Applying Tips, Tactics, and Strategies In Your Freelance Business

Applying Tips, Tactics, and Strategies In Your Freelance Business

Author: Alvalyn Lundgren October 30, 2025 Duration: 20:45
Some key business challenges for freelance creatives include overcoming recurring problems and ensuring that daily practices are aligned with long-term strategy and purpose. We often resort to applying quick fixes which can be superficial rather than working to discover why the problems recur. 
Alvalyn Lundgren discusses the differences between tips, tactics, and strategies in growing a freelance business, and shares her experience of transforming her freelance business from serving low-value clients to high-value clients. She emphasizes that while tips provide quick fixes, they are superficial and short-term, whereas tactics are planned actions based on a strategic plan to achieve long-term goals. She highlights the importance of addressing foundational issues in business, such as mindset, mission, mechanics, and messaging, stressing the need for consistent, strategic actions to build a thriving creative business. The podcast encourages listeners to implement long-term, deep-dive strategies and focused tactics rather than rely on quick fixes, and to build consistent systems and practices to support their overall business mission.
 
 

Alvalyn Lundgren guides the conversation on the Freelance Road Trip Podcast, a space built for independent creatives navigating the winding path of running their own practice. This isn't about abstract theory; it's a practical companion for designers, illustrators, and photographers who feel the constant push and pull between their artistic drive and the realities of invoices, clients, and sustainability. Each episode feels like a candid conversation from the passenger seat, tackling how to protect your creative energy while building a business that doesn't burn you out. You'll hear honest discussions about pricing your worth, finding clients who respect your vision, and setting boundaries that allow both your work and your well-being to thrive. The whole point of this podcast is to merge that innate creativity with actionable strategy, moving beyond just getting by to building something genuinely fulfilling. Tune in for a blend of mindset shifts and concrete steps that help you steer your freelance journey with more confidence and clarity.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Freelance By Design
Podcast Episodes
Who's In Control? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:52
If you're a freelancer you're not an employee. Yet many independent contractors position themselves as an employee for all practical purposes when working with clients. This approach can end up costing you in a number of…
Sales Taxes, Income Taxes, and Freelance Creatives [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:14
One aspect of freelancing is that you get to deal with different kinds of taxes. In this episode, which is sparked by a conversation with one of my coaching clients, I discuss income taxes and sales taxes, and your respo…
How To Protect Your Work During A Creative Review [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:17
As a follow-on to a recent episode, I go in-depth into why and how it's important for both our clients and us to ensure our work isn't used before it's ready. Creative reviews — those work-in-progress presentations with…
Make Your Marketing Easier [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:35
Marketing is a necessary part of any business, but creative freelancers aren't always comfortable doing it. Kick the "I hate marketing" catchphrase to the curb with a practical approach that looks at marketing, branding,…
When Your Client Treats You Like You're Their Employee [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:33
What do you do when a client wants to treat you as an employee rather than an independent freelance business owner? I answer two questions from freelancers dealing with this conundrum: the first centers on a retainer agr…
How To Crush Those Freelancing Fears [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:13
We all have them... those fears and uncertainties that restrict our forward motion. In this episode I share some insights about fear, risk, and consequences, and how you can accelerate through your own freelancing fears…
The Value Of Our Creative Work [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:42
One of the things that is often disregarded is the value of creativity, and especially the value of creativity to business. There's the mindset that, "You're doing what you love to do. It's creative, it's fun. You should…
Helping You Navigate A Changing Landscape [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:06
The landscape is changing for freelancers. How do we navigate successfully? I share an update about the ABC Test that's in California's AB5 law and it's big brother, the PRO Act which has passed in the House of Represent…
3 Criteria Creatives Use To Solve Business Problems [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:53
By way of a true story to illustrate the point, I share a mindset shift for visual creatives who want to elevate their status, pricing, and creative leadership when working with clients. That's by understanding what it i…