Start with a program that find interesting. This is a part-time job, and you want to pick something you enjoy.

When choosing a multi level marketing program, look for something new, something that not everybody is already doing. It helps if the product caters to a growing or underserved market. Start with a company that has been in business for several years. Some MLM companies don’t last.

Watch for unrealistic sales quotas before choosing a multi level marketing program. Some programs actually seem to set you up for failure. Talke to as many people in the program as you can. Use the internet for research.

When choosing a multi level marketing program, there are many factors to consider. Remember that these programs are about selling, and the various programs will try to sell you on why theirs is the best. Find a program with products that interest you and then find out as much as possible about it. Choose well and enjoy your second income.

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It’s vitally important that you, as the client, do your part in fostering a positive working relationship with your contractor. Embarking on a new project can be overwhelming, especially if it involves technical aspects (such as web design). That’s why you’ve hired an expert!

But in order to make your project a success, you need to develop a solid working relationship, and be aware of some basic “rules” when working with a freelancer.

Rule #1: Respect the Freelancer’s Profession

Freelancers are often mischaracterized as inexperienced, amateurs, or part-timers. These are usually far from the truth. Most of us are experienced in our industry and take our job very seriously. Our livelihood depends on it!

We take pride in the work that we deliver, and we charge a fair price for our services. Don’t expect a reputable freelancer to work on ’spec’ or provide extra consultation free of charge. You wouldn’t ask for a free meal when you go out to a restaurant, would you?

Rule #2: Trust the Freelancer’s Expertise

There’s a reason why you decided to hire a contractor to meet your needs. They’re the expert! Let them do what they do best, which is to address your needs in such a way that positions you for the best chance of success.

Don’t try to micro-manage your project or play the role of designer if you’re not one. It’s OK to offer your opinion and give guidance, but try and do it in the form of desired end-results. For example:

BAD: “Can you make the logo blink and change the color to bright yellow?”

GOOD: “We’d like our company branding to stand out more. Is there anything you can do to achieve that?”

Rule #3: If You’re Not Sure, Ask!

Creative and technical projects can often be quite complex. Always make sure you’re on the same page as the freelancer. Ask clarifying questions if you’re not sure about something. Stop them before moving on to another discussion if you’re not fully up to speed.

It’s the freelancer’s job to not only deliver the final product you’re looking for, but also to guide you through the process every step of the way. A good freelancer can clearly communicate all of the ins and outs of your project in a way that is easy to understand and covers all of the bases.

Let there be no surprises due to a lack of communication.

Rule #4: Be Available & Punctual

Hiring a freelancer is not a ’set it and forget it’ situation. Don’t think that since you’ve already paid your deposit that you don’t need to be in touch until final delivery.

A successful project will require regular contact and sign-off on milestones. If you want your project completed on time with the best results possible, then take an active role when reviewing the freelancer’s work in progress.

Be available for scheduled meetings, conference calls, Skype chats, etc. Expect to receive questions and updates from your freelancer. Check your email daily so that you can receive and respond to these inquiries. This will ensure your project remains on a steady pace and avoids a stop-go-stop-go routine.

Rule #5: Respect the Freelancer’s Policies

Freelancers should make all of their working policies clear up front: Their general working hours, preferred method of communication, payment deadlines, technical requirements (such as file types to provide), etc.

Make sure you respect these policies. For example, most freelancers don’t appreciate “urgent” requests. We can’t possibly be available for immediate phone, email, or IM support all of the time. I assure my clients that I return all emails and phone messages within 1 business day (often sooner). This allows me to keep my workflow intact and avoid distractions.

I’ve even had clients who call me at 10:00pm on a Sunday night. Not OK.

Rule #6: Pay on Time

Every freelancer will tell you their biggest pet peeve are clients who don’t pay on time. This is an extremely unprofessional practice that happens all too often in client-freelancer working relationships.

This comes back to rule #1, respecting the freelancer’s profession. Payment terms should be clearly defined on the freelancer’s invoice. Make sure you pay on time in order to avoid stopping work on your project or potential late fees.

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The biggest problem we face in getting our records into order (and keeping them that way) is that most of us work on our own. It’s hard to find time for tasks like filing when it’s just you. These tips will give you a few ways to streamline your record keeping.

1. Choose Online Tools

There are some considerations when it comes to relying on web applications for your business: there are security concerns, reliability issues and other questions you have to think about. Just the same, though, using online tools can make it much easier to manage your records. Depending on the tools you choose, you can skip filing altogether and even automate a lot of the processes that go along with filing.

2. Get a Filing Cabinet

No matter how many online tools you use, there will be some documents you need to have in hard copy. Shoe boxes aren’t really a long-term filing solution, so buckle down and get a filing cabinet — even a little one that can slide into your closet will be enough.

3. Keep Your Paper Files Simple

You don’t need a fancy filing system to satisfy accountants or investors. Depending on how paperless your process is, you may only have a few file folders. The most important could include ‘Contracts,’ ‘Taxes,’ and Bills.

4. Rely On Search For Your Computer Files

It’s okay if your computer files aren’t separated out into appropriate directories. As long as you make sure that you have a consistent way of naming files, you can typically rely of searching your computer to find any file you need. It isn’t a best practice, admittedly, but if you don’t have time to devote to managing your online files, it will suffice.

5. Set Aside Time For Filing

Aside from your computer, your files aren’t going to organize themselves. Set the time aside to get your paperwork off your desk and into the filing cabinet, shredder or trash can. If you do so on a regular basis, it may be just fifteen minutes every week or so.

6. If Your Filing is Making You Crazy, Outsource It

While freelancers don’t always have a lot of cash to throw at administrative expenses, it can be worth your while to hand off your filing on a part-time basis. You don’t need a full-time administrative assistant, either — you can get away with bringing anyone who can match names to files or at least understand the basics of your filing system.

7. Back Up Your Files As Much As Possible

There are several options for backing up computer files, including printing off hard copies. Creating a back up system for hard copies can be harder, but if a document is particularly important, perhaps scanning it in is worth the time and effort.

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Aside from just practice, there are actually a lot of things you can do to become better at winning new client projects. Winning projects is not a confusing process, and it can actually be broken down very methodically.

In this article we’ve done just that, and divided the project-winning process into five steps. Read on for an explanation of each step, and a few tips for what you need to do to win at each stage of the game.

Step 1: Foot In The Door
The very first step in winning any new project is to get your foot in the door. There could be tens or hundreds of freelancers vying for the attention of the client, and in this stage the client will typically only connect with 3-5 freelancers from the overall group. You need to find your way into that smaller group that gets past this stage.

Purpose — The overall purpose of this stage is for the client to weed out the poor quality freelancers and narrow it down to a few people to look at further. For the freelancer, the purpose of this stage is to simply get noticed and appear to be a reasonable solution.

How to win — To win this stage you need to do several things. First, put your best foot forward. Make sure you are polite and show your best work. Second, you need to be personal. The best freelancers will only respond to job ads where they can offer a personal response that is tailored to the individual client. Form letters tend not to work well.

Finally, there’s always the option of cheating. If you know someone in the organization or have another connection to the client, use it. A good referral will let you pass right by this stage and into the next one.

Step 2: The Icebreaker
The icebreaker stage starts as soon as you’ve actually gotten the attention of your potential new client. Maybe they emailed you back saying they were interested in your services, or possibly you talked to them over the phone and are scheduled for another conversation. Once they want to talk with you, that’s when this stage begins.

Purpose — No matter where your potential new client came from, the purpose of the icebreaker stage is the same: to show them you can communicate effectively. Via phone, via email, it doesn’t matter — you need to prove that you can listen, understand the client’s needs, and respond effectively. Only then will they be willing to move into the next stages.

How to win — Listen or read carefully so you know what they are looking for, then paraphrase their needs back to them so that you can show that you understood them. The key is to be able to explain their own needs and goals back to them, and that way they will have no doubt that you can listen and understand what they want.

Step 3: Due Diligence
The due diligence stage is where the client takes their favorite freelancers, as determined in the last few stages, and researches them a bit further to make sure that they are going to get a good final result. This stage generally includes looking at your website, portfolio, and other online profiles.

Purpose — The key purpose of this stage is for you to prove that you are capable of delivering high quality work on a reasonable time frame. The client needs to trust you enough to feel good spending their money.

How to win — This is stage of the process really can’t be faked (and it would be bad to do so). You need to put as much relevant information about you, your past work, and your company online as possible. Show the potential client that you can reliably deliver excellent work and, of course, always show your good side.

Step 4: Bidding
The bidding stage is where you will submit a proposal or discuss costs and scope with the client. This stage sometimes determines who will win the project, but often times it is just another step and the project will be awarded based on how the client feels about interacting with you.

Purpose — The purpose of this stage is to take the needs and goals of the potential client and use them to formulate a project proposal, decide on scope, and create an estimated price.

How to win — Winning the bidding stage has two distinct parts to it: getting the project, and getting a good project. Not only do you want to win the project, but you need to make sure it is a good price for you and that it is actually a project you want to have. The key to doing both of these things is to provide a cost estimate that is fair to both you and the client.

Another trick for winning at this stage is to provide a ‘modular’ proposal. Break the project into multiple different pieces and price them all out individually. That way the client can mix and match, and you’ll always get a fair price for the work you will be doing.

Step 5: The Close
The closing stage begins as soon as the client decides that they want to work with you. At this point you need to go from the client saying ‘yes’ to having signed contracts, an agreement on cost and scope, and an initial payment.

Purpose — The goal of this stage is to get contracts signed, payment handled, and the project started. At this point the project is practically won, and you need to make sure that everything goes smoothly so nothing can derail the project.

How to win — Closing the project is all about being organized and having a system. Know exactly what the client needs to sign, have your paperwork ready, and confidently request a deposit so that you can get started. If you’ve completed the other four stages well, this should all go very quickly and easily.

Putting It All Together
Combining these five stages into a solid overall strategy isn’t usually that difficult — it generally requires a bit of work and some practice . Once you have the individual parts created, it’s just a matter of learning how to implement everything together and work with the different situations that you’ll face.

Often times these five stages can get mixed around or smashed together, but the results and goals of each part are generally the same. Working on each of the building blocks will definitely improve your overall results, and with a bit of practice you’ll see that winning new projects isn’t all that difficult.

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When it comes to getting your first job, its really a matter of using your contacts, and that means telling everyone you know that you are available for hire. If you do not have many leads then you will also want to make sure they know that you’ll come cheap. It might be a good idea to send a mailer around to family and friends, or you might prefer to talk to people in person, whatever the case remember, no-one will hire you if no-one knows about you.

You can often also find jobs on the web on forums and job boards. Look for local sites as well as internatitonal ones. Here are some examples of places you could look:

1. 37Signals’ Gig board
2. Krop
3. Sitepoint (if you want to be underpaid!)
4. Coroflot

Another good starting point for work are places that you have worked at before or where you know someone who works. Two of my own first clients were former employers who had overflow work. It padded out the portfolio and helped me ride out the lean early months.

If you have nothing to show for yourself for whatever reason then you had either better be a great talker or find something to put as a sample. This might mean:

1. Creating an imaginary job for yourself and executing
2. Offering your services for free to someone
3. Talking your last employer into allowing you to show some of your old work for a specific period of time

In any case it’s difficult for a client to hire you on the strength of your word alone. From time to time you will be asked to do what is known as free pitching, where the potential client will ask you to do some of the work prior to payment. My view is that this devalues your industry and indicates the potential client does not place much worth on your work. Consider if you went to see a doctor, would you ask for a sample health check free of charge, or would you get your mechanic to start fixing your car to see if you liked the way he worked? These things tend to happen in creative fields such as design and writing, but they should not. Keep these thoughts in mind, particularly in your early days when you are struggling.

Once you have worked a fair amount of jobs, you should find that you steadily get an increase in repeat work and referral work and that you depend less and less on new jobs. If this is not the case you are either too expensive, getting the wrong types of clients or not good enough at your work (which in turn means you’re too expensive). You can and should generally anyway look for outside ways to get more work – advertising, yellow pages listings, getting your website found and so on, but if you have trouble retaining your clients or having them refer you on, then these are cosmetic fixes and you should be looking at addressing the main problem.

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