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☆ This creative skill for freelancers is in ‘giant’ demand—and can pay as much as $145 per hour
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

As far as creative skills go, graphic design is in high demand. Topping the list of in-demand creative skills was graphic design. Here's what graphic design entails and how much freelancers and side hustlers stand to make. Many graphic designers have a bachelor's degree in the field but if you're keen to dive in, you won't necessarily need one. These can be tailored to specific needs, like user experience design, or more general courses which cover the basics of design software.

☆ Ron DeSantis posed with a handmade snowflake. It had the word 'fascist' written all over it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ron DeSantis was given a framed snowflake at an event in Iowa, where he was promoting his new book. The word "fascist" was hidden in every branch of the snowflake. Every branch of the snowflake had the word "fascist" hidden in the design. "At a Republican political rally in Davenport, Iowa today someone gave @GovRonDeSantis and @IAGovernor Kim Reynolds a handmade 'snowflake' with the word 'Fascist' secretly embedded in it," Goffman tweeted. Read the snowflake," tweeted Laura Loomer, a pro-Trump, right-wing commentator.

☆ Ron DeSantis posed with a handmade snowflake. It had the words 'fascist' written all over it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ron DeSantis was given a framed snowflake at an event in Iowa, where he was promoting his new book. The word "fascist" was hidden in every branch of the snowflake. Ron DeSantis was photographed posing with a cutout of a white snowflake in Iowa. Every branch of the snowflake had the word "fascist" hidden in the design. Read the snowflake," tweeted Laura Loomer, a pro-Trump, right-wing commentator.

When my husband died, I had to figure out my financial future, which meant finding a financial advisor. I was able to find a great financial advisor by thinking about my specific goals and needs. Having an independent financial advisor isn't cheap, but it's been well worth the cost to me. Here's the checklist I used to settle on my fantastic financial planner. The New School of Finance, founded by certified financial planner and chartered investment manager Shannon Lee Simmons, is where I landed.

Burton makes a living selling one-of-a-kind raps on freelancer site Fiverr. "I love writing for artists. I love writing songs for companies, for businesses," he says of some of the commissions he's gotten. He's also written personalized love songs, birthday songs and songs for podcasts and YouTube channels. Having seen that people offer customized rapping as a service on Fiverr, Burton decided he'd try offering it himself in 2015.

☆ BBC crisis escalates as players and stars rally behind suspended soccer host Gary Lineker
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The BBC said it was "sorry for these changes which we recognize will be disappointing for BBC sport fans. Lineker, 62, was a household name in Britain even before he became chief "Match of the Day" presenter in 1999. Last year, the BBC found Lineker had breached impartiality rules with a tweet about the Conservatives' alleged Russian donations. Former BBC Director General Greg Dyke said the network had "undermined its own credibility" by appearing to bow to government pressure. Keir Starmer, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, said the BBC was "caving in" to political pressure from Conservative lawmakers.

I talked about my financial worries with a financial therapist, and I got lots of practical advice. We talked about the ways I struggleWithin minutes of talking to Dr. Williams, she immediately homed in on my anxiety around even talking about money. Dr. Williams asked me to figure out my family's monthly income and expenses. Dr. Williams wanted me to see "exactly what comes in and what goes out" so that I could see how much extra I had each month for discretionary spending. I took Dr. William's advice to start planning a trip to Egypt, and I have booked the massage I was reluctant to schedule before our meeting.

☆ I was a recruiter for 15 years. The best job candidates don't crunch their résumé onto one page, they follow these tips instead.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Dani Herrera | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Her tips include using active verbs on your résumé and using the "featured" section on LinkedIn. Everything else can go on your LinkedIn profile. Use your LinkedIn profile to elevate your résuméAll those things you couldn't fit on your résumé? Your LinkedIn profile doesn't have to be boring either. Update your banner pictureThe banner is one of the first things we notice when we open a LinkedIn profile, so why not use it to your advantage?

☆ Fiverr or Upwork: When freelancers should use one over the other
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Alexandra York | Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

While their expertise may vary, many freelancers rely on the platforms Fiverr and Upwork to advertise their services, find clients, and grow their businesses. In his experience, Upwork clients are CEOs, startup founders, and established companies, while Fiverr clients tend to be smaller business owners or general individuals. That means freelancers who use Upwork can pursue fewer projects at a time while Fiverr freelancers typically complete more shorter-term gigs to earn the same amount of income. Payment terms and protection vary between platformsFisher's biggest gripe about Fiverr is that it pays freelancers in up to 14 days while Upwork pays freelancers in up to 10 days. "Whether it's Fiverr, Upwork, or any of the other platforms out there, you need to build your profile," she said.

☆ Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has quietly stashed $90 billion into investments over the last 3 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Berkshire Hathaway's latest annual report illustrates that the company has deployed nearly $90 billion in investments since 2020. In 2020, Buffett and co. had spent a then-unprecedented $25 billion on stock buybacks, and set a new record of $27 billion in 2021. But even after all that, Berkshire still ended last year with $129 billion in cash and short-term investments. Fundstrat expects the stock market to see its strongest rally of the year soon. Avoiding a recession would actually be bad news for the stock market.

☆ This chronically online writer believes he gamed Twitter's For You algorithm. Here's how he made his tweets go viral.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Ryan Broderick noticed engagement on his tweets sharply dropped in recent months. There were a few things Broderick noticed about tweets on the For You page. Broderick also saw that Twitter's algorithm was prioritizing "already-viral" content, which he suspects might be the reason why everyone was seeing the same tweets. This Insider reporter saw Broderick's tweets about Marvel and his theory about Twitter's algorithm on the For You tab before following or interviewing Broderick. Broderick encourages the idea of other people using his method to try to game Twitter's algorithm and further highlight the problem.

☆ How the market has changed in the 20+ years I’ve covered it
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Eastman Kodak (KODK) was a Dow stock. I’ve written about B2B (aka business-to-business) software companies, cloud computing firms, IPOs and SPACs, and cannabis/pot stocks. There have been more flavors of the month in the stock market during my CNN career than at your local Baskin-Robbins. It’s fine to have a lot of your money in S&P 500 ETFs and other funds that will track the broader market. “We still continue to believe that over long periods of time, stocks provide a reasonable hedge against inflation,” Patterson said.

☆ A freelancer who makes 6-figures says that anyone can turn writing into a side hustle. He shares the 'funny and unconventional' cover letter that landed him his first major gig without a writing bac
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

He sent The Motley Fool an unconventional cover letter and it worked. Still, he decided to try his hand at freelance writing to make some extra money to spend on travel. "I had no qualifications so I resorted to shock value," he said of his application to The Motley Fool. The 27-year-old believes that anyone can try out freelance writing as a side hustle, regardless of your background. Courtesy of Tony Dong"Fortune favors the bold, or so I'm told," added Dong, who still writes for The Motley Fool today.

☆ I built a 6-figure company designing sets for photoshoots and events. Here's how I turned my college hobby into a business.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Skylar Mitchell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Dotun Abeshinbioke is a set designer and the owner of Ábiké Studio in New York. She got into set design as a student and started making sets for friends, leading to paying clients. I initially started doing design work for T-shirts and flyers, then I started designing sets to showcase my photography. Ábiké Studio was inspired by my traditional Yoruba name, which means "born to treasure." As a creative studio, we do branding, web design, and experiential design for clients across creative fields.

☆ 8 in-demand creative skills for freelancers―many can pay more than $100 per hour
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Demand for 3D animation grew 44% year over year on freelancer platform Upwork, for example, according to a recent report. Graphic designGraphic designers work on visuals for client brochures, websites, social media posts and so on. 3D animators on Upwork charge as much as $110 per hour. These designers charge as much as $125 per hour. Cartoonists on Upwork charge as much as $70 per hour.

☆ I made $1.7 million in revenue on Fiverr in under 2 years. Freelancers can thrive in a dicey economy — here's what's worked for me.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Georgia Austin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Austin made $20,000 a month by herself on Fiverr before hiring freelancers to help meet the demand. I started freelancing on Fiverr right before the pandemic hit and made $1.7 million in revenue over the following 17 months. Freelancers who see increasingly sophisticated AI content as an opportunity, not a threat, will come out on top this year. We're still unsure whether Google will rank or penalize AI content — something that will ultimately define its success. But, as with any quickly developing industry shift, freelancers must stay agile and informed to react, adapt, and take advantage of the unfolding changes.

☆ I made $140,000 before getting laid off — now I earn almost $30,000 more than that as a freelancer on Upwork. Here's how.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Ella Hopkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Marcus Grimm, a 52-year-old marketing freelancer from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I worked for 20 years in B2B marketing automation, which uses technology to automate marketing content at particular times. When I applied for client jobs, I'd use whichever profile was best suited for the job. My industry expertise was useful for attracting clientsIt took me three weeks to get my first Upwork client. I'd had a client in that industry before when I was working full time, and I'd actually worked in it years ago.

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☆ A 27-year-old freelance writer whose 'hourly earning potential' is $215 explains how to maximize earnings as a freelancer
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

To maximize earning potential as a freelancer, he only works with clients that pay competitive rates. Dong shared four strategies that have helped him maximize his earning potential as a freelancer. Instead of using Fiverr or Upwork, reach out to potential clients via email, LinkedIn, or other social platforms. After all, the slower your work, the more your hourly earning potential drops. Plus, he does other seemingly simple things like prioritizing sleep, eating well, and exercising consistently to get the most out of his work hours.

☆ This marketing skill is in high demand—and can pay as much as $125/hour
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

These include social media marketing, email marketing and lead generation. They also include search engine optimization, or SEO. Experts on Upwork offering this type of marketing charge as much as $125 per hour. 'Search engine optimization is paramount if you want to be found'Search engine optimization is the process of ensuring your website gets picked up in organic searches, say, if someone is looking for the kind of products you sell or the kind of content you cover. "Search engine optimization is paramount if you want to be found when people are doing online searches," says Yolanda Owens, career expert at The Muse, adding that it's "increasingly becoming more and more valuable."

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