Most of us learn from an early age that to please others, we have to mind our manners and be prepared to compromise.

But that approach to life doesn’t work so well in freelance business, where being quiet and polite means going unnoticed — and accepting too many compromises leaves you working too hard for too low a rate.

I grew up in North Carolina, the land of sweet tea and southern belles. I was a nice girl — friendly and deferential, without too many strong opinions.

Then I suddenly became a single mom, with no income to speak of. I decided to give a real go at freelancing so I could stay home with my baby.

Without warning, all my plans were out the window and the safety net became very, very small. I had to roll up my sleeves and do some hard work. And with the little guy taking up most of my time, I didn’t have time for wheel-spinning, cowering, and other nonsense.

You don’t have time for those kinds of shenanigans, either.

If you really want to make a go at this freelancing thing, you need to be ruthless. 

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Congratulations! You’re a full-fledged, income-earning freelance writer. You pay your bills, feed yourself and even had some lovely business cards printed for your wallet.

Think you have it all figured out? You’re wrong…

Making ends meet from month to month is just a short-term plan – so what happens after you hit retirement age?

Ask yourself one question: “Do I want to work for the rest of my life?”

If the answer is “no,” KEEP READING!

Saving and investing is the single most important thing you need to do to prevent you from dying at your desk in old age. It’s also the only way you’ll be able to buy a home or send kids to college or university. Face it, you’re NOT going to win the lottery. Start putting money away now!

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Freelance blogging is hard work. Much harder than some of us expected! What happened to living the dream? To getting our “money for nothing and our chicks for free?”

Well, I’m not sure about how to get your chicks for free, but I can help you with the “money for nothing” aspect. At least to some extent.

At this point in your career you’ve probably heard the term “passive income” at least once.  Now, to fully understand passive income, let’s first take a look at what qualifies as “active” income:

Active income is money that you have to earn actively. (Makes sense so far, right?). Money you make from your freelance blogging “job” is active income. As is any money you have to be present to earn. You perform a service once (like writing a blog post for a client), you earn money for it once. It’s the income model we’re all more-or-less familiar with.

Now, what qualifies as “passive” income will vary from place to place, but the basic gist of it is this: It’s the exact opposite of active income.

Passive income can be earned even when you’re not around — it can run on auto-pilot. It’s money earned with little-to-no effort on your part. You perform a service once, you earn money from it multiple times. With no additional work from you!

Sounds pretty good, right? Now, imagine setting up multiple revenue streams, all passive. Each of these revenue streams will take effort to set up initially; however, after they’ve been put in place, you could potentially earn more money than you earn now… for doing nothing at all. Talk about living the dream! 

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You started freelancing for a number of reasons:

1. You wanted to work from home.
2. You loved the work.
3. You craved the freedom.

Unfortunately, not all blogging clients will respect your freedom. Some still think that because you’re working for them, they can treat you like you’re an employee. It’s enough to make you want to give up your freelance practice and return to the 9-to-5.

You’re not in the corporate world, so why does it sometimes feel like it?

Well, it doesn’t have to.

Do you want to get your freedom back? Do you want to hold the title of “freelance blogger” with honor? Do you want to control your destiny?

You have the power to do all those things, if you manage your client relationships wisely.

Here’s how you should really be treated as a freelancer — and 5 warning signs that you’re still being treated as an employee instead. 

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