Steps to becoming a Successful Freelancer

Are you serious about your life as a freelancer? Then you might be interested in reading this post below. This is taken from “The Five Most Common Mistakes of Female Freelancers” by Marie Baca, featured on Freelance Switch. Maria makes some excellent points that really should be considered and taken seriously, not just for women but even men who are serious about moving forth. I’m sure these can be applied to almost anyone trying to take their business to the next level, and be successful.

1. Being afraid of self-promotion. What is it about self-promotion that freaks out so many of my female colleagues? You are your business, and you’ve got to market yourself just like any business would market its flagship product. Hand out business cards, attend networking events, create a personal website yourself or hire someone to do it for you.

Top-notch clients aren’t going to come knocking on your door, begging for your services. Landing an assignment is a competition, and you’ve got to treat it as such, using every marketing tool you have in your favor.

2. Not separating work life and home life. The freelancers I know who make this mistake make it in one of two ways: either they work way too much and end up burning out, or they allow their home responsibilities to get in the way of their business obligations. Boundaries between one’s career and personal life are important in any business situation, but when you work at home they become even more essential.

Be realistic about how much work you can do in a given day and don’t take on projects that will require more than that amount. Conversely, once you agree to an assignment, you’ve got to meet your deadlines or risk ruining your reputation. Non-emergency excuses about kids, husbands, or pets just make you look unprofessional.

3. Getting bullied into a lower rate. I hate negotiating. I wish I was one of those people who could just put on their game face and haggle until I got what I wanted. But I am not one of those people, and on a number of occasions my good nature has been taken advantage of and I have been bullied into working for peanuts (or, and I hate to admit this, even for free with the promise of some reward that never materialized).

Now, there are plenty of female freelancers out there who are incredible negotiators, but if you aren’t one of them, it is imperative that you set a minimum rate and NEVER EVER allow a client to talk you down. As a freelance writer, I find that a minimum hourly rate has worked best for me; that way, I can take per-article and per-word rates, divide them by the hours of work they will require, and easily compare projects.

4. Not re-investing in you and your business. As freelancers, our paychecks often don’t arrive in a timely manner, and when you do finally get that envelope in the mail it’s tempting to run to the bank to save the money for a rainy day.

Although saving for the slow times is an important activity, it’s equally important to re-invest some of your income back into your business.

Although saving for the slow times is an important activity, it’s equally important to re-invest some of your income back into your business. The trick is to spend that money on things that will have the greatest impact on your work.

One of my freelancer friends used the money from a big assignment to hire an intern to take care of invoicing, looking for gigs on Craigslist, and keeping track of expenses—all the things that she hates to do herself and can now delegate to the intern while she focuses on her writing.

I, on the other hand, am going to use my next paycheck to buy an enormous computer monitor, which I hope will reduce eyestrain and allow me to work more efficiently. These expenditures can be as “practical” as a new desk chair, or a little more untraditional, like my friend who bought a Nintendo Wii to use during her breaks. She claims her stress has never been lower!

5. Being intimidated. The meek may inherit the earth, but they aren’t going to become successful business owners. If you want to maximize your earning potential while being your own boss, you can’t be intimidated by anyone or anything. If that sounds a little beyond what you can handle right now, just do what I did when I was first starting out: fake it.

No, don’t lie—that will come back to bite you in the butt. I’m talking about pretending that you are more confident than you actually are. Create a work persona you can easily slip into once you close the office door. Eventually, that confidence won’t feel so fake anymore and it will become one of your most valuable assets. What have you got to lose?

Marie is a San Francisco Bay Area-based freelance writer and editor. Visit her website at www.mariecbaca.com.

Fun Creative Hats

Yay! It’s finally friday Can’t wait to wake up late saturday morning.

Below is a collection of interesting hats, sported by members of the royal family and other.