Is your creativity tap running dry? Keep the juices flowing with these five suggestions from our talent network.

They say “creativity knows no bounds” … or does it? We love the days when our imagination takes flight: words flow freely onto the page and designs fall into place perfectly. But what about the days when they don’t?  

If your creativity tap is running a little dry lately, you’re not alone. We asked our talent network to share their top tricks to stay inspired — here’s what they had to say, plus a few of our own ideas mixed in. Consider these suggestions to keep the juices flowing! 

Study and appreciate the work of others.

Making time to analyze other creative work — be it through reading, exploring hashtags on social, or visiting a museum — can help you discover new techniques, styles, and perspectives that enrich your own work.  

Jeff Cunnigham, a lifelong storyteller, writer, and editor in Hampton, Virginia, shared “To me, creativity is a lot like a bank account: every time I sit to create, I’m making a withdrawal. Reading, I’m making a deposit. Too many withdrawals without corresponding deposits, and I’m over drafting on myself.” 

Take time for yourself.

When we don’t take time for ourselves, our creativity suffers. Many creatives shared that they make time to enjoy hobbies completely unrelated to their work, such as exercise, daily meditation, travel, or stepping into nature.  

Kim Matthews, freelance editor and writer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, says “self-care enhances creative stamina, flexibility, and resilience — and the ability to solve problems as a result.”  

Jessica Befera, art manager at FCI Brands, says “sometimes great ideas and creative solutions come when we’re in rest mode.” She notes that conscious resting and rejuvenating is key, rather than “doomscrolling.”  

Find a creative community.

Creating by yourself can feel a bit lonely and boring. Consider immersing yourself in a network of people who are creating too! Explore Dribbble and Behance to get started. And when you’re ready, give Reddit a try — Reddit houses a large range of creative communities, where you can share your work, ask for feedback, and find inspiration.   

Maintain an idea log or design journal.

Don’t lose sight of the ideas that wake you up from sleep at 2 a.m., or the ideas that spontaneously pop into your head while you’re in the grocery line or sitting in traffic. Write them down in a dedicated log that you have easy, constant access to; we suggest a small notebook or a note tab on your smartphone. The action of writing down your ideas forces you to think more deeply about them. Then, when you’re in need of some inspiration, scroll back through your notes and see where your ideas take you.  

Dan Milbourne, a creative director and graphic designer in Philadelphia, PA, says he puts pen to paper before even washing the sleep out of his eyes. “I spend 10 minutes every morning drawing what comes to mind.” Noting that the outcome doesn’t matter, the pen just needs to move. Dan adds “Once it’s out, it’s out! Move on.” That’s his motto.  

Change your environment.

Is there a two-day old coffee mug pushed off to the side of your desk (we know, we do it too), trace crumbs kicking around under your keyboard from a “working lunch,” or a stack of old post-it notes that could probably get tossed? Clean it up!  An organized desk isn’t just visually pleasing; it’s also less of a distraction.  

Once your desk is tidy, consider sprucing up your space with inspiring elements that reflect your passions: a framed piece of your own artwork, an affirmation or quote that resonates with you, a photo from your favorite vacation, etc.  

And when the desk is clean and the vision boards are all hung, but you’re still not feeling inspired, consider taking a day to work somewhere new. Have you heard of the “Coffee Shop Effect”? Research suggests the background noise of clanking plates and the buzz of a coffee machine improves performance on creative tasks. So, if you were looking for permission to indulge in another Café au Lait, consider this it.  

 

To keep up with our creative community, subscribe to our newsletter and follow Creative Circle on LinkedIn. We post polls and conversation starters on trending topics every week!  

We recently asked leaders across the creative and marketing space about their pain points, preferences, and everything in between. Here’s what they said about it all! 

Content, Trends, and More! 

Here’s what they said about content preferences. Even when not actively hiring, managers are invested in keeping on top of trends.

  • 51% percent of hiring managers engage with content about industry-specific hiring trends
  • 31% keep up with interview and retention tips
  • 29% focus on their local market’s data
  • 26% keep tabs on newly available talent

Takeaway: Managers stay current on the latest hiring trends in the creative industry to be prepared when a hiring need arises. 

 

Hiring is Hard (Is Outsourcing The Solution?)

Here’s what they said about their team’s biggest hiring, talent, and resourcing obstacles. Creative and marketing teams are understaffed — 67% of respondents agreed that their team has too much work to do given their current headcount.

  • 46% of creative and marketing teams need to outsource some work to an external agency in order to keep their team afloat.
  • 25% are considering building an in-house creative team to have more control over the process (and because of the price tag — 21% admit they can’t afford high agency costs).

These are the instances in which leaders turn to recruitment or staffing partners to find new folks:

  • 59% partner with staffing agencies to support planned, budgeted projects
  • 27% need help with emergency, unbudgeted projects
  • 21% want to replace existing contract resources
  • 17% need staffing help when full-time employees are on extended leave
  • 13% partner to find contract resources during a hiring freeze

Takeaway: Creative teams are carrying the weight of a heavy workload — without the necessary staff to handle it. Managers are exploring options to help lighten their team’s load. These teams work with staffing partners for a variety of hiring needs but primarily when tackling the large projects on their docket. Freelancers, gig workers, and contingent labor are in a good position to capitalize on these labor trends! 

 

 

Where Do Managers Look for Service Partners?

Here’s what they said about conducting vendor searches. How do marketing and creative leaders find new service partners? In a lot of ways, it turns out.

  • 24% visit the company’s website
  • 19% ask a friend or colleague for a referral
  • 16% rely on one-to-one email outreach from sales reps
  • 11% look to marketing emails
  • 11% search their social media feeds
  • 2% attend webinars or other informational events

Takeaway: There’s no wrong way to find a new service partner. Above all else, leaders want a clear, concise message and a low barrier to entry.

 

How Do Managers Even Find Freelancers?!?

Here’s how and who helps makes the decisions about sourcing contractors. When not working with recruitment agencies, hiring managers turn to…

  • Their professional or personal networks (67%)
  • Job sites (think Indeed, ZipRecruiter, LinkedIn) (40%)
  • Their internal HR department (38%)
  • Cloud labor sites (think Upwork, Fiverr, Toptal) (17%)
  • A web search for local contractors (14%)

When there is a vacancy on the creative or marketing team, this is who industry influencers say most impacts their hiring decisions:

  • The team’s director or manager (50%). They focus on defining the job requisite and evaluating potential hires.
  • The team’s senior leadership, from VP up to the C-suite (15%). They help their managers define the requirements and are critical to the final selection.
  • The company’s owner or partner (12%). They come in when it’s time to make a decision.
  • Other staff, including the new hire’s peers (8%). They play a part from start to finish.

Takeaway: Beyond partnering with staffing agencies, when seeking new contractors, nothing beats the assurance industry leaders receive from personal and professional connections. The bottom line for freelancers: your network matters.

 

Want to Learn More?

For the full breakdown of this year’s hiring trends, download the full report here.

As we start to think about summer, it’s a good time to look ahead to the rest of the year to set yourself up for financial success now and in the months to come. As freelancers, independent contractors, and digital nomads, being in charge of our time, money, and ability to work from anywhere we want requires a measure of fiscal responsibility that many of us fake till we make it.  

When you work for yourself, you’re in charge of every penny you make and as we all know, some months are busier than others.  A great rule of thumb is to live by the 50/30/20 rule—charting out a realistic plan for your needs, wants, and savings. While that’s an excellent rubric, the good news is that there are now many apps and tools that can help you budget your money—and many are free!  

These tools help you track spending habits, budget your income, check your credit score, and make the task of budgeting simpler so you can make the most of your money and time. There are tons of apps for freelancers, but finding the best ones can be a bit overwhelming and can take time, so we compiled a list of the best budgeting and finance apps to set you up for success this summer and moving forward. 

1. YNAB (You Need a Budget)

If you want to become a serious budgeter, this is the app for you. Instead of using traditional budgeting buckets, you allocate every dollar you earn to something. Every buck you make is assigned to a “job,” whether that means it goes towards savings, bills, or investments.

YNAB connects to your bank account and can actually help you nix bad money habits and encourage you to adopt good ones. If you stick with YNAB you will be highly discouraged to overspend or take on additional debt. YNAB’s mission? To help you gain control of your money and stop living hand to mouth by making it easy to see and manage your finances in real time. You can see your financial data in graph form and lets you track investment accounts. While this is a subscription-based service, they offer a free trial month, and joining comes with a 100% money-back guarantee.

2. EveryDollar

Like YNAB, EveryDollar tracks spending, savings, and debt. It’s straightforward and simple to use for newly budget-minded freelancers who want to get a handle on their finances. There is a free version and a gratis trial for the paid version, which comes with more bells and whistles. You can connect your bank account if you use the upgraded version, though there is no bill pay feature, the app does provide additional help by giving you access to financial experts and does not bombard you with ads.

3. Goodbudget

Have you ever heard of the ‘cash envelope’ system for budgeting? The concept is simple—take several envelopes, write a specific expense category on each, like rent, credit cards, groceries, or student loans—and then put the money you plan to spend on those things into the envelopes. Goodbudget does this in tech fashion, allowing you to create digital envelopes for each of your budgeting categories to help prevent overspending and slipping into debt. If you overspend in an envelope, it allows you to transfer money. While there is a free version, the subscription offers more robust budgeting tools. While it doesn’t track investments, it does provide reports on your income and spending trends.

4. QuickBooks Self-Employed 

Say hello to the gold standard for independent contractors. This tool helps you separate personal expenses from business ones, making your quarterly and year-end tax times simple and easy.

QuickBooks Self-Employed has numerous smart features designed to make tracking your business expenditures a breeze. A great example is that the app can track your mileage automatically based on how fast your smartphone moves through space. It can also make your phone a defacto receipt scanner, perhaps less exciting but infinitely helpful, and more, once you categorize your transactions, the app can find tax deductions for you. QuickBooks Self-Employed can help you file taxes every quarter using TurboTax, taking a lot of the worry and working out what can be a major drag for many freelancers.

5. Bonsai

This subscription-based app was designed with independent contractors and freelancers in mind. Bonsai has a time tracker, which integrates with all your clients and ongoing projects—and once you’ve tracked your time, you can easily add them to a new invoice for billing. The app lets you track expenses by taking photos of receipts to bill to specific projects and you can add these to invoices along with your timesheets.

Takeaway

While budgeting may seem daunting, it can actually provide great peace of mind. Allowing you to live a more calibrated existence as a freelancer. Knowledge is power and understanding your finances more deeply can give you more freedom to live how you want to live.

There comes a time in every freelancer’s career (usually around tax season) when you wonder if it isn’t time to open a separate credit card to cover business expenses. Maybe it’s the hassle of trying to parse through business purchases on a single credit card statement and cross-checking with a budget to keep track of personal expenses and business expenses. Maybe it’s the prospect of scaling up operations with some bigger purchases or even hiring an employee. Maybe it’s about making the most of all the traveling you do for work by getting some serious travel rewards. Opening a credit card for your business comes down to understanding your work, your needs, and what direction you want to take your freelancing.

Do you need a separate credit card?

Opening a new credit card isn’t necessary for every freelancer. Plenty of folks who freelance use their personal credit cards for business expenses and use budgets and spreadsheets to keep track of and separate the expenses. If you’re only picking up a few small gigs a year, your business expenses are minimal, or if you’re only doing a bit of contract work on the side of your full-time job, a separate credit card for work might not be necessary.

Opening up a separate card becomes handy when you are regularly spending money for work like paying for gas to get to and from jobs, paying for software subscriptions, memberships, phone and internet plans, other office supplies, needs for client meetings, etc. The most important thing here is a separation of church (personal expenses) and state (business expenses). Sure, there are certain items like internet use that occupy a gray space (technically you can only write off a computer as a business expense if you use it for business purposes more than 50% of the time!), but if you’re taking the time and credit to open a separate card for business, avoid using that card for your personal pursuits and vice versa.

Personal Credit Card or Business Credit Card?

If you’re at the point where a separate credit card is necessary, it’s important to understand the difference between a personal credit card and a business credit card to decide which one will suit your needs and goals better.

While personal credit and business credit are separate types of credit, having a good to excellent personal credit score is often necessary to open a business credit card. By the same token, a business credit card that goes delinquent can be detrimental to your personal credit score.

Your business doesn’t have to hit a certain benchmark for you to qualify for a business credit card: you don’t have to have employees, you don’t have to make a certain amount of money, you don’t need to be incorporated, and you don’t need an employer identification number to open a business credit card, although the application process is a bit more involved than a personal credit card. There are plenty of advantages to having a business credit card, but a few main ones stick out.

Higher Credit Line

Business purchases can be steep, and business credit cards take business revenue into account, so business credit cards tend to allow for more spending power than a personal credit card if approved. This might not feel relevant if your freelance work doesn’t require big purchases, but if you’re expanding your business, having access to a higher credit line can be just the thing you need to take your business to the next level.

Building Business Credit

The biggest pro for going in on a business credit card is future-focused. Do you eventually want to expand your freelance work? Do you want to be able to take out business loans? Having excellent business credit is crucial, and a business credit card is the perfect first step in building that credit—as long as you make your payments in full and on time like any other credit card. Even if you don’t plan on taking out loans, building your business credit can help qualify for other business credit cards that have stronger rewards and perks or can work with your needs for payment terms.

Rewards Rewards Rewards!

Business credit cards can have higher rewards earnings and perks compared to personal credit cards. Some cards like the Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card and Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express offer big welcome bonuses that kick in after spending a certain amount of money upfront, so if you know you have a big business expense coming up, it could be a good idea to look into a card with a good welcome bonus.

Business credit cards have bonus categories that are suited to running a small business like travel, internet and phone services, tech social media advertising, etc. The U.S. Bank Business Triple Cash Rewards World Elite Mastercard offers a 5% cash back on prepaid hotel and car rentals that are booked through the card’s Reward Center.

The popular Chase Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card (different from Ink Business Preferred) has no annual fee and unlimited 1.5% cash back although they do not specify any bonus categories.

Other cards like The American Express Blue Business Cash Card offer 2% cash back on eligible purchases capped at $50,000, at which point the cashback rate is 1%.

The Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards cash back structure offers a customizable option, allowing the holder to choose from six different categories to receive 3% cash back—and you can change the category from month to month, which is helpful if you know you’re going to have a month that’s heavy on a certain category like consulting or big tech purchases.

A helpful tip with the type of card you go for: make sure the rewards are something you actually use (if you work from home and prefer staycations, maybe skip the travel points) and strategize to take your personal credit card perks into account so there’s no redundancy in benefits.

Cons of a Business Credit Card

As nice as these perks are, there are things to be wary of when it comes to business credit cards as well.

Fees and Interest rates:

Business credit cards (including the aforementioned Chase Ink Business Preferred) tend to have annual fees that can range from about $100 to a few hundred, so be sure that the money you’re making from your freelance work at the very least can recoup that cost or use a card that doesn’t have an annual fee.

Interest rates on business credit cards also tend to be higher, so it’s that much more important to pay the cards off in a timely manner. Check out the APR and double-check how the intro APR (the rate offered for the first roughly 12 months) compares with the actual APR (after the intro period ends).

Less Protection

Business credit cards are not covered by the Credit Card Act of 2009, meaning the fraud and theft protection that most personal credit cards offer are not necessarily available (or a legal obligation) to business credit cards. While many cards tend to offer protection anyway as a courtesy, always check with your issuer about their protection against fraudulent activity.

Consequences for mixing business and leisure

Once again, the most important part of opening a business credit card is that you do not make any personal purchases on the business card, but that’s especially true for business credit cards. Not only does it defeat the purpose of opening a business card, but it could potentially violate the terms of the business credit card and could even lead to consequences like termination of your account depending on the card issuer.

Opening a new credit card might not be for every freelancer; it just comes down to your needs. But if you understand the work that you do and have a clear vision of how you want your work to grow in the future, investing in a credit card could be just the thing you need to take your work to the next level.

 

About the author.
Sam Mani writes about work, creativity, wellness, and equity — when she’s not cooking, binging television, or annoying her cat.

Is the cover letter dead? Yes, no, maybe so! From hiring managers and HR professionals to candidates, we called for all the gripes, best tips, and positives about cover letters being on the decline. Here’s what they had to say about the dreaded cover letter. We wanna hear what you have to say, join in on the conversation here!

1. 

Thank you notes > cover letters.

 

2. 

Yes! Say it louder for the hiring professionals in the back!

 

3. 

A “portfolio” is worth a thousand words.

 

4. 

We (candidates) are begging, please listen to this!

 

5. 

 

6. 

This.

The 2023 job market has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride, see-sawing up and down—so it makes sense if you’re looking for a way to gain an edge over your peers. Recent research from ResumeBuilder shows that Chat GPT may be the latest in-demand job skill companies seek when hiring creatives. According to data gathered from a survey of 1,000 American business managers, 90% said that having ChatGPT experience listed on a resume is a plus for jobseekers.

Chat GPT is part of the burgeoning generative AI tech taking the world by storm. A 2022 study by McKinsey found that businesses had doubled their use of AI in the last five years. If that scares you, it may be time to reframe your thinking (though we will get into some of the controversy around this tech a bit later).

Generative AI can augment the capability of workers by doing tedious tasks that would otherwise take up time, freeing one up to do work that is more creative or conceptual. You are still in charge, you just have more freedom to dream, think big, and create.

Nearly half (49%) of the companies surveyed by ResumeBuilder already use ChatGPT to draft meeting summaries, write code, create content, or assist with customer support. Of the companies surveyed that are not yet on the generative AI bus, 30% plan to start using it, and a whopping 85% will begin within the next six months.

One way to look at this new tech is that it’s the same as other in-demand skills, like PowerPoint, and candidates familiar with this emerging field will have a leg up on those not yet comfortable using the latest tech tools. Generative AI will continue to entrench itself into the fabric of our professional (and personal) lives, making it an increasingly important skill. Layering knowledge of generative AI into your arsenal of creative skills will help you stand out today.

Since its launch in late 2022, ChatGPT and other generative AI technologies have swept the tech world by storm. Companies like Microsoft and Canva have incorporated this type of AI into their products, opening new possibilities. But this new technology has also raised some concerns for creatives that their expertise may become obsolete with the rise of these new tools.

48% of the business managers surveyed by ResumeBuilder shared that ChatGPT has already replaced workers. With companies like Canva augmenting their creative AI offerings, job displacement is a fear for designers as these new AI design tools proliferate. There is growing concern that some creative jobs may become increasingly automated and that the threat of decreased creativity looms for those still employed.

So, what can designers and creatives do to protect themselves from the potential challenges of generative AI?

One way to stay ahead is to master this new tech and use that knowledge as a differentiating skill on your resume. Staying ahead of the curve and keeping current with emerging developments in the AI space, particularly as they relate to design and creative endeavors, will allow you to grow your skills and expertise and figure out how to leverage this tech to work for you.

Hiring managers want to see what you can accomplish using this new tech—so play around and create a small trove of work generated with ChatGPT and other generative AI tools. Employers want to see that you are on the vanguard of what’s new and are excited to explore what’s possible with new tech—which is valuable no matter your industry.

If you want to enhance your Chat GPT and generative AI skills, there are various training and certification courses available online from Coursera and other e-learning platforms.

________________________________________

Takeaway

Learning to use Chat GPT and generative AI may offer you a smart competitive edge over your peers. Consider staying ahead of the curve and positioning yourself as an early adopter of new tech to ensure you can be noticed and succeed in this dawning age of AI.

Tis the season…unfortunately. Happy Tax Season everyone! For many creatives, this season is filled with last-minute scrambling, hair-pulling, and general 1099 frustrations. If you’re tired of filing 1099s, come work with us. W-2s only over here! And if you are still living that 1099 life, here are our best tips for navigating this tax season. We wanted to have a temperature check to see how our network is navigating this season, read more!

1.

Note to future self: save more.

 

2. 

All W-2s over here!

 

3.

 

 

4. 

This was too real.

 

5. 

None!