âFreelanceâ is a commonly used term nowadays. People may describe differently. Some would say itâs a more flexible job than the traditional 9-to-5. On the other hand, some would consider it as more of a âsidelineâ and not as a job at all.
A good definition would be:
A freelancer is a person who provides his services without a long-term commitment. He gets paid as an independent contractor and regards himself as a business owner – what work he does is solely his decision.
But in a more practical or should I say ârealâ standpoint, what does it really mean to become a freelancer? What traits do the successful freelancer have and what sets them apart from the rest?
I could list it into 3 main traits:
- First, a successful freelancer sees himself as a sole proprietor of his business.
- Second, he knows what exactly he is selling.
- And third, he doesnât focus on his craft, but as well as with the growth of his business.
If you ever thought of making a switch and try becoming a freelancer, here are some of the important points that come along in becoming one and how to be successful in this career.
A freelancer sees himself as a business owner
A freelancer isnât obliged to work for only one person. He can have multiple clients if he wanted to.
Based on our definition, itâs up for a freelancer to decide if he wants to take a project or not. He has the freedom to say ânoâ whenever he prefers and charges what he thinks his services are worth.
A successful freelancer does not let the clients control them. He knows he is a business owner and is his own boss. He understands that he isnât working under anyone and that he is of equal standing with the person he agreed to offer his services to.
A successful freelancer values the âfreeâ in freelancing. He knows he has the freedom to say ânoâ especially when he already has prior agreements already on his schedule.
Moreover, he doesnât see freelancing as similar to getting hired in a job that focuses on credentials, CV, and experiences. A successful freelancer sees each job offer as a business transaction. He makes sure if the potential clientâs goals and his preferences would coincide with his goals before agreeing to the offer. Both ends provide input for the project at hand.
A freelancer knows exactly what his product is
Unlike the traditional 9-to-5 job, a freelancer knows he isnât paid to work for a specific amount of time. He isnât being paid for the output.
A successful freelancer realizes that he is paid for the service that he provides – his profession.
He knows that clients search for people to help them by providing solutions to their problems. A client may be struggling to post on his blog on a regular basis – thus a need for a content writer. A client may have difficulty in building his own website – thus a demand for a web designer.
He knows that he isnât being paid to make stuff. Itâs the writing and web site building itself that the client seeks, the output is only the product of the service provided.
He doesnât settle on just providing the output which the client requests. Just like in a partnership, heâd provide suggestions on how he can help the client with practical solutions specific to the problem.
He does this even when he is just still pitching for clients. He provides the advantage and disadvantage of each proposed solution and sees to it that they straightforwardly hit the clientâs main goal for each contribution he gives with the project.
Moreover, he doesnât bill and prefers a fixed rate type of billing – either per project if not at least weekly payment. He makes sure that he charges depending on how much effort is needed for the project to be done and follows value-based pricing to determine the correct fees.
A freelancer doesnât settle on just doing his craft at a time
One of the most important traits of a successful freelancer is that he continues to work on building his business. This isnât just by learning and improving his technical skills on the services he offers, but also when it comes to sales and marketing, too.
He understands that freelancing, without constant selling or marketing, would slowly make the business sink. It is different from the traditional 9-t-5 job where you get to receive pay twice a month by religiously going to work. In which youâd only stop and look for a new job when you start feeling dissatisfied with the current one, or when you sense that youâd be about to let go.
A successful freelancer knows that to prevent this from happening, he needs to regularly market his services through the use of different strategies such as networking or creating his own website and keeps track of what’s happening in his business – good or bad.
He makes sure that when working to a project is about to come to an end, heâll have another project coming in to replace it.
Moreover, he knows that the most successful freelancers work on their business and not just in it. He schedules a time to do these as he knows it would provide a big impact on the growth of his business. And he wouldnât let another schedule overlap on this, as he knows the actions he is doing right now is a small step towards long-term growth.
Finally, he doesnât rush on the results and knows that the best clients come up from direct referrals and networking. He knows he is slowly building an audience, and he makes sure that he still improves to their expectations as time passes by.
A successful freelancer knows that connections are whatâs most important when getting clients instead of job boards and freelancer marketplaces like Freelancer, BestJobs, and, Upwork.
Now, with all these discussed, do you think youâd be able to enjoy and find success in freelancing?
Believe in yourself, no one else could stop you except your own fear of trying.
