Financial Security Pillars for Digital Nomads

A special message from guest blogger Shauna Friedman

Life as a digital nomad sounds exhilarating — freedom, flexibility, and endless horizons. But beneath the sunsets and Wi-Fi hunts, financial stability can make or break the journey. If your income fluctuates with clients, currencies, and contracts, building financial security isn’t optional — it’s survival. 

Key Takeaways

● Diversify your income streams to prevent instability.

● Automate savings and emergency funds through global-friendly banks.

● Insure your lifestyle, not just your laptop.

● Track spending in multiple currencies to avoid invisible losses.

● Invest with flexibility — think ETFs, not real estate.do

Financial Security Pillars for Digital Nomads

Category

Strategy

Tools / Examples

Income Stability

Maintain at least 2 income streams

Upwork, Fiverr

Banking & Transfers

Use borderless accounts

Wise, Revolut

Emergency Savings

Keep 6 months of living costs

Monzo

Insurance

Global health + travel insurance

SafetyWing

Investments

Index funds, ETFs, crypto (cautiously)Vanguard

Expense Tracking

Multi-currency budgeting tools

YNAB

Problem → Solution → Result

Problem: Many nomads live contract to contract, never stabilizing income.
Solution: Build multiple income tiers — a core freelance skill, a side passive income (e.g., online course), and small investments.
Result: Even if one stream falters, you remain solvent and independent. 

Checklist: Your Financial Security Map

✅ Open at least one borderless account (e.g., Wise, Revolut)
✅ Build a 6-month emergency buffer in your base currency
✅ Track income by client, country, and currency
✅ Pay yourself a monthly salary from your freelance income
✅ Secure nomad health + travel insurance
✅ Set up auto-investments in index funds or ETFs
✅ Use cloud accounting software to categorize expenses
✅ Review exchange rates monthly
✅ File taxes properly in your home country (don’t skip it!) 

Streamline Your Finances While You Roam

Managing work, invoices, and taxes while crossing time zones can be overwhelming. One way to simplify this chaos is by using an all-in-one business management platform. A solution likeZenBusiness helps digital nomads automate invoicing, track income, and manage expenses seamlessly — no matter where they are. Having these systems in place means less time juggling spreadsheets and more time earning (or surfing).

Bonus: Product Spotlight — Tools to Make Money Work Harder

Ever wish your money could manage itself? Platforms likePocketSmith offer financial forecasting so you can see where your cash will go months ahead. Combine this with Notion Finance Templates to visualize goals and build accountability.

 FAQ

Q: What’s the best country to base myself for taxes?
A: Depends on your citizenship — but popular options include Portugal, Estonia, and Thailand for their nomad-friendly tax policies.

Q: How much should I save before going fully nomadic?
A: At least $10,000–$15,000 USD to cover setup, emergencies, and relocation gaps.

Q: Should I invest while traveling?
A: Yes, but stick to low-maintenance global ETFs accessible online. Keep your funds portable and your risk low.

Quick Bulleted Wisdom

● Think long-term location independence, not just remote work.

● Keep banking relationships in at least two countries.

● Use cloud storage for all invoices and contracts.

● Always have a Plan B city with good Wi-Fi and low costs.

Financial freedom isn’t about escaping structure — it’s about building your own. The most successful digital nomads treat their lifestyle like a business: stable cash flow, lean systems, and safety nets. When your money works while you wander, you’re not just traveling — you’re thriving.

The Myth of the Hustle: Why Overwork, Sleep Deprivation, and Underpayment Will Get You Nowhere

By CM Smith

We’ve all heard it, seen it, and felt it: the siren call of hustle culture. The meme-worthy quotes. The Instagram stories with endless to-do lists and 3 AM grind sessions. “Hustle until your haters ask if you’re hiring,” they say. “Sleep when you’re dead.” It’s as if wearing exhaustion like a badge of honor somehow transforms us into overnight success stories.

But here’s the truth that no one likes to talk about: Hustle culture is a myth, and it’s slowly killing your creativity, your health, and your bank account.

We’ve been sold this idea that grinding 24/7, skipping meals, sacrificing sleep, and working for peanuts will somehow get us to the top. That somehow, in all of that exhaustion and burnout, lies the path to success. But here’s the thing: It’s not working for most people. In fact, it’s getting them absolutely nowhere.

The Myth: “Hustle Harder, Do More, Achieve Everything”

The foundation of hustle culture is simple: work as hard as you possibly can, all day, every day. And while it’s true that hard work is often necessary to build something meaningful, hustle culture takes this to an extreme. It’s about pushing yourself to the limit, often with little regard for what that limit actually does to your body or mind.

It’s about believing that the amount of hours you work directly correlates to your success—that if you’re not grinding, you’re failing. The louder your hustle, the better you are. If you’re not pulling all-nighters or answering emails while on vacation, then maybe you’re just not working hard enough.

But here’s the kicker: this mindset is not only unsustainable, it’s also a distraction from real, long-term success.

The Reality: Burnout is the Endgame, Not the Goal

Let’s break it down. Working yourself into the ground can certainly produce short-term results. Sure, you might hit a deadline or make some progress on a project if you’re burning the midnight oil. But the cost is high.

First off, sleep deprivation isn’t just uncomfortable—it’s damaging. Chronic lack of sleep reduces cognitive function, impairs memory, and can even affect your ability to think creatively. You might feel like you’re being productive at 3 AM, but your brain is running on fumes, and the ideas you’re coming up with are probably subpar. You might be working more, but you’re not necessarily working better.

And then there’s the issue of underpayment. Many hustle culture enthusiasts work for “the grind” in exchange for little to no pay, assuming that their hard work will eventually pay off in the form of “exposure” or “experience.” But exposure doesn’t pay rent, and experience doesn’t fill your gas tank. Too often, this leads to a vicious cycle: you work more hours for less money, thinking that eventually, you’ll break through. But in reality, all you’re doing is perpetuating a system that doesn’t value your time or expertise.

So while you’re clocking in 80-hour weeks, someone else is reaping the rewards without ever losing sleep over it.

The Real Key to Success: Balance, Rest, and Strategic Focus

The truth is, success doesn’t come from working yourself to the bone. It comes from working smart, not working non-stop. It comes from knowing when to hustle and when to rest.

Here’s why:

1. Rest = Better Creativity: You need downtime to recharge. Taking breaks, getting a full night’s sleep, and engaging in activities outside of work all contribute to your ability to think critically and creatively. If you’re exhausted all the time, your brain is literally incapable of producing fresh, innovative ideas.

2. Boundaries = More Money: When you’re constantly underpaid, it’s not a sign of your dedication—it’s a sign of you being undervalued. Setting boundaries, raising your rates, and learning to say “no” to low-ball offers is essential to being treated like a professional. Success isn’t about working for cheap; it’s about valuing your time enough to ask for what you’re worth.

3. Sustainability = Long-Term Success: Hustle culture teaches you to burn yourself out now and hope the rewards come later. But burnout is a one-way ticket to mediocrity. Sustainable success is built on habits and systems that prioritize rest, wellness, and efficient work—so you can keep going day after day, month after month, year after year.

4. Mindset Shift = Real Fulfillment: The hustle culture myth ties your worth to your output, but fulfillment comes from a deeper, more aligned sense of purpose. When you operate from a place of balance, rest, and self-respect, you’re more likely to create work that actually aligns with your goals—and that’s what will lead to success.

Conclusion: The Hustle Myth Is Holding You Back

If you want to build a lasting career, create meaningful work, and live a fulfilling life, you have to stop worshipping at the altar of hustle culture. Instead, start working smarter, taking breaks when needed, and setting boundaries that protect your time and energy.

The truth is simple: You don’t have to kill yourself to succeed. Overwork, sleep deprivation, relentless obsession are not badges of honor. They’re the roadblocks that prevent you from achieving what you actually want.

Hustle is not the key to success. Strategy, rest, and balance are. When you embrace these, you’ll find that true success isn’t about how hard you work—it’s about working in a way that keeps you alive, creative, and thriving.

Setting Simple Goals for the New Year When You Don’t Know Where to Start

By Michael LaPenna

The New Year’s here, and as usual, the pressure to make big changes looms large. You might be thinking: “I should set grand, epic, paradigm-shifting goals! I should transform my life! This is my time!” But let’s be real. That can feel overwhelming—especially if you don’t know where to start or if past resolutions have fizzled out faster than you can say “1.21 jiggawatts” and you’d like to the back to the future that you’ve always wanted.

Don’t worry. I’ve been there too. The trick is to start small. Really small. In fact, the simpler your goals, the better.

Why Keep It Simple?

I’m a firm believer that progress doesn’t come from aiming for the stars and hoping for a miracle. It comes from building habits, one small step at a time. When we set simple goals, it’s easier to stay motivated, track progress, and celebrate wins—even the tiny ones. And when those small wins stack up, they lead to bigger changes than any big, vague goal could ever promise.

Here’s how you can set simple goals for the New Year:

1. Focus on One Thing, Not Everything

You know that feeling when you try to do everything at once? You end up doing nothing. Instead of a laundry list of goals (and the overwhelming anxiety that comes with it), pick ONE thing you want to improve this year.

That’s it. One goal. If you’re a freelancer, maybe it’s landing your first client. If you’re trying to improve your fitness, maybe it’s getting out for a walk three times a week. The key is to make it manageable, something that feels doable even on your toughest days.

2. Make It Tiny

Go ahead. Make your goal even smaller than you think. This sounds counterintuitive, but hear me out. If you’re a freelancer, instead of “Book more clients,” aim for “Email one new prospect every week.” If you want to read more, commit to 10 minutes of reading a day. Tiny actions have compounding power. When you make the goal small enough that it doesn’t feel daunting, you’re more likely to stick with it.

3. Be Specific

“Get better at my job” or “Be healthier” is way too broad! What does that really mean? Nothing. Instead, narrow it down. Instead of saying “I want to write more,” make it “I’ll write one blog post per month.” Instead of “I’ll get fit,” say “I’ll walk 30 minutes three times a week.” Specificity makes it easier to track and gives you clear direction.You can even break your targets down even more if it gets too much or life’s tasks get in the way of your progress. 30 minutes of exercise can easily be broken into three 10-minute intervals and so forth. Progress is the point, not perfection.

4. Don’t Overestimate Your Motivation

This is one I’ve learned the hard way. I used to think motivation would carry me through. You’ll be tired some days or emotionally just going though it. Forgive yourself, take a beat snd maybe take it easier than you’d initially planned to do. Motivation ebbs and flows, but habits don’t. Your goal needs to fit into your life even when you’re not feeling motivated. That’s why keeping it simple is key. You don’t need a grand burst of inspiration to email one person, read one chapter, or take one walk

5. Celebrate the Small Wins

We often dismiss small wins as not enough, but in reality, they’re everything. Acknowledge each tiny step forward. When you email that prospect, when you hit the gym once, when you finish that book chapter, celebrate it. The more you recognize these wins, the more motivated you’ll be to keep going

6. Reassess Every 30 Days

At the end of each month, check in on your goal. Did you meet it? Did you miss it? If you missed it, no big deal. It’s not a failure—it’s feedback. Use it to adjust your approach. This reassessment keeps your goals fluid and adaptable, which is important when life inevitably throws curveballs.

A Real-World Example

Let’s put this into perspective with an example. If you’re a freelancer like me, you might set a simple goal like: “I will reach out to three potential clients per week.” You could even break it down further, to make it even more bite-sized: “I’ll send one cold email a day.”That’s it.

The beauty here is that you can build on this. If you hit that goal consistently, you might increase it to five emails a week. Or you might decide that engaging with clients on social media is a more natural fit for you. Either way, as I said, you’re setting yourself up for progress, not perfection.

Final Thoughts

Let’s recap: Goals don’t need to be complicated. They don’t need to be grandiose. They don’t need to be earth-shattering. In fact, the simpler they are, the more likely you are to stick with them. So if you’re feeling lost this New Year and don’t know where to start, try taking one small step toward something that excites you, scares you, or just needs to be done.

Small wins, over time, lead to big transformations. And trust me, that’s all you really need to get ahead.

Let’s make 2025 the year of small, simple, sustainable goals. You got this!

Navigating the Transition: How to Turn Your Freelance Work Into a Small Business

Your particular form elation does not in any way have to be as whimsical as this gentleman’s seen here.

Image via Freepik

By Shauna Friedman

Transitioning from a freelancer to a small business owner is an exciting yet challenging journey. While you've honed your skills as a freelancer, you should consider several crucial steps to make this transformation smooth and successful. This FreelanceMikey article explores the key points that will help you leap from freelancing to running your small business.

Get Covered

As you make the transition from freelancing to running a small business, it's imperative to consider the importance of insurance coverage. Protecting your investment means safeguarding your business against unexpected challenges.

This includes obtaining liability insurance to shield yourself from potential legal issues, securing health insurance to ensure your well-being, and covering your equipment to safeguard your valuable tools. Being adequately protected provides peace of mind and ensures your hard-earned work and assets are secure, even in uncertain times.

Learn New Skills

Pursuing an MBA degree is essential when evolving into a small business owner. While your freelancing skills are the foundation of your business, it's equally crucial to understand the intricacies of business strategy, management, leadership, self-awareness, and self-assessment.

Consider enrolling in an online MBA program or specialized courses to better understand these critical aspects. Investing in your education will empower you to make informed decisions, navigate challenges, and set your business on the path to long-term success. You might also benefit from meeting with a consultant who can guide you from freelancer to entrepreneur!

Make a Business Plan

Creating a comprehensive business plan is the cornerstone of your small business's success. This plan serves as a roadmap, clearly defining your objectives, strategies, and goals. It outlines your business's vision, mission, and core values while detailing your target market, competition analysis, and financial projections.

A well-thought-out business plan guides your day-to-day actions and is a powerful tool to attract potential investors or partners. It demonstrates your commitment to your business's success and provides a clear direction for growth.

Plan Your Marketing Initiatives

Your marketing plan is pivotal in effectively reaching your desired audience. Transitioning from freelancing to a small business means branding and promoting your services or products more comprehensively. To achieve this, tailor your marketing efforts to align with your brand identity and objectives.

This personalized approach allows you to connect with your audience on a deeper level, creating a stronger brand presence. Identify your unique selling propositions (USPs), select the most suitable marketing channels, and craft compelling messages that resonate with your target market. A well-executed marketing plan is essential for attracting and retaining customers and driving business growth.

Prioritize Your Network

Networking is a powerful tool that can significantly impact the growth of your small business. Building relationships with peers, clients, and industry professionals opens doors to numerous opportunities, collaborations, and referrals. As you transition to a small business owner, invest time in attending industry events, joining online communities, and engaging in meaningful conversations.

Establishing a strong professional network increases your visibility and provides valuable insights, support, and potential partnerships. Networking is a continuous process that can lead to a steady stream of clients and business growth.

Stay Legally Compliant

Before fully operating your small business, it's crucial to research and obtain the necessary permits and licenses. Compliance with local, state, and federal regulations is essential to avoid legal complications that can hinder your business's progress. This step ensures that your business operates smoothly within the boundaries of the law and reduces the risk of fines or legal disputes.

Depending on your industry and location, the required permits and licenses may vary, so it's essential to research and adhere to all applicable regulations thoroughly. Legal compliance provides a solid foundation for your small business and fosters trust with clients and partners.

Wrapping Up

Transitioning from freelancing to a small business is a significant step in your career journey. By following these key points, you can protect your investment, enhance your skills, and set your business on the path to success.

Crafting a solid business plan, developing a marketing strategy, networking, and ensuring legal compliance are all essential components of this exciting transition. Embrace these steps, and you'll be well-prepared to thrive as a small business owner, enjoying the benefits of independence and growth in your entrepreneurial journey.

Conquering Procrastination: The Path to Productivity and Success

By CM Smith

Procrastination —the timeless foe of productivity, the silent killer of deadlines, and the arch-nemesis of progress. It lurks in the shadows of our intentions, delaying tasks and goals while whispering promises of tomorrow. Overcoming procrastination is a universal pursuit, an endeavor to reclaim control and unleash one’s full potential.

Procrastination, often misunderstood as mere laziness, is a complex interplay of psychological, emotional, and behavioral factors. It stems from various sources such as fear of failure, perfectionism, lack of motivation, or an overwhelming workload. Recognizing its roots is the first step toward conquering it.

1. Break it Down

Tackle tasks by breaking them into smaller, manageable chunks. This diminishes the sense of overwhelm and makes starting easier.

2. Set Clear Goals and Deadlines

Establishing specific, achievable objectives coupled with realistic deadlines can provide a roadmap for progress, serving as a powerful antidote to procrastination.

3. Prioritizing and Time Management

Identify high-priority tasks and allocate dedicated time slots to work on them. Tools like the Eisenhower Matrix can aid in determining urgency and importance.

4. Combat Perfectionism

Perfectionism often leads to procrastination. Embrace the concept of “good enough” and understand that completion is sometimes more important than perfection.

5. Create a Supportive Environment

Surround yourself with an environment conducive to productivity. Minimize distractions, organize your workspace, and find accountability partners or mentors to keep you on track.

6. Utilize the Two-Minute Rule

If a task takes less than two minutes to complete, do it immediately. This simple rule eliminates the habit of postponing quick, simple tasks.

7. Practice Self-Compassion and Forgiveness

Be kind to yourself when facing setbacks. Forgiving yourself for procrastinating allows you to move forward without the burden of guilt.

Shifting one’s mindset is fundamental in the battle against procrastination. Embrace a growth mindset, acknowledging that failure is a part of the learning process. Cultivate a positive outlook by focusing on the rewards of completing tasks rather than the discomfort of initiating them.

Overcoming procrastination is not a one-time victory but an ongoing journey. It requires commitment, self-reflection, and a willingness to adapt. Celebrate small victories along the way and understand that setbacks are natural. Each moment presents an opportunity to choose progress over delay.

The path to overcoming procrastination is paved with self-awareness, effective strategies, and a resilient mindset. By implementing these tools and fostering a proactive approach, individuals can reclaim their time, boost productivity, and ultimately pave the way to achieving their goals. Remember, the key lies not in perfection but in consistent effort and forward momentum.

Embrace the Quirky: Exploring the Joy of Random Creative Bursts

By CM Smith

In the vast landscape of our minds lies an intricate web of thoughts, ideas, and whimsical musings waiting to be explored. Often, it’s the unexpected, the random, and the unconventional ideas that pave the way for our most creative endeavors. And through it all,  such as they are, these ribbons of randomness pulsing through our brains can be the intellectual lightning storm,of innovation  new ideas or leading us down imaginative paths  we never knew existed.

Photo by Steph Wilson @stephwill

Our minds are fascinating realms where chaos and creativity collide. Sometimes, in the midst of our daily routines, a random thought emerges - an idea that seems to come out of nowhere. It could be an unusual combination of words, a peculiar image, or a quirky scenario playing out in our heads. These seemingly inconsequential thoughts are the raw materials of creativity.

Embracing Playfulness

Embracing these random thoughts often requires a dash of playfulness. It’s about letting go of the constraints of practicality and allowing ourselves to revel in the joy of imagination. Engaging in creative play, such as doodling aimlessly, engaging in word associations, or daydreaming, can provide fertile ground for these spontaneous bursts of creativity.

Cultivating Creativity

To nurture these random creative thoughts, creating an environment that encourages exploration is key. Surrounding oneself with diverse experiences, exposing oneself to new art forms, literature, music, or even engaging in unconventional activities, can stimulate the mind and encourage unconventional thinking.

Turning Quirkiness into Innovation

Many groundbreaking ideas have originated from seemingly bizarre or unrelated thoughts. Take, for instance, the story of the Post-it note, born out of a failed attempt at developing a super-strong adhesive. Embracing the randomness of creative thoughts can lead to unexpected breakthroughs and innovative solutions.

Photo by Ian Schneider @goian

Embracing the Journey

Exploring the realm of random creative thoughts is not just about the destination—it’s about enjoying the journey. It’s about relishing the process of discovery, embracing the unpredictability, and finding joy in the surprises our minds offer.

Conclusion

In a world that often values structured thinking and linear progress, the beauty of random creative thoughts lies in their spontaneity and unpredictability. They remind us to embrace the unconventional, explore the uncharted territories of our minds, and find joy in the simple act of letting our imaginations roam freely. So, the next time a peculiar idea pops into your head, embrace it, play with it, and see where it takes you—you might just stumble upon something truly extraordinary.

How to Integrate AI Into Your Creative Practice

By Shauna Friedman

FreelanceMikey offers an irreplaceable human touch for your business and creative endeavors with services like idea brainstorming, coaching, and editing.

How to Integrate AI Into Your Creative Practice

Whether you’re a writer, designer, composer, or other creative, it’s time to sit up and take notice of AI, if you aren’t already. As you likely know, AI is increasingly being incorporated into work processes because it saves so much time and effort, and offers several AI-specific benefits (like big data analysis). This includes creative processes – everything from digital design and content development to music-making and film.

The HBR sums it up nicely: AI won’t replace humans – but humans with AI will replace humans without AI. Incorporating AI into your creative practice can help you offer a better quality of service and reduce your workload.

Below, FreelanceMikey Creative Consulting offers a mini-guide on how to integrate AI into your existing creative endeavors.

Understanding the collaborative role of AI

AI works by analyzing vast data sets, identifying patterns, and then outputting results. AI can’t replace human creativity, imagination, and emotions – but it can inspire, augment, and enhance all three. It can give you a boilerplate to build from, refine, and add to, and it can collaborate with you to make your work easier.

Building a collaborative workflow

To make full use of an AI tool in your creative practice, you can build a collaborative workflow that integrates an AI app or tool. Creatives can find specific AI apps for their niche (such as image generation software if they’re a designer). Or you can use a general-purpose AI tool like ChatGPT.

Here’s a working example of how to integrate an AI app into your workflow:

• Initial human manual prompt: First, you provide the AI with a clear set of guidelines, parameters, or examples of works related to your desired output. If you’re designing a webpage, you can input a theme (type of website), some style guidelines, and script interactivity.

• Human screening of AI output: The AI will generate some output for you, which you should screen for quality and accuracy. You can ask the AI to make changes to the output or use the output as a new prompt to generate a different (related) output.

• Manual human refinement: If you like the output, you can make changes to it manually, based on your unique experience, skills, and talents.

• Final human-AI combined result: Once you iterate your work enough, you have the final result, which is a mix of AI and human-generated work. Ideally, you want an output that optimally leverages human and AI strengths (and covers each others’ weaknesses).

The quality of the results you receive will depend on your initial prompt and the AI tool in question. Many AI tools also learn as they go (machine learning), offering better results the more you work with them.

Which creatives can use AI?

Almost all creatives that work with computers or use computer-related apps and tools for their work can use AI. This includes writers, designers, poets, game developers, architects, photographers, music composers, and more. You can check AI trends for your unique niche if you’re curious.

Can you fully automate creative processes?

The answer is yes, although with some caveats. The work produced isn’t always high-quality or original – AI doesn’t have a human identity, emotions, perspectives, and experiences. These things can only be simulated to a degree. It’s not real enough, essentially, and a trained eye can spot the difference.

AI does excel at automating recurring processes, however – if you have to do the same thing over and over again, an AI tool can do it perfectly every time. This has more applications in the business world, which involves a lot of recurring processes like accounting, as opposed to the creative world, which has much more nuance and originality.

You have to add a human quality to creative AI work

Ai can’t generate high-quality creative work by itself – it needs your creative training and input. You need to know what quality work looks like to be able to produce original quality work yourself (with AI assistance). If you’re in the content development niche (marketing, writing, or similar), you can learn about quality content through online resources.

Conclusion

Keep in mind that AI is still a work in progress and has several limitations, especially when it comes to creative work. While it can make your creative practice easier and automate some recurring tasks, it doesn’t always produce quality work, and you’ll still need a trained human eye to get the most out of it.

Image via Unsplash

Hi, everyone!

Hi All,

Checking back in after a long hiatus from the website blog to give you an update on the goings-on at freelancemikey.com and beyond.

Life has been moving a little more adventurously lately, as I’ve moved into a new home since my last post. With that said, I’ve still been working on several personal projects including a film that I should be finished writing within a few months. I’ve also ventured out into new sources of income and expanded my financial future through them. I will continue to work in consulting, marketing, copywriting, and music production and I hope that you’ll join me in my journey.

In the coming months, I’ll be writing interviews in blog form with various artists of all genres and walks of life, and having some fun, and maybe even making some new friends along the way.

Keep rollin’,

Mikey 

October 2022!

Hey all,

I just wanted to drop by and say thank you to everyone who has been supporting me through my transition to Fiverr.com on a regular basis.

As many of you know, i’ve been spending the past couple of years focusing on music editing and mashups as well as some editing for screenwriting—and of course, spending time with friends and family and enjoying my life.

As of now, I haven’t really decided what to do with this blog, but I do want to keep things current. I think there are some exciting things on the horizon both professionally and personally. Stay tuned.

Thank you again to everybody who has contributed to the business and thereby made my life really enjoyable!

Book a session with me at Fiverr.com/mikeywrites0010.

Just dropping a line before launching some interviews and new posts!

Hi Everyone,

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, so I’m just dropping by to keep you abreast of what’s going on in the life of Michael LaPenna.

We’ve been moving things around at work and at home and I have a new health regimen that I’ve started to ensure better health, at the advice of my doctor. Things are really moving! There might be times where I don’t have as much time to devote to this blog as I would like, so my focus will always be quality over quantity. In the coming weeks, I will be scheduling some art-related and creativity-related blog posts in the form of interviews with creatives and artists. I hope you like the outcome.

We’re coming up on the Christmas and Hanukkah and Kwanzaa season in 2020 and what a terrible 2020 it’s been! I ask that you please stay safe, stay home, and wear your mask when you go out or have to be in a group of people.

Until then, this is Mikey saying take care of yourself and others and keep believing!

Seeking Artists and Creative Business Professionals for Interviews

Hey there, all! Some exciting news!

 If you are an artist or creative business professional who would like to be profiled on the FreelanceMikey Blog, please contact me here or at my preferred email at mike.lapenna@gmall.com.

I’m also taking some time to aggregate some content on here to create a more expansive experience. I’m excited about where things can go in the next few months.

I’ll be revamping and re-populating some of the comments  sections soon as well. Stay tuned!

Yours,

Michael LaPenna

A Short Journal Entry on Quarantine, Creativity, and Being Human When the World Seems Inhumane

by Michael LaPenna

Like many of you, I’ve spent the past several contemplating my next move… I’m going through the roller coaster of emotional consequences caused by COVID-19. I spent the first week contemplating my own mortality: if I died, if either or both of my parents died, if my wife died. Couple that with the prospect of dying alone and you get a cocktail for crying myself to sleep and telling myself to seek immediate talk therapy. I took myself up on the offer and therapy put everything in perspective: the relative unlikelihood of death, the realization of what I had instead of what I didn’t. I spent a lot of time thinking about what getting the most out of life means for me while coming face-to-face with this insipid invisible air monster that can kill me, make me sick, or give me no symptoms all that, as of this writing, has no cure and no universally defined treatment. I thought about unfinished creative projects that I would be sad about not being able to do or complete before I died—and so, I thought I could do all that during the quarantine, but the natural depression of the news (COVID-19, economic recession, civil unrest, and the coming election here in the US) and the simple lack of the usual events that consume my life on a regular basis. (Even with my wife being an introvert by nature, we do a lot of going out and spending time with others). We couldn’t go to farmers’ markets, to our friends parties, their weddings, their baby showers—nor could we go out to eat to support our favorite local restaurants or find and explore new ones. Still, weirdest of all, with the sports world on hold for an indefinite amount of nebulous time until earlier this summer, the only sports available for moths were South Korean baseball and the Twilight Zone that is professional wrestling with no audience. (For those that don’t know, I grew up loving the mixture of sports, soap opera, circus, and magic show that is professional wrestling. There’s no other genre like it in the world, and like most things, when it’s bad it’s the worst bad movie no Razzie can encapsulate, but when it’s good and when the crowd is invested, it’s like watching your favorite action movie with a live audience of 20,000 people witnessing live theater of the absurd joys and tragedies of life—but I digress.

As we look upon or collective human condition in this moment, I cannot help but realize that this experience is forcing us to stop and be still in world usually so comfortable to be busy, hustling, distracted, and disquieted. It is wresting us down to think of what’s important and at best has and likely will necessitate that we innovate new ways of being human beings in our level of patience, kindness, and learning what to when people and and situations aren’t either of those ( in times of tension or protest). For creatives that could mean so many things, but most of all, it might give us more time to think and to be in solitude with what our art is. After all, drawing, painting, writing, or sculpting can be done in solitude and much of it can be done in quarantine. (Most of us are not Shakespeare or Galileo calculating and crafting our respective calculuses or King Lears in the self-reflective solitary confinement of quarantine). We do know; however, that we don’t like to be too stagnant for too long. As the late Bruce Lee might remind us, humans at our creative best like to flow like water down a teaming stream filled with life and vitality. Lee famously implored us to, “Be water, my friend.” I endorse the flow.

For months now around the world, we homebound humans have been being asked to stay in with friends, with family—or by ourselves with suddenly enough time to stop, breathe; read the books we’ve been meaning to read, watch all the movies we’ve been meaning to watch, initiate all the exercise we’ve been meaning to take new levels of fitness, or make all the art we’ve neglected to prioritize as soul food (including my own creative writing).

So as you come out of your funk, your depression, your fears, consider that though the world may be in one of its darkest hours in the past hundred years—being forced apart by quarantine or by unfortunate departure from this planet—the living and moving majority of us have a call to be ourselves in the best ways we know possible and to show the world what is possible through tragedy and tears while on the way to possibility and triumph..

Black Lives and LGBTQ+ Lives Are Our Neighbors and Their Houses Are on Fire

by Michael LaPenna

I’ve been thinking through and living with so many emotions lately, and I just wanted to post something of love and support from the perspective of a guy that is both the majority and minority (as a white man and a person with cerebral palsy who grew up in multicultural neighborhoods and racially integrated lunch tables all the while still feeling like the most different one in the room) who believes that black lives matter and LGBTQ+ lives matter as well as any life who feels unheard and unseen. 

Suspicion of a counterfeit $20 bill is not in any way a cogent and practical reason for George Floyd to have died. Being shot in her bed by police because they had the wrong house shouldn’t have killed Breonna Taylor. Jogging in a predominently white neighborhood shouldn’t be a reason why an otherwise healthy Ahmaud Arbery died. Someone else’s discomfort with a person’s gender identity or sexuality shouldn’t be a reason why 18 trans people have been murdered in 2020 alone. Rather, let’s treat people—not only better—but the very best we can treat them. Even if we disagree on issues, and even if we aren’t the very best of friends with every person we encounter. I believe we too often act like Samaritans minding our own business. Let’s instead leave a wider space inside our hearts for the common dignity we would give to strangers, loved ones—and all people endowed with the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and be good to one another because, in no uncertain terms, we cannot love one another and our neighbors as ourselves only when it’s convenient. Loving one another as ourselves, for me, means seeing our common humanity in each face and personality we encounter on a daily basis for better and for worse to heal our wounds and lift up our joys for the good of us all. Yes, all lives do matter, but when your neighbor’s house is on fire, you don’t scream, “What about my house?” and throw stones, you get help to put that fire out. It’s time to put the fire out in America with liberty and justice for all.

I'm writing about the current situation and will post once I'm done....

#racism #blacklivesstillmatter

Create With Us!

Business is expanding more quickly than I could’ve imagined, and for the better. The blog posts may continue to be a bit more curated or sporadic in the near term. Of course, if you would like to blog with us, more specifically, with me Mikey, Fill out your information at the “Work with us!” section at the contact page here and I’ll get back to you usually within 48 hours. 

Keep creating,
Michael LaPenna

Set Off on the Path of Freelance Success

by Courtney Rosenfeld, gigspark.biz

Though once considered the fringe of employment, 16.5 million people work in the gig economy in the United States, a figure that’s set to grow as more and more companies outsource projects and professionals discover the freedom and flexibility of being their own boss, setting their own hours and often working from home. 

This could be a golden opportunity for you, whether you’re tired of trudging to the office every day or looking for an extra source of income in retirement. Opportunity abounds in a number of specialties, from writing to designing to pet care to housecleaning. However, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the responsibility of running your own show and finding enough contracts to pay the bills, so here are some tips to keep things on track.

Set Goals

You need goals to stay motivated, move forward and be successful, says an entrepreneur writing for the Balance Small Business, who provides a list of resources that help you set realistic targets for your enterprise, whether they’re financial or related to finding new clients. Remember to divide them up into long-term and short-term goals so you have something to aim for every day when you start work. There’s no point in just saying, “I want to be a millionaire.” If that’s the dream, you have to make a plan for it.

Create a Cozy Home Office

You’ll be spending a lot of time in your office, so make sure you’re well equipped in a space that’s dedicated to work and nothing else. It will serve you well if you have a spare room you can devote to your enterprise, but setting aside a quiet corner in the basement or attic would also suffice. A natural source of light does wonders to keep up your spirits, especially when the sun is shining, while an ergonomic chair provides the comfort you need for long hours at the computer. If your home is lacking space, you could convert part of your garage into an office. If you don’t have a garage on your property, consider building a prefab steel garage and using it as office space. Steel structures are inexpensive and easy to maintain.  

Stay Organized

According to a startup expert with Forbes, successful entrepreneurs all “batch” their tasks. This refers to grouping everything you need to do into categories, then doing one of those all at once. For example, set aside one morning for writing emails and the afternoon for developing a business plan, but keeping in mind priorities that need to get done that day, of course. This technique helps you avoid floundering in a jumble of random activities.

Manage Your Finances 

One of the cardinal rules of running your own business is separating your business from your personal life, and the easiest way is by setting up separate bank accounts. Once that’s done, create a budget for expenses based on an average of what you make from month to month, as that varies. Remember that you are one of those expenses, so pay yourself on a regular basis by transferring money to your personal account. Be sure you have enough to keep up with loan payments, and use a home cost calculator to determine how much you can spend on property if you’re on the market.

Keep Marketing

The nature of freelance work means bouncing from contract to contract or project to project, so you can never cease promoting your services, or your revenue streams may dry up. With little cash to spend on advertising, choose a few inexpensive means of getting the word out, and batch them into your schedule. Social media channels are on your side, so make daily or weekly posts that include a link to your blog or website, and don’t be timid in asking for referrals from past and current customers.

Watch Your Health

When striking out on your own with a new business, you need to be at your best mentally and physically, so this is not the time to neglect your diet and fitness routine no matter how much you want to tap away at your laptop. Turn it off, put on your sneakers and head out for a jog, cycle or power walk. When it’s time to eat, load up on vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains while keeping sugar and fat intake at a minimum.

Starting up your own business may be a bit nerve-wracking at first, but once the revenue starts flowing in, you’ll begin to appreciate the freedom of being your own boss. It’s truly liberating, so enjoy it.

Image via Pexels.

Courtney Rosenfield started her career in the gig economy after several years of enviously watching others do the same thing. She started Gigspark to be a resource and a first step for people who are looking to join the gig economy, either to supplement their income or as a way to fulfill their dreams of becoming an entrepreneur.

Four of the Most Important Freelance Jobs to Hire Out for Your Small Business

by Courtney Rosenfeld, gigspark.biz

There are many advantages to hiring out freelance work for your business. If you run a small business, for instance, you may have realized that you don’t need a full-time staff. Or, perhaps you would like a full-time staff but can’t afford it. Either way, hiring freelancers can free up time and money for you to spend on growing your business in a way that would be much more difficult than if you were paying a full-time staff. 

Yes, it still costs money. But it can cost less money than paying a staff over time, and the growth and reduced stress you experience will likely make it more than worthwhile. Determine what kind of projects you need done, set your budget, ask around for referrals, and review job boards. Once you have a candidate in mind, send them a test project. If they return a completed project to you on time that meets your standards, you may have a keeper. If not, keep looking until you find a freelancer in that specialty who provides the product you’re envisioning. 

Finding the best freelancer you can at a price point you can work with will help you focus on the tasks you need to, and it will ultimately help your business flourish. While there are many different types of freelance work, these four are some of the most essential ones to consider. 

Virtual Assistants 

Any successful business owner will tell you that delegating tasks is vital to effectively running a company. When you delegate tasks that don’t come naturally to you and that will waste your time, you can spend time on things that grow your business. There are many tasks that can be taken care of by a virtual assistant, and looking on the right job board can direct you to qualified, reliable candidates. Essentially, a virtual assistant can do anything from administrative support and scheduling to customer service and data entry. 

Web Designers

It’s no secret that an awesome website is necessary for any small business. There are many platforms available today that allow someone with minimal design knowledge to build a website; however, these websites are often easily spotted, and the limited features of these platforms can make it difficult for your site to stand out among the crowd. Bringing in a web designer can give you a unique, high-quality site with responsive design technology. Also, a professionally designed site will be more reliable, run more efficiently, and increase your company’s search engine optimization (SEO). 

Content Writers

Providing audiences with written content has become increasingly important for small businesses of all kinds. Having a blog on your website that discusses industry-related subject matter and offers expert advice highlights your company’s credibility. Qualified content writers can write about topics your audience cares about in a readable way. Furthermore, they can clearly translate ideas that you don’t know how to put into words, and they can provide an unbiased view of your products and services.

Social Media Managers

Finally, hiring a social media manager can prove invaluable to your business. Social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter offer affordable (and sometimes free) marketing tools, and bringing in a professional who knows how to utilize and manage those tools can free you up to work on the things you’re best at. A social media manager can lay out a strategic plan for your social presence, consistently post meaningful content, promote your brand and products/services, expand your customer reach, and ultimately boost your sales. 

As a small business owner, virtual assistance, web design, content writing, and social media management are all jobs you should consider hiring out to freelancers. Remember to find the best candidate you can within your budget, and test them out before committing to multiple projects. Hiring qualified freelancers can free up your time to focus on the projects you do best so that your company can grow and thrive as much as possible. 

Photo Credit: Burst

Courtney Rosenfield started her career in the gig economy after several years of enviously watching others do the same thing. She started Gigspark to be a resource and a first step for people who are looking to join the gig economy, either to supplement their income or as a way to fulfill their dreams of becoming an entrepreneur.