c/abq-local-freelancers

Had to pick between a coworking membership and a home office upgrade last month

I went with the home office route after adding up gas costs to drive across ABQ every day, and it's paying off since I'm not losing an hour to traffic each way. Has anyone else had a coworking spot actually boost their income enough to justify the cost?

I finally learned why that one client kept ghosting me

Had a client back in March who would go quiet for 2 weeks at a time on a web dev project. I figured they just lost interest or found someone cheaper. Turns out they were waiting for me to send a real status update instead of just a "hey any updates?" text. They told me at a coffee shop on Central Ave that they needed structured weekly recaps with bullet points. Has anyone else had a client who just wanted a different communication style than what you were giving them?

Debate: Do you quote the real timeline or pad it when you know a project will have hiccups?

I spent 10 hours redoing a simple web form because the client kept changing their mind about which fields to include, way more than the 4 hours I originally quoted, so do you give them the honest estimate upfront or build in a buffer for their indecision?

Showed up to a coffee shop meeting in Santa Fe and my laptop battery died 5 minutes in

I was pitching a social media package to a boutique hotel owner and had to scramble through my whole presentation on my phone while hunched over a tiny table. The deal actually went through, but now I always carry a portable charger - has anyone else had a tech fail right before a big pitch?

Compared two freelancer meetups back to back and one was a total waste of time

Went to a general biz networking thing Thursday night at a brewery near Old Town. 30 people, mostly trying to sell me insurance or meal prep. Got one actual lead. Then hit the ABQ Creatives Guild meetup Saturday morning at a library. 12 people, all trades, we traded tips on contracts and tax stuff for 2 hours. The difference was night and day. That brewery one cost me $8 for a drink and I got nothing. Has anyone else found a specific local group that actually delivers work or advice?

A $150 mistake on a badge design I thought I could DIY

A few months back I needed a simple logo badge for a local ABQ landscaping crew I was freelancing for. I thought I could save them money and do it myself in Canva, instead of hiring a proper graphic designer. I spent about 6 hours messing with fonts and colors, and the final result looked like something a kid made. The client was polite but asked for a redesign, and I ended up losing $150 of my own time that I could have spent on actual pressure washing gigs. I finally paid a designer from this group $75 and got a clean badge in two hours. Has anyone else tried to skip hiring a specialist and regretted it?

Question about that advice to track every single expense...

A guy on a different forum told me last fall to log every dollar I spend on supplies and tools, so I started doing it in a spreadsheet... turns out I was blowing $80 a month on specialty fasteners I barely used. Now that I see where the money went, I'm wondering if anyone else has found a specific category that was quietly eating into their earnings?

Appreciation post: that broken laser level from Home Depot on Eubank

My $80 laser level crapped out mid-way through a kitchen tile job last Thursday. The thing just stopped throwing a line, no warning. I swapped it for a Bosch from Lowe's on Rio Bravo and finished the job in half the time. Anyone else have tools fail at the worst possible moment?

Vent: The realtor who ghosted me after I did a free mockup

Met a realtor at that coffee shop on Central last month. He said he needed a new website for his listings, sounded super serious. I spent a whole evening making a mockup for his top property, sent it over. Nothing. No reply, no call. Then I see him posting on Facebook using the exact same layout I made. What do you even do in that situation besides block and move on?

Just changed my mind about upfront payment after a coffee shop chat

I was at Cutbow Coffee last Tuesday grabbing a late breakfast and I overheard two freelancers talking at the next table. One of them said she lost out on $600 because she didn't ask for a deposit before starting a graphic design job. She figured the client was solid since they came recommended by a friend, but then they just ghosted after she sent the files. That story stuck with me the whole week. I usually do 50% upfront on bigger jobs, but I've been slacking on smaller ones under $200. Now I'm thinking I should just make it a rule for everything no matter the size. Has anyone else had a small gig turn into a headache because you skipped the deposit?

That moment after 5 years when a client told me my invoices were impossible to read

I've been doing bookkeeping for local small businesses here in ABQ since 2018. Last month this one client sends me an email at 11pm like 'hey I can't figure out which line item is the payroll tax, I've been looking for 20 minutes.' I was annoyed at first but then I opened my own invoice and honest to god I couldn't find it either. I had been burying the important stuff in a wall of text with no separators or bold headers. That person basically taught me how to format a proper invoice at 35 years old. Has anyone else had a client point out something obvious you missed for years?

Vent: Fiverr gigs vs local freelancers - I wasted $200 before learning my lesson

I needed a logo and content for my small lawn care business. I hired a Fiverr freelancer for $200 and got a generic clipart design with text that didn't even fit my city name. Then I found a local freelancer here in Albuquerque who charged $250. She asked about my trucks, my service area, my vibe - she even drove by my shop to see my colors. The difference was night and day. Has anyone else found that local freelancers care way more about the details?

PSA: My $200 “guaranteed” freelance gig board membership was a total scam

I dropped $200 on a site that promised to connect me with local ABQ clients. After 3 months, I got zero leads, just spam from people selling SEO services. The site claimed a 90% success rate, but when I asked for a refund, they pointed to some fine print about “active participation.” Has anyone else tried one of these paid job boards and actually gotten work from it?

That one Tuesday last month where everything actually went right

I had this one day where I landed a $600 gig in the morning and then found out another project I was stressing about got pushed back. No angry emails, no last minute changes. Just smooth sailing for like 8 hours straight. Usually something falls apart but that day was just golden. Has anyone else had a random perfect day like that?

Spent $200 on a fancy AI tool for writing proposals - waste of money

That $7 taco stand near Old Town gave me my best networking hour yet

I was grabbing lunch at that little green cart on Route 66 last Tuesday, the one with the ridiculously good al pastor. While I'm waiting I pull out my phone to check emails and this guy next to me sees my freelance logo on a sticker. Turns out he's a graphic designer who needed a cleaner for his Airbnb units, and we ended up trading services right there on the curb. Has anyone else made a solid connection at a random food spot in ABQ?

That networking event at the South Valley Tech Hub was a mess

Went to that monthly mixer at the Tech Hub on Coors last Wednesday. Fifteen people crammed into a room with bad AC and someone spent 20 minutes pitching their MLM side hustle. Realized I need to vet these events better or just stick to the ones at the library on Eubank. Anyone else find the smaller meetups more useful for actual freelance work?

Checked out that new coworking space on Central last week and the WiFi was actually solid

Got chewed out by a client for using too many stock photos in my portfolio, so I started shooting my own work with my phone camera

Pro tip: I stopped reading client emails until 10am and my invoices actually started getting paid faster.

I was waking up and jumping right into inbox chaos, answering questions before I even had coffee, and realized people were treating my replies like free consulting. After three weeks of this delay, my hourly rate clients started booking extra sessions instead of picking my brain for free. Anybody else try ignoring morning emails and see a weird shift?

Got burned by scope creep until a writer in Santa Fe showed me her simple trick

I was always saying yes to extra revisions for free until I met this freelance copywriter at a coffee shop on Central. She told me to put a clause in my contract that caps revisions at 3 rounds, then charge per additional round after that. After I tried it on my next 2 projects, I stopped losing money on nitpicky clients. Has anyone else found a way to set better boundaries without scaring off new people?

Showerthought: my old mentor told me to always double my time estimates for ABQ clients back in 2017

I laughed it off then but after a $300 web dev job in Rio Rancho taking 4 weeks instead of 2, I finally see why he said that - has anyone else had a local gig balloon way past what you guessed?

Hot take: Stop emailing me a PDF of your invoice and just send a payment link

I spent 45 minutes last week hunting down a client's check because their PDF invoice had the wrong routing number and now I'm out $850. Why are we still doing this in 2024 when Wave and Square exist for free?

Why does nobody talk about the freelancer meetup at Humble Coffee on Central

I swung by last Tuesday and noticed maybe 8 people there, but the wifi was solid and they had a back room with outlets everywhere. Is that thing still active or did everyone move to a different spot?

Used to think proofreading services were a scam, then I hired one

A client dinged me on a $2,400 contract because of three typos in the final deliverable. Paid a local freelancer named Jenna $60 to go over my next draft, and she caught 12 things I missed. Anyone else eating crow on something they swore they'd never pay for?