You need to have certain traits if you want to achieve success in freelancing. It's not something that comes naturally. You just began freelancing, it was long-awaited, and you are excited about it. But in the back of your mind, you are worried. What if I can't deliver? Will the clients like me? How will they react to my work?
I've met freelancers who have thought they were good at something until they tried it out for real.
Freelancing takes work. You will have to compete with the seasoned freelancers who've been around for years. Also, it is not for the weak-minded. This is because you'll have to deal with clients, meet deadlines and be self-disciplined enough to focus on your work if you want everything to work out. So, what are the traits for freelancing success that you need to have?
What are the Four Traits for Freelancing Success
When you're new to freelancing, it can be daunting, but it's a great way to make money. Good news: success freelancers share a key of characteristics. These traits will help you create a unique brand and sustainable business.
1. Quality over quantity
Always remember the value of quality over quantity. This doesn't mean that quantity isn't significant! You need to work hard and have enough work to keep yourself afloat financially. However, quality needs to be your top priority.
Prioritizing quality doesn't mean you can't take on as many projects as possible. If possible, take on as many projects as possible. The more valuable skills you build and the more experience you gain for each project, the more valuable you become as a freelancer.
So feel free to reach out to potential clients with various projects. Why? You'll never know what could come up along the way that could turn into an opportunity or relationship that lasts far beyond one project.
Also, you'll have plenty of time to build up your portfolio and make contracts, so for now, it's more important to work hard and produce good work.
When you're just starting, you'll find two types of clients: those who want good quality but don't want to pay much and those who want cheap quality. Stay away from cheap-quality clients. It's tempting in the beginning to take anything you can get your hands on, but it will come back to bite you later. Client who pays a lot of money are easier to keep happy because they can afford multiple revisions and are often more willing to give feedback. I've seen many new freelancers frustrated with clients unwilling to provide feedback because of the lack of money involved. However, it's a worthwhile trade-off if you end up with clients who are happy with your work and will refer others to your business.
2. Eliminate unnecessary distractions
Freelancing is a growing trend, with more people taking a stab at becoming their own bosses and others moving from traditional jobs to freelance careers. In either case, transitioning from an office environment to working from home can be jarring. Work-from-home veterans and newbies often face the same challenges of fitting freelancing into their already-busy lives. It's hard to focus and easy to procrastinate, and you might find yourself drawn to other distractions that start creeping in during your work day. As the workday draws on, you start feeling sluggish and behind schedule.
Here are effective ways to eliminate distractions:
- Get rid of phone calls, turn off email notifications, and don't let yourself log into distracting social media sites. Just as importantly, free yourself from unnecessary obligations. If you've got errands to run or household chores that need doing, set aside time for them during break.
- Create a dedicated space for work: It's far too easy to get distracted when you've got multiple tabs to open, apps running, and things to look at all around you. Narrow your focus by creating a dedicated workspace with everything else tucked away.
- Set a block of time. Because you intentionally blocked out the time, your likelier to stick to it than if you gave yourself an open window.
- Focus on one task at a time: When you're working on something, wait to let yourself flip over to Facebook or email until the task is done. You'll get more done in less time this way.
3. Experience
You can only be good at something if you know how to do it. Freelancers with more experience are more likely to find work. So if your starting, spend some time getting expertise - even if it means working for free (or for very little pay). If you're already working full-time for someone else, look for opportunities to gain experience on the side.
Here are some effective steps:
Find freelancing websites and apply for jobs.
Doing freelance jobs on sites like Upwork or Fiverr.
Working with friends, family, or colleagues who need help with something they are working on.
Starting your own blog, podcast, or YouTube channel (or whatever) and monetizing it.
The more experience you have, the better freelancer you will be.
4. Just let go
Just let go. It's a cliche, but it's true. You must take a step back and let go at some point in any project. You know that moment when you're writing something, even if it's just a simple blog post or an email? You're 100% there in the content of what you're doing. Every word is perfect, and every punctuation mark is where it should be. You've thought about all possible solutions to the problem at hand. Then you stop and realize that someone else will read this- and they won't see the same thing you do. They may not even like what they see. But letting go means accepting that as an inevitability, which can be challenging as a perfectionist.
Remember why you started freelancing is the best way to let go. And that is to have freedom over your work situation and time to create pieces you are proud of and enjoy sharing with others. So remember that every piece doesn't have to be perfect; it just has to be good enough for someone out there to like it and share it with their friends and followers.
The only thing that matters is whether or not you did good work and delivered it on time - which brings us to another trait: being proactive about getting things done on time.
By learning to let go, embracing the fact that perfect isn't real, and working with other creative professionals, you can gain valuable knowledge and experience relatively quickly. As a bonus, this type of work will help you discover how much you value your work and what you can do with it.
You will do very well following these four traits for freelancing success.
It might require a lot of work at first, but once you start to get some traction, it will all be worth it. Freelancing can give you the freedom to work with whichever clients you want. Still, at the same time, it also means more responsibility. You are responsible for everything, from your schedule to your motivation. So make sure that any freelancing jobs that you decide to take on is worth your while.