The Perks Of Being A Freelancer
Who wants to be a corporate errand boy? Not a lot of people. If you’re one of those who do want that though, feel free to stop reading now because this is an article about being your own boss, creating your own destiny and living your life the way you want to live it, without a preppy Ivy League graduate screaming at you only because he can, since his dad is the owner of the company you work for. Glad we cleared that up. Now, let’s continue.
The freelancing world is a universe of its own. While being able to work whenever you want, from the comfort of your own home is what everyone should strive for, it’s not as simple as it may seem at the first glance. Actually, in reality it’s much different than in theory. Work ethic, ambition, drive and motivation is what it’s all about when it comes to freelancing.
Procrastination A Freelancer’s Worst Enemy
Yes, freelancing is great. You get to be your own boss and you get to work whenever you want and take time off whenever you like. If you do that too often tho, you’re setting yourself up for failure. A lot of people fall in this trap. Why? Well, it’s easy. You go to check out if there are new videos on your favorite YouTube channel and sooner than you know two hours have already passed. Or you go to your favorite news website and you stay on there for an hour, reading celebrity gossip.
Simply put, you need to have a well thought out schedule. Not only that, you need to have a room, or a corner in your home that is meant for work exclusively and nothing else. Although this is probably not the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about avoiding procrastination, it is absolutely crucial. That’s how our brains work. We associate certain places with certain things and condition ourselves into thinking that a certain place is meant for a certain thing. It’s pretty simple when you think about it. You don’t think about work when you’re in your bedroom (hopefully, for the sake of your girlfriend) and in your working space you need to think of getting work done only and nothing else besides that (yes. not even your girlfriend).
Another useful “trick” to keep in mind, that might seem a bit odd at the first glance is to get yourself ready for work, like you would if you were actually going to a real job. No, you don’t need to wear a suit and a tie, but you can’t get any work done in your pajamas. That’s a myth. Tips To Become A Successful Freelancer
Now, let’s get down to business. To say that today’s economy is shaky would be the understatement of the decade. The market is an ever changing place and the competition is higher than ever. Because of that, it’s important to keep certain things in mind. Finding a gig as a freelancer is an art form. Seriously, it’s far from an easy task. Actually, it can be pretty tiring, demotivating and time consuming, to say the least. So, here are some things you should keep in mind in order to start and successfully complete gigs in the freelancing world:
Market Yourself
This is definitely the first thing you should keep in mind. Start off by building a killer social media presence, then go on with building your own personal website, you can even start a blog. All of this will definitely help when it comes marketing yourself in the chosen niche withing your industry.
Organize
Track your progress, keep tabs on payments and communicate with clients and potential clients on a daily basis. Determine how long will a certain project take to complete and create a schedule. Try not to take too many projects at a time, many freelancers do this and when it comes to freelancing, juggling more projects than you can handle at once is definitely something to avoid.
Pay Attention To Your Client’s Needs
When it comes to freelancing, you have to be flexible. You depend on your clients, it’s not the other way round. Those are the people who are paying you and you need to be flexible to their needs if you want to work for them in the future. Establishing a connection and building a relationship with a client is absolutely crucial and that is exactly what brings you more freelance writing jobs philippines gigs.
Network
The downside of freelancing is that sometimes you’re swamped with work, juggling more projects than you can handle, drinking much more coffee than you should, to stay awake and at other times you have no idea where to turn to or what to do. This is prevented easily with the help of networking. What is networking? Well, basically it’s a fancy word for meeting people. Make it a regular task. Reach out to potential clients as much as you can. Send out newsletters, make calls, knock at doors, attend industry events, anything you can think of basically.
In the end, it’s safe to say that not everything is black and white in the freelancing world. As great as freelancing is, it’s not something that will enable you to live comfortably unless you stay motivated to work hard on a daily basis and it’s most definitely not something that is achieved overnight. Let’s be clear, it’s not easy to find success in the freelancing world, but it’s far from impossible, if you know what to do and if you have the right mindset.
Take it step by step, one day at a time, don’t give up and you’ll see some real results in no time. Real results and real money. Not only that, if you keep working hard, you’ll make more money freelancing than you ever did with your “real” job and you’ll have clients reaching out and coming to you, instead of it being the other way round. The only problem you’ll have then is picking what job offer to accept.