Working as a freelancer can be very rewarding. You get to chuck the nine to five grind and work whenever you like. You can leave that tiny cubicle behind and work out of your own home office. You won’t have to lose three hours out of every day on that long miserable commute either.
As a freelancer going to work is as easy as rolling out of bed. You can even wear pajamas if you want or your old ratty sweats. No one will care because you are now your own boss. Sounds like heaven right?
Well, working for yourself can indeed be a slice of heaven, but it doesn’t start out that way. A lot of people take up freelancing with the idea that they can just kick back and wait for the jobs to roll in. Take it from someone who is already there, it isn’t like that. Jobs don’t come to you.
People aren’t sitting around waiting to give you money. If you want to be successful as a freelancer you are going to have to make it happen. It takes drive and discipline to make money working for yourself.
Don’t despair it isn’t as bad as it sounds. You can make money as a freelancer if you really want to. All you need to do is make sure you don’t treat it like a vacation because it isn’t. It’s a lot of hard work and long hours. We have put together some handy tips to get you on the right track.
A lot of these tips will sound like common sense, and that’s because they are. These are guidelines, putting them into practice is up to you. You might be surprised how many people fail miserably at freelancing because they didn’t use their heads.
Organization is essential
If you ever want to be successful as a freelancer, you need to have some organizational skills. You need to keep track of things like your clients, your projects, and your expenses. If you aren’t at least a little organized this is going to be difficult.
You no longer have a boss helping keep you on track, so it is up to you to keep things going. Space out your projects so you aren’t doing too much at once. Make appointments with clients on days when you aren’t working on a project. Keep track of everything you do, from hours worked to materials purchased.
Flexibility is important
One mistake that a lot of freelancers make is thinking they are in control of their work and that they can do it however they want. This is most certainly not true. As a freelancer you are at the mercy of your client. If you want to be successful you will have to turn out projects the way that the clients wants them done.
You may be asked to correct things, you might even be asked to scrap everything and start over some times. Don’t get mad and blow off your clients. That’s a good way to make sure you don’t get a lot of work.
Distractions are destructive
When you are freelancing distractions can be destructive. Every time you get to answer the phone or the door, you are taking yourself away from your work. Every time you check your email or your social media accounts, you are also losing money. The best way to avoid this is to cut all of the distractions out of your workday.
Turn off the phone, and if you have to check your email try to do that when you aren’t working. A lot of people think that if they don’t check their email seventeen times a day they will miss something important. The best thing you can do for yourself if you are one of those people is to turn on desktop notifications for your email account.
This way, when that important message does come in you’ll know about it without having to check all the time. Clear your email out when you aren’t doing something else and you won’t have to worry about it.
Focus on the flow
Being a successful freelancer means knowing when you can be the most productive. Some freelancers are day people, others work best at night. As you work you will notice that your energy level goes up and down. Once you figure out when you are the most productive you will be able to schedule your work flow around your peak hours.
It’s also a good idea to pace yourself when you first start out. Instead of grinding until your project is done, take it slow at first. Some people like to use something called the Pomodoro technique.
This involves working for twenty five minutes, and then taking a five minute break. You don’t have to stick to that exact timing, but working for short periods and then taking a break keeps you from getting bored which can cause your mind to wander and your work to suffer.
Love what you do
People that have regular company jobs tend to do their work at work and then try to forget it when they go home. They call it keeping your professional life and your personal life separate.
In a lot of companies employees don’t really care whether the work gets done, or how it gets done as long as they can keep pulling in those paychecks. Putting in extra hours at home to do work is a concept that is alien to most people. If you want to be a successful freelancer, you can’t be one of those people anymore.
Successful freelancers are successful because they love what they do. They are passionate about their work most often because it involves doing something they enjoy and are good at. One of the most important things you can do for yourself as a freelancer is to make sure you are doing something you love doing.
That will keep you working long after your nine to five friends have clocked out for the night. That love will also keep you focused when your mind starts to wander. And loving your work will help you make a good impression on potential clients because most of them are passionate about what they do also.
Never stop learning
Any successful freelancer will tell you that if you really want to be the best at what you do then never stop trying to figure out how to do it better. It doesn’t really matter what you choose to freelance in, you should always be looking for ways to boost your productivity by keeping up on the latest news, trends, and technology that people in your field are using.
If you want to be the best you have to do what they do and that is never stop learning. Successful freelancers are the ones who still work when they don’t have a job lined up. They doodle, they practice, and they read up on their field. Some take classes to learn new skills and brush up on old ones. That is a good idea no matter what field you are into.
Professionalism is important
If you want to be successful then you need to be one hundred percent professional. You can wear what you like when you are working on a project, but if you have to meet with a client it is best that you hang up the sweats for awhile. When you talk with your clients you should always be courteous even when you don’t feel like it.
Your written correspondence should be right next door to flawless. This means spelling everything right and using good grammar. No one is going to hire you if you come off like a hick from the sticks. Clients want to be reassured that their projects are in capable hands, or they will take their business elsewhere.
Put yourself out there
A successful freelancer needs work. If you want to be successful you are going to have to get out there and find clients. There is very little chance that people will start showing up just because you have decided to hang out a sign or put up a website. You have to let people know what you have to offer, and then you have to convince them that they want you for their job.
There are several good ways you can promote yourself. You can sign up for groups that are relevant to your work. LinkedIn is a great place to find things like that. You can sign up for websites that offer freelance work. Most freelancers are members of several groups and have a few good sites they can go to find work when things are slow.
A lot of people shy away from self-promotion. They don’t like asking people for things. If you want to do well as a freelancer you are going to have to cast those inhibitions out the window. You are going to have to talk to people you don’t know, and you are going to have to do it a lot. It gets easier as you go. You learn to separate the way you feel from the work you want to do as time goes on.
Some things to remember
We’ve gone over some really good guidelines here and following them can help you be a successful freelancer. Sure some situations are unique, just like most freelancers are. The trick is to find what works for you. You don’t have to follow these guidelines verbatim, tailor them to your circumstances and you should be fine. In the end your success is only up to one person, and that person is you.
It is also important to remember that not every day is going to be golden. You are going to have bad days, and you are going to make mistakes. Don’t let those mistakes trip you up or stop you from pursuing your passion. Everyone makes mistakes, it is what makes us who we are. It’s what you learn from your mistakes that will make all the difference in your career.
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