Freelancing has generally become popular among the people for two reasons with number one being that finding jobs is pretty hard and number two being that people like to be their own boss. Regardless of why you have chosen to be self-employed, you should have an idea by now that freelancing is neither as easy as it might seem and neither is it all doom and gloom. If you have chosen to freelance and carve a career for yourself in things that you feel that you are genuinely good, you should follow these tips to succeed with freelancing.
Look to Stand Out
In the corporate world, your creative skills can be murdered brutally. This would never be the case with freelancing. It’s your creativity that will take you places as a freelancer and you must ensure that you let those creative juices flow. With 40 million Americans alone choosing to freelance, the competition in the freelance market is higher than ever before. If you want to succeed here then you must look to stand out. You should look at things from different perspectives and should put in some effort to ensure that people learn to look things from a different perspective as well. You must make people realize that it’s not necessary for them to hire companies to do their work when a freelancer can do a better job.
Stay Determined
There will be times when you will be flooded with work and you won’t find a moment to spend with your loved ones. There will also be times when you will have no work and you will be frustrated to the core for sitting idle. You must make sure during those times that you remember the good times and remember that nothing lasts forever. You should involve your family into your problems so that you don’t keep your frustrations to yourself. Rather than thinking that they would never be able to understand the problems of a freelancer, you should talk to them whenever in a rut and their kind words and appreciation for what you do will surely help you a lot. Since you are a one man army as a freelancer, it’s a must that you stay determined and don’t start having second thoughts about your career choice once you have made it. Your conviction that you can succeed through freelancing is the weapon that would eventually lead you to success.
Organize Yourself
People think of freelancing as a job where you can work on a laptop from home with your cat playing around you. It’s not that easy, it’s not that simple. You should think of freelancing as the job of a CEO, COO, Manager, Assistant Manager and interns all combined. You can be your own boss with freelancing but you will have to play multiple roles while doing so. If you really want to succeed then you must organize yourself and find a place within your house where you can work in a relaxed manner. You should keep track of how much time it will take you to complete one project and consistently make calculations to see that you are meeting your monthly production output, aren’t overburdening yourself and are getting paid for your work.
Networking is a Must
Even if you start with a couple of established clients, there would come a time when the wells would start to run dry. To ensure that your bank account doesn’t dry up because of this, you should continue to create a network through which you will always find some work. Freelancers often isolate themselves because of their hectic schedules but it’s important that you connect with people both physically and online so as to create a network that you can rely on, not just when you need work but also when you need some sort of professional or emotional help. So, you shouldn’t just court potential clients when going to ceremonies and events and on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter but you should also look forward to striking friendships with fellow freelancers as well.
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