Jovan Cicmil's Blog - Freelancing

Should Freelancers Charge Fixed-Price or Hourly?

February 24, 2021

Have you ever undercharged a client? Have you ever had a client complain that you’re overcharging them? These sorts of disputes are common in the freelance world. Many come down to one simple mistake: charging a fixed price when you should be charging an hourly rate, or vice-versa. The choice should be made for each individual project and based on several variables. With this in mind, I ...

How I Went From ‘Hello World’ to My First Freelance Client in 1 Month

January 7, 2021

Back in 2011, I was a university graduate with a very foggy look at the future. The field of study that I had chosen at age 18 now seemed like a foolish choice. Even though it was an engineering degree, in my country it resigned me to office work in one of maybe a dozen telecommunications companies. This is not what I had envisioned when I left high school. I was lucky enough, however, to ...

The 4 Most Important Lessons I Learned Growing My Business in 2020

December 31, 2020

This was an eventful year for the world, to say the least. For me, it was an echo of the immortal words of Charles Dickens: it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the year I started creating content in addition to my regular freelancing work. I wrote close to 40 articles and published my first course on Udemy. It was also the year of lockdowns, Covid-19, and frustrating ...

Money Management Tips for Freelancers

December 21, 2020

I owe a lot to freelancing. As my readers know, it has provided me with reliable income and <a href="/blog/the-evolution-of-my-productivity-as-a-freelancer" target="_blank">ample opportunity for self-improvement</a>. However, freelancing isn’t without its challenges. Being independent also means being self-reliant. There is ...

The Evolution of My Productivity as a Freelancer

December 13, 2020

Those of you who have been following my work know that I have been freelancing for 9 years . During that time, my productivity has improved dramatically. How? Through trial-and-error, as well as by reading many books on the subject, I have evolved a series of rules and principles that I adhere to on a daily basis. I am sharing ...

How a Single Freelancer Outperforms a Whole Team

December 7, 2020

Companies that want to hire you will often use an argument consisting of two logical fallacies, wrapped in a veneer of condescension. Specifically, they will tell you that you have to choose between security and freedom (false dichotomy fallacy). They will base their pitch on the presupposition that working in a team is more productive and more secure, and then proceed to ask you whether ...

How to Find Meaningful Work

November 3, 2020

What is meaningful work? The answer to this question changes from age to age and from society to society, but only on the surface. The essence remains the same because it comes from the very core of our humanity. “Deprived of meaningful work, men and women lose their reason for existence; they go stark, raving mad.” — Fyodor Dostoevsky Philosophy is no match for evolution For ...

What Web Development Agencies Get Wrong

October 2, 2020

If somebody wants to pay you to build a wooden cottage for them, what do you do? Do you: Name a price for building a wooden cottage. Offer to build them a mansion with a swimming pool, solar panels, garage, alarm system, and an exotic garden, then try to bill them for that. Common sense says that everyone should choose the former option. Yet, web development agencies routinely choose ...

How to Choose a 21st Century Career

September 17, 2020

How many times have you heard a sentence that started with the words “I wish I had…”? College graduates wish they had understood how the world works before they chose their majors (or, indeed, whether to attend university at all). Middle-aged men and women wish they had chosen this industry over that. Everybody has 20/20 hindsight, but peering into the future is a completely different ...

Six Ways to Monetize Your Upwork Profile

July 30, 2020

I’ve been a freelancer for 9 years. Upwork has provided me with the sort of work that I never thought possible before that. The sort of work that you can enjoy doing and make good money while you’re at it — all on your own schedule. But, that’s not the whole story. Contrary to popular belief, there is great value to be found in a ...

How To Upsell to Clients as a Freelancer

April 30, 2020

If I have learned something in ten years of freelancing, it is that the best kind of client is a repeat client. The overhead of searching for new projects, applying, interviewing, vetting clients and acquainting yourself with the project is immense. This is why it’s very important to regularly search for opportunities to extend your relationship with your existing clients. The trick is doing it ...

How I Made Over $150k on Upwork

February 4, 2020

Just so we’re all clear that I’m not making this up, you can visit my Upwork profile here. Once there, you will find out two things: I am not making anything up. I did not make that money by writing. Most of the earnings came from software development projects, with a bit of consulting here and there. But, I do invite writers and marketers to go through the points below — most of ...