Three requests for the podcast right now: I want to do an Ask Me Anything episode. Please email or DM via Twitter your questions about the business of freelancing and I’ll answer them on a future episode. You can share your name or be anonymous. melanie@meledits.com or DM @MelEdits on Twitter I’m considering a series interviewing freelancers who make six figures. So, if you have earned $100,000 or more as a freelance business owner, let me know. I’d love to talk with you more about how you got there so we can provide tactics and inspiration to other freelancers. melanie@meledits.com or DM @MelEdits on Twitter I am looking for diverse guests, so please reach out and pitch me your podcast episode idea or recommend guests who are from marginalized groups. I’m doing my own research and outreach, but I’m open to pitches and recommendations too. melanie@meledits.com or DM @MelEdits on Twitter In this week’s episode I want to offer six ways you can be an ally through your freelance business. Your first reaction may be that you’re “just” a freelancer or solopreneur, that you don’t have a lot of power or a huge platform. But there are things that you can do through your role as a business owner to support Black and Brown people and those from other marginalized groups, especially if you are White. Hire diverse subcontractors. Not all of us have regular subcontractors, but occasionally we do hire people to help us with a project or partner with us on a proposal or we hire a virtual assistant to help our business. When you are considering hiring subcontractors, do a bit more research and reach beyond your immediate networks to see if you can hire someone from a marginalized group.   Humans often interact and hire people who look like us. Our circles are not often that diverse. It’s the same reason that people from marginalized groups have trouble getting hired as employees. But you can help break down the barriers in your own little world by asking people for recommendations and reaching out to a more diverse group. And just be honest: Tell people you are looking to expand your list of potential subcontractors to have a more diverse pool to choose from. Refer and recommend work. Many of us refer other freelancers or pass on work to people when we are over capacity or a gig isn’t right for us. As you expand your list of diverse freelancers, consider passing on that work to someone from a marginalized group. You can help them open the door to a new client and give them a connection they didn’t have before. This helps all of us because the more diversity we have in the workforce—and in the content we create—the more creative we all become.   You can also be transparent in Facebook groups and other networks you belong to, telling fellow freelancers what a client might pay, which clients are not great to work for, and recommending clients and projects when you hear of an opportunity.   Widen and diversify your network. It can be difficult to learn different viewpoints or to hire for diversity if your network isn’t that large. Often, again, we hang out with and work with people who look like us.   You can do this quite easily on social media. On Twitter, I follow a lot of Black professors, journalists, authors, researchers and other freelancers. I also file several transgender people. All of this diversifies the news and perspectives that are reaching me. On Instagram you can follow a lot of great entrepreneurs, influencers and freelance business owners from diverse backgrounds. You can also follow specific hashtags, which lead you to more and more people and new ideas.   You can also do research and consider joining more diverse groups. Ask around. Ask people in your industry what other groups they’re members of. Look at any statements associations or organizations put out recently about Black Lives Matter and then look at the photos of their boards to see if they really are diverse.   Amplify diverse voices. Are you a member of