Archive
Every issue
24 issues since May 2026, newest first. Issue 1 is free to read; the rest come with the paid letter.
Pricing a rush job
A rush costs your evenings twice: the work and what it pushes out. Price both, and say the rush fee first.
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When to quit the day job
Three numbers decide it: months of costs saved, months of revenue booked, and the hours the side work takes.
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The year-end checklist, early
Twelve items to clear in October, so January holds a return and not a search for receipts.
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An email list of fifty
Fifty readers who asked to hear from you outsell a thousand followers. How to collect the first fifty.
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Your first contractor
What to hand off first, how to write the brief, and how to pay so the work stays yours.
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The case for a second offer
One offer caps what a client can spend. A second, larger offer gives the willing ones somewhere to go.
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Packages instead of hours
Hourly rates punish you for getting faster. Turn the three jobs you do most into fixed packages.
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A scope that stops creep
One paragraph in the agreement that names what is out, and the sentence to say when a request crosses it.
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The quarterly estimate
Estimated tax from your own numbers, with the arithmetic shown and the dates to pay it.
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Before you tell your employer
Read the employment agreement first. Three clauses matter, and one of them is usually missed.
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A deposit before the work
Ask for half up front, in writing, with a date. The clients who refuse are the ones who pay late.
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Your first referral ask
The best time to ask is the day you deliver. The exact words, and what to send with them.
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Receipts in one folder
One folder, one naming rule, five minutes on Sunday. A system that survives a busy month.
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The weekly review in twenty minutes
Five questions every Sunday evening: what shipped, what is owed, who is waiting, what is next, what to drop.
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Raising prices for existing clients
A notice period, a reason, and a date. The letter to send, and what to do when a client pushes back.
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A late-payment reminder
Three reminders at 1, 7 and 14 days past due, each shorter and plainer than the last.
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Tracking hours without a timer
A paper log beside the keyboard beats a timer you forget to start. The four columns it needs.
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Saying no to a bad fit
Four signs in the first call, and a reply that turns the work down without closing the door.
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The one-page website
What it says, in order: the job, the price, the proof of work, and one way to start.
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Setting tax aside each month
Move a fixed share of every payment the day it arrives. How to pick the share.
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Your first written agreement
One page: the work, the price, the dates, the way out. A template to copy.
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The separate bank account
Open it before the second invoice. Everything else in your books gets easier from that day.
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A price you can say out loud
Write the price, say it to a mirror, then say it to a client without adding a discount.
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The first invoice
What goes on it, when to send it, and the one line that gets it paid on time.
ReadThe paid letter
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