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Oh boy ... people might thank god that it's Friday but right now I'm doing that because it's Thursday and I know that the light I can see at the end of the tunnel is the sunshine I should be able to enjoy on Saturday. It's been a week I would like to forget but I can see that it is coming to a close.

If you're in business for yourself ... and if you're an adult webmaster then you are in business for yourself ... you're going to have weeks like that. It's inevitable that you will run into periods when your cash flow has all but dried up and yet the work is still there to be done and surviving those dry periods can be difficult.

You might even be inclined to describe those periods as "hell" and for graphic designers and content providers that can be a very special kind of hell. If you're already in that side of the industry then you will know what I mean and if you're thinking about jumping into that side of the industry then here are a few tips that will help keep those visits to hell to a minimum.

Value yourself
When you work for yourself as a designer or content provider it can be hard to know exactly what to charge for the work you do. You obviously want to charge enough for each job so that you can put food on the table but you don't want to charge so much that potential clients will go to some other provider.

If you spend a little time thinking about the cost of living you'll soon arrive at the minimum amount you need to earn just to survive ... but you want to do more than just survive. So think about how much profit you want to make and maybe even factor in a little wriggle room in case someone wants to haggle with you.

Don't work for nothing
It's almost certain that at some stage you'll be asked by a prospective client to provide a sample of your work. By all means point them to work you have already done but I would strongly suggest that you never provide any new work for a client unless he is prepared to pay your going rate for it.

You might think that giving away free samples is a great idea but when you start doing things for free then people begin to expect it ... rely on it ... and even demand it. And if you don't believe me just look at the online porn industry.

Avoid bracket creep
So you've landed a job and your client has agreed to pay the amount that you quoted for the job. That's great but now it's time to start watching for bracket creep because it's almost certainly going to raise its ugly head.

Bracket creep is when you and the client agree on a price for work and then he or she comes back to you and asks if you could just add one more small thing. Of course there's no mention of paying for it ... after all it's just something minor.

It might seem like nothing at the time but once you agree to doing a little bit extra for the same amount you can be sure that they will come back for more again and again.

Before you know it you will have done twice as much work as what you originally quoted on and there will be no offer to compensate you for that work. Bracket creep is the silent killer for all designers and content providers ... it's just a little thing at first but before you know it you're spending days of your valuable time working for nothing.

And how do you avoid bracket creep? This next point can be what saves you.

Write up a proposal
When someone approaches you to provide some work, get the details and then write up a proposal that lists all the things they want you to do and the price that you're prepared to charge for that work.

Send them a copy and if they agree to it your proposal then becomes a relatively informal contract between you and the client. And when bracket creep begins to appear refer them back to that original proposal ... point out that you quoted on the job in its original form ... and tell them that if they want more then you will have to charge them extra.

And don't do the extra work till they have paid for it.

Of course you probably won't believe me about bracket creep and the importance of having a proposal. I'm not sure that I saw the importance of those things the first time either. But the memory of the struggle to survive that will follow if you do get suckered in to do extra work for nothing won't leave you.

Unless you're really thick you will only do it once.

Keep those things in mind and your business as a designer or content provider will grow. Ignore those points and you'll be on the skids before you know it.