• If the worst that can happen is you become a better writer… why not?

    I know I get sideways glances when I mention this one thing. After all… It’s not a “best practice”. And “you’ll burn out your list”. Or “you’ll not be able to keep it up”. I’m talking about daily email. Why… Read more…

  • Humans are from Earth. Not Krypton.

    March 4th, 2021. A day etched in my mind forever. I was driving from our home in the country. Heading to the city for a morning meeting. It was for a committee where I was the new representative from our… Read more…

  • Lights, camera… lights… LIGHTS!

    If you’re ever recording a video. Perhaps to upload to YouTube. Or to use in a course you’re developing. Even if you’re on yet another Zoom call… Getting lighting right is super-important At least it is, if you want to… Read more…

  • Today’s frantic dash

    “Huh?! What’s tha-” I say as my phone buzzes right beside my head. “Oh.. uh… hello?” I answer groggily. “Guess what?” “Uh… what?” I say, as I recognize my wife’s voice. “I thought Leah’s flight arrived at 6pm. But it’s… Read more…

  • That eternal question for freelancers…

    “Phew!” you say, “no more Substack.” Yes, my friend… at least not for today. šŸ˜ I’m all Substacked-out anyway! But one thing I don’t get tired of is hearing your questions. Feel free to send those in any time. And… Read more…

  • Substack… again?

    OK, OK… I know I said yesterday I wasn’t going to talk about Substack much on this list. But it’s got some pretty nice features. And there’s a particularly cool one I thought you might like to know about today.… Read more…

  • Substack

    Like Mini-Me from an Austin Powers movie… My daily email now has its new counterpart. You see… Today I birthed my Freelance Contours weekly newsletter on Substack. And because it’s a name I’m using for both this new Substack and… Read more…

  • Don’t scoff at spreadsheets if you can’t tell me exactly how much your expenses are going to be next month

    I woke this morning with it dawning on me just how reactive I am to things in my business. Definitely prompted by yesterday’s nightmare of sorting out my end-of-tax-year expenses. Paying bills is just one of those things I react… Read more…

  • Learn from me, my friend…

    A short and sweet tip for today… Don’t leave sorting out your business expenses until the day before your accountant (or whoever) needs them! I may be speaking from experience here. An experience I am PAINSTAKINGLY living through right now…… Read more…

  • Go on… fess up

    If I ever make a bloody gigantic mistake with a client… My approach: honesty is the best policy. (Wow… some measure of manners and decency DID seep in from my parents!) Now… This isn’t some sort of confession today. And… Read more…