Freelancing 101 | Advice To The ‘Jack-Of-All-Trades’ Freelancer 👉🏼 Master One
A smart man learns from his own mistakes, but a wise man learns from someone else’s.
Getting started as a freelancer is not easy. Anyone who has been in the startup game will know this only too well. You become accustomed to being able to handle any problem that comes your way, particularly areas that you know literally zero about.
Front end login not working? Blog format causing a bug in the system? Customer account not working? Payments didn’t go through? You’ll figure it out! Don’t get me wrong, the experience is invaluable, but it doesn’t take long before the infamous burn out kicks in.
Whilst being able to problem solve and assume different roles might be deemed as an asset when looking for a full time job, it can be to your detriment as a freelancer. When speaking with prospective new clients, it’s tempting to want to demonstrate all your various areas of expertise, a bit like a smorgasbord of talent. Understandably, you won’t be short of offers. And in your mind, you start to feel like all the hard work, sleepless nights, and 7 day weeks have finally paid off.
However, your client sees someone who is capable of taking on any task and more importantly, someone who can share their burden of responsibilities. They have someone who is willing to give 100%, without actually having any say in the company — win win for them, right?
And what about you? You’re back to square one, except this time you have no security of long term work, no limit to what your responsibilities are and even worse, you have set the bar so high that you might not be able to meet the unrealistic unicorn expectations that you created for yourself.
Freelance life can be very fickle, especially when you factor in a team that you might never meet in person and possibly across different time zones. Now you’re faced with a new set of challenges: a new boss who sees you as the solution to their problems, current staff who see you as a threat and a never ending pile of responsibilities (and emails!).
So how do you get out of this never ending cycle?
Stay in your lane
Quite simply, you need to pick a lane! As a freelancer, you are expected to be able to deliver tangible results month on month, if not weekly. Set yourself up for success by truly understanding where your skills lay and double down. Take the time to evaluate what you do, what you do well and most importantly, what you enjoy doing. Once you are able to define what sets you apart from other freelancers, you’re on the right track.
Most freelancers that I meet have somewhat of an entrepreneurial mind, a burning desire to create something, in spite of what it might be. It’s much the same for freelancers. But knowing how to hone in on your area of expertise is essential, both for freelancers and entrepreneurs. Being able to define where you add value to a company is half the battle.
Once you’ve done that you need to think about what it’s worth to prospective clients, what problems you are solving, what your skill set is and what you can expect to earn. If you’re not sure, don’t be afraid to ask questions. Use the likes of Quora, Reddit, LinkedIn and Facebook groups. Read other people’s experiences, and learn from them.
Plan ahead
It’s also important to decide what sort of client you want to work with: startup or established? In-house or remote? Big or small team? National or international? The key is to set your own expectations, decide what it is you’re looking for and then focus on looking specifically for that. In some ways, it’s comparable to looking for a significant other — you need to know what you’re looking for, otherwise you might just end up settling down with anyone who comes along and potentially getting hurt along the way. Be selective, know your worth, respect the value that you bring to the table and don’t settle!
It’s true what they say, looking for a job is a full time job. It might be tempting to keep your options open, to the point that you are talking to lots companies in completely different industries. Avoid giving yourself unnecessary work. If you love tech and enjoy the buzz of working in a startup then go to conferences, events and meetups aimed at this audience. Networking is the best way to meet potential clients, and you can’t beat working with someone that you genuinely connect with.
It might mean endless cups of coffee, resulting in some sleepless nights (decaf is your friend!), but it’ll be worth it to find a diamond client. If you’re lucky enough to find a project that you start making mind-maps and growth strategies, then share those ideas. Worst case scenario, they implement your ideas without giving you anything. Best case scenario, you might be exactly what they’ve been looking for — Voila!
Passion first
This is why it’s so important to pick an area that comes naturally, and ideally something that you’re passionate about. So, if you love to spend hours in Photoshop, then gain the necessary experience or qualifications to set yourself up for a career as a designer. Or if social media is your jam, why not think about how you can help businesses grow their social community. If you’re not quite sure where to start, then check out platforms like Angel or F6S. You can pick up lots of intern roles (some even come with money and/or equity).
Build up your portfolio and start creating a network of contacts. While you’re learning, take every opportunity to be of use to anyone you’re working with. But don’t try to run the show or become the problem solver! You might end up working with a startup who have a great idea but lack any sense of structure or experience. You need to remind yourself that you’re using this as a stepping stone to establish your career in your desired profession.
You just don’t know where some doors might lead you, so be open, be genuine, be helpful and be patient. I’ve known freelancers that have worked for free, and ended up landing several paying jobs as a result. The truth about business is that whilst you need to have skills, in many cases it’s who you know that helps you land a really good client. You just can’t beat a good referral. It’s why testimonials are one of the most convincing selling points on any eCommerce website.
Set boundaries
Don’t be fooled into thinking that just because you get on really well with a possible client, this automatically translates into being a good business arrangement. In some cases, business and pleasure can work really well, however it’s not always the case. Don’t be disheartened! Just because your first few clients might not work out, it doesn’t mean that the freelance life isn’t for you. Don’t get bummed out if what you thought was a sure thing, turns out to be a bit of disaster.
It’s easy to form friendships with your clients, especially if you met them in a social setting, but in most cases the bond is anchored in business. If the friendship, business or both relationships fall apart — sometimes you just have to accept that it’s the nature of the beast. Try to keep a bit of distance between your personal and work life.
That’s not to say you won’t form natural, organic relationships with some people you work with, but try to maintain some boundaries — an element of mystery. Once the professional/personal lines start to become blurred, it can allow for familiarity, and familiarity can quickly turn into overstepping boundaries. Once that starts, it’s very difficult to get back on track.
Manage expectations
When confirming your actual job responsibilities, don’t allow your desire to be the best candidate get in the way of clearly defining the expectations. Some roles are fluid in terms of responsibility and you should leave some room to naturally grow into your role. However, it’s essential that you outline what is expected of you. Set goals, objectives, metrics and schedule regular reporting meetings.
Once additional tasks start taking away from the reason you were actually hired, you need to flag it immediately to ensure you don’t look like you’re under performing. For those that work remotely it’s even more important that you set yourself up for success as your clients are not physically with you. They don’t see the 6 am starts or 11 pm finishes, they only see the end results.
If what you’re doing isn’t moving the needle, you make it difficult for them to justify paying your monthly invoice. At the end of the day, no matter how well you get on with your client, it’s business. People rarely keep paying people who aren’t delivering results. You were hired to deliver results and that should always be your focus on a daily basis when outlining your workload. No one gets paid just for answering emails.
Summary
There will be a teething process, but don’t be afraid to make mistakes. As and when things don’t work out, take the time to figure out why. If nothing else, you can always learn something for the next time. It’s not how many times you get knocked down but how often you get back up! You will learn a lot along the way, you will make mistakes and errors in judgement, but being able to bounce back is the key.
One of the biggest learning lessons is understanding that true creativity comes from passion. Whilst you might be capable of assuming many different roles, it doesn’t mean that’s the best move. When you figure out what it is that brings you joy, that’s what you should focus on.
Take the time to attend conferences, meet new people, extend your network and learn from some of the amazing entrepreneurs out there. Be nice to people along the way, they might not be useful for right now but you just don’t know when you might need their support in the future.
And with 50% of jobs estimated to be part-remote within 10 years, freelancers who perfect their offering now will be head and shoulders ahead when everyone else catches on.
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