Loving this article by Mark McGuinness about viewing yourself as a creative entrepreneur instead of just a freelancer. Not that there's anything wrong with calling yourself a freelancer.But what Mark points out is changing the way you attract and secure business. Not going in circles. Not killing yourself. But instead, constructing a strong foundation that will serve you better in the future--and keep clients coming in with minimal "please hire me" kind of efforts.

Here's an excerpt from "Build a Business, Not Just a Client List":

If you work for yourself, getting more clients is a no-brainer, right? Clients give you work. Work pays the bills. Do good work and you get a testimonial. Do this enough times and you get a great client list... which makes it easier to get more clients in future. It’s a virtuous circle.

Or is it?One problem with approaching your work purely in terms of "getting more clients," is that it means you will always have to get more clients. If you don’t work, you don’t have billable hours, so you don’t get paid. Time off will always feel like money down the drain. If you’re not careful, you’ll find yourself on a treadmill, unable to get off. Spend too long on the treadmill and you’ll risk burning yourself out.