Clients From Hell Podcast

The difference between a "freelancer" and a "consultant" is very fine. In many ways, it's just a shift in philosophy, but it can yield great dividends because clients view the two very differently.

On today's episode, host Kyle Carpenter talks with Michael Zipursky of Consulting Success, who has been coaching agencies and solopreneurs to building the consulting businesses they want for over a decade. He shares his steps for becomi...

Working from home is the new reality, and with it comes a very, VERY sedentary lifestyle. Without having to leave your house to do anything, it's easy to fall out of fitness and into new health problems.

Personal trainer Adam Bradley works with artists and creative workers one-on-one, offering personal consultations about how to keep in shape in ways that work for you. In today's episode offers host Kyle Carpenter some tips about h...

Whether you're a designer, a programmer, an illustrator, or a writer, if you work for yourself you are on some level a project manager.

It can be a full-time job keeping yourself in a full-time job, and chances are you're wasting time and losing money in ways you haven't even noticed yet. But don't worry - Marcel Petitpas of Parakeeto makes a living by helping agencies and solopreneurs make the most out of their jobs, and he shares...

For many of us, crowdfunding holds a certain magical allure. It's the silver bullet, the golden ticket, the decision that can change EVERYTHING... IF we can get it together to finally put together that dream project.

For Nalin Chuapetcharasopon, crowdfunding is a part of every day. That's because she runs Crush Crowdfunding, a consultancy that helps businesses succeed on platforms like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo. She talks with host...

If you've ever written a detailed, thoughtful proposal only to have a client glance at it and reject it right away, you know that having to describe the work you do EVERY TIME you do it is exhausting. 

Kai Davis solved this problem by turning his services into products with set prices! In today's episode talks with Kyle about the advantages of this approach, how to get started with it, and how to use it to make more money on t...

We're all going through A LOT right now, and it's not always easy to stay on track with your business, or even your creative practice. In this week's episode, host Kyle Carpenter speaks with illustrator and designer Ben Lee about what creative life looks like during the pandemic, and even what it means to be creative when the world is, you know, basically on fire. It's a frank and kind conversation that grapples with topics we're a...

Alison Grade wrote The Freelance Bible because she saw her students develop skills in their field and then take their first, tentative steps towards running their own business... and not know what to do. At all.

One of the key problems for new freelancers and anyone having to pivot because of COVID-19 is not recognizing that the SOFT skills they have - i.e. the ones you didn't go to school for - are sometimes even more important th...

If you're in the habit of combing job postings, you might have come across your dream job, got excited, applied and then... didn't hear back. Nothing. Not one peep. Even though you know in your heart you were the perfect fit for that job, and it was perfect for you!

The solution to this all too common experience isn't a "killer cover letter." It's showing clients that you're the right fit for the job BEFORE it even goes to the post...

You can be great at what you do, but if you can't convince your clients that you are, you're not going to get the jobs you want.

That's why getting outstanding testimonials is so important to a freelance business! Testimonial consultant Meg Cumby joins Kyle to discuss the key to getting FANTASTIC testimonials from your clients. HINT: it involves picking up the phone!

Today's links: 

• https://megcumby.com
• https://twitter.co...

It's easy to get bogged down in feelings of anxiety and sadness right now, which makes it a perfect time to look outside and see what you can do for others. That's freelance mentor extraordinaire Alison K's strategy, and she tells Kyle how she's been checking in on her clients for their sake and hers, and how she's using this as an opportunity to work on her business in the ways that she can manage. It's an inspiring talk with acti...

COVID-19 has changed EVERYTHING, including the landscape of freelance work in the world. A team of Clients From Hell All Stars (host Kyle Carpenter, former host Bryce Bladon and site owner, Vernon Southward) meet to take stock of what it means to freelance now, how they're thinking about this new reality, offer actionable strategies for what you could be doing with any extra free time you might have, and what the future might bring...

We all want to change the world, don't we? We'd like to leave things better than they were without us, but it's so hard to work full-time and still have energy left for "causes."

That is, of course, unless you make your causes your job. Michael Fraser of Grantcrafty started as a freelance grantwriter for non-profits and now runs a small business, searching out funding opportunities for great causes and providing copy and marketing ...

You have to suffer for your art. If you truly care about something, you'd do it for free. Great artists aren't recognized in their lifetimes.

We've all heard these ideas, and internalized them to some extent. Duane Jones fights back against them with his clothing and lifestyle brand, Art Pays Me, reminding everyone that what you do, and who you are, has value. It takes courage to turn creativity into a business, and he ta...

The great thing about remote work is you can travel while doing it. Of course, we all know we CAN, but how many of us actually pull up stakes and do it?

Lynette Adams is a freelance writer and editor who recently wrote an article for The New York Times on housesitting, and how you can build a life for yourself trotting the globe. SPOILERS: it's a lot like freelancing! She and Kyle talk how to build a reputation as a reliable houses...

Life is full of changes. One moment you can be a freelancer, the next you can be working full-time for one of the most exciting blockchain projects in the world, and then a freelancer again!

...Okay, that's pretty specific. But that's exactly the journey Bryce Bladon has taken over the last few years, and he joins old friend Kyle Carpenter to discuss his return to the freelance fold, the strategies he's used to hit the ground runni...

Making movies is hard. You need to be a combination director, camera person, sound designer, project manager and so much more. To do it successfully, you need to be disciplined with your time and your efforts. 

Wes Anthony of Firehouse Creative has been making film and video projects for a diverse set of clients for years now, and he chatted with host Kyle Carpenter about a recent gig that tested his skills and what it took to...

It will, if we start taking the right steps NOW. Adam Roach and Anya Switzer started LANCE, a freelancing solutions network in Canada in order to start pushing back against the race to the bottom clients want for their freelance employees. They share with Kyle their assessment of the problems freelancers face today and will face tomorrow, how they're trying to get in front of them, and what you can do to make sure that your freelan...

It's a familiar feeling. You overpromised a client on deliverables and got overwhelmed with work, or family stuff came up, or you hit a wall in the project that you just couldn't overcome. You put it off for a day, then two days, then a week... All of a sudden you're way overdue and you haven't talked to the client in that entire time. Clearly they're furious with you, fuming behind your back.

Or are they? Mike Tanner talks with Ky...

It's the middle of winter, and a massive tree just crashed down on your house. What do you do? 

It happened to Cami Travis-Groves, and she knows she did exactly the right thing. She expressed gratitude that nobody was hurt and move on. She brings that attitude to her working life as a designer and as a coach for freelancers, and she shares her tips for how to rise to every occasion and why "work/life balance" is, in her eyes, ...