Colabournation

We don’t talk enough about the emotional resistance that happens when we start something new like a freelance business.

Steven Pressfield, the author of The War of Art says that resistance is normal and to be expected.

You’re not alone if you doubt your abilities and feel shaky.

The cure is to press on until the risky, scary new thing becomes familiar territory.

If you’re looking for a supportive community of Canadian marketing and communication freelancers.

Join CoLabourNation from the link our bio.

Are you in the way of your own freelance success?
Do doubt and insecurity keep you from showing up confidently?
When you sell your freelance marketing and communication services, you’re also selling yourself.
It feels personal when you put your heart and soul into a proposal and hear crickets from a client.
Doubt and insecurity can lead to procrastination and paralysis.
When you stop networking and pitching your services, work dries up, which leads to more fear and insecurity.
It’s a destructive cycle that prevents success.
💓 this post if you can relate.

There are practical challenges to starting a freelance business, like: describing your services, creating a website, and attracting your first clients.

But the hardest part is often your own mental and emotional resistance. Our brains want to keep us safe so they put up a fuss when we try something new or risky.

Author Steven Pressfield says, “Resistance is the most toxic force on the planet.”
Resistance is the inner voice that tells us we're not good enough, that we're not capable of achieving our goals, and that we should give up before we even start.

CoLabourNation founder, Sandra Reimer defeats resistance by recalling past successes, sitting down to work every day whether she feels like it or not, and reframing failure as learning.

What do you do to overcome resistance? Comment below 👇

Focus on your Freelancer Superpowers!🎇 Those are the skills that will land you clients and work that you love.

CoLabourNation is a community of Canadian freelance marketing, communication, and admin pros collaborating to multiply impact and income.

In our private online community we:
✔️Solve business challenges together in group mastermind sessions
✔️Share feedback to improve our marketing at Idea Swaps
✔️Ask & Answer questions
✔️Share resources

🌟 We matched a counselling agency needing a website with a skilled website builder with years of experience working with counselling agencies!
CoLabourNation matches clients who need help with their marketing and communication with talented Canadian freelancers.

We aim to align freelancers with clients in these areas:
✅Skills & Experience
✅Price
✅Personal Interests & Passion

We all need feedback to get insight into our superpowers, what we do easily that looks like magic to others.
Sources of wisdom:

✅Reflect on job and personal experiences. What did you excel at?
✅Ask clients and coworkers for feedback and identify patterns.
✅Take an assessment like CliftonStrengths, Kolbe Index, or Working Genius.
Armed with insights, you can offer outstanding freelance services related to your superpowers.

Are you stressed about managing your freelance finances? 😮‍💨

Suzie Diamond from Diamond Bookkeeping joins us to answer your questions about invoicing, tracking finances, and taxes as a freelancer in Canada. No question is too basic or too challenging. There is still time to sail into tax time without stress.

REGISTER for free on Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIsdeCtpjIpHNI1uHNH5J5HdpU2wLT56fEP

We appreciate our members. CoLabourNation freelancers are graphic designers, email marketers, social media content creators, copywriters, website builders, SEO specialists, photographers, videographers and more!

We are Canadian marketing and communication freelancers investing in each others’ success. ✨

JOIN US by following the link in bio!

What is one thing you want to do with your freelance business this year? ✨

Join the conversation on CoLabourNation. Follow the link in our bio to connect with a community of freelancers who are collaborating and growing together!

Comment your thoughts below 👇

We all know how tough it can be to get noticed in the vast sea of online services. But don't worry, we've outlined 5 effective strategies that you can use to promote your freelance services and land clients!

What strategies work the best for you? Comment below 👇

Can you relate? It is natural at the beginning of your freelance career to do a bit of "this and that". Give yourself some grace; you're trying to figure out what you do well that clients will pay for!

The goal of a fabulous freelance business is to focus on your HIGHEST VALUE SERVICES. These services are the sweet spot where passion, pay, and performance meet.

Post your thoughts in the comments.

CoLabourNation connects business owners with vetted Canadian freelancers who help them with their marketing, communication, and administration. So far 48 freelancers have been recommended for the 29 projects. 13 freelancers have been hired, 5 matches are in process, and 1 project is on hold.

Read stories about how CoLabourNation vetted freelancers are helping business owners advance their missions! Link in bio.

I've been writing and organizing my freelance brains out this afternoon! I am creating and curating freelance-specific resources for members of CoLabourNation. Next week, I will unveil paid and free resources to help new freelancers (in years 1-3) thrive and survive.

The main goal of new freelancers is to get enough clients by solving problems for people with money! 💰

I will also reveal resources for freelancers who've made it past the initial milestone of getting enough clients. These Stage 2 freelancers are in danger of being shipwrecked 🚢 on the next most common point of failure--having so many projects that their quality decreases and they disappoint clients!

Join CoLabourNation in the comments if you want to benefit from the bounty of my 18 years of freelance experience. 😀

I just sent a client recommendations to two vetted Canadian freelancers who can help grow his business.

I felt proud when I read their project pitches. They did their homework and made a convincing case for how they can help the client with his email marketing and social media.

I smile when I picture the client discovering what a good fit these freelancers are. It's like I found needles in a haystack that can stitch the clients' story into a compelling tapestry that will woo his clients.

Connecting people for mutual benefit through CoLabourNation makes me happy!

Last night, a group of Canadian freelancers put the "work" in workshop as we reflected and set intentions for 2023.

The 3 Strategies to Shift From Winging It to Freelancing Confidently Workshop helped participants:

1️⃣ Choose how much they want to earn in 2023
2️⃣ Identify what they love to do, are good at, and earns the most money (highest-value services)
3️⃣ Decide on stress-free business systems to meet deadlines, get paid on time, and deliver amazing results.

Freelancers recorded insights in a playbook that included
an Ideal Freelance Life Map with their annual income goal, 3 highest-value services, and a list of business systems.

We ended the take-action session by adding goals to a high-level 12-month plan with 90-day and 30-day intentions to get there.

Participant comments:

"My intention for 2023 was to get organized and this has given me a ton of clarity!"

"I love the annual income calculator; breaking down my income goal by month and week was really helpful."

Join CoLabourNation if you are a Canadian freelancer looking for personal and professional support.

We have a free network, a CoLabourNation Pro subscriber group, and paid workshops to help you build a freelance business you are proud of!

Join CoLabourNation https://network.colabornation.ca/share/0LUtJ3j6U_OZcgoF?utm_source=manual

Freelancers how do you stimulate new projects for a new year?
🎄 You could send a holiday greeting to all clients.
🗓 Tell clients your schedule is filling and to book a meeting with you.
🎉Highlight 2022 successes on social media.
Or?
Post your ideas and practices in the comments.

We are so pleased that ColabourNation has been accepted as an Innovation Guelph Perk Partner. We join several other great companies providing benefits to start-up and scale-up companies in the Innovation Guelph (IG) ecosystem.

Businesses chosen for the IG Start-Up Program have a scalable product or service that is innovative by nature. Program participants receive advisory support, introductions, and resources for two years or more. IG client industries include agri-innovation, food & beverage, manufacturing, cleantech, and technology.

CoLabourNation connects business owners with vetted Canadian freelancers who provide hands-on help with marketing, communication, and administration. Our services include graphic design, social media content creation, copywriting, content marketing, digital marketing, product photography, videography, website building, SEO marketing and more.

CoLabourNation freelancers have already helped IG business owners with social media content creation, sales development, website building, and copywriting. We can't wait to collaborate with even more founders to advance their missions!



(post in the comments)
See the details
https://innovationguelph.ca/resources/

Running a freelance business takes courage. When you promote your business, you promote yourself and your skills.

Keep showing up every day!

Meet freelancers you can "hunt" for work with. Introduce yourself, your skills and services, and your ideal clients. Join breakout rooms with other freelancers focused on the same target market. This event is ideal for emerging freelancers looking for work, established freelancers who want to refer projects to trusted partners, and experienced professionals who want to build a team of subcontractors. RSVP https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZckf-uhrj0pH9UtrJ4DIoLnu0gdojvn6jmw

I met some interesting and passionate people at the Waterloo Region Small Business Centre's event at City of Kitchener City Hall last night. The event focus was on Sustainable Development Goals 8, Decent Work and Economic Growth.

This is relevant for CoLabourNation because we connect business owners with Canadian freelancers who help them with their marketing, communication, and administration. Our vetted freelancers provide valuable services, such as website building, content marketing, email marketing, SEO marketing, social media content creation, graphic design, product photography, and videography. In exchange for collaborating with them to grow their businesses, owners pay freelancers fairly.

Having a strong social media presence can help you boost your business as it allows you to stay in front of the eyes of your audiences, attract new customers and build solid relationships with others. 📲

However, it is important to take the right steps to manage your business' social media accounts and achieve success! ✨Here are our top tips to achieve successful social media marketing. ⬇️

Keep up with us for more business tips! 😄

Curious about what it takes to succeed as a Canadian freelancer? Listen to a facilitated discussion with experienced freelancers Christine Lieu and Carl Friesen.

🎨 Christine is a graphic designer and branding professional whose Brand Party Podcast was in the Top 10 Canada Design and Apple Podcasts' New + Noteworthy in both the Art & Design categories.

🖋 Carl is a writer and thought leadership expert with 20 years of freelance experience. He has an MBA in marketing and is the author of 5 books.

🔥 Ask your burning questions and contribute your own wisdom. Includes time to network in breakouts with other Canadian freelancers in marketing, communication, and administration professions.

Hosted by CoLabourNation. We connect clients with Canadian freelancers who help them grow their businesses with marketing, communication, and administration support.



REGISTER on Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIkcumhqD4qE92evkZ827XtJF8DStI7DEdX

So many great people making a difference with their businesses stopped by the CoLabourNation booth at Innovation Expo.

Come visit me and other Canadian freelance experts on October 13, 2022, at the CoLabourNation booth at in Guelph, Ontario. The 70 or so vendors are start-ups and scale-ups of various sizes. Industries include agri-innovation, food & beverage, manufacturing, cleantech, and technology. There will be lots of food samples and cool products.

Stop by our booth to tell us your business "why" and to pick up some inspiring stickers for your laptop.

For more information about the Expo and how to register for free tickets, check out https://ontarioinnovationexpo.ca/

Innovation Expo Homepage Discover innovative companies from across southern Ontario!

Creating fabulous social media content can be time-consuming. Consult this handy post from Pew Research to find out who is on which channel. Make
sure you're posting on the channels where your audience hangs out!

Social Media Fact Sheet Today around seven-in-ten Americans use social media to connect with one another, engage with news content, share information and entertain themselves. Explore the demographic patterns and trends shaping the social media landscape.

So fun to interview CoLabourNation Pro members Carl Friesen and Janet McLeod Wortel about their freelance journeys to build sustainable businesses. Both had negative employment experiences that made them consider self-employment. Both also enjoy the freedom and flexibility of freelancing. Carl and Janet shared their networking secrets about listening well to potential clients in order to understand their problems and priorities. Carl reminded attendees that we need to provide solutions to problems not just services. Janet said she looks for opportunities to make the client the hero by helping them accomplish their goals.



JOIN CoLabourNation for free to watch a recording of the interview Learn with pros: freelance panel. https://network.colabornation.ca/share/bqy4aTlXnvwjGCuF?utm_source=manual

Curious about what it takes to succeed as a freelancer? Learn with a panel of experienced freelancers who have overcome business and personal challenges. Panelists include CoLabourNation members Janet McLeod Wortel (writer and graphic designer) and Carl Friesen (writer and thought leadership expert). Hear a facilitated discussion and ask your own burning questions. SIGN UP for free on Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pcOusqDsvEtABU5JUTu8_4ibu0ipe0CvR