in your subject matter and jurisdiction.)

Ok now let’s jump into it!

3 myths about project management- BUSTED

3 myths about project management- BUSTED

At the moment, I'm guessing your projects look like this:

  • You and your clients communicate through back and forth emails in dozens of threads.
  • Your clients are constantly late with their feedback, delaying their project again and again.
  • They keep wanting to add more and more work to their project without expecting to pay extra for it.
  • They're usually late with payments, causing you to feel more and more stressed out.

If you resonated with any of that then you're in the right place.

The reason your projects are stressing you out is because you don't use a project management tool to manage them. 

A project management tool/app is a safe, secure space online where you and your clients can keep all files and conversations. Inside your PM tool you can create tasks, to do lists, deadlines and discussions. 

Now Available: The Freelance Marketing Plan

Now Available: The Freelance Marketing Plan

The one thing we creative entrepreneurs dread is having zero clients. 

Nada. No payments coming in, no work to keep us busy, no solution to the bills that loom over our heads.

This is an especially big fear for new freelancers or side hustlers who want to start freelancing full-time. They're used to their steady income each month, so the prospect of worrying about money when they begin freelancing scares them to death.

The fear of 0 clients also hits experienced business owners-- hard. When you've been working for yourself for years and suddenly hit a slow stage where clients are hard to come by, imposter syndrome sets in and you start to feel like you're not good enough to run a business.

The No.1 Reason You're Not Booking Any Clients

The No.1 Reason You're Not Booking Any Clients

Is your business going through a slow stage? 

Maybe you've just started out, set up your website, created your packages, got yourself on social media aaaaand.... crickets. No one is inquiring about working with you. 

Or maybe you've been freelancing for a while and you've survived until now on referrals- but you suddenly have no clients booked for next month onward. Relying on referrals has always worked for you. How come it isn't working now??

I've been there; I know how you feel. 

You're worrying about how you're going to pay your bills next month.

You're looking at the freelancers around you and you're burning with envy because they're booked six months in advance and they seem like they're always in demand. What are they doing that you're not?

You're wondering if there's something wrong with your website, your services or your portfolio. You're thinking, 'Is there something that's putting clients off??'

There is one major reason why most freelancers struggle to find clients: they don't have a marketing plan.

3 reasons why freelancers need a marketing plan

3 reasons why freelancers need a marketing plan

When you first started your business, you were probably excited about the prospect of doing something you love every day, right? I know I was. In my dreams, I saw myself designing all day, every day. I saw myself working on pretty colour palettes and beautiful logos for hours at a time, totally lost in my creative work. 

In reality, I quickly realized that I'd only be designing 30% of the time. The other 70% of my time had to go on marketing and admin. 

But here's the thing: I didn't like marketing very much.

When I heard the word 'marketing', I thought of sleazy salesmen. I thought I'd have to brag about my work and badger people to hire me.

It just didn't feel right to me.