Stupid Sucks!

I’ve written this article for the Theme Forest blog.

Like any business, being successful depends on a whole slew of things. This includes paying attention to your market and competitors.

You could make a great product, but if there isn’t a demand for it then you won’t make any money. Or, if there is a demand for the type or style of product you’re providing but your competitors offer something better, then you’re in the same situation.

Continue reading at http://blog.themeforest.net/general/watching-the-market-16-hot-templates/

Over the last few weeks I’ve found myself recommending Freshbooks over and over to people. I kind of feel like a broken record but the problem is that there are still a lot of people who are not aware of FreshBooks and what they have to offer.

Here’s a quick overview of information on FreshBooks you may be missing for those of you who may be looking for a billing/time tracking/invoice solution.

read more…

I wrote this article for the Theme Forest blog.

If you’re new to freelancing or web design/development, then chances are you’ll be picking up applications left and right to accomplish all sorts of tasks. With all the applications available, it can be quite overwhelming to pick and choose the best ones to fit your needs. Often times there is no clear winner, applications can and will be equal, it just depends on what suits you best.

With that being said, here’s the applications I use on a regular basis to get my work done. Hopefully this list can help some of you starting out or even some of you pros.

Continue reading at http://blog.themeforest.net/resources/essential-desktop-apps-for-professional-designers-and-developers/

I’m a freelance designer and web developer. I work at home and love every second of it. When I tell people what I do they always say, “Oh cool, I bet it’s nice to have the freedom of working at home”. Or at least they say something similar to that.

As great as it is to work at home, it’s not easy by any means. You are your own boss but being your own boss just means you have all the responsibilities of a normal company boss and then some. One of the things I struggle with is billing. That’s where FreshBooks comes into play. read more…

Today, I am very pleased to announce the official launch of www.jremick.com JRemick.com is the professional portfolio of Jarel Remick (that’s me), which covers Web / Online, Print and Logos (primarily the first two).

Over 6 months ago I designed the look of my portfolio. During that time I was working full time on a 6 month contract so my spare time was pretty limited. When I did have spare time it was spent doing other things for other people or just trying to take a break.

I finally buckled down and used all my spare time to revamp my original design and recode the site from scratch. I still have some features and content design ideas I will be implementing but what’s important is that it is available for the world to see!

I also want to mention that I will be building themes/templates which will be posted for sale at ThemeForest.net. You are more than welcome to request a theme build which would be posted at ThemeForest.net which would allow you to purchase it for cheap! (Usually $10-$20)

If you are looking for a unique theme that the rest of the world won’t be able to purchase, feel free to contact me! I have pretty affordable rates and I am looking to expand my Web / Online portfolio as much as possible.

With the economy in the slump it’s in, any additional way to make some extra money is something most of us are watching out for. Especially if you are a freelancer. Thanks to Twitter, I was introduced to ThemeForest.net. A website where you can purchase and download website themes as well as upload and sell your own.

At the time of this writing, there are less than 200 site templates, 75 WordPress templates, 15 Joomla templates and 25 misc templates. That’s definitely a small selection to choose from but the website was just launched very recently. That makes for a good opportunity to get in on it at the start (not that it would be beneficial).

If you need a template, it’s worth checking out, especially since the site is growing and should be growing fast. You can pick up templates for $10-$20 (more for WordPress and Joomla). That’s pretty dang cheap and a quick way to get yourself a website up in a matter of minutes.

What interests me about this site is how easy it is to have your own work sold there. Many more people will see it and potentially purchase it than if you tried to sell it yourself. You can make from 25% of each sold template up to 50%. Plus, you get 50% of the deposits made from referrals.

I don’t think this is going to bring in a significant amount of income but a few hundred extra dollars each month might be worth it. Plus, as you get more and more templates online for purchase it could go from a few hundred to a few thousand extra dollars each month. Now that’s what I would be interested in but I would settle for a few hundred for now.

This is not an advertisement for them. It’s just me spreading the word about a cool new site that I think has a lot of potential. Plus, I wouldn’t mind making a few extra bucks. If you need a template, click any of the links to ThemeForest.net on this blog post so I can get a referral too. It won’t cost you anything!

Anyway, check it out, let me know what you think!