Discussing the life and business
of being a freelancer.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:53 — 37.5MB)

Chris and Bob interview writer and pod-cast novelist Seth Harwood. In this episode Seth gives some great advice to beginning writers. Seth’s pod-casts include, last summers block buster hit, Jack Wakes Up and his latest release, A long way from Disney (a collection of short stories).
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:47 — 35.5MB)

Well, Ken’s been gone for about 5 months now… or has he? Sometimes you can do everything right. You prepare. You secure. You protect. And then something bad happens anyway. Join us in our latest water-soluble tale of misery and woe, and stick around for a few letters to boot. Then ask yourself, “is Ken Perkins REALLY gone?”

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:50 — 26.6MB)

Bob sits down for a little one on one with Mark Covell, storyboard artist from the animated series Family Guy. Mark talks about his career at Family Guy and what it took to become the talented storyboard artist he is today.

Mark is also an accomplished painter and talks about his latest gallery opening. If you’d like to learn more about Mark please check out these exciting links.

Mark Covell

Mark Covell’s Blog

Marks Gallery Opening

Editors note: Congratulations if you downloaded the earlier version of this pod-cast. You now have in your possession a rare behind the scenes valuable collectors edition of Answers for Freelances Ep2-7. The first person to write in and identify our mistake wins a free limited edition autographed Answers for Freelancers T-shirt. Good luck and happy hunting.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:03 — 20.2MB)

“M is for mailbag. “M” is also for Matt. A while back we did a mailbag show and promised to dedicate a whole episode to, friend of the show, Matt’s question.

Matt asked us to track a job from start to finish… kind of like that School House Rock where a bill becomes a law…. Well it took a little while, but here it is. Starting with a phone call and ending with an invoice. This episode is all about the life cycle of a job. Thanks for writing in Matt.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 15:39 — 14.3MB)

How bad is it when you miss an interview? What if that interview was 800 miles away and started in 3 hours?

Well folks, you guessed it… it’s time for another Wheel of Misfortune. This time we hear from Chris and he tells us about a slow train, a bus comute and a missed plane. Poor Chris can’t catch a break, but he can catch a cold.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:06:36 — 76.2MB)

In this fantastic episode, we speak with Mitch Joel, president of Twist Image and host of 6 Pixels of Separation, about the value and importance of building, not just your company brand, but also, in building your personal brand.

We all have a personal brand, whether we work on it or not. What people think of you. What they think of your values, your personality, your dependability, the quality of your work and your character. Its something that just exists. Grabbing hold of your personal brand, and making sure that people see you for who your really are, is a task that most of us neglect.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 48:25 — 44.3MB)

Welcome to season 2 episode 3. In this exciting episode Chris and Bob talk about money. Addressing the age old question… As a freelancer, how much do I charge? Chris and Bob discuss the difference between a full-time salary and a freelance pay check. How much do you need to make to equal what you might be taking home from your full-time position. Chris helps us out with a handy simple to use equation. Finally the boys say good-bye to an old friend and hello to a new beginning.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:31 — 52.1MB)

Welcome to the second episode of the new year and the second season. We’ve got a special Wheel this week from a favorite guest. Listen to find out who.After that, we have a brand new mailbag. We’re glad you are all taking the time to write in and share your ideas and ask questions. It helps keep us focused on sticking to the topics that you want to discuss.

However, there were a whole lotta problems all the way around with this episode.

First, we did the Mail Bag during the weekend of the big internet changeover in our town. Apparently, Comcast was taking over from Adelphia. So, we kept losing connectivity, and by the end of our 35 minutes of audio, we had spent about an hour and a half trying to record while dealing with dropped calls. Frustration reigned supreme at the end of that call.

Second, apparently Bob’s machine sometimes switches over into “super static” mode. So, even once we were finished, when I got the final audio, it was noisy.

Third, Bob is smack in the middle of some of his worst deadlines this year, so we couldn’t re-record. The decision: Do we miss an episode and re-record it in a week or two? Do I record it myself, all over (I can hear you now, “No, Please No!”) Or do I clean it up the best and I can and put it out as is? Right. Put it out! Here it is. Enjoy!

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:19 — 51.9MB)

Know it or not, we all have a number of networks in our lives. Our friends. Our family. Our workmates. All are sub-networks within the larger network we call our lives. Networks happen every day, and as we change and grow, our networks change and grow with us. We use our networks for information, connections and help. We find great entertainment, deals, and services based on recommendations from our networks. Networking isn’t about selling, its about creating and passing along goodwill to those you work with, like, and respect. When you’re connected, it stops becoming about whether or not you can solve the problem, and instead becomes about whether or not your network can solve the problem. If you get that, you begin to see the power of networking. If you see the power of networking, then you start seeing the need to pay attention and manage your networking efforts. Networking isn’t about selling, its about connecting. It isn’t about selling, its about solving problems. It isn’t about selling, its about creating communities. It isn’t about selling, its about becoming top-of-mind to those who can help you build your business. Networking isn’t about selling, its about living.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:50 — 29.6MB)

Whether you are freelancing or employed, no doubt deadlines are part and parcel to your life. When you’re working for someone else, deadlines can be important, and missing them can have dire consequences. When you’re working for yourself, however, missing deadlines can destroy your business, leave you clientless, and kill your ability to find more work (or even a new job).

On the other hand, deadlines can be the fuel to keep your business running on time, keeping projects from being delayed, and keeping even the toughest clients happy with your results.

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