Media Kit

Author bio

Rodika Tollefson is an award-winning writer, creative, and marketing professional who launched her freelance business more than 25 years ago — growing it from a part-time solo gig to a six-figure company. She has worked with global brands such as Dell Technologies, Cisco, Lenovo, and Dashlane. A former business journalist, Rodika has interviewed thousands of small-business owners, leaders, and entrepreneurs. She has received various awards for her journalism, multimedia, design, creative writing, and leadership work. Her freelance stories have been published in numerous local, regional, national, and international publications, including The Washington Post, Associated Press, High Country News, Alaska Coast, Kitsap Sun, Kitsap Business Journal, The Pen Woman, Dell Technologies Realize Magazine, and American Express OPEN Forum.

Pronunciation

Ro-dee-kah [rhymes with paprika]

Book information

Title: THE FREELANCER’S COMPASS

Subtitle: Navigate Your Way from Corporate Cog to Solopreneur Star

Author: Rodika Tollefson

Publication date: September 2, 2024

5.5×8.5; 148 pages

ISBN: 1470412155979-8-9908047-0-8 paperback

ISBN: 979-8-9908047-1-5 hard cover

ISBN: 979-8-9908047-2-2 ebook

First edition; printed in the United States of America

Headshots

Topics

Themes I can cover for guest bylines, interviews, presentations, workshops, etc.

The basics of starting a freelance writing, marketing, creative, or consulting business
How to set up your operations so you can present yourself in a professional way
The infrastructure, tools, systems, and processes every successful freelance business needs
How to manage client expectations through contracts, SOWs (statement of work), SOPs (standard operating procedures), project management, and other tools
Why your mindset is the single-biggest driver of your success as a freelancer
How to grow your business by organizing regular personal business retreats
Custom topics — ask me!

Sample interview questions

Ideas to kick-start your interview

How did you career as a journalist and marketing writer lead to a book?
Why write this book — and why now?
Who is your primary audience?
What makes your book different?
How did you start on the freelancing path?
What’s the best part about running your own solopreneur business?
What are some of the biggest mistakes that you’ve made as a freelance business owner?
What is your one biggest piece of advice for freelancers or independent consultants just starting out? How about those trying to grow their business?
What do you hope readers will take away from your book?
What’s next for you?

FAQs

How did you get the idea for this book?

During a recent shakeup in the tech industry, many marketing and other teams were disrupted. Some people embraced freelancing, whether as a new career choice or a temporary stopgap. But running your own business is a world apart from working “for the man” because you have to worry about much more than just your deliverables. If you’ve never worked for yourself before, you don’t realize how much work goes on behind the scenes.

During the Great Resignation, I watched people jump the corporate ship to go into freelancing and consulting, only to give up a few months later. It wasn’t just lack of certainty — unreliable cash flow, etc. — that was a cultural shock. They simply didn’t know that a freelance business needs tools and systems in place to be successful. So I wanted to share what I’ve learned in my 25 years of business about the “back end” — operations — and provide a step-by-step guide on how to set up a solopreneur business for success.

What makes this book timely now?

The “gig economy” is not going away any time soon, even as generative AI is changing the marketplace. And many professionals are never going back to the way things were before the pandemic — they want more flexibility, better work-life balance, more fulfilling work.

You can find all or some of this in the corporate world if you look hard or a very lucky, but you can’t truly pave your own way and work on your own terms even if you find your ideal job. So I think the allure of running your own business remains strong, but it’s much harder to compete. Which means you really need to button down your processes and create a resilient business.

What do you hope readers will take away from the book?

I hope it helps them build a good foundation for their business if they’re just starting out. Or uplevel their game if they’ve been freelancing for a while and are struggling to grow their business.

I focus on four aspects — infrastructure, processes, tools and support systems, and roadmap — and lay them out in three tiers (“must have,” “nice to have,” and “highly recommended if you want to uplevel.”) This way, readers will find something helpful regardless of where they are in their business.

I tried to not take myself too seriously when I wrote it, and my tone is borderline snarky — so if nothing else, I hope it’s entertaining.

Why write a book in the first place?

Writing a book has been on my bucket list for many years, though I’ve always thought I would write a memoir. (I came to the United States when I was 18, by myself, leaving all my family behind, and it’s been quite an adventurous 30-plus years.) I finally decided that “someday” was now (it was part of my “vision statement” in 2023) so I brainstormed dozens of possible topics.

This on seemed perfect because I was seeing the Great Resignation pattern all over again — people were losing their jobs en masse and going freelance. And, as the saying goes, “Write what you know!”

Why self-publish?

Mostly, I didn’t want to wait for a year or two that it would have taken a traditional publisher. I wanted to get the book out fast and figured I could get it done in a few months since I didn’t plan it to be super long (it’s only about 150 pages). I suppose that was the naïve first-time book author in me — I knew it was going to be a lot of work but didn’t know how overwhelming it would all become.

In the end, it took months and months after my draft was done for all the pieces to come together (editing, cover design, print setup, website, etc. etc. etc.) so didn’t get to the finish line much faster after all.

If you were to give just one piece of advice about launching a solo business, what would it be?

Start with the mindset. It is absolutely the biggest part of your success. There are many pieces to the mindset, from how you think of yourself (hint: you’re a business owner, not a freelancer), to how you show up for your business, to how you think of money.

Even though I’ve been in business for more than 25 years, it took me a very long time to realize that I wasn’t really taking my business seriously. But when I changed my mindset, everything else changed. And I’m still constantly working on my mindset — it’s an evolution.