The Freelancers' Show

A Book Club episode on The Healthy Programmer by Joe Kutner.

The Freelancers discuss the idea of creating a subscription screencast series. They discuss how to choose a topic, length, approach, series, etc.

The Freelancers talk about taking time off for sickness, vacation, holidays, family events, etc. And how to approach clients about time off.

Mandy Moore, the podcast's producer and Chuck's VA, join the Freelancers to talk about how to become a virtual assistant and how freelancers can use virtual assistants in their businesses.

The Freelancers answer questions entered in the UserVoice forum.

Michael Port joins the Freelancers to talk about his book Book Yourself Solid. He gives a ton of valuable advice for building your business and clientele

The freelancers talk about how they went freelance and some of the mistakes, struggles and triumphs they experienced.

Panel Pippin Williamson (twitter github Pippins Plugins) Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:28 - Pippin Williamson Introduction Pippins Plugins Easy Digital Downloads Restrict Content Pro 01:53 - Making Money Making Plugins Product Development Custom Development 02:57 - GPLv2 Licensing ThemeForest Support Disabling Features 11:45 - Building a business around open-source Audience 12:48 - Transitioning from freelance to product work Graduality 072 – Saying NO Doing products during spare time Brian Casel The Bootstrapped Web Podcast 19:10 - Starting with products vs consulting 22:38 - Occasional Consulting 23:41 - Marketing Products Personal Brand Word-of-Mouth Referrals 25:42 - Customer Support 27:17 - Advice for people getting into commercial development Go the extra mile for your first customers 28:01 - Deciding what products to build Building what you need Best Practices

Panel Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:30 - Panelist Training & Coaching Experience 02:40 - Traveling for In-Person Training 05:52 - Rates 08:35 - Teaching College Courses 10:43 - Online Training Recorded Videos Live Sessions Forums/Discussion Groups GoToMeeting Skype tmux Pair Programming 17:15 - The Value of Training Expense vs Investment 19:54 - Structuring Exercises Canvas Working in Pairs 27:58 - Screencasting The Freelancers’ Show 071 – Recording Video 29:32 - In-Person Training vs Online Training Non-Verbal Communication Asking Questions 34:53 - Teaching Preparation 38:51 - Charging What You’re Worth Picks Joshua Clanton: A Drip of JavaScript (Reuven) Sensei (Curtis) Curtis McHale: Don't be an Idiot: Learn to run a viable business (Curtis) Zite (Eric) Civilization IV (Chuck) Discourse (Chuck) Book Club Book Yourself Solid with M

Panel Brennan Dunn (twitter github blog) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:37 - Brennan Dunn Introduction Planscope Double Your Freelancing Rate by Brennan Dunn The Blueprint -- Learning to Sell Online by Brennan Dunn Consultancy Masterclass 02:46 - Closing the Consultancy We Are Titans 04:31 - Working on and Marketing Products 05:37 - Recurring/Predictable Revenue Gail Goodman, Constant Contact. How to Negotiate the Long, Slow, SaaS Ramp of Death 11:28 - Onboarding Clients for Retainer Deals Provide Recurring Value 22:43 - The Proposal Provide a Guarantee 26:49 - Training Engagements and Seminars Lower vs Higher-end Offerings 35:19 - Scalable Training (Video) Mastering Modern Payments: Using Stripe with Rails 36:45 - Marketing Nathan Barry: How To Launch Anything “

Panel Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 04:12 - The Writing Process Outlines X number words per day goal 07:59 - Picking and Pulling Relevant Information Make a blog post 09:30 - Getting Feedback Hiring an Editor Crowdsourcing 13:20 - Cover Art 17:35 - Tool Chain Markdown LeanPub Scrivener InDesign Kitabu 22:55 - Panelist Books Don't Be An Idiot: Learn how to run a viable business by Curtis McHale Becoming a WordPress Development Professional by Curtis McHale The Diverse Team by Ashe Dryden The Freelancer's Guide To Long-Term Contracts by Eric Davis Core Perl by Reuven Lerner 24:27 - Gauging Crowd Interest 25:29 - Technical Reviews 26:04 - Marketing Books Mailing Lists Nathan Barry: How To Launch Anything Authority by Nathan Barry 27:32 - Launch Pages Eric's Launch Page 28:26 - LeanPub 29:17 - Content for Em

Panel Mike Brooks (twitter linkedin) Stephen Gardner (twitter linkedin blog) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Jim Gay (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:27 - Mike Brooks Introduction Nuclear Chowder Nuclear Chowder Podcast 03:57 - Mike Gardner Introduction 05:38 - Marketing for SEO Quality Content Syndication Calls to Action Giveaways 12:30 - Targeting Keywords SECockpit SpyFu Google AdWords: Keyword Tool HitTail LinkedIn Social Media Examiner 18:40 - Getting to #1 Right Message Right Media Right Market 26:00 - Putting Keywords in the Right Place 29:35 - JavaScript and SEO 30:45 - Google vs Bing vs Yahoo 34:11 - Webmaster Tools Google Webmaster Tools Bing Webmaster Tools 35:46 - Optimizing for Local Search 41:37 - “Be Everywhere” Marketing Picks HitTail (Eric) Continuum (Reuven) swissmiss (Jim) Design*Sponge (Jim) LessAccounting (Chuck) Web Presence Optimizer (Steven) Book Club Book Your

Panel Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:41 - Subscribers 04:02 - Email Lists vs Blog Content Freelance Funnel 11:39 - Content Updates 16:31 - Layout, Servers, Services & Personalization MailChimp Aweber CSS Support in Email Eric Davis: My simple HTML email template 34:02 - Launching Products Nathan Barry: How To Launch Anything Soft Sale/Hard Sale Email Frequency 40:17 - Email Courses Rails Security Controller Refactoring Course Picks Aweber (Eric) MailChimp (Eric) premailer (Eric) Logitech C920 (Curtis) Zotero (Reuven) Unsubscribing (Reuven) Patience (Chuck) Twitter Bootstrap (Chuck) Book Club Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling ! He will join us for an episode to discuss the book on September 24th. The episode will air on

Panel David Allen (twitter David Allen Company) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:06 - David Allen Introduction David Allen Company Getting Things Done by David Allen 01:27 - GTD’s Conception The Strategic Value of Clear Space 05:37 - Organization 08:24 - What GTD Does Orientation Maps Weekly Reviews The Lost Horizon 10:58 - Getting Things Done Writing Things Down Habits To-Do Lists 14:42 - Using Lists Context 23:17 - Outcome & Action Thinking 25:48 - The Power of NO Being Appropriately Engaged Multi-Tasking Who Multi-Tasks and Why? Multi-Tasking Ability, Perceived Multi-Tasking Ability, Impulsivity, and Sensation Seeking Placeholders 31:12 - Managing Your Inbox 35:54 - Dealing with Overwhelm 39:40 - Implementing GTD 44:03 - What Has Changed Since GTD’s First Edition Lifelong Mastership Technology 46:36 - David’s System Lotus Notes E

Panel Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Discussion 01:18 - The Power of “NO” Getting Things Done by David Allen Instapaper Evernote Omnifocus 06:56 - Just-in-Time Learning 09:02 - Saying “NO” in Hindsight Overcommitment 11:54 - Getting Comfortable with Saying “NO” Derek Sivers: No more yes. It's either HELL YEAH! or no. Confidence Risk Level 19:14 - Having a Financial Cushion Accounting The Freelancers Show 072 - LessAccounting with Steven Bristol 23:04 - Red Flags That Mean an Instant “NO” Client Investment Slimy People The Ruby Freelancers Show 054 - Red Flags with Potential or Current Clients with Ashe Dryden Disrespectful Clients 32:31 - Irregular Clients Project Minimums Referring Clients to Other People Picks Das Keyboard (Reuven) Kalzumeus Podcast 5: Quitting Consulting Via Productization (Reuven) About the Facebook platform, from Pando Daily (Reuven) Derek Sivers: No more yes. It's either HELL YEAH! or no. (Er

Panel Jim Gay (twitter github blog) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:16 - Screencasting Backgrounds Teach Me To Code 03:41 - Software ScreenFlow FFmpeg Jing Camtasia Final Cut Pro Screeny QuickTime Adobe Premier Pro CC Screenr 10:10 - Features Ease of Use Export Formats Add-ons Quality Readable Text 16:04 - Sound 16:26 - Modifier Keys 17:01 - Highlighting OmniDazzle 17:19 - Talking and Explaining during Screencasts Notes PeepCode Teaching Developers | Free PeepCode Blog 20:32 - Presentation Software Keynote Present.js VideoHive After Effects Apple Motion 26:04 - Recording Lectures/Vlogging 28:51 - Getting Work via Screencasts 30:52 - Equipment Audio/Speaker Quality 32:54 - Audio Encoding HandBrake 35:41 - Hosting YouTube Vimeo Libsyn Amazon S3 OneLoad Blip.tv LeadPlayer 41:31 - Subtitles & Transcripts Picks Bookends (Reuven) Bo

Panel Steven Bristol (twitter blog) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Jim Gay (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:15 - Steven Bristol Introduction LessEverything LessAccounting LessFilms LessConf 02:11 - Bookkeeping Why it Sucks 06:04 - Analyzing Numbers Categorization Tagging 08:31 - Why Use LessAccounting? 12:07 - Looking at Your Books (Frequency) LessTimeSpent 14:38 - Steven’s Accounting/Bookkeeping Background 16:42 - LessAccounting vs QuickBooks 19:54 - Building a SaaS Business 21:35 - Consulting 23:24 - Transitioning from Consulting to Product Work 26:34 - Marketing Niche Markets Blog Articles - LessEverything 31:32 - LessEverything Company Makeup Having Employees 34:27 - Building & Running a Business Picks MacBook Pro (Reuven) Relately (Jim) Capsule (Curtis) Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Fi

Panel Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:16 - Setting Work Hours “Do Not Disturb” iPhone feature 06:51 - Making Clients Aware of Boundaries 08:33 - Handling “Emergencies” Deciding How Clients Should Contact You 11:48 - Keeping Chat Logs, Meeting Notes, Recordings, etc. Ecamm Call Recorder for Skype 13:15 - Email 15:58 - When Clients Set Boundaries with You 17:44 - Working with/for Family and/or Friends 24:32 - Setting Boundaries for Working at Home with Family Metal Door Stop Sign Is Daddy on a call? A BusyLight Presence indicator for Lync for my Home Office - Scott Hanselman Messages (iMessage for Mac) Picks Drafts (Eric) Sleeping with Your Business Partner by Becky Stewart-Gross (Eric) Fluid App (Curtis) Postman (Jeff) Shift by Hugh Howey (Ashe) Google Apps (Chuck) Fringe (

Panel Ben Lachman (twitter blog) Robert Cantoni (twitter) Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:29 - Ben Lachman and Robert Cantoni Introduction Nice Mohawk 02:26 - Finding Work Dividing Client Communication Handling Marketing and Sales 06:52 - Forming a Partnership Contracts 08:23 - Partnerships vs being on your own Finding work for others 15:39 - Managing larger consultancies 16:18 - Potentially expanding the business 18:33 - Marketing Avenues Referrals/Word-of-mouth 23:02 - Working with other consultancies 24:59 - Ideal vision for the business 29:10 - Advice for someone looking to build a consultancy Pick your projects wisely Picks A/B Testing (Curtis) 2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love by Rachel Aaron (Eric) Coursera Public Spe

Panel Wayne Breitbarth (twitter linkedin) Reuven Lerner (twitter github blog) Curtis McHale (twitter github blog) Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Jeff Schoolcraft (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up) Discussion 01:07 - Wayne Breitbarth Introduction The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success by Wayne Breitbarth 01:37 - Importance of LinkedIn 02:39 - Making Connections Advance Search Filtering 03:16 - Handling Random Requests/Spam 04:16 - Finding Others vs Getting Found 07:34 - Profile Advice Catchy Headline Descriptive Summary Establish Credibility List Resources 12:50 - Profiles vs Resumes Attention Span Calls to Action 17:39 - Groups 20:00 - Choosing LinkedIn over other platforms (i.e. Google+) 22:03 - Endorsements 26:06 - Free vs Paid Accounts 28:19 - Getting the most out of LinkedIn Cool Profile Strategic Connections 31:28 - Volunteer Causes and Experiences 34:39 - Profile Pictures 35:53 - Finding and joining good groups 37:38 - Handling Prof