If you’re a web-wizard and looking for a new project, this might be right for you – especially if you’re interested in bartering your service for space in the new location.

Here’s the info:

Looking for an original, dynamic web designer who can help us with our online communication.

We are opening a new coworking environment downtown called TheSpace.

TheSpace is a vibrant coworking lab designed to catalyze and foster creativity and collaboration with a focus on social and sustainability innovation. 

It is a launchpad for new projects, initiatives, relationships, businesses, and the unknown (but exciting) outcomes that come from creative energies colliding in a shared physical space. TheSpace is a place for making connections and making things happen – and getting your work done.

Here is our current site, www.thespace.ca. We did it on our own, and it sucks.

We want some pow, to tap into a feeling of excitement and community and cutting edge creativity.

Ideally we’d find a designer who is also interested in working in TheSpace, and we could discuss options for bartering your services for work or event space.

We also need you to walk us through the best use of social media and linkages between that and our site for efficient blogging and other communication that ties them all together.

***For anyone reading this that might have an interest in workspace, please get in touch through our website.  Fill out the survey on our site and tell us what we can do to make it a good fit for you.***

info@thespace.ca

image via wikimedia

A few months ago, I created a mailing list to share opportunities with local freelance writers. Recently, one of the writers on the list had a less-than-impressive experience with one of the shared job boards. The communications he had with the prospective client raised some red flags for him, and we thought it might be good to point out some typical signs that a job is a scam.

Your next project might be a scam if:

• the website is unpopulated or rife with errors – This is a good indicator that a) the company is not legit or b) they’re not willing to pay for decent content. Both are red flags.
• the prospect asks for a writing “sample” based on a specified topic - first, I don’t recommend you do any spec writing (writing with the intent that it “might” be paid for.) Giving this content to the prospective client is basically writing for free, and that’s not what freelancing is about.  You’re better off sharing examples of previous work  you’ve completed for paying clients.
• there’s little-to-no info about the client online – I will often research the client, especially when they’re asking for info about me/my business. A few minutes spent on Google or LinkedIn can save you hours of chasing a payment. This isn’t a foolproof method, as some exceptional clients might not have much of an online footprint.
• “If you do this for free/cheap, I’ll use you for bigger/better projects” – unfortunately, this type of client rarely has bigger/better projects for you. They usually give them to a writer who is confident and can justify the higher rate. But they’ll keep the tiny/free projects for you.

What are the red flags that pop up for you while job hunting, and what do you do when you see them?

If you’d like to be added to the mailing list (occasional emails with links to online opportunities that struck me as being interesting and share-worthy,) please shoot me a note and I’ll add you.

Happy freelancing!

I love to chat about freelancing and the possibilities it can bring to us and our community. In fact, getting me to stop talking about it might be your biggest challenge. I’ve written for a few freelance focused blogs, sharing my thoughts and generating discussions, and I’ve been freelancing fulltime since May of 2010. I believe there are huge opportunities for freelancers and the local businesses who choose to hire them, and I’d love to help more people benefit from the freelance world.

I get asked a lot of questions about freelancing; how to start your own business, where to find clients, and even what’s the best coffee (or energy drink), but I’ve noticed that sometimes people are asking for advice, but what they really want is support.

What’s the difference?

Support is:

Filled with platitudes and usually commiserating with you. You might hear things like “you’re doing it right” and “things will get better.” “It’s not you, it’s the economy.”“ It’s not your rates, it’s the people overseas who can work for much less than you can afford to charge.” A supportive friend might tell you your city is a “connected” city, and you can only get a good job/project through nepotism or cronieism – and sometimes both. There’s nothing wrong with support, but you can’t improve your business if you are surrounded by people who are more worried about your feelings than they are about the viability of your business. Mom and Dad, friends and family, and spouses are usually great for providing the emotional support you’re looking for.

Advice is:

Honest feedback with helpful suggestions. The person providing the advice should take a good look at your setup and compare it to their own experience, and offer strategic solutions instead of empty words.  They’ll often give you the tough answers and the awful truths; the information you need in order to move forward. They’ll usually be gentle with your feelings, but for the best results you need someone to be honest with you. They should be able to tell you when you’ve screwed up, because when you’re self-employed, your clients usually won’t tell you they’re unhappy – they’ll just leave.

Be warned – just because someone gives you advice, it doesn’t mean you have to follow it. Advice is free, but you usually get what you pay for. Look at the person sharing their wisdom and decide if their experience is applicable to your situation – but even if it’s not, don’t discount it completely. Listen to what they have to say and then make your own decision. You’re responsible for whatever choices you make, good and bad.

My advice to you? Find a good mix of supportive friends and professional contacts within your industry. Talk to them and use their feedback to make your own decision, and then act on it. Just remember – if you spend all your time talking to people about what you should do, you won’t leave yourself any time to actually do it. Make mistakes, but learn from them. But keep trying. It’s worth it.There’s a time to be supportive and a time to give advice. If you truly want to improve yourself and your business, seek advice. If you just need an emotional pick-me-up, choose support. The next time someone is complaining about their business to you, ask them if they want advice or support, and then give it to them. The people who only choose support won’t be in business for long, and the ones who ask for advice are usually forward thinking enough to take action. And then you get to look like a hero.

The event was held at Victoria BMW, and it was filled with local agencies, printers, graphic designers, photographers, and every creative group possible. Part benefit, part networking event, it was a chance to dress up and enjoy a night out with people within the industry.

As a freelancer, it’s great to find events like this. Not only do you get to meet some of the key players in the local region, but you get to talk about advertising to someone other than your spouse. Don’t get me wrong – my wife is a great listener, but I’m pretty sure she can only tolerate hearing about deadlines, creative briefs, and communication challenges for so long.

What is NABS?

The National Advertising Benevolent Society (NABS) is a dynamic support system for all Canadian professionals in the marketing and communications industry facing personal, career and family challenges due to illness, injury, unemployment or financial difficulties. If you need assistance, they’re the people to call. Check their website for more information.

100% of the funds raised at events like the one held last night go toward providing a safety net for Canadian professionals. It’s very nice to know that should something go wrong, be it illness, injury, or economic challenges,  there’s a group there who can provide support.

Cannes Lions Screening – Standouts

Part of the event includes the screening of some of the best commercials from around the world. Many of them were creatively impressive, while others were…perhaps a bit more artistic. All of them were entertaining, but here’s a few that stood out for me.

Love to know what you think of them

There was a lot of snuffling about this commercial from Thailand

This one is pretty great and takes an unexpected twist

Saridon aspirin has a great concept, and they’ve presented in a few different executions. I liked this one, but check out the rest.

This concept for Gandhi Bookstores is fantastic, and was presented a few different ways. An excellent delivery with a great twist.

You’ve probably seen this Coke ad already, but it is worth sharing again. Excellent idea – catch people doing something good.

Probably my favourite from the whole lot. You can imagine this happening at your office, with your friends, or even yourself. Loved it.

The event was conceived by the smartkids at contently.com as part of a FreelanceForum week, and we were happy to be part of the local process.

We were joined by a group of local freelancers – graphic designers, writers, communication experts, and more – to discuss the freelance opportunities available to us locally and globally.

We reached out to some of the local businesses to get their support, and we were thrilled at the immediate and positive response they all gave us.

FunctionFox - We received some great support from the FunctionFox team, including media releases and some help through social media. As well, we were happy to have them offer a free trial to everyone who attended the Forum.
If you’d like more information about TimeFox and how it can help you ensure you’re getting paid for 100% of your billable time – please contact Darren today.

 
5381Studios - The 5381Studio team provided us with copies of 123CopyDVD and Defender Pro, and we were able to share these titles with pretty much everyone who attended. They specialize in time-sensitive projects and are one of the few West Coast destinations for retail software publishing and online sales and marketing. Check them out if you have an idea that you’d like to bring to market – they’re really great folks to work with.

Hemlock Printers - Gord Wright and the folks at Hemlock have been quick to help us anytime we have a freelance event – in part because that’s how they started. Hemlock provided us with the pens and pads as well as the gorgeous photobook that Ian won. Check them out to see the great selection of products and services that freelancers can use to help their clients create impressive print collateral.

 
VIATeC - Holding a meetup in a coffeeshop is great because it’s free’ish and pretty easy, but when you’ve got a good sized group, it’s hard to hold a conversation. We emailed the VIATeC team to find out if they’d be interested in lending us the space to hold our event, and they responded less than 30 seconds later with an answer of “absolutely!”

Many of the businesses that VIATeC supports are small startups, and this is a great target market for pretty much any freelancer. Check out the VIATeC website, or sign up at www.tectorian.com

Thank you all for making the #FreelanceForum fantastic – looking forward to our future conversations.

FunctionFox Systems Inc. is proud to help bring Victoria area freelancers together at a coffee and conversation meet-up during international Freelance Forum week. The free event, sponsored by FunctionFox, will be held on Tuesday, January 22, at the Victoria Advanced Technology Council (VIATeC) lounge.

“Many of our customers are freelancers or solo entrepreneurs,” says Corina Ludwig, president of FunctionFox,” “We know how important it is for those that typically work in silo, to get together to share inspiration, experiences and solutions.”

FunctionFox is a long-time supporter of freelancers in the creative industry through its support of events like this, and through its time and project management tool, called TimeFox Lite, designed especially for one-person creative companies. This web-based application helps freelancers manage multiple projects professionally, without losing track of a single minute of billable time.

“When you’re a one-person shop, every minute counts,” says Ludwig, “Whether it’s directly billable to a client, or building skills, connections and knowledge. We’re glad to have this great opportunity to support Victoria’s growing freelance community.”

About FunctionFox

FunctionFox is the leading provider of time and project tracking software for small creative companies. TimeFox, its web-based timesheet and project management software, is the number one ranked time-tracking system in North America. Graphic design, advertising, communications, marketing, multimedia, public relations, and interactive firms all choose TimeFox as their web-based time and project management application. TimeFox is currently used by thousands of customers in Canada, the US, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

For more information please visit www.functionfox.com or contact:

Corina Ludwig, President

FunctionFox Systems Inc.

#2-415 Dunedin Street

Victoria, BC, Canada

V8T 5G8

Toll-Free: 1.866.369.8463

Tel: 1.250.479.1285

Fax: 1.250.479.1285

Email: info@functionfox.com

The FunctionFox team has a great reputation of supporting freelancers. They were a major sponsor for the International Freelancer Academy, providing support for the 2012 International Freelancers Day and they’ve designed timetracking tools that are perfect for one-person shops as well as multi-member teams.

We were thrilled to learn that FunctionFox wanted to put a package together for all of the freelancers attending #freelanceforum – and we’re looking forward to learning more about what they can do to help local freelancers do more and earn more.

FunctionFox was originally designed by an advertising agency for creative companies, so it is uniquely suited to the specific billing and timesheet needs of this industry. Many in-house marketing groups have also discovered how FunctionFox timesheets help improve accountability and simple project management.

At FunctionFox, we believe in keeping our customers happy. We answer questions and solve problems quickly, provide free updates regularly, and always go ‘the extra mile’ to ensure that FunctionFox works well for each of our customers, no matter how big or small.

Learn more about FunctionFox on their website, facebook, and twitter, but be sure to check out their Top 10 Resources for Freelancers – it’s a great article with info you can use to improve your own business.

We’ve worked with the 5381 team, and found them to be a fun and fantastic team of experts, focused on providing quality tech solutions to customers around the world. 5381 Studios manages several strong retail brands on behalf of their clients, including Defender Pro Antivirus, 123 Copy DVD and others, employing a network of experienced channel partners to help their clients deliver products to the market on time and on budget.

5381 Studios manages a dynamic portfolio of brands in various industries and categories across the technology sector. From console gaming to security suites, cloud storage to device manufacturing, 5381 Studios helps transforms ideas into concepts and finished product. With our demonstrated ability to market products and get on shelf, our team is more than qualified to help successfully launch your next great idea.

We help companies reach their goals by providing them with the tools they need to succeed, including business and software development, end user support, online marketing, and branding.

Check out their website, like their Facebook page, or follow them on Twitter.

We’re grateful to have so many local businesses, like VIATeC, acknowledge and appreciate the value of freelancers, and we’re looking forward to sharing the VIATeC lounge with you on Jan 22.

The Victoria Advanced Technology Council (VIATeC) is the conduit that connects people, knowledge and resources to grow a successful technology sector in Greater Victoria.

The organization was founded in 1989 to promote and enhance the development of the local advanced technology industry. With only a handful of known technology companies, the ambitious mandate to facilitate the development of our region as a global centre of excellence for advanced technology was set.

VIATeC is intended to be the first place that people contact for information or assistance related to advanced technology in Greater Victoria. VIATeC’s membership, which currently stands at over 375 annually, elects VIATeC’s Board of Directors, which in turn provides guidance to the Executive Director

Check out the companies that call VIATeC home, and sign up for Tectorian.com to see what’s happening in our local technology world.

One of the freelance-friendly sponsors that we have lined up is a local success story – Hemlock Printers. In addition to providing support for our January event, they were one of the key sponsors for the FreelanceCamp we held in October 2011.

Hemlock Printers Ltd. has been proudly operating in Burnaby, British Columbia for over forty years. Hemlock has grown from a one-man shop in 1968 to one of the largest commercial printers in the Pacific Northwest with a state-of-the-art 79,000 square foot facility employing over 170 craftspeople. Privately owned by the Kouwenhoven family, Hemlock also has sales offices in Victoria, BC, Seattle, WA, and San Francisco, CA.

Hemlock Printing has offered to provide us with materials and a fantastic door prize, and we’re grateful for their support.

Please check out their social media spaces, and keep them in mind for your printing needs

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Google+

Gord Wright has been quick to offer his support, and he’s an active member in the twitter community. Please check him out and follow for useful printing info.