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MASTER THE FREELANCER MINDSET NOW

23 April 2020 by Matt Dowling

Freelancers who struggle with their business often suffer from a lack of perspective. This commonly manifests itself in a blame game aimed at anyone but themselves. Neglecting to look inwardly or addressing flaws within the business can be highly detrimental. If you are finding it difficult to land new clients or accepting that your business just isn't working the way you'd like it to, a good place to start is in the mirror. Stage 1: Acceptance. Here are a few easy techniques and mantras to help you on the road to self-success.

BECOME AN ALL CONQUERING FREELANCE BUSINESS GURU

01 March 2020 by Matt Dowling

Freelancers in the creative sector rarely start their career with a business plan. The reason why is that most service providers in a creative sector don't consider themselves to be business owners. A creative freelancer will sooner tell you that they're "a photographer" rather than "a business owner".

START A FREELANCE CAREER WITH NO EXPERIENCE

03 February 2020 by Matt Dowling

'Start a freelance career with no experience' they said. 'Do it in less than 30 days' they said. Surely starting a freelance business takes months to get off the ground? Make no mistake running a freelance business is not easy nor is it an overnight success that a few gimmicks can solve but when you know the key areas to focus on, you can start a freelance career with no business experience whatsoever. Here's how to do it.

BUSINESS CHALLENGES FOR FREELANCERS

27 June 2016 by Matt Dowling

Think of ‘freelancing’ and you may think of the freedom that it brings. No boss, no agenda, no problems. Should you approach your freelance career with this naivety expect to add no structure, no clients and no money to the list. Freelancing is also known by other names such as 'contracting' or 'being self employed'. Both of these titles conjure up a slightly different picture.

Profiler
Profiler Console 0 Load Time 43.6ms Memory Used 4.26 MB Database 11 Queries vars & Config Files 104

Console

Memory Usage

Benchmarks

8 ms Loading Time: Base Classes
22 ms Controller Execution Time ( Blog / Category )
44 ms Total Execution Time

Queries

0.0003 SELECT GET_LOCK('749827df463177e890479e60610817ee', 300) AS ci_session_lockSpeed: 0.0003 - Possible keys: - Key Used: - Type: - Rows: - Extra: No tables used
0.0005 SELECT `data` FROM `bf_ci3_sessions` WHERE `id` = '59d0ce9eef2b1af1fc884573cb4fdb41d6c03752'Speed: 0.0005 - Possible keys: - Key Used: - Type: - Rows: - Extra: Impossible WHERE noticed after reading const tables
0.0005 SHOW TABLES FROM `tfadev`
0.0004 SELECT * FROM `bf_settings`Speed: 0.0004 - Possible keys: - Key Used: - Type: ALL - Rows: 58 - Extra:
0.0004 SELECT * FROM `bf_banner` WHERE `start_date` <= '2025-05-07' and `end_date` >= '2025-05-07' and `target` = 'notlogged' ORDER BY `created_on` ASCSpeed: 0.0004 - Possible keys: - Key Used: - Type: ALL - Rows: 2 - Extra: Using WHERE; Using filesort
0.0004 SELECT * FROM `bf_learn_course` WHERE `featured` = 1 GROUP BY `bf_learn_course`.`id` ORDER BY `bf_learn_course`.`id` DESC LIMIT 6Speed: 0.0004 - Possible keys: - Key Used: PRIMARY - Type: index - Rows: 6 - Extra: Using WHERE
0.0010 SELECT `bf_blog`.*, `bf_blog_categories`.`hidden` FROM `bf_blog` LEFT JOIN `bf_blog_category_link` ON `bf_blog`.`id` = `bf_blog_category_link`.`blog_id` LEFT JOIN `bf_blog_categories` ON `category_id` =`bf_blog_categories`.`id` WHERE `published` = 1 and `bf_blog_categories`.`hidden` =0 and `bf_blog`.`deleted` =0 ORDER BY `published_on` DESC, `created_on` DESC LIMIT 4
0.0003 SELECT * FROM `bf_blog_categories` WHERE `category_slug` = 'business-tips'Speed: 0.0003 - Possible keys: - Key Used: - Type: ALL - Rows: 4 - Extra: Using WHERE
0.0010 SELECT `bf_blog`.*, `bf_users`.`display_name`, `bf_users`.`slug` AS `userslug`, `bf_blog_categories`.`hidden` FROM `bf_blog` LEFT JOIN `bf_blog_category_link` ON `bf_blog`.`id` = `bf_blog_category_link`.`blog_id` LEFT JOIN `bf_blog_categories` ON `category_id` =`bf_blog_categories`.`id` LEFT OUTER JOIN `bf_users` ON `bf_blog`.`user_id` = `bf_users`.`id` WHERE `category_id` = '2' and `published` = 1 and `bf_blog`.`deleted` =0 ORDER BY `published_on` DESC, `created_on` DESC LIMIT 8
0.0004 SELECT * FROM `bf_blog` LEFT JOIN `bf_blog_category_link` ON `bf_blog`.`id` = `bf_blog_category_link`.`blog_id` LEFT JOIN `bf_blog_categories` ON `category_id` =`bf_blog_categories`.`id` WHERE `category_id` = '2' and `published` = 1 and `bf_blog`.`deleted` =0
0.0003 SELECT * FROM `bf_blog_categories` WHERE `deleted` =0 and `hidden` =0 ORDER BY `category_name` ASC
0.0054 Total Query Execution Time

Session User Data
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requested_page https://dev.freelanceacademy.com/blog/category/business-tips
previous_page https://dev.freelanceacademy.com/blog/category/business-tips

GET DATA
No GET data exists

POST DATA
No POST data exists

URI STRING
blog/category/business-tips

CLASS/METHOD
blog/category

HTTP HEADERS
HTTP_ACCEPT */*
HTTP_USER_AGENT Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)
HTTP_CONNECTION close
SERVER_PORT 443
SERVER_NAME dev.freelanceacademy.com
REMOTE_ADDR 3.145.75.232
SERVER_SOFTWARE Apache
HTTP_ACCEPT_LANGUAGE
SCRIPT_NAME /index.php
REQUEST_METHOD GET
HTTP_HOST
REMOTE_HOST
CONTENT_TYPE
SERVER_PROTOCOL HTTP/1.1
QUERY_STRING
HTTP_ACCEPT_ENCODING gzip, br, zstd, deflate
HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR

CONFIG VARIABLES
base_url https://dev.freelanceacademy.com/
index_page
uri_protocol AUTO
url_suffix
language english
charset UTF-8
enable_hooks true
subclass_prefix MY_
composer_autoload false
permitted_uri_chars a-z 0-9~%.:_-
allow_get_array true
enable_query_strings false
controller_trigger c
function_trigger m
directory_trigger d
log_threshold 0
log_path /home/tfadev/application/logs/
log_file_extension
log_file_permissions 420
log_date_format Y-m-d H:i:s
error_views_path
cache_path /home/tfadev/application/cache/
cache_query_string false
encryption_key 5b0cdb043aab977437f085fb128d995cv
sess_cookie_name bf_session
sess_expiration 7200
sess_time_to_update 300
sess_match_ip false
sess_expire_on_close false
sess_encrypt_cookie false
sess_use_database false
sess_table_name sessions
sess_match_useragent true
sess_driver database
sess_regenerate_destroy false
sess_save_path ci3_sessions
cookie_prefix
cookie_domain
cookie_path /
cookie_secure false
cookie_httponly false
standardize_newlines false
global_xss_filtering false
csrf_protection true
csrf_token_name ci_csrf_token
csrf_cookie_name ci_csrf_token
csrf_expire 7200
csrf_regenerate false
csrf_exclude_uris Array ( )
compress_output false
time_reference utc
rewrite_short_tags false
proxy_ips
bonfire.installed 1
site.default_user_timezone UM8
modules_locations Array ( [/home/tfadev/application/modules/] =&gt; ../../application/modules/ [/home/tfadev/bonfire/modules/] =&gt; ../../bonfire/modules/ )
site.backup_folder archives/
contexts Array ( [0] =&gt; content [1] =&gt; reports [2] =&gt; settings [3] =&gt; developer )
enable_activity_logging true
sparks_path ../sparks/
template.site_path /home/tfadev/public/
template.theme_paths Array ( [0] =&gt; themes )
template.default_layout index
template.ajax_layout ajax
template.use_mobile_themes false
template.default_theme school/
template.admin_theme admin
template.message_template &lt;div class=&quot;alert alert-{type} alert-dismissable&quot;&gt; &lt;button type=&quot;button&quot; class=&quot;close&quot; data-dismiss=&quot;alert&quot; aria-hidden=&quot;true&quot;&gt;&amp;times;&lt;/button&gt; &lt;div&gt;{message}&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/div&gt;
template.breadcrumb_symbol :
template.parse_views false
assets.directories Array ( [base] =&gt; assets [cache] =&gt; cache [css] =&gt; css [image] =&gt; images [js] =&gt; js [module] =&gt; module )
assets.js_opener $(document).ready(function() {
assets.js_closer });
assets.css_combine false
assets.js_combine false
assets.css_minify true
assets.js_minify true
assets.encrypt_name false
assets.encode false
assets.base_folder assets
assets.asset_folders Array ( [css] =&gt; css [js] =&gt; js [image] =&gt; images )
ui.current_shortcuts Array ( [form_save] =&gt; Array ( [description] =&gt; Save any form in the admin area. [action] =&gt; $(&quot;input[name=save]&quot;).click();return false; ) [create_new] =&gt; Array ( [description] =&gt; Create a new record in the module. [action] =&gt; window.location.href=$(&quot;a#create_new&quot;).attr(&quot;href&quot;); ) [select_all] =&gt; Array ( [description] =&gt; Select all records in an index page. [action] =&gt; $(&quot;table input[type=checkbox]&quot;).click();return false; ) [delete] =&gt; Array ( [description] =&gt; Delete the record(s). [action] =&gt; $(&quot;#delete-me.btn-danger&quot;).click(); ) [module_index] =&gt; Array ( [description] =&gt; Return to the index of the current module. [action] =&gt; window.location.href=$(&quot;a#list&quot;).attr(&quot;href&quot;); ) [goto_content] =&gt; Array ( [description] =&gt; Jump to the Content context. [action] =&gt; window.location.href=$(&quot;#tb_content&quot;).attr(&quot;href&quot;) ) [goto_reports] =&gt; Array ( [description] =&gt; Jump to the Reports context. [action] =&gt; window.location.href=$(&quot;#tb_reports&quot;).attr(&quot;href&quot;) ) [goto_settings] =&gt; Array ( [description] =&gt; Jump to the Settings context. [action] =&gt; window.location.href=$(&quot;#tb_settings&quot;).attr(&quot;href&quot;) ) [goto_developer] =&gt; Array ( [description] =&gt; Jump to the Developer context. [action] =&gt; window.location.href=$(&quot;#tb_developer&quot;).attr(&quot;href&quot;) ) )
emailer.write_to_file false
migrate.auto_core false
migrate.auto_app false
commonmark.valid_drivers Array ( [0] =&gt; Parsedown [1] =&gt; Markdown [2] =&gt; MarkdownExtra [3] =&gt; LeagueCommonMark )
commonmark.driver MarkdownExtended

Files

application.php
/home/tfadev/application/config/application.php
autoload.php
/home/tfadev/application/config/autoload.php
config.php
/home/tfadev/application/config/config.php
constants.php
/home/tfadev/application/config/constants.php
config.php
/home/tfadev/application/config/development/config.php
database.php
/home/tfadev/application/config/development/database.php
events.php
/home/tfadev/application/config/events.php
hooks.php
/home/tfadev/application/config/hooks.php
mimes.php
/home/tfadev/application/config/mimes.php
profiler.php
/home/tfadev/application/config/profiler.php
routes.php
/home/tfadev/application/config/routes.php
user_agents.php
/home/tfadev/application/config/user_agents.php
Base_Controller.php
/home/tfadev/application/core/Base_Controller.php
Front_Controller.php
/home/tfadev/application/core/Front_Controller.php
MY_Model.php
/home/tfadev/application/core/MY_Model.php
MY_Security.php
/home/tfadev/application/core/MY_Security.php
MY_form_helper.php
/home/tfadev/application/helpers/MY_form_helper.php
academy_helper.php
/home/tfadev/application/helpers/academy_helper.php
App_hooks.php
/home/tfadev/application/hooks/App_hooks.php
application_lang.php
/home/tfadev/application/language/english/application_lang.php
Navmessage.php
/home/tfadev/application/libraries/Navmessage.php
Profiler.php
/home/tfadev/application/libraries/Profiler.php
banner_model.php
/home/tfadev/application/modules/banner/models/banner_model.php
Blog.php
/home/tfadev/application/modules/blog/controllers/Blog.php
Blog_categories_model.php
/home/tfadev/application/modules/blog/models/Blog_categories_model.php
Blog_category_link_model.php
/home/tfadev/application/modules/blog/models/Blog_category_link_model.php
Blog_model.php
/home/tfadev/application/modules/blog/models/Blog_model.php
index.php
/home/tfadev/application/modules/blog/views/index.php
Learn_course_model.php
/home/tfadev/application/modules/elearning/models/Learn_course_model.php
users_lang.php
/home/tfadev/application/modules/users/language/english/users_lang.php
Auth.php
/home/tfadev/application/modules/users/libraries/Auth.php
User_model.php
/home/tfadev/application/modules/users/models/User_model.php
Base.php
/home/tfadev/application/third_party/MX/Base.php
Config.php
/home/tfadev/application/third_party/MX/Config.php
Controller.php
/home/tfadev/application/third_party/MX/Controller.php
Lang.php
/home/tfadev/application/third_party/MX/Lang.php
Loader.php
/home/tfadev/application/third_party/MX/Loader.php
Benchmark.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/core/Benchmark.php
CodeIgniter.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/core/CodeIgniter.php
Common.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/core/Common.php
Config.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/core/Config.php
Controller.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/core/Controller.php
Hooks.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/core/Hooks.php
Input.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/core/Input.php
Lang.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/core/Lang.php
Loader.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/core/Loader.php
Log.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/core/Log.php
Model.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/core/Model.php
Output.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/core/Output.php
Router.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/core/Router.php
Security.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/core/Security.php
URI.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/core/URI.php
Utf8.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/core/Utf8.php
hash.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/core/compat/hash.php
mbstring.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/core/compat/mbstring.php
password.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/core/compat/password.php
standard.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/core/compat/standard.php
DB.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/database/DB.php
DB_driver.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/database/DB_driver.php
DB_query_builder.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/database/DB_query_builder.php
DB_result.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/database/DB_result.php
mysqli_driver.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/database/drivers/mysqli/mysqli_driver.php
mysqli_result.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/database/drivers/mysqli/mysqli_result.php
cookie_helper.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/helpers/cookie_helper.php
date_helper.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/helpers/date_helper.php
directory_helper.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/helpers/directory_helper.php
form_helper.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/helpers/form_helper.php
language_helper.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/helpers/language_helper.php
url_helper.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/helpers/url_helper.php
pagination_lang.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/language/english/pagination_lang.php
profiler_lang.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/language/english/profiler_lang.php
Cache.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/libraries/Cache/Cache.php
Cache_dummy.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/libraries/Cache/drivers/Cache_dummy.php
Driver.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/libraries/Driver.php
Form_validation.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/libraries/Form_validation.php
Pagination.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/libraries/Pagination.php
Session.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/libraries/Session/Session.php
Session_driver.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/libraries/Session/Session_driver.php
Session_database_driver.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/libraries/Session/drivers/Session_database_driver.php
User_agent.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/ci3/libraries/User_agent.php
BF_Lang.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/core/BF_Lang.php
BF_Loader.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/core/BF_Loader.php
BF_Model.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/core/BF_Model.php
BF_Router.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/core/BF_Router.php
BF_Security.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/core/BF_Security.php
BF_date_helper.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/helpers/BF_date_helper.php
BF_directory_helper.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/helpers/BF_directory_helper.php
BF_form_helper.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/helpers/BF_form_helper.php
application_helper.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/helpers/application_helper.php
config_file_helper.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/helpers/config_file_helper.php
Assets.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/libraries/Assets.php
BF_Form_validation.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/libraries/BF_Form_validation.php
Console.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/libraries/Console.php
Events.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/libraries/Events.php
Modules.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/libraries/Modules.php
Route.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/libraries/Route.php
Template.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/libraries/Template.php
Settings_lib.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/modules/settings/libraries/Settings_lib.php
Settings_model.php
/home/tfadev/bonfire/modules/settings/models/Settings_model.php
index.php
index.php
_sitenav.php
themes/school/_sitenav.php
footer.php
themes/school/footer.php
header.php
themes/school/header.php
index.php
themes/school/index.php