Suzanne Wesley was in a tight spot five years ago.

She had just lost her job and had to find a way to drum up freelance business fast.

But rather than trying the same methods other freelancers typically use (put up a website and do some cold calling, networking and email prospecting) she decided to try something different.

She designed, printed and mailed a square-shaped brochure to more than 100 prospects.

And it worked!

In this interview, Suzanne explains why she believes this strategy worked so well ... and why she's still getting leads from that printed piece she mailed out five years ago.

Many of my traditionally employed friends are surprised when I tell them that it's challenging to stay productive as a work-at-home freelancer.

They automatically assume that being in control over your schedule is a solution to the productivity dilemma they face in the cubicle world.

Not so. In fact, I'd argue that having more freedom and flexibility can be a curse. Especially when your work is deadline-driven.

In this episode, I talk with Erik Fisher, a productivity junkie and host of Beyond the To Do List, a podcast that focuses on productivity. Erik shares some very practical tools and ideas for getting good work done in our deadline-driven world.

Not all clients are created equal.

Some are a true joy to work with. They value your expertise and experience. They never complain. And they happily pay you top dollar for your work.

Then there are those who are just plain difficult. :(

They complain. They beat you down on price. And they always want it yesterday.

As a solo professional, your long-term happiness depends on what types of clients you work with.

And the better you become at spotting bad clients BEFORE bringing them on board, the better off you'll be.

For this discussion, I brought in two of the industry’s top pros on the topic of identifying good (and bad) clients and projects: Anastacia Brice and David Ackert.

Anastacia Brice formalized the Virtual Assistance profession in 1997 by founding AssistU.com. She’s trained, coached, and certified more than 1,000 talented VAs who now have heart-centric businesses doing work that lights them up for clients they’re passionate about supporting. Anastacia’s also a business coach, writer, community builder, italophile, and a happy girlie girl who finds biz foundations and biz standards two of the sexiest things in the world!

David Ackert has served in the corporate, education, and non-profit sectors as a trainer, marketer and strategic planner since the mid ’90s. Through his company, The Ackert Advisory, he has developed and implemented business development programs for numerous national legal, accounting, and financial service firms. He is the founder of Practice Boomers, a distance learning program that teaches business development skills to service professionals internationally. You can read his work at www.AckertAdvisory.com and watch some of his business development videos at www.4WaysToGetMoreReferrals.com.

Every new freelancer I meet wants to reach a comfortable income level as quickly as possible.

Most of them will set one-, two- or three-year time horizons for getting there.

But what if you HAD to ramp up quickly? What if a life event forced you to replace your full-time income within two months?

And what if failure was not an option?

That's what happened to Christine Parizo four years ago. In this interview, she shares her story of why she made the decision to leave her day job. And how she drummed up enough business in two months to replace her income.

It's an inspirational story of belief and inner drive.

Ten years ago, when LinkedIn was new, the "newness" of the medium made it stand out.

I remember how easy it was to connect with prospects and start productive dialogue.

But as hundreds of millions of professionals have joined this social network, it's become harder to stand out and drum up great leads.

That doesn't mean you should ignore LinkedIn. It just means you have to be more strategic and deliberate about HOW you use it.

In this episode, LinkedIn expert and author of the new book The LinkedIn Code, Melonie Dodaro, shares simple and very specific steps you can take to find great prospects (and land freelance work) through LinkedIn.

Uma Thurman paid $5 for a milkshake in the movie "Pulp Fiction."

John Travolta was appalled.

After all, you can get a milkshake at McDonald's for $1.50, right?

But then he tasted that cold, creamy treat. And he was sold!

Cheap milkshakes may work in the fast food industry. And everyday low prices might work for Walmart.

But low fees will only lead to disappointment and burnout when you're a freelancer.

In this show, I discuss 7 important reasons why you should NOT compete on price. And why you should raise your fees starting today.

Welcome to the Smarter Freelancing podcast! My name is Ed Gandia. And this show is all about turning your freelance business into a fun, profitable and rewarding experience.

It doesn't matter if you're just now thinking about going out on your own ... if you've been freelancing for a long while ... or if you're somewhere in the middle. This podcast is for you if you want your freelance business to give you the time and financial freedom to live your purpose.

I'm excited about today's show, because we're going to discuss a very important topic—how to close more and better-quality leads.

But we're going to cover this topic from more of a philosophical / mindset angle.

If you've been following me for a while you already know that even though I'm big into giving out specific, practical and tactical advice, I also think it's critical to implement tactics on top of accurate, strategic thinking.

In other words, you need to truly understand WHY you're doing what you're doing—why you're making changes, why you're implementing a new strategy or a new approach.

Partnering with high-paying clients who respect your work — that's every freelancer's dream.

And while I truly believe it's entirely possible to build that kind of business, it's not always easy.

Especially for designers.

But even with all the pricing pressure in the design industry, there is still plenty of opportunity to make a great living as a graphic designer.

It's not just me saying this. Boston-based designer Jon Pietz believes this is a very real possibility. And in this interview, he explains why.

He also discusses the strategic shift designers (and ALL creatives) need to start making today if they ever want to escape the never-ending pricing battle. And he offers some very practical suggestions for getting more respect from your clients.

I've been intrigued with the idea of virtual assistants and virtual support since reading Tim Ferriss' Four-Hour Workweek.

But I could never figure out how to make it work as a freelancer. It felt like one of those things that sounds great on paper ... but doesn't quite work in practice.

Well, over the past year I've seen other freelancers use virtual staff successfully. So I decided to look further into this and learn how it can work, even you're not yet making the big bucks.

In this week's podcast, I interview Chris Ducker, author of the new book Virtual Freedom: How to Work with Virtual Staff to Buy More Time, Become More Productive, and Build Your Dream Business.

Chris is regarded as the number one authority on the subject of virtual staffing and personal outsourcing. And in this interview he shares some very practical ideas on how freelancers can leverage virtual staff to save time and boost their earnings.

Freelancing is a great way to earn a living. But sooner or later, every successful freelancer starts to ask himself ...  

"Gee, will I ALWAYS have to trade time for money?"

Even if you price your work by the project, you're still selling your time. When you go away on vacation or when you're sick in bed ... you're not earning an income.

One of the best ways to break out of this time-for-money cycle is to create, package and sell B2B information products to clients and to other businesses.

And in this interview, software developer and entrepreneur Brennan Dunn shares some very practical advice for doing just that.