Can a dog be depressed? Yes, dogs can experience depression. Signs of depression in dogs can include a loss of interest in activities they previously enjoyed, decreased energy levels, changes in appetite, and difficulty sleeping. If you suspect that your dog may be depressed, it is important to speak with a veterinarian to rule out any underlying medical conditions and to determine the best course of treatment.

What are the causes of depression in dogs?

There can be many causes of depression in dogs, including:

-Loss of a companion or family member. -Changes in the dog’s living situation, such as moving to a new home. -Lack of socialization or interaction with other dogs or people. -Physical health problems or chronic pain. -Separation anxiety. -Boredom or lack of mental stimulation. -Abuse or neglect.

It’s important to note that some dogs may be predisposed to depression due to genetics or breed.

• Hormonal imbalances, such as those caused by thyroid issues or Cushing’s disease.
• Certain medications or treatments, such as those used to treat cancer or chronic conditions.
• Traumatic events or major life changes.
• Lack of exercise or physical activity.
• Environmental factors, such as living in a high-stress or chaotic household.
• A history of abuse or neglect.
• Genetic predisposition.
• Chronic illness or chronic pain.
• Age-related changes, such as cognitive decline or loss of vision or hearing.

It’s important to note that depression in dogs can be caused by a combination of factors and that every dog is unique. A veterinarian or professional dog behaviorist can help you identify the specific cause of depression in your pet, and develop an appropriate treatment plan.

The post Can A Dog Be Depressed? appeared first on Squaregigs.

But how do you get started as a freelancer? If you want to take the first step toward becoming a freelancer but aren’t sure how to begin, you’re in the right place. This article will discuss seven steps to becoming a freelancer in 2023.

Popular freelancing occupations

Clients are looking for successful freelancers to solve their problems across almost every industry, job, and skill set. Regardless of your occupation, a client is looking for a freelancer like you to solve their problem. Below are some of the most popular freelancing jobs in 2023:

• Software Developer
• Writer
• Digital marketer
• Web/mobile developer
• Graphic designer

Becoming a freelancer in 7 easy steps

Why do you want to become a freelancer? Is freelancing an additional income stream, a chance to expand your work experience, or a replacement for your full-time employment?

Freelancing offers freedom of choice. There are many different paths to success for freelancers in 2023. You can begin your journey in your spare time or approach it as a full-time career. Regardless of your approach, the seven steps listed below will guide you past many of the common hurdles that new freelancers face.

1) Define your service & offering

Turning your skills into service is the first step to becoming a freelancer. To do this, you’ll need to understand how your skills can help a prospective client. Try to put yourself in the shoes of your ideal client. What problems do they have, and how can your skills be used to resolve the issue?

It’s essential to recognize that clients are looking for a solution to a problem. To be a successful freelancer, you need to understand the client’s situation and use your service to address their issue. The answer to these questions will be the foundation of how you package your skills as a service. Now it’s time to come up with a brief description of the service that helps you sell your freelance service to companies. Try to concisely explain what you can do, how you do it, and for what type of business/client. Don’t worry about the price yet; we’ll get to that in the later steps.

2) Find your target audience

Now that you have a freelance service to offer, you’ll need to find a target audience. Start by identifying the type of clients that will be a good fit for your service. Do these clients have a shared problem and common characteristics? Are they in a specific industry?

As a new freelancer, merely being great at what you do is not enough to automatically have clients seeking you out. It’s crucial to position yourself in front of your potential clients so they can learn about your services. You’ll need to take an active role in finding potential clients. For most freelancers, there are three ways to acquire clients:

• Freelance job posting platforms
• Leverage existing connections and networking
• Marketing, advertising, and outreach

3) Develop a pricing structure

Once you have clearly defined your service and your target market, it’s time to set your price. The goal is to maximize the amount you’re paid without losing out on potential jobs. So, start by looking at your competitors in the market. What are they charging for similar freelancing services?

In reality, there is no perfect formula for pricing your freelancer services. Many variables can impact the amount that clients will be willing to pay:

• Experience
• Industry
• Project duration
• Deliverables
• Project complexity
• Client’s geographic location
• Urgency

Do not let uncertainty about your pricing structure keep you from getting started. Your rates are not permanent. You can change them in the future. Start with a price you feel comfortable with and try not to overthink it.

4) Create your portfolio with past jobs

Creating a compelling portfolio is an integral step to becoming a successful freelancer. As a freelancer, your portfolio establishes your work quality by showcasing your accomplishments and past projects. This is your opportunity to show — not just tell — clients what you are capable of doing and the value of your expertise.

Your portfolio should highlight your best work related to your service offering. Each piece in your portfolio should paint a clear picture of your contributions and how that project benefited the client. Some of the things that a strong portfolio could include are case studies, testimonials, data-driven results, images, charts, work samples, and mock-ups. It’s important to receive permission from your past clients before incorporating their project materials into your portfolio.

5) Write a great proposal

To ensure a successful start as a freelancer, your first project should closely match your work experience and capabilities. When you find a project that you’re confident that you can provide excellent service for, it’s time to submit a proposal.

The right proposal can mean the difference between securing a job or not, so it’s critical to have a proposal that works for you.

Creating a template can help you organize your proposal, but the most successful freelancers tailor it to the specific client and project. Taking that extra up-front time and effort demonstrates your sincerity, enthusiasm, and professionalism.

6) Create a relationship with your client

As a freelancer, your clients are your business. While it may seem obvious, it’s important to develop a positive working relationship with your clients. Successful freelancers establish relationships with clients rather than thinking of the work as a one-and-done deal. Building a long-term partnership can lead to repeat business and new client referrals. Here are some key points to keep in mind when creating a relationship with your clients:

• Do excellent work: High-quality work is necessary for client satisfaction. You need to provide value and solve the client’s problem to have a chance to build a long-term relationship with the client.
• Communicate with the client: Effective client communication creates a stronger business relationship and encourages clients to continue to work with you for future projects.
• Build trust through consistency: By consistently completing your work on time and providing accurate deliverables, you can build trust and show that your client can depend on you in the future.
• Find opportunities to provide more value: By taking the initiative, identifying new solutions, and taking on additional responsibilities, you demonstrate your potential value to the client and open up new ways to work together.

7) Continue developing your skills

Freelancers are hired for the service and skills that they offer to their clients. As a result, it’s crucial for freelancers to consistently improve their skills, adapt to changes, and expand their knowledge. Keeping up with current trends is also essential to providing your clients with the highest service level. Online learning resources such as Udemy, LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, and even YouTube are great starting points for ensuring that your skills are always up to date.

Start your freelance career

Are you ready to begin freelancing in 2023? It’s up to you. As a freelancer, you’re in control, and you get to make the decisions for your business. Clients are actively looking for new ways to address their problems, and your freelancing services could be the solution.

By following the seven steps in this article, you can get started on the path to becoming a successful freelancer in 2023. Don’t get stuck in the planning phase. You must take action to make your freelancing career become a reality.

The post How to become a Freelancer in 2023 appeared first on Squaregigs.

The biggest advantage to freelancing is working independently for various organizations rather than as an employee of a particular company. As a freelancer, you work for yourself and do projects with different companies rather than being an employee.

Essential skills of a freelancer include communication skills, working with and relating to others, problem-solving, applying initiative, and IT skills. Possessing a good sense of humor and a team-oriented personality goes a long way.

Time management

You need to treat your freelancing career like a typical office job. Thus, maintain a to-do list of all project goals and deadlines. Once sorted, stick to a strict schedule each day. You need to balance your freelance work alongside other daily commitments.

Treat the work professionally and stay on task, eliminating all distractions and the temptations of sleeping in or lazing around. Maintain a structure throughout the day. You alone are responsible for how you use or waste your time. The deadlines are not difficult if you maintain a disciplined routine. You can confidently cater to a good number of clients with your reliability and efficiency.

Social media marketing

Self-employed in a one-person business, hence the ability to sell yourself is critical. Networking is a great way to meet potential clients and online technology has made it even easier to find new client work.  Taking advantage of this online market by having a good grasp of productive social media platforms, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, or even Instagram. These platforms are great channels for promoting, creating campaigns, and making online connections with others in a similar field.

Communication

A mandatory soft skill for any freelancer when meeting clients in person or sending out business e-mails is communication. Studies show that after one negative experience; a good percentage of clients decide to never do business with that individual or company again. It is therefore important to know how to build strong, and positive client-freelancer relationships with others; conveying a clear understanding of their needs and expectations.

Clear, professional language; replying efficiently; asking as many questions as necessary, and ensuring that all agreements are established in writing are the key ingredients for quality communications.  Excellent writing skills help you stand out from the competition. Knowing how to write in a coherent, concise, and error-free manner further conveys your professionalism.

Finance

Working as a freelancer comes with a lot of freedom; but again, you lose the company perks such as paid leave, super contributions, and having someone managing your monthly payments. You are fully responsible for your financial stability, which means you need to develop a firm grasp of financial management and basic accounting skills.

What you need to understand is how much your services are worth. Ensure you are neither underselling nor overselling yourself; as this could lead to turning off potential clients. To know how much your competition charges, you can reach out to your peer groups or check to consult salary websites like PayScale, and set your rates accordingly.

Financial experts recommend you go by a 50/30/20 rule – this means aiming to live on 50% of your income, having 30% set aside for flexible expenses, and putting 20% into your savings. Going by this rule, you achieve your long and short-term financial goals.

Persistence and motivation

It is actually difficult to stay persistent on this career path. While every worker desires flexibility, freelancing can actually be a risky and unstable venture. But if you are willing to push through, it is actually worth it.

Most of the freelancers who moved from a traditional job would not choose to go back, no matter how much they are paid. This show how rewarding this occupation can be, despite the uncertainty and financial insecurity.

In times of setbacks, you must not lose your focus. Direct on your goals and keep reflecting on the required steps to achieve them. Even though you are working from the comfort of your home, dress for success to create an impact on your professional mindset. Set up a proper office for yourself, and consistently aim to improvise yourself. Treat your job seriously, and the results will surely follow. Though freelancing is tough, it is a booming industry.

The post Essential Skills for Freelancers appeared first on Squaregigs.

All set with building an application but not sure about deploying it? We know the feeling of being so close yet stuck. But you don’t have to worry about it! What are we here for?

We have got a tutorial on how to deploy React app on Netlify using Github. Haven’t tried it yet? Leave it to us! Just follow this step-by-step guide and start implementing it with us.

Why Netlify?

Before starting our tutorial on how to deploy react app on netlify using GitHub. Here are a few advantages of using netlify.

• Deploys the application within seconds
• Easy and straightforward
• Provides continuous deployment which means the website will be updated immediately whenever a new commit is made
• The website never goes down
• Offers easy rollbacks at a single click
• Provides a quick preview

Now, let’s get started with the steps.

Steps: Deploy React App on Netlify using Github

Follow these steps to deploy React app on Netlify using Github.

Create a React Application

Use the below commands to create a reactJS application.

npx create-react-app netlify-deployment-demo
cd netlify-deployment-demo

Run your application by using the below command.

npm start

Once you create the demo app upload your application on Github.

Login to Netlify Account

Visit Netlify and log in to your account using Github as shown in the below image.

For authorizing Netflify with the help of GitHub click on Authorize Netlify.

After successful authorization, you will be redirected to the deployment page as shown in the below screenshot. You can deploy the app directly from Git, using templates, or manually uploading. Click on Import from Git button.

Import Project from GitHub

To import an existing project the first step is to Connect to Git Provider.

The next step is to Pick a Repository. Choose the GitHub repository for deploying it.

After selecting the repository, please set the Site Settings. As shown below, fill in the information as required. Select the branch (here master branch) from the dropdown menu that you want to deploy. Use the build command ‘npm run build’ and the public directory as build (which is created using the build command). Click on the Deploy Site button.

Note: You can change this setting as per your requirement.

After clicking on the Button Deploy Site, your site will be deployed and the link is generated by Netlify.

So, this was it! Easy and straightforward, isn’t it? Start building your React application and deploy it on Netlify in a few steps.

The post How to Deploy React App on Netlify Using GitHub appeared first on Squaregigs.