I’ve recently been working on a funding application for Bright One and Bright Works to Nesta’s Innovation in Giving fund, which aims to invest in, support and grow innovative ideas that bring about a step-change in levels of giving and exchange and which have a credible route to being self-sustaining in the longer term. Part of the … Read more
Last night I went to an event organised by 160characters and the Mobile Entertainment Forum called Sending Out an SMS: Charities Prepare To Go Mobile. Although charities have been slow to pick up the potential offered by mobile the barriers to adoption are crumbling. With a growing number and range of successful case studies, the … Read more
You’ve got the perfect name for your freelance consulting business. You may have even gone and registered your freelance domain name in a fit of excitement. You may even be lucky enough to have won your first client. It’s time to register your freelance consulting business. If you’re like me, you may find the idea … Read more
!["Self-publishing]("https://benrmatthews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/self-publishing-a-book-720x328.png")
Freelance in 30 Days is the first book I’ve written. It’s self-published and I wrote and published the 200-page book in around 100 days, starting late August and finishing in early December.
Along the way I’ve learnt a lot about the self-publishing process and gathered lots of information about how to make it work for you.
Here’s my experience on what worked and what didn’t go so well in the self-publishing journey.
The inevitable happened this week. A fantastic client that we’d been working with for 6-months on a great campaign let us know that they would be winding down the freelance project we’d been working on. We have a great working relationship with the client. We were consistently adding value, respected each others’ work and were productive in achieving … Read more
Writing a thorough brief for a freelancer is one of the best things you can do during a project to make sure that you get the results you need. Freelancers appreciate being given a detailed brief as it lets them understand exactly what is required from the project and what they need to deliver. Having … Read more
!["Havana,]("https://benrmatthews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Havana-Cuba-in-one-week.png")
Havana, Cuba’s capital city, was amazing, We spent the whole week in Havana in the end, with a few day trips here and there. We went in March 2015, just before the first direct flights from the US started flying to Cuba.
Cuba is very tourist friendly, but there is also plenty to do to get off the beaten track, but it can be hard to plan too much before you get there, as things change quickly, so thought I’d quickly jot down my thoughts in case I can help out and give tips if anyone you know is planning on going.
Here are some Havana tips and some more from our friend Laurie too. Leave any questions in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer, while the unbelievable experience of Cuba is still fresh in my mind!
!["Tech]("https://benrmatthews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/tech-for-good.jpg")
One of the things I’ve been struggling with as a freelancer lately is focussing in on a sector that matches my own values and who the clients I work with give me work that I enjoy doing. Often when your values and your clients’ are aligned, your work will be better as a result. This has the added benefit of making your client happier too.
This is easier said than done.
I’ve been struggling because some of the clients I’ve been working with recently haven’t matched my values and so poor work, somewhat beneath my usual standard, has crept through. This hasn’t been anything to do with my clients, who are fantastic to work with and appreciate my work, but is more to do with me and the opportunities I take on.
I often chat to my better half about what kind of clients I want to work with. She says I need to focus on a particular group of clients I enjoy working with and match my values. I agree and resolve to do something about it, only to take on a non-value-matching client the next week, under the guise of a nice client and good money. C’est la vie.
That has changed though, as I’ve found the area I want to focus on: Tech For Good.
I’ve been shortlisted by the nice people at IPSE as a Freelancer of the Year finalist in their Freelancer Awards. This is mainly for my work at Montfort, but also for other initiatives like Freelance in 30 Days. It’s a lovely surprise. The other 2015 finalists are: Rebecca Seeley Harris, re:legal Consulting Nick Forshaw, Weakend … Read more
[et_pb_section admin_label="section"][et_pb_row admin_label="row"][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text admin_label="Text" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid"] Freelancing can be a risky business. Much of the relationship between you and your client will come down to trust. But one practical way you can make things crystal clear up-front is signing a robust freelance contract. Having a contract in place is not an … Read more