As a newly minted free lancer I have to say that :<br><br>1: Be professional, fake it if you&#39;re not: This means using professional paper work, quality work, proper project management be organized. Don&#39;t appear desperate. Clients can sniff this. Learn to negotiate and sell. Get legal advice, a lawyer pal to every once in a while stamp a document helps. You probably have no money to pay him apart from maybe eternal gratitude. Or throw a lawyer in as a partner <br>
2: Be so good at what you&#39;re selling they can&#39;t really afford to mess with your money. Tweeter (<a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/search/%23GetPaidNotPlayed">#GetPaidNotPlayed</a>)<br>3: Black list clients. Mention them here. You owe them nothing if they are delivering grief to you. <a href="http://www.worldslongestinvoice.com/">http://www.worldslongestinvoice.com/</a>,<br>

4: follow up to 3 above: Have a database of &#39;bad clients&#39; black list, blog about them, tweet the heck out of them  start a hash tag like <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/search/%23GetPaidNotPlayed">#GetPaidNotPlayed</a>KE; buy a megaphone. <br>

5: We can and probably should start a freelancers &#39;union&#39;. freelancers lose out on quite a number of things like low insurance rates, group covers etc. As a group we can bargain better, have lawyers who understand our needs, figure out KRA.....etc<br>
If  I am to continue this path (freelance contracting|), I will definitely be involved (start/join) something like <a href="http://www.freelancersunion.org/index.html">http://www.freelancersunion.org/index.html</a> and ohh its such a wonderful life <br>
<br>gitau<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Jun 26, 2012 at 10:12 AM, Agosta Liko <span dir="ltr">&lt;<a href="mailto:agostal@gmail.com" target="_blank">agostal@gmail.com</a>&gt;</span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
to add to Mblayos class<br><br>There should be a standard freelancers contract ...<br><br>saves on legal fees<div class="HOEnZb"><div class="h5"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Jun 26, 2012 at 8:42 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe <span dir="ltr">&lt;<a href="mailto:blongwe@gmail.com" target="_blank">blongwe@gmail.com</a>&gt;</span> wrote:<br>

<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">Nice to see there is some interest. I will give it a think and see if I can come up with something that will genuinely add value instead of just serving as a juicy distraction....<div>

<br></div><div>Best regards,</div><div>
<br></div><div>Brian<div><div><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Jun 26, 2012 at 8:21 AM, Peter Karunyu <span dir="ltr">&lt;<a href="mailto:pkarunyu@gmail.com" target="_blank">pkarunyu@gmail.com</a>&gt;</span> wrote:<br>

<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
@Mblayo, why don&#39;t you? Then we can organize a meetup at iHub and share horror stories :-)<div><div><br><br><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Jun 26, 2012 at 7:59 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe <span dir="ltr">&lt;<a href="mailto:blongwe@gmail.com" target="_blank">blongwe@gmail.com</a>&gt;</span> wrote:<br>



<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">I should design a course called &quot;FreelancingKE 101&quot; and invite ma-skunk to learn some of the hard lessons I have picked up over the past 20yrs in IT.....<div>



<br></div><div>Mblayo<div><div><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">
On Mon, Jun 25, 2012 at 8:35 PM, Joseph Maina <span dir="ltr">&lt;<a href="mailto:mainasoft00@gmail.com" target="_blank">mainasoft00@gmail.com</a>&gt;</span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">




My Style<div><br></div><div>1. Contract...  and if not contract... pre-paid services  </div><div>otherwise .. I dont need your money..</div><div><br><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div><div>On Mon, Jun 25, 2012 at 7:13 PM, Kivuva <span dir="ltr">&lt;<a href="mailto:Kivuva@transworldafrica.com" target="_blank">Kivuva@transworldafrica.com</a>&gt;</span> wrote:<br>





</div></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div><div>If I was was a lawyer, I would keep away from such stunts. Some people have been shot for lesser offenses. I&#39;m not implying anything though <div>





<div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br>______________________<br>Mwendwa Kivuva<br>

For<br>Business Development<br>Transworld Computer Channels<br>Cel: <a href="tel:0722402248" value="+254722402248" target="_blank">0722402248</a><br><a href="http://twitter.com/lordmwesh" target="_blank">twitter.com/lordmwesh</a><br>
<a href="http://www.transworldAfrica.com" target="_blank">www.transworldAfrica.com</a>  | Fluent in computing<br>






<a href="http://kenya.or.ke" target="_blank">kenya.or.ke</a> | The Kenya we know<br><br>
</div>
</div></div><br></div></div><div>_______________________________________________<br>
Skunkworks mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke" target="_blank">Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke</a><br>
------------<br>
List info, subscribe/unsubscribe<br>
<a href="http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks" target="_blank">http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks</a><br>
------------<br>
<br>
Skunkworks Rules<br>
<a href="http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&amp;t=94" target="_blank">http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&amp;t=94</a><br>
------------<br>
Other services @ <a href="http://my.co.ke" target="_blank">http://my.co.ke</a><br></div></blockquote></div><br></div>
<br>_______________________________________________<br>
Skunkworks mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke" target="_blank">Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke</a><br>
------------<br>
List info, subscribe/unsubscribe<br>
<a href="http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks" target="_blank">http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks</a><br>
------------<br>
<br>
Skunkworks Rules<br>
<a href="http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&amp;t=94" target="_blank">http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&amp;t=94</a><br>
------------<br>
Other services @ <a href="http://my.co.ke" target="_blank">http://my.co.ke</a><br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div></div></div><div>-- <br><div>Brian Munyao Longwe</div>e-mail: <a href="mailto:blongwe@gmail.com" target="_blank">blongwe@gmail.com</a><br>




cell:  <a href="tel:%2B254715964281" value="+254715964281" target="_blank">+254715964281</a><br>blog : <a href="http://zinjlog.blogspot.com" target="_blank">http://zinjlog.blogspot.com</a><br>meta-blog: <a href="http://mashilingi.blogspot.com" target="_blank">http://mashilingi.blogspot.com</a><div>




<br></div><div><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">&quot;Give us clear vision that we may know where to stand and what to stand for, because unless we stand for something, we shall fall for anything.&quot;</span></div>




<br>
</div></div>
<br>_______________________________________________<br>
Skunkworks mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke" target="_blank">Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke</a><br>
------------<br>
List info, subscribe/unsubscribe<br>
<a href="http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks" target="_blank">http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks</a><br>
------------<br>
<br>
Skunkworks Rules<br>
<a href="http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&amp;t=94" target="_blank">http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&amp;t=94</a><br>
------------<br>
Other services @ <a href="http://my.co.ke" target="_blank">http://my.co.ke</a><br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br></div></div>Regards,<br>Peter Karunyu<br>-------------------<br><br>
<br>_______________________________________________<br>
Skunkworks mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke" target="_blank">Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke</a><br>
------------<br>
List info, subscribe/unsubscribe<br>
<a href="http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks" target="_blank">http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks</a><br>
------------<br>
<br>
Skunkworks Rules<br>
<a href="http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&amp;t=94" target="_blank">http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&amp;t=94</a><br>
------------<br>
Other services @ <a href="http://my.co.ke" target="_blank">http://my.co.ke</a><br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div>Brian Munyao Longwe</div>e-mail: <a href="mailto:blongwe@gmail.com" target="_blank">blongwe@gmail.com</a><br>


cell:  <a href="tel:%2B254715964281" value="+254715964281" target="_blank">+254715964281</a><br>blog : <a href="http://zinjlog.blogspot.com" target="_blank">http://zinjlog.blogspot.com</a><br>meta-blog: <a href="http://mashilingi.blogspot.com" target="_blank">http://mashilingi.blogspot.com</a><div>


<br></div><div><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">&quot;Give us clear vision that we may know where to stand and what to stand for, because unless we stand for something, we shall fall for anything.&quot;</span></div>


<br>
</div></div></div>
<br>_______________________________________________<br>
Skunkworks mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke" target="_blank">Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke</a><br>
------------<br>
List info, subscribe/unsubscribe<br>
<a href="http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks" target="_blank">http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks</a><br>
------------<br>
<br>
Skunkworks Rules<br>
<a href="http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&amp;t=94" target="_blank">http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&amp;t=94</a><br>
------------<br>
Other services @ <a href="http://my.co.ke" target="_blank">http://my.co.ke</a><br></blockquote></div><br>
</div></div><br>_______________________________________________<br>
Skunkworks mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke">Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke</a><br>
------------<br>
List info, subscribe/unsubscribe<br>
<a href="http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks" target="_blank">http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks</a><br>
------------<br>
<br>
Skunkworks Rules<br>
<a href="http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&amp;t=94" target="_blank">http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&amp;t=94</a><br>
------------<br>
Other services @ <a href="http://my.co.ke" target="_blank">http://my.co.ke</a><br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>**Gitau<br>