Time Tracking & Productivity Blog
Amy Hoy
Fire up that barbecue and spice up your summer with some sizzling tips and tricks about freelancing and consulting! Take advice from people who have been there before and who can help you add some zest to your biz.
Here’s a list of 10 hot freelancing summer reads:
These book recommendations come straight from [Amy Hoy](http://unicornfree.com), our very own Freckle Pirate Queen (she rules with an iron fist!). And by “Pirate Queen,” we mean the progenitor of Freckle, the designer & our benelovent dictator.
Amy really knows her stuff, with over 14 years of freelance & self-employment experience, and a seriously scary business book habit.
So please… Read, grow, earn more & enjoy!
- Purple Cow by Seth Godin (“An inspirational and practical guide on how to find remarkability — and ergo word-of-mouthability — in your products, services, and in you.”)
- Linchpin by Seth Godin (“Do you wanna kick ass in life, or sit on the sidelines? Assuming you want to kick ass, this book will help you kick YOUR own ass, and get it done.”)
- Radical Careering by Sally Hogshead (“This book is a crash course in thinking about your work — even your employed or client work — as one big long self-improvement course. And an asset which can earn you more.”)
- Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port (“The best book for any freelancer who wants more work and/or better work. A real, solid, practical guide. You can’t go wrong with it.”)
- Beyond Booked Solid by Michael Port (“Once you have all the work you want, it’s time to start thinking about your growth opportunities. After all, you only have so many hours of work you can do per week. This book will help you take yourself to the next level.”)
- Rules For Revolutionaries by Guy Kawasaki (“So much about being successful is down to changing your mindset. From ‘Eat like a Bird, Poop like an Elephant’ to ways to keep slogging thru the hard parts of your own business… this book is inspirational and will teach you how to think, how to market, and how to make it.”)
- The Speed of Trust by Stephen M. R. Covey (“Ever hear the saying, ‘Clients don’t pay for the design/the writing/the code, they pay for the relationship’? Well, 14 years in, I can tell you: it’s all true. If you’re struggling, wobbly relationships — and lack of deep-seated trust — may be the reason. This book will help you fix it.”)
- The Secrets of Consulting by Gerald M. Weinberg (“Nobody teaches about client relationships like Gerald. Have problems gathering requirements effectively? Do your clients not want to implement your changes? Are they constantly overriding you? Gerald will teach you what to do about it. And make you smile.”)
- More Secrets of Consulting by Gerald M. Weinberg (“More good stuff, just like the previous book — but MORE!”)
- The Back of the Napkin – Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures by Dan Roam (“Thinking visually probably comes naturally to you, but how often do you use it to come up with ideas rather than simply implement them? Using the techniques in this book seriously upped my creativity quotient, and based on all the positive reviews from others, I bet it’ll do the same for you.”)
What did you think of these books? Share your favorite titles for freelancers in the comments below, we’d love to hear from YOU!
## Want more awesome advice like this list?
Class is now in session with The Freckle Time Tracking Institute for Awesome Freelancers Summer Series, where glitter pens are completely optional (but totally encouraged).
Enter your email below to get the Institute for Awesome Freelancers Summer Series in your inbox for absolutely free:
No spam, we promise 🙂
