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.