STARTING A FREELANCE OR HOME-BASED SMALL BUSINESS

Is Freelancing Right for You? - Assess your skills and your objectives to see if freelancing is right for you.

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List of Freelance Blogs, Freelance Article Publications, & Directories - If you are looking for a list of great freelance article publications, then this is the list for you.

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Starting Your Freelance Career - As a freelancer, you’ll be able to find that balance between the not-so-easy details of getting started in the business and the joys that come from the work once you’ve started to get more established.

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How to Go About Finding a Freelance Niche - While some freelancers enjoy generalizing because of the diversity of their workload that it allows for, most freelancers find that a career is better made by finding a freelance niche and developing it.

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Starting a Business: Chamber of Commerce - Here I will outline what every freelancer and/or small business owner should look for before joining.

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Are You Experienced Enough To Start A Home Business? - When trying to make a decision about starting your own freelance, home-based, or small business, you will find yourself asking one of these questions.

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Five Steps to Starting a Business - Starting a business can be a rewarding experience, but it can also be very time consuming and difficult. Many resources are available to assist you, but information overload can cause you from moving forward.

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3 Essential Elements of Operating a Successful Business - Have you ever imagined what it would be like to live your dream? A good place to start would be to recognize that there are three elements, and only three elements, that separate success from failure. If you exercise one of the elements, you might just be successful. Two and you will probably succeed. Three, and you can practically guarantee your success.

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3 Reasons Why You Better Know Your Customers…Or Else - It is difficult to think you might be turning away potential business. However, our life will be much easier once you've carefully defined your potential customer. And to further convince you, here are 3 reasons.

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Are You Ready To Become Self Employed?- If you are interested in starting a business, or taking over one, you face a daunting task that carries a level of risk and excitement not possible in the 'employee' world. This forces you to consider are you ready to become self employed?

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Business Startup Checklist - There are many tasks required when launching a new business and the process can seem overwhelming. This checklist will help you organize the startup process and keep your plans on track. You may want to challenge yourself by assigning a target completion date to each task.

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Business Insurance – And What You Need To Know - Getting your business up and running is exciting, challenging and hard work. You’re finally making money – and you are the driving force that is making your business grow. But have you taken care of the “What ifs”. Like – “What if I get sick, how do I pay my bills” or “What if I have a fire, how do I keep my business running”. Simply put, the one thing you do not want is to have the business that you have labored so tirelessly on, hit a financial snag.

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10 Essential Tips for Starting Entrepreneurs - Are you considering running your own business? Take these 10 tips into consideration.

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Assessing Your Skills, What Makes You Different from All the Others? How do they choose? What do they look for? How does one get selected? How can I make my product stand out?

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Turn Any Hobby Into A Part-Time Business If you are like most people who are existing from payday to payday, you don't have a lot of money to invest in a full-time business. No need to worry! Just use your favorite hobby as your business base and grow from there!

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Success Doesn't Happen Overnight - Everything takes time. Have patience.

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The Biggest Employment Change of All - Becoming an Entrepreneur Sometimes the one change that is the hardest to deal with is the change in our employment status

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EASING THE TRANSITION TO A HOME BUSINESS Starting a home business doesn't just affect you, the entrepreneur; it also affects your family.  

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Building Your Home Business While Working for Someone Else - A busy work schedule and home life along with the pressures of starting a business are enough to raise anyone's blood pressure. It can be accomplished, however, with a little patience, clear home business goals and a fresh cup of coffee.

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The Essentials of Starting a Home Business - Starting an online business from your home is a big step.Try not to focus too much on what the future might hold, but stay focused on what's necessary right now to get things up and running. This article includes some essentials you should focus on when starting an online business from your home. Your business organization and success could depend on it!

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10 Essential Tips for Starting Entrepreneurs - Are you considering running your own business? Take these 10 tips into consideration.

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Assessing Your Skills, What Makes You Different from All the Others? How do they choose? What do they look for? How does one get selected? How can I make my product stand out?

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Turn Any Hobby Into A Part-Time Business If you are like most people who are existing from payday to payday, you don't have a lot of money to invest in a full-time business. No need to worry! Just use your favorite hobby as your business base and grow from there!

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Success Doesn't Happen Overnight - Everything takes time. Have patience.

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The Biggest Employment Change of All - Becoming an Entrepreneur Sometimes the one change that is the hardest to deal with is the change in our employment status

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EASING THE TRANSITION TO A HOME BUSINESS Starting a home business doesn't just affect you, the entrepreneur; it also affects your family.  

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BUSINESS START-UP CHECKLIST Congratulations on your decision to become a business owner. This checklist will help you get started.

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SETTING YOUR MIND FOR SUCCESS Choose the positive side of everything and don't let any fear sabotages you from achieving success.

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HAVING IT THEIR WAY: FOR SOME, WHERE THEY MAKE A LIVING IS AS IMPORTANT AS "HOW" People who had the courage to go after a livelihood that spoke to their spirit -- in a place that fed their souls.

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CHOOSING YOUR HOME-BASED CAREER What do you do? That's easy! What ideas do you have? More importantly, what would you like to do? What are your current interests? What hobbies do you have that you'd like to work at more and make them pay?

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10 STEPS TO ESCAPING THE JOB WORLD AND CREATING THE LIFE YOU REALLY WANT Want to escape your job? Here are 10 steps that will help you do just that.

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TIPS FOR BREAKING INTO AND SUCCEEDING IN MANAGEMENT CONSULTING Management consulting is one of the professions that endure in a slow economy. Why? Because more than ever, companies need consultants to help them increase revenues and cut costs.

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SECRETS OF HOME BASED BUSINESS IDEA Steps on generating your home based business idea

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WANT A LIVELIHOOD--AND A LIFE--YOU CAN LOVE? How to Turn Your Dream Into Reality in Five Minutes a Day and Other Tips for Time-Stressed Dreamers Here are five steps even the busiest person seeking a major work and life change can take to get the process rolling:

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THOSE DREAM JOBS DON'T JUST HAPPEN, THEY'RE CREATED If you dream of making the transition from employee to self-bosser, the first thing you need to do is belief that you can. Then, the next time you see some entrepreneur doing what they love, try thinking: "Nice work - now, all I have to do is get it!

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YOU DON'T NEED A JOB TO EARN A LIVING Take-it-with-you jobs driven by the need for independent free agents, and there's an endless line of buyers and publishers waiting to contract their services. That's opportunity clicking at your mouse, my friend. As a writer, you will find it necessary to get familiar with these new organizational, online work models and to acquire the tools and skills needed to maintain your competitive.

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LIFE SKETCHING light article about finding illustration work by Stephen Bergstrom

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FINDING MOTIVATION Start out in the freelance business - get motivated!

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STARTING YOUR OWN FREELANCE BUSINESS - MAKE A PLAN Your future is in very capable hands--yours.

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JUST THE BEGINNING!

A very useful article on how to get started in your new freelance business FULL STORY

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DOWNSIZING GOT YOU SCARED? SEE IF A HOME BUSINESS IS FOR YOU!

It takes dedication, passion and discipline to succeed. Not-to-mention, a lot of hard work, especially in the beginning. Then there are the “functional” things you’ll need. Before you make that decision to jump on the Internet bandwagon, let me make a few points you’ll want to consider. FULL STORY

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INFORMATION CONSTIPATION

If you've been in the process of starting a business (or thinking about starting a business) for more than 6 months, but you haven't made any progress, you may be suffering from Information Constipation. FULL STORY

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HOW TO PRICE YOUR PROJECTS

Take the time to read this article and you will figure out what you need to charge to thrive. FULL STORY

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HOW TO START YOUR FREELANCE BIZ WITHOUT PROFESSIONAL EXAMPLES

So you want to freelance? What should you do if you have no professional examples to place in your portfolio? FULL STORY

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LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR YOUR NEW HOME BASED BUSINESS

So you are ready to set up your freelance business in your home? There are a few legal regulations that you should keep in mind. FULL STORY

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ASSESSING YOUR SKILLS

Now that you have tested yourself with the self-evaluation test in the previous article, you should have a high level of self-awareness. Did you choose yes for self-confidence? I hope that you did, because you are going to need it as a freelancer. You see, as a freelancer you must demonstrate an expertise in your field. You will need to demonstrate self-confidence of your abilities in order to land a gig. FULL STORY

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PUTTING OBJECTIVES IN CHECK

In order to assure your chances for the greatest success, you should do some self-evaluation before you leap into freelancing. Not only does it take a special temperament to run a successful business, but it also takes talent and expertise in your field. This includes some or all of the following personality features: self-confidence, common sense, innovation, and ambition. FULL STORY

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How To Start an Online Business - Are you are finally ready to join the elite group of people making money on the net? Great! It’s easier than you think and I’m here to help you learn as you go.

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Turn Your Hobby Into A Home Business - Each year many people earn a living from their hobbies. Hobbies are one of the most under used income opportunities around. Many people have realized that their passion about their hobbies are invaluable to those that are seeking these skilled, imaginative people.

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How to Break the Cycle of Postponing Your Dreams - Do you have a dream, but keep postponing it because you feel trapped by the responsibilities of your life? Want to be a writer, work from home, own your own business? First, we will examine how your dream got deferred. Then, we will outline definitive steps to get you back on track.

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How to Start a Biz While Working Full-Time Oftentimes, the only way to realize your dreams as an entrepreneur is to begin while working full-time.

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Finding Your Niche as a Web Designer To make it in the web design world nowadays you have to have a niche.

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He Who Dies With The Most "Niches" Wins Niche marketing is the opposite of mass (general) marketing. It targets specific people with special needs.

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How To Find A (Kick Butt) Niche -And Grow Rich Niche marketing is the opposite of mass (general) marketing. It targets specific people with specialized needs.

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Working to Stay-At-Home! If you and your spouse decide that it would be better for you to become a one income household, you can.

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Is A Home Business For You? - Part One You better apply the brakes and proceed with caution. Running a home-based business might not be all you think it is.

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Is A Home Business For You? - Part Two Part 2 of the successful article published last week about whether or not you should start a home business.

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Today's Entrepreneur - Designing the Image of Your Business - How can you make your business cards and your company standout in the crowd? You design an image for your business that distinguishes your business from other companies. This can be accomplished by employing one or all of the following methods of company branding.

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The 10 Key Questions to Ask Before Developing a Lucrative Hobby - Finding it harder to make ends meet? You're not alone. If you are thinking of turning an interest or hobby into a vehicle for earning a little extra cash, here are some questions to get you started.

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Want to work at home but don't want to leave your job? Telecommute! It is possible in many cases to work at least part of the time from home with many businesses, even if they don't yet have a formal program. You just have to talk your boss into it.

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Get Stinkin Rich With Your Niche More focus equals more profits and less work. When picking a market to target online though, the smaller market is the most profitable way to go.

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Are You Missing Your Chance to Work at Home?- Have you missed the turnoff that leads to your dream of working at home? Wouldn't that be disappointing? No one likes to think that they have wasted their chance, missed their opportunity. But that's exactly what happens to many.

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Before You Jump Into The FreeAgent Pool With the change in our economy and the survival mode that companies have switched to, a vast number of people have entered the arena of free agents.

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Moving From A Weekend Hobby To Career In The Arts I’ve heard people say that you’re a sell-out if you are distracted by tasks unrelated to creating your art. That may be true, but if you want to create your art, and put food on your table you will quickly understand that beautiful art does not sell itself.

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The Game Plan - The Difference Between Small Business Success and Failure - A business plan gets you in the game. A game plan keeps you in the game. To use the sports analogy, it’s easy to see how you are going to win the game in from the locker room. Most businesses don’t have a working plan that takes into account what actually happens on the field once play starts.

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Want to Work from Home? Ever Given a Thought to Telecommuting? More and more people are able to perform their jobs from home. Now more than ever the business world is realizing the variety of benefits telecommuting can have on companies and their personnel.

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Advice from Successful Freelancers: Starting & Maintaining a Freelancer Career From the e-book, Advice from Successful Freelancers: How They Built Their Careers & How You Can Too!, I asked ten questions of freelancers who were living their dream life. Following are some of their answers.

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The Little Things You Need To Know If You're Self-Employed There are a million little things that you will learn as you progress with your business, but let me bring you up to speed on a few important ones.

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Five Myths and Five Tips for Breaking Into as a Fashion Designer - For many women, becoming a fashion designer is a lifelong dream. We all love to wear beautiful clothes and make ourselves feel good from the inside out.

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Brand Your Consulting Brilliance Brand your consulting brilliance because the future of your business depends on it.

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Editorial Freelancing: Five Steps to Getting Your Foot in the Door Publishers, editorial directors, human resource managers and editors, among others were a vocal lot regarding freelancers and what they should/should not do to get their foot in the door.

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How to Make Money from Internet Auctions If your business is not using eBay and other Internet auctions, you could be missing out. Here are just a few ways of generating additional income, profits and cash flow from online auctions.

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7 Steps to Writing for Magazines, for Money! If you have an itch, that only words can scratch, perhaps it is time to consider looking seriously at making money from the craft you so clearly love.

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Why Small Businesses Need Both a Logo and an Identity System To increase your chance of getting venture capital or selling a business: If you present a thorough business package, including marketing materials and graphics, your business will look more complete.

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What Makes Your Business Stand Out From The Competition? The type of business that you are in is by no means unique no matter how small your business niche is. The way you present and run your business is. Why does one business thrive while another fails?

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How to Create a Better Brochure Having a quality brochure makes a positive impression on a potential customer. It gives the appearance that you’re serious about your business. And it may give you an advantage over competitors who don’t use brochures.

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Why Every Small Biz Should Have a Web Site Outlined in this article are four ways a web site can contribute to the bottom line success of your business.

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Understanding the Corporate Buyer If you don't grasp the realities of the corporate environment, you may sabotage even a hot lead. Here are five important keys to working with the corporate buyer.

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How to choose a Website Designer Now that you have decided that it is time to create a website for your business there are many questions you must answer. One of the most important questions is "Who should create my website?"

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Maximizing the Effect of Your Freelancer's Bio Your freelancer's bio is a vital job-hunting tool. While traditional job hunters have CVs and resumes, independent writers and other independent professionals have biographies.

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Three Steps to a Professional Image One of the biggest reasons home-based business entrepreneurs often fail to attract customers is that they also fail to create a professional image.

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Dealing with Business Slowdowns When times are slow for your home-based business, chances are you won't have the luxury of waiting and seeing if things improve. You'll need to take steps quickly to get back on track.

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The Little Things You Need To Know If You're Self-Employed There are a million little things that you will learn as you progress with your business, but let me bring you up to speed on a few important ones.

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100+ Resources for Your BusinessThere are so many facets to this business and so many resources are needed

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Choosing a Reliable Business Partner A clever way to find out if your new business associate is one that you would like to deal with on a day to day basis is to put them to a simple test

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How Can a Virtual Assistant Help Your Business? Virtual Assistants are the right hands of on-line or home office business owners. Find out more...

STARTING A FREELANCE CAREER : THE ERRATIC BOTTOM LINE The one thing all beginning freelancers have in common is the erratic bottom line. The person who said “…it’s either feast or famine…” must have had a freelance career.

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DON'T PROCRASTINATE! ! Procrastination can begin so innocently, but grow to drain the vitality from the most passionate of endeavors.

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PERSEVERANCE If you have a dream, a goal if you will, and the perseverance to keep going against all odds you can succeed at anything.

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IT'S A BALANCING ACTA successful freelance career is a balancing act.

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MORE READING CHOICES FOR FREELANCERS Reading choices that are great for freelancers

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READING CHOICES FOR FREELANCERS Reading choices that are great for freelancers

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STARTING YOUR FREELANCE CAREER
THE HAPPINESS FACTOR If you can discover what work you want to do, what makes you happy, you can "have it all." Why not approach your job with the idea that as long as you have to work you may as well do something you enjoy?

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT What can you do to re-energize your creative thought processes? In addition to all the standard sources of brain food, here are some other possibilities

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BE FLEXIBLE Life doesn't always work out the way you plan. Neither does it follow your pre-determined schedule. You can plan your freelance career. Set your goals. Educate yourself. Do all the right things. And guess what? Life just may throw you a few curves.

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THINKING "LOCAL" CAN GIVE YOU AN EDGE Want an edge on the competition? Need to find prospects and clients to carry you through the lean times? Then do yourself a big favor and think "local."

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DEVELOP AND NURTURE BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS Contacts, and the sometimes resulting strategic partnering, are as important to you as they are to huge conglomerates. You need to develop and nurture long-term relationships if you are going to succeed.

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START A JOURNAL What happened to those brilliant ideas that came in the middle of the night? It is so frustrating to try unsuccessfully to remember a concept that, when originally conceived, was "unforgettable."

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PAMPER YOURSELF : YOU DESERVE IT! Marilyn gives us some clever ideas for designing a home office that you can be happy with, and all on a budget.

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STOP AND TAKE STOCK Pull out your business plan and remember all the good reasons you are where you are. Great article, as always, by Marilyn Crain.

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BUILD A FOUNDATION Give your future a strong foundation-continue to educate yourself. Whether you have just completed your formal education or you are leaving your on-the-job training to pursue a freelance career, it is absolutely essential to your success that you never stop learning. Even when you don't feel you can spare the time, you must always be alert to what is happening in your field.

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MAKE A PLAN Your future is in very capable hands--yours.

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