All posts with the ‘ strategy ’ Tag

That’s right, don’t ask for it.

But that goes against this blog’s near evangelical belief in the value of questions, you say!

You can’t get something if you don’t ask for it, you say!

Katie, you’ve finally gone off the deep end, you snicker.

But I mean it. If something is really important to you, don’t ask for it.

Demand it.… Read More

You should raise your rates.

Hourly, flat, all inclusive, cost-plus; you should raise them.

You should especially raise them if, after reading those first two sentences, you have a long list of reasons why you shouldn’t raise them.

Here’s why:… Read More

Last month I posted a piece about what to do when clients are awful. Turns out lots of people like advice on how to deal with crappy client situations! So this week, I’m taking submissions from The World’s Longest Invoice tumblr and suggesting what you can do to avoid similar non-payment crises.… Read More

There’s been a lot of talk recently about how freelancing and independent art “should” work. From discussions about intellectual property rights, to ethical business practices, to dealing with clients who don’t pay their bills, it seems that everyone has an opinion on how it “should” be and there’s not a lot of agreement on how to get there.

These conversations are important because they have … Read More

Negotiation theory is all good when you’re sitting in front of your computer screen, warm and cozy with a cup of tea and a snoring bulldog on your lap.  Anything sounds possible under those circumstances! I’ll stand up for myself!  It’ll be awesome!

But what do you say in the thick of things? How do you respond to ridiculous requests and offensive statements?

This week … Read More

You’re negotiating.

You’ve prepared, thought about your interests, studied up on the other side, and asked open ended questions to elicit helpful information.

And it is sucking. Hard.

The other side is being jerkish, and every time you try to steer the conversation to problem solving, they drive right back to arguing over details.

You are now trapped in a back and forth about shaving … Read More

This week’s Good Advice question comes from that murky period of time before you start hashing out details of a job — the “Are you available?” time period. Your availability, or lack thereof, is just as valuable as the cash you can make from the job, but is often a lot harder to negotiate.… Read More

Negotiations aren’t neat and tidy events that happen at the beginning of an engagement and stop as soon as the contract is signed. Negotiations happen all the time and in all sorts of situations, but if you don’t realize you are negotiating, things can get messy pretty quickly.

Here’s how to recognize negotiations that don’t announce themselves with neon signs and some advice for handling … Read More