Payment Options Beyond PayPal

For any service provider it is very important that they have in place the right kind of payment machinery to facilitate easy and safe payment towards their services. As a freelance writer I had till now made use of the services of PayPal to receive payment for my overseas assignments. But due to the recent developments at PayPal as a result of which they temporarily suspended their India operations I was left looking for option. It was then that I realised that there might be some others like me who too would be looking for alternative options to receive their payments from abroad. Listed below are some of the major options that you can consider:

1. By cheque: Your client can mail you the cheque for the required amount. Once you get the cheque you can deposit the same in your bank and get the amount credited in your account. The biggest pitfall for this mode of payment is the time duration. The time taken by the cheque to get cleared by your bank is usually very long and if you are in need of funds immediately then surely this method would not work well for you.

2. Wire Transfer: If waiting for your cheque to get credited is not what you would ideally want then the next best option here would be to opt for a wire transfer. You would be required to share your bank information(including your bank account number) with your client who can then make the payment. This method also entitles a fee in order to get the money through.

3. Credit card: If you have in place a merchant account then you can go ahead and ask your clients to pay with a credit card too. Not only is this convenient in today's time but also appeals to most clients. 2Checkout.com is one such website which allows you to open a merchant account and move ahead smoothly.

4. XOOM: This online payment option allows you to send and receive funds from any country to any country in the world. Albeit coming with a small fee to send money this online payment option has recently caught the liking of many. All that you need to do here is to to create an account with xoom and then send your details to your payer. He will then use your details and send across the money either using his credit card or directly from his bank account. The money then reaches the bank partner in your country from where you can have access to the same.

5. Moneybookers: Another good option to have access to your online payments. Working on the lines of PayPal, moneybookers requires you to open an account with it and send/ receive funds. The major drawback here is that owing to legal restrictions the services of this website are not extended to the United States Of America.

6. Western Union: This is another very popular means to have access to your funds from abroad. You can send and receive money from any part of the world using Western Union. The major drawback here is that you need to personally go and collect funds from the Western Union agent near you.

7. Payooner: A relatively new concept, Payooner provides you with a debit card through which you can send money abroad or receive money on it.

These were some of the major options which I had listed out when I was weighing my options. Though I am yet to finalize on one of them but at least I am a little less anxious now knowing that there ARE options available.

Would love to hear from you all too if I have missed out on some other options and as to what is your preferred mode of receiving payments.

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Learn To Say NO

Even though how much ever we might wish for not all clients fall in the same category. And when I say that i mean the good category! There are plenty of chances that you might land up with clients who might leave no stones unturned in making their project a real trouble to get over with. The issues could be plenty.

Your endless corrections might not be approved, they might still be looking out for answers towards what they are actually seeking out from you or worst that they decide endless times during the due course of the project to introduce changes.

Whatever be the reason the fact is that you are now tied up with a tough nut to crack. Solution? Get out of it!

• Fortunately, as a freelancer you have the choice of weeding out projects and rejecting them if you start feeling uncomfortable in the initial stages itself. Believe me, that is the wisest thing to do. Understand this that if you end up taking that project you will be most probably hurling yourself towards a project which will not be making you happy for a long time. So it is better to refuse early on.
• However if you have still somehow managed to put yourself in the midst of trouble and now wish to find a way out then the most workable solution is to politely convey your sentiments to the client. Agreed that in our line of work client referrals are very prized but then the refusal can be done in a very polite and courteous way too.
• It would be a great idea if you could provide the client with alternatives like say names of other freelancers who might be interested in doing the project. By doing this you will not leave your client feeling that you deserted him midway.

So how do you just know that the project you are doing is just not good enough to be pursued further? The following points may be of help.

1. You realise that you have way passed the initial deadline that you had set towards completion of the project.
2. The main theme of the project has changed ever since you started working on it.
3. You are spending way too much time on the project than what you had decided to spend on it.
4. The client still seems confused and uncertain regarding the path on which the project is moving.
5. It is becoming very difficult to maintain regular contact with the client as he does not seem to be easily accessible.

If its a Yes for most of these points then it is better that you stamp the golden word NO and move on!

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Freelancing: Is It Really For You?

The idea of freelancing brings in images of working from home, at will schedules, relaxed work conditions and a complete stress free environment. These conditions are sure to make the job look very attractive and alluring. But what is necessary is that you give freelancing a good thought before considering it as your profession. Need a checklist? Well here it is!

1. Be prepared to multitask! Working from home might make you feel that it would be a tension free job but believe you me when you work from home it is anything but that! You would be expected to take care of your household chores along with your job.

2. With most freelancers it is seen that an absence of steady income is the biggest grouse. This become all the more important when you have a family to support. The initial periods can be pretty choppy as a freelancer and you need to be prepared for it.

3. When you freelance you are a brand in itself. You have no secretaries and juniors to help them manage those for you now. When you freelance you are a one man army! You need to take care of all your advertising needs to make your name visible in the freelancing market. This can prove to be a little too much when you already have chores to handle, deadlines to meet and emails to take care of.

4. Making a schedule is not difficult, what is tough is sticking to it! As a freelancer there are times when you might just find this all very overwhelming. In the absence of a 9 to 5 schedule which you had back in office this might be a bit complicated! The inability to manage your time constructively can prove out to be very frustrating for most freelancers.

If you are game for the mentioned pointers then simply hop on! The world of freelancing is eager to greet you!

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Twitter and You

The buzz doing the rounds amongst everyone in any kind of field is 'networking'. There is nothing new with it as networking was always around but was something that was done in closed rooms and by exchanging visiting cards. With the Internet booming and opening new avenues the term networking has suddenly taken a whole new perspective. there are now present several forums where you can meet like minded people and interact with them at your convenience. Further these networking websites also allow you to separate your personal as well as professional interests by having both social as well as professional networking websites. A regular search on networking websites is bound to provide you with results which could leave you amazed. The latest entrant here is Twitter. The kind of buzz that twitter has generated amongst netizens is fantastic. So what is all the chirping all about?!

Twitter is a communication media which allows you to interact with other Twitterian's in short 140 character messages. This free to use tool allows you to interact with other people in the form of messages called tweets and you can find people who are either of your field or someone you wish to know more about.

So what is the connection between Twitter and Freelancing? Well, why freelancing, it could be any profession for that matter! Twitter allows you several advantages which you can harness and use to help you grow and spread your business needs.. How? Well, you got to read on!

Twitter allows you read the tweets/updates of other people which is referred to as following in the Twitter terminology as well as allows other to follow you too thereby providing you with followers. This is what you can use to your benefit.

1. Find your old clients using the search option and start following you.
2. Find contacts who can be prospective clients and follow them too.
3. It is always a good idea to market yourself. Tweet about your talent and thereby get the visibility.
4. Twitter comes with various job search options where in people DO tweet about their needs. Regularly check these search options and scout for openings of your like.
5. Make the most of the 'bio data' section on your twitter profile and convey the best about your profession. It is a god idea to use the major keywords relating to your profession here so that you appear on a search when done by someone looking for a person with your expertise.
6. Customise your twitter homepage in tune with your personality.
7. It is never a good idea to spam your followers. NO. NEVER.

Make the most of this 140 character tool and harness its potential for your benefit.

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Are you ready to freelance? Good read....

Came across this interesting article on the twitter... It does address the web designers but then any one wanting to freelance anywhere can make it apply to their field too.. though basic, these tips do go about making a big difference.. When freelancing it is all about spreading the word around!

The Article is : Are you ready to freelance? http://tr.im/pzYe

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