Freelancers and Eggs

source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/meg-z/

Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

That is sound advice. Quite literally it means that relying on just a single basket is not a good idea. What if you dropped that basket? The eggs would spill everywhere and most likely break. Even if you could save a few you would still lose nearly every egg you had.

This principle can be applied well to the world of freelancing, no matter what your specialty.

As a writer I find all of my non-fiction work online. There are a number of places devoted to getting work for freelance writers. Some of these sites are so large that you could easily devote all of your time to a single company and focus on a single niche. I know better than to do such a foolish thing.

One of the major companies that I get assignments from is currently having a shortage of titles as they update and redo one of their sites. There are many writers associated with this company complaining about the shortage of work and the hit that their income is taking.

Now, obviously this will affect any writer that submits work to this site. It is impossible to completely prevent any loss of income. Hence the eggs in the basket thing. That is why you need to branch out.

It seems like common sense, but do not find all of your work in one place. If company A has a shortage of work, you are still getting work from companies B, C, D and other clients that you have relationships with.

Freelancing definitely has its ups and downs. If you are just starting out or thinking of working for yourself, then heed my words...

Don't put all your eggs in one basket, and if you do, for the love of all things mighty don't drop the basket!

Get Your Priorities Straight

When it comes to works in progress and other projects, be sure to keep your priorities in order. A lot of the things I talk about on here I do to earn a paycheck. So here is my list...

Do the projects that currently make money first.

Do the projects that will be making you money second.

Do the projects that don't make you money last.

Now I just need to apply this all the time instead of some of the time.

Great Picks - Goodwill Pick Update

Last week I told you about a great couple of picks from the Goodwill store. It just so happens that the auctions have just ended and here is what has come of them.

The sparring gear was purchased for $5. Less than 24 hours after listing it on eBay with a starting bid of $10, I get a message from a guy asking if I will end the auction now for $25 plus shipping. By this time the auction already had 3 watchers. I decided to let it ride and see what came up. By the end of the auction there were 26 watchers and over 200 views. The bidding was up to $36 with less than 5 minutes to go and just as it ended the final bid jumped to $55.

Very nice!

I spent $4 on the Winnie the Pooh lamp. This auction did not have as much action as the sparring gear, but did attract 8 watchers and over 100 views. I started the bidding on this one at $10 and the final price ended up being $18.50

So the five minutes I spent looking around the Goodwill store cost me a total of $9. That turned into $73.50 plus shipping. That is a great profit and well worth the little time invested.

So keep your eyes open. I did not plan to go to the Goodwill store that day, but I was close and there it was. Always be ready to spend a little cash in order to make more!

Great Picks - Goodwill Pick

This week's pick is so exciting, I had to make a video about it.




Check out the auctions on ebay right now! This way to my eBay auctions!

Great Picks - Silver Dimes

Actual eBay listing after auction end.

This is a pick that surprisingly enough many people don't even realize could be in their own pockets.

Silver is a valuable commodity. The price of silver has been steadily increasing and more and more people are investing in silver bullion than ever before. The United States Mint used to create most of our coins with silver. Any dime, quarter, or half dollar minted 1964 or before is 90% silver. That means the metal the coins are minted with is worth more than the actual coin. By a lot!

I recently put together a lot of 35 silver dimes all minted 1964 or prior. That is a face value of $3.50. I paid $3.50 to get these dimes. When I sold them for the silver content on eBay, bidding reached $87.59. That is an incredible profit on coins that I picked out of my pocket.

Damn The Man

All of our lives people are told to get an education, find a secure job, and work hard at building a successful career. But all you get from that is becoming overworked and under appreciated. Maybe if you define success as a six day work work and an expendable position in a big corporation, this way of life would be for you.

So you get paid a salary. No matter what you do or how many hours you work, your pay scale is the same. You work harder, the company makes more profit, yet you get paid the same. Maybe you get a quarterly bonus or a measly raise every year, but at least you have a job, right?

A bonus is nothing. It is like tossing a dog a bone. You do it to shut him up and make him behave.

Why is this accepted as the way life should be? Why can't we break away from these chains? What if we did not have to answer to someone that forces us to do things their way and for their gain?

I say no more. We can do things our way for our own gain. Work hard for yourself and no one else. If you want to break away from the norm, you must create streams of income that you control. The harder you work to maintain your income the more cash flow you can create for yourself, not for some company.

My time has come. I am saying "DAMN THE MAN". I am working for my gain.

The "traditional job" is fine for millions of people. But for thousands there is no need for a "traditional job" that makes you miserable every day. Work to live, don't live to work. I can now schedule my work around life instead of being forced to schedule life around work.

And thats the way it should be!

Great Picks - Chicago LockBack Knife

Chicago Lockback Knife

 This is one of my favorite picks of the year. This little knife was found in a storage unit that was bought at auction.

While digging through any unit, a lot of stuff is tossed in the trash. I was looking through drawers in desks and end tables and most of them were full of junk. It was best to just dump the drawers in the trash and be done with it.

But that is not how I roll. I carefully sift through everything, because gold comes in all sizes. This knife was found in one of those drawers.

Now consider this... after factoring in all of the items from that unit that can be sold and taking into account the price I paid for the unit, this knife cost me less than fifty cents. I did a little research on the knife and decided to list it on eBay with a starting bid of $1.00.

The auction went for seven days and at the end of the week it had about 10 people watching the auction and it ended with 19 bids. Final selling price of the knife was $68.50. That is one hell of a profit margin. This one little knife paid for over a third of the cost of that unit, and I could have easily thrown it in the trash.

The actual eBay listing after close of auction