Free Image eBook Offer!
Start making killer content and posts. Get my comprehensive guide to cost-free and attribute-free images. Plus you'll get my occasional and very informative newsletter!
Whether you’re a freelancer with a book of contacts, or established in a corporate structure, your reputation can define your success and be the deciding factor in many professional situations. So what is the impression you leave on those you encounter? Does it reflect your intentions and values, and send the right message? Honing your self-perception is a lifelong task (tools like the Johari Window can help), and the resulting insights will have a significant impact on how others see you. Read on below for the basics to maintaining a good reputation from experts who know the ins and outs
Is escaping the stranglehold of Wi-Fi the new freedom? Between the constant stream of emails, Slack messages, Airtable tasks, Google Docs, iCal alerts, videoconferences, and everything in between, working in the digital age has spread us all a bit too thin, sending us on high alert at all times of day. Whether at an office, working from home, or away on vacation, it feels increasingly impossible to escape the virtual grasp of daily work demands. And that’s not even taking into account the phone calls and in-person meetings that also take us away from focused, concentrated work. Dr. Sahar Yousef,
Here’s the thing about being self-employed: a boatload of administrative tasks come with the territory that have absolutely nothing to do with your actual craft. And among those tasks, it’s safe to say that managing your finances is the most daunting — and annoying, and time-consuming. But keeping detailed books is also among the most important. Why? It’s two-fold: Obviously, it’s important to understand how much money is coming in versus how much you’re spending — a crucial part of doing business. But more importantly, tracking your expenses well can actually help you bring home more money at the end
When was your last vacation? When was your last weekday off? And did you actually allow yourself to enjoy that time away from your desk? If you’re self-employed, chances are you’ve struggled with letting yourself take time off. It’s understandable! Time is money, after all, and when your income depends on having clients, it’s hard not to feel like there’s always something to do: if you’re not working on an assignment, you should be hustling for more work. Even when you’re operating at full bandwidth (maybe even above full bandwidth; more on that below), the pressure to “keep up” with
Every freelancer has had to tackle the ever-dreaded “professional summary.” Now, we’re not talking about the “About Me” page on your website, nor are we referring to your LinkedIn bio. The professional summary is a beast of its own—and an increasingly popular one at that, especially on the many new platforms aimed at matching freelancers with work opportunities. It’s what you’ll get asked for countless times by mentors, former bosses, and other professional contacts when they offer to forward on your resume or portfolio. “A professional summary is your ten-second elevator pitch,” explains Dana Leavy-Detrick, director and founder of Brooklyn
The Branded Solopreneur
- How to Get 25+ Images from One Styled Stock Photo
- Brand Personality: A Real AF Guide to Getting Under the Hood
- 4 Ways Of Creating Images Without Using Stock Photography
- 8 ways to build brand recognition with your images
- 3 Ways to Create a Color Palette That’ll NEVER Fail You
- The DNA of a branding color palette
- 5 Types of Branding Color Palettes That Reign Supreme
- The Idiot Proof Guide to Using Transparent Overlays To Style Your Brand Photography
- How To Use Fonts Like a Boss, Even If You’re a Design Newbie
- How to Launch a Virtual Summit in 90 Days
From Ray Manley dot com
- Case Study: Waging a successful local publicity campaignIt’s not always possible to quickly measure success in business, so when it happens, it’s worth dissecting the elements that contributed to the success. That’s why I want to look at a recent community toy drive spearheaded by Ripped City Gardens, an artisan cannabis grower based in Portland, Oregon. The post Case Study: Waging a […]
- Casual communication: The silent killerBusiness casual. We love it, but when it comes to business communications, it can be a killer...or at least an "injurer." The post Casual communication: The silent killer appeared first on Ray Manley.
- Best of the Web: December Productivity EditionI find that there’s an insatiable appetite for anything that might increase our productivity: tips, hacks, apps, ideas, approaches, philosophies, potted plants, odors, better chairs – anything. That’s why I collect the best articles from around the internet that give us ways to boost our productivity. The post Best of the Web: December Productivity Edition […]
- Still a slave to keywords? Set yourself free!See what you think of this book title: What happens when a strong-willed woman and man try to make a relationship work during a time of social upheaval? The post Still a slave to keywords? Set yourself free! appeared first on Ray Manley.
- Best of the Web: 22 shades of great adviceThere’s more content than usual in this installment of the best of the web. I’ve been doing a lot of traveling the last few weeks and neglected my curation duties, so I had some catching up to do. Sit back, relax, scan the 22 articles below and find the nuggets of wisdom that you can […]
- 3 lessons every business can learn from the Hallmark Christmas MoviesI realized that we have another tell-tale sign that Christmas and the holiday season are bearing down on us like a brakeless semi-truck the other day when one of my Facebook friends boasted that she was dressed up and ready for the Hallmark movies. I may be a little late to the party, but I […]