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Ready to build a thriving freelance business doing what you love? Read the articles below to leverage my 20+ years of experience freelancing and start your own journey to freelance freedom.

The stupidity of being an Instagram influencer

I know this chica. She’s one of those Instagram “influencers”. She has over 45,000 followers on her Instagram. And, she

How to cheat on Upwork

I discovered this by accident. I kinda just said “screw it” and set up this little process. I got my

This vanishes in an hour

Last chance. The 50% off Black Friday Week sale I’ve been running on my courses ends in just about an

My 50% off sale ends tonight

Heads up… The 50% off Black Friday Week sale I’ve been running on my courses ends tonight at 11:59pm PST.

Cash for Christmas

This was my older brother. A state trooper in Nebraska. Several years back, he came to me with an “idea”

The idiotic part of Black Friday

I was telling my son Davin this last night. We’d just traveled from Missouri back to Nebraska. I took this

The most vile, twisted and blacked of Fridays

It was as if he could physically FEEL his soul retching inside him. Claws as long as fingernails… scratching and

My Black Friday deal

I’ve gone to the dark side. Doing a whole week of Black Friday deals for my courses. It’s super straight-forward,

For high-IQ freelancers only

This won’t apply for 90% of the people reading this. If you’re a low-IQ freelancer — the people who have

You’re better than this

It started at 9:30 am every morning. That’s when I’d come slumping in the back door. Black pants, company shirt…

My cheating wife

It was the look in her eye. The way she’d laugh at the waiter’s jokes when we went out to

Your pandemic safe haven

What if I told you there’s a place you can go… right now… to get a quick injection of cash?

I wonder what the poor people are doing today

Was watching Below Deck on Bravo. And, this bloated pig on there says, “I wonder what the poor people are

Quit lyin’ about Upwork

I ain’t no dumb-dumb… I know when I say, “the flaw in Upwork’s algorithm”… it elicits an eye-roll or two.

Stalking your clients like Batman in a dark alley

Was telling my son Jantz this. There’s a reason Batman is the de facto “leader” of the DC heroes. No

How much to charge as a freelancer

I read this blog post the other day… Guy’s genius insight for pricing your freelance services was… “just make it

How to Biden-proof your business (and life)

Welcome to Biden’s America! 😉 Don’t worry… I’m not gonna go full Trumpian on you. In actuality, I couldn’t care

The flaw in Upwork’s algorithm

Some might call it a flaw. Some a “loophole”. Whatever it is, it’s there and it gives freelancers NEW to

Save America. Vote for Johnny

I know you’ve been DYING to hear my take on politics. So, let me go all Expensify on you for

The $10M business whose “secret” is free ice water

Today, Wall Drug Store does $10 million+ in revenue. It has 225 employees, a 76,000 square foot store and is

How to get more clients hiring you

There are three reason people don’t buy: They don’t want what you have They don’t believe you They don’t believe

Lawyers Near Chicago

These Clients Desperately Need You

I’ve been a freelancer for a loooong time (15+ years). And, in that time, have gotten to know several CEOs

Hack Culture Needs to Die

Anybody else tired of “hack” culture? “7 Hacks to Triple Your…” “A Secret Hack to Instantly Double Your…” “52 Little-Known

The Ultimate Guide to Getting Clients

FYI, I just uploaded my “magnum opus” on getting clients over on YouTube. Before I give you that secksy link,

I’m getting haunted by the ghost of Constant Contact

This is a lesson in what NOT to do. For the past month or so, this guy — we’ll call

These side hustle “hacks” are getting ridiculous

This is what I mean by “content crack”. My brother sent me this Tik Tok video… which “eww” all on

That time I told a million-dollar client to shove it

At some point in every freelancer’s career, you find your… ahem… cajones. For me, it was the project I worked

The 1-year-old prodigy

I had to sit my boys down. They’re good dudes. They’re smart boys. I’m confident they’ll do just fine in

It's True

Most Freelancers Are Too Selfish and Self-Centered

Was just watching an episode of Bar Rescue. Highly recommend if you’ve never watched. Entertaining as hell AND lots of

A Simple Formula to Grow Your Freelance Business As Coronavirus Drags On

Do you want to grow your freelance business through the Coronavirus pandemic instead of merely “surviving” it? Here’s the harsh

How Much You Should Charge For Freelance Work

How Much You Should Charge As a Freelancer

No, I’m not just going to tell you to switch to fixed-price projects like everybody else seems to do. Don’t

$12,000 Per Month With Zero Experience

$12,000 Per Month Side Hustle With No Experience

If you’re brand new to freelancing and don’t have any past client work or experience to lean on, then you’ll

Upwork Office

Upwork Just Made a Big Move and You Should Pay Attention

There ARE still people who believe the future of work is NOT freelance. Hard to believe, but it’s true. They’re

Yes or No

How Do You Convince Clients to Hire You?

Ever had a client you were just sure was going to hire you… never pull the trigger? Or, bid on

Skull Mask

A deal with the devil

Been binge-watching the show Lucifer on Netflix. Before that, it was season 5 of Legends of Tomorrow, which had a

Looting From Your Clients

I once had a client who was reluctant to work with me because he’d previously worked with a developer on

Yes, IT degrees are still dumb in 2020

“Yeah well that’s just your opinion, man.” Sure as hell is. Of course, I could be preaching to the choir

Good Advice

The WORST freelancing advice

Of all the freelancing advice I hear the Instagurus throw around, this is by far the worst and most devasating.

Finance Chart

Two Words That Radically Changed My Freelance Business

Another gem from the infamous Dan Kennedy: “Financial efficiency”. Sounds simple enough, but as Dan puts it… these two words

Criminal

The Den of Thieves Conspiring Against Your Freelance Success

“Change your math, change your business, change your life.” Those are the very first words in Dan Kennedy’s book, Almost

Woman With Finger on Lips

How to Seduce Potential Clients Into Hiring You

Towards the end of my deployment to Iraq, my first wife and I decided to get divorced. That’s a story

Man Yelling at Phone

The Next Time a Freelance Client Bitches About Your Rate

This is another Reddit thread. The post is actually just a link to this quote: “If I do a job

Santa Claus

More Non-Secrets of Success From the Jolly Old Saint

To the uninitiated, these kinds of posts will feel like dirty lumps of coal in their stockings. “What? No fizz?

I’m Finally a Full-Time PHP Developer

There’s no magic to this developer/freelancer/make my living writing code thing. Persistence. Hard work. Enthusiasm. All boring, “yeah, yeah I

How to Have the “What’s Your Rate” Talk With a Freelance Client

This one comes from Reddit. A back and forth on raising rates and negotiating rates with your client. This comment,

How to Stop Freelance Clients From Being Unreasonable

Another tale from client hell… So I got this client that required them to provide all there new graphics, to

This Made My Blood Boil

This is the “paradigm” shift most freelancers I work with have to make to take the next step in their

When a Freelance Client Asks You to Lower Your Price

A freelance digital marketer asks: “Recently send out a quote to a prospective client and they said my quote was

A Year Into Freelancing, Still Struggling to Get Clients

A fledgling freelance photog writes: I am writing this because I can’t sleep atm. It’s almost a year ago that I made

Freelance Pricing: Hourly or Value-Based Pricing?

A budding product designer asks: “…hourly pricing as opposed to value pricing? What pricing models have worked out best for

Hi, I’m John. I’m a freelance web developer and online teacher. I help aspiring freelance web developers go full-time as freelancers. I’m on the social media sites below and look forward to connecting with you there.

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