In this episode, we go through the Free Agents mailbag with observations about the legend of the man who outsourced his own job, taking a hobby to the next level, and the menace of imposter syndrome. Then we welcome our guest, Shawn Blanc, creator of The Sweet Setup and shawnblanc.net, to discuss building an independent business with collaborators, solid project planning, and sensible work hours.

This episode of Free Agents is sponsored by:

• Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code FREEAGENTS at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
• Casper: The Internet’s favourite mattress. Get $50 off select mattresses with the code ‘FREEAGENTS’.
• Freshbooks: Online invoicing made easy.

On the latest episode of Free Agents, I talk about a big birthday and Jason is learning the value of embracing a lull. My wife went back to work and I talk about the changes that creates in working at home and Team Sparky continues to expand.

In the latest episode of Free Agents, Psychiatrist, writer, musician, and free agent Kourosh Dini joins us to discuss his long journey to being an independent worker, mixing his various jobs, dealing with the stress of being on your own, and much more.

On the latest episode of the Free Agent, I talk about avoiding working too hard on vacation, while Jason tries to do the same in his own house; I’m experimenting with hyper-scheduling and the Twelve-Week Year; Jason performs some drastic office remodeling.

Speaking of Jason Snell, this week on the Free Agents we talk to artist and writer Thom Zahler, an independent creator for 15 years in indie comics (Love and Capes, Warning Label), licensed comics (My Little Pony), and animated television (Spider Man: Web Warriors, Knights of the Zodiac), about his journey from art school student to freelancer to full-on free agent, and how his business has grown and changed over the years.

In the latest episode of the Free Agents, we wrap up the year with a discussion of navigating holidays and vacations, my thoughts about getting projects to completion in the new year, Jason’s update to his Not-To-Do List, setting the bar high for taking on new clients, end-of-year appreciation gifts for clients, and holiday seasonality.

The latest episode of the Free Agents is up. John Voorhees of MacStories is a brand-new free agent, a lawyer who left his job in Chicago to set out on his own as a writer and app developer. He tells us how he decided to leave the legal profession and go full time as an independent worker.

The latest episode of Free Agents is up. In it, Jason and I discuss the importance of prep time, resetting your balance, gauging the value of your work, time tracking, managing ongoing commitments, keeping clients happy when you get sick, and the value of uncluttered office space.

This episode of Free Agents is sponsored by:

• Freshbooks: Online invoicing made easy.
• Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code FREEAGENTS at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.

The latest episode of Free Agents is live. App developer, podcaster, analyst, and secret entrepreneur Marco Arment joins us to discuss his journey from college to Tumblr, building Instapaper, getting quit-fired, setting out on his own, and working in bursts of productivity.

The latest episode of Free Agents is up. We’ve fiddled with the show format a bit. Specifically, now that we’ve covered most of the topic shows we wanted to cover, we’re spending more time talking about the challenges we’re seeing on the ground. I’m struggling with how I’m spending my time. Jason is trying to figure out when to say no and he got some better perspective about how well his business is doing, prompted by a job inquiry from a former co-worker. 

Sponsors include:

• Freshbooks: Online invoicing made easy.
• Podcast Listener Survey: We rely on advertising as a way to support this show. If you could do us a favor and answer a few short questions, it would be really helpful to us.