Time is precious, especially in an age where we don't bother to really appreciate it as it passes. Yet, many of us play fast and loose with both our work and personal time by neglecting one very simple but easily overlooked task: making backups.

The most vivid reminder to me of the need for backups is from the days when I worked a computer help desk whie in university. Many times a semester, someone would come in nearly in tears, holding the floppy disk that contained their one and only copy of, say, their Ph.D. or Masters' thesis. The disk had been damaged. The thesis was due next week. Could we get their data back. -- Read more

No matter what career or method of making some extra cash you choose, one way another you'll have to do the whole "pay your dues" thing. In one way or another, this generally means working the cruddy jobs no one else really wants to do, or that no one who's already gone through that really has the time to do anymore.

Every once in a while someone will pitch the idea to you, with great enthusiasm, that while they don't pay you'll get plenty of "exposure" by creating something for them. -- Read more

Ask a dozen freelancers what business tools they use, and odds are you'll get a dozen different answers. Personally, I've used everything from just a text file, to spreadsheets, to just a paper notebook. Depending on the kind of work you do, any one of these may be sufficient. However, this method doesn't scale when your business grows past a certain point--meaning that one day, if things are going well, you're going to look at your system and and realize that you actually have no idea of if you sent invoices to certain people, or when you sent them, and whether they've paid, and whether you got in touch with Shirley last week. -- Read more

When I first got started in freelance writing, I got so tired of people talking about "networking." By networking I don't mean computer networks, which as a geek I find interesting, and without which we wouldn't have lovely vehicles like the Internet with which to find, deliver, show off our work. I mean the kind where you imagine standing around in stuffy clothes and uncomfortable shoes, talking to people you don't know and trying to find out what they can do for you while they try to find out what you can do for them. Sounds about as appetizing as the rubber chicken you'll probably be eating at the dinner later. -- Read more

When I first got started in freelance writing, I got so tired of people talking about "networking." By networking I don't mean computer networks, which as a geek I find interesting, and without which we wouldn't have lovely vehicles like the Internet with which to find, deliver, show off our work. I mean the kind where you imagine standing around in stuffy clothes and uncomfortable shoes, talking to people you don't know and trying to find out what they can do for you while they try to find out what you can do for them. Sounds about as appetizing as the rubber chicken you'll probably be eating at the dinner later. -- Read more

"Freelancer" is such a generic term, right up there with "Contractor" or "Consultant" for telling people absolutely nothing about what you actually do.

As many people would be happy to tell you, the term "Freelance" comes from "Free Lance," basically a lance (mercenary) for hire rather than belonging to this or that noble's guards or army. This definition leads to all kinds of jokes about cut-throat industries, etc., but it's basically accurate. A freelancer is self-employed, moving from one job to another as time and work dictate. At any given time a freelancer may be working solely for one client, or for many clients at once. The next day, they may have moved on. The next year, they may still be working for the same people. -- Read more