Field notes, issue 01
Smarter freelancing and small business advice, written by people who have actually done the work.
Pricing, contracts, taxes, marketing, and the daily mechanics of running a one person shop or a five person team. No fluff, no recycled LinkedIn takes.
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The desks
What we write about
Freelancing
Pricing, contracts, clients, and the realities of independent work.
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Operations, finance, marketing, and growth for owner-operated businesses.
Read the deskMoney
Taxes, bookkeeping, cash flow, and getting paid on time.
Read the deskGrowth
Marketing, sales, and finding the next client.
Read the deskFresh ink
Recent articles
The 2026 freelance tax reset, decoded
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act took effect this January. Here is what actually changes for a one person business, and what looks big but is mostly noise.
The ACA subsidy cliff is back. Here is what to do about it.
Enhanced premium tax credits expired at the end of 2025. For self employed earners above 400% of the poverty line, the cost of insurance just doubled or tripled. Here is the practical playbook.
The middle of the freelance market is hollowing out
Freelance writing volume dropped 32% in the last year. The cheap end of creative work is collapsing. The high end is doing fine. Where you land depends on a single question.
When AI makes you faster, hourly billing eats your business
If a 10 hour project is now a 4 hour project, hourly billing means a 60% pay cut for the same outcome. The math behind why value pricing is no longer optional.
The freelance contract checklist
The clauses that actually matter when a project goes sideways, explained in plain English by people who have been on both sides of one.
Working mostly for one client? The rule changed. The risk did not.
The DOL proposed a new independent contractor rule in February. The 2024 rule is still in effect for now. Either way, the pattern that gets freelancers reclassified as employees is the same one.
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Latest headlines
A quick scan of what landed this week. Pick a headline and dig in.