For those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile, you know that I have basically started my freelance career from scratch. I should be clear that I had been picking up gigs and spending a lot of time observing other people’s success this was still a slightly crazy and somewhat audacious process that I was about to undertake.
In the process I’ve learned a number of lessons and I thought that I would share some of them with you as food for thought.
Freelance Series-What I’ve Learned So Far
- Trust Your Gut-I can’t say this enough. Trust your gut. In all aspects of your life, not just with freelancing. If you have a bad feeling about something trust it. If you have a great feeling about something, trust it. If you think you should so no to something-say no. You are your own best advocate.
- Sometimes You Won’t Be a Good Fit-For a client and that’s ok. I had a wonderful client that I began working with early on. But we had very, very different ways of approaching work. This client was much more comfortable doing things at the last moment where as I like to work on a schedule and do tasks ahead of schedule. I am growing a business so it was difficult for me to accommodate her work style. LIKEWISE, it was difficult for this client to accommodate my work style because they liked the way that they worked. We kept talking in circles and it just wasn’t working so we’ve parted ways. But, because of that client I had several doors opened to me and I am forever thankful for the opportunity to work with them and wish them continued good fortune. I also learned about setting up protocols!
- You’re Now Your Best Advocate-But you always were! I’ve learned that you have to pipe up and make sure that your needs are met. If you don’t speak up and be clear about what you want and need no one else will advocate for you. This is the case regardless of your walk of life.
- You Will Always Need More Cash-But, wouldn’t you anyway? I had a fairly substantial amount of cash set aside before I left my job. I did go abroad which obviously had a profound affect on my money. And, yes, right now I need more cash. But, even when I was working I needed more cash. I guess what I’m saying is I’m glad that I didn’t continue to delay quitting because I needed to save more cash. For me there was just a point when I just had to make things happen. Like I said, I’m doing the somewhat messy approach to freelancing but I’m still eating and my mortgage has been paid. So, it’s all good.
- Each Person’s Freelance Business-Will be different. I have 7 different streams of income that I’m focusing on currently. In the past 2 months I’ve only focused on one stream of income. I’m just now beginning to pitch the second stream of income. I basically focused on the work that I was truly excited about and knew that I would probably get signed on for much more quickly than other streams of income. I’m glad I did this. Now I can begin scaling up my business.
- Work Your Ass Off-But you should be doing this anyway. Work is called work for a reason. Before I was freelancing I was commuting 20+ hours a week and then working around 50+ hours a week. Yep, your eyes don’t deceive you-I was working like a boss. And completely exhausted with no personal life to show from it. Now I work 70 hours a week…same number of hours but configured in a way that benefits me and at a pace that I’m setting for myself. I am much happier and employers may want to look at employee flexibility as a job perk.
- Be flexible-Your client may want something that you don’t agree with. Figure out where they are coming from so that you can understand their “why” then if you still think there is a better way, frame your concerns in a way that shows you will work with them. Also, just let go of being rigid. Just go with the flow.
- I Don’t Miss Going To The Office-At all. I do spend some face time in one of my client’s offices for about 4 hours on Monday…it depends. And I meet with clients every other week or so for coffee and that ‘s about it. I stopped working full-time at the end of December and I am pretty sure that I don’t ever want to work in an office again. I love going to the coffee shop and working with all of the other freelancers. **There are A LOT of people working virtually in Denver/Boulder**I love going hiking during the day, I love walking in the park by my house, going to the gym, or going to yoga. I love being able to go to my garden during the day and growing my own food. I love not being in a rush. I love forcing myself to work hard (and think hard) and figure out the “freelance system” so that I can make money. I don’t miss the drama, the commute, or the anxiety that I was experiencing previously.
- Always Be Positive-And learn from each situation. Everything hasn’t been positive. Waiting for almost 6 weeks for cash to really start flowing in and switching to a cash budget has been rough. Losing a client that I thought would be a great fit was also rough. But, I’ve learned a lot about what I am capable of and what I would change to have a better outcome in a similar situation in the future.
- Work More-I just wanted to be super clear-I am working HARD….but with flexibility. And, I don’t want to give up that flexibility now that I’ve experienced it. It’s addicting.
Are you a freelancer? Have you had a similar experience? Are you considering becoming a freelancer? What are your thoughts?
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I am an obsessive foodie, but not self-righteous with it, love travel, meeting new people, helping you look good, and am freaked out by people who don't enjoying reading...something! Grab a Perrier, read my blog, feel free to drop me a line! Hope to hear from you soon.
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You continue to amaze and inspire me. I’m so happy you are sharing these lessons along the way. You are going to have a pretty amazing story when you step back in a few months and say, yep, I’ve made it. And then you’ll have material for a book or course or coaching!
Thanks Kirsten-I just need to continue to sustain it! But, I think that I’m starting to get the hang of it.
Freelancing is really an alternative to get extra cash. However, I really like the feeling of still being in office. That being said, I am open to freelancing especially if the job is flexible like I can work for a client any time or every weekend when there’s no office work.
I think that freelancing is whatever the person doing it wants it to be. I know people who opt to do it for some extra cash for savings/vacation/debt. I do have bigger philosophical issues/concerns with the how the job market that are better addressed in a post for The Spot. For me, I think freelancing going to work out better in the long run because I think I will make more money each month than I was previously. Also, I would like to get married and have kids. I want to work from home so it’s better to start doing this now so I have a system in place.
Michelle there is no doubt in my mind that you are going to make it. I will be retiring in exactly one year from now from the military and I am also trying to find my way into making freelancing a full-time job to supplement my income. Thank you so much for sharing your journey for it motivates me and I am learning so much from you. I can’t wait to read your success story.
Petrish, every time you mention that you’re retiring I just think “DAMN-she’s so freaking young!” LoL 🙂 Thank you very much for your kind words and support. I feel really fortunate to have so many awesome people (like you) in my corner.
”Each Person’s Freelance Business” – this is very true! Another thing that I noticed is that most of the time, freelancers are never really aware of what they accomplished and they always think they can do more, which is great. It keeps them striving. Of course, looking back sometimes and realizing what you’ve done so far is even better, it will give you even more motivation and inspiration to keep going.
I think you’re right about the do more attitude. There’s no one else saying whether or not what you’ve done is too much or too little. I just try to stay focused and on task!
I do work harder than I’ve ever worked before. Probably due to the extra responsibilities, but I’m with you …. I don’t miss the office (except for maybe in-person adult conversation). Going to add a little more in-person networking to my schedule.
I do NOT miss the office. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m basically done with office life. LOL! You got to connect with people. Can’t wait to hang out in September!