Protect and Grow Your Freelancing Business

The fourth course in the Building Your Freelancing Career specialization includes an overview of laws surrounding freelance work and how to navigate them, how to prepare for taxes, intellectual property considerations, and how to protect one's work through legally sound contracts and agreements. CalArtians who do not see a "Sponsored by CalArts" notice when enrolling are encouraged to access this course and the specialization by joining through the Coursera for CalArts program linked in the course/specialization FAQ.

• Course Overview
• In this section you'll review an overview of the course and student expectations. You'll also hear from experienced freelancers in our community about the practical ways they protect and grow their businesses.
• How to get and stay in business
• Explore the path to becoming an official business and avoid risk so that you stay in business.
• Client Contract Management
• Setting and keeping expectations with clients starts with clear, clean, signed contracts.
• Managing a Team
• When you have too much work to do, and you've automated everything you can, you'll need to consider expanding your team. Here's how to hire, manage and fire wisely.
• What about benefits and taxes?
• One of the most important issues holding people back from starting a full-time freelancing career is that benefits are typically tied to employment. Learn how you can create benefits for yourself as a freelancer. We'll also explain how to explore and comply with your tax obligations.