How To Become A Successful Freelancer
Most people know Benjamin Franklin as the face behind the 100 dollar bill. But what they do not know is that he was never president, and by some accounts, not even interested. Yet he still became one of the most famous names in US history.
Why?
Because even at an early age, he was simply remarkable! Take the following example:
When the young Ben wanted to improve his writing skills, he turned to his favorite magazine, The Spectator. He read it thoroughly and tried to rewrite the articles in the same style and elegance as the writers themselves. Here is his own account on the matter:
“I took some of the papers, and, making short hints of the sentiment in each sentence, laid them by a few days, and then, without looking at the book, try’d to complete the papers again, by expressing each hinted sentiment at length, and as fully as it had been expressed before, in any suitable words that should come to hand. Then I compared my Spectator with the original, discovered some of my faults, and corrected them.”
Now, I do not need to do a survey to know that most freelancers are not willing to read a quality piece from say The New York Times and then try to rewrite the entire thing from scratch and do it over and over again. Most people are simply not as determined, or as practical as Ben .
But if you want to succeed in the ultra competitive freelancing market, you might want to consider your approach.
We all know what became of Franklin. His introduction on many encyclopedias is as follows:
“Franklin was a leading writer, printer, political philosopher, politician, Freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, humorist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat”
I dare say that he became all that and more because he was willing to put in the work, including rewriting articles from The Spectator as a 16 year old boy. And if you think that is not the case, the advice from this piece will do you no favors. Just quit and find something else to do.
Still here? Good.
I have been freelancing for over 10 years and during that time, I have learnt two things- the way and the no way to freelance. And in this how to become a successful freelancer guide, I will share the most important lessons on the way to freelance.
The Way To Freelance
- Go All In
The first strategy that you should adopt if you want to become a successful freelancer is an all or nothing mindset. Some of you might be freelancing as a side hustle and that is a good way to start. But if you are going to freelance that way for the rest of your life, just concentrate on your other career and forget about freelancing all together.
I Hear You Asking Why?
The answer is simple. Leaving your options open is dangerous. Exit doors will tempt you when things get hard and it is exactly when things get hard that you have the opportunity to change, to learn, and to conquer.
Ever heard of the saying that the obstacle is the way? It means that challenges are turning points, but they cannot be if you have open roads ahead.
There is enough money, and more than enough growth opportunities in the freelance marketplace but only if you stick around to realize them. By having another career, every setback will have you second guessing yourself. It’s like having two girlfriends. Eventually, you lose the two of them, or have to separate with one before you get caught by the other.
What if freelancing is just a side hustle?
My advice is that you should start planning the transition to full time ASAP. But whatever you do, don’t give yourself the option of second guessing your decisions.
2. Learn! Learn! Learn!
When I started my freelance career, I thought I was the bomb. I was just fresh from campus, and was good in math, statistics and economics. And because I was helping students with their assignments and it paid well, I never thought I would have to do anything else.
In retrospect, I was rather dumb.
The kind of work that I was doing was the hardest in the freelance universe, offered few growth opportunities and the clients — students in this case — would finish school and never require my services again. And not to forget, students are known for being broke. Okay, some would tip, but no more than ten dollars.
Later, a friend of mine introduced me to graphic design, web development and ghostwriting. Today, I can create a website in a day, sometimes in hours and earn anywhere from $500 to $2000. And if the said client used a hosting package that I recommended, I could earn from them anytime they renewed their subscription without ever lifting a finger. Clients also last a lifetime, because unlike students, businesses go nowhere. Not to mention, they grow and when they do, they bring in more work for better pay.
What I’m trying to say? Don’t get stuck. Be willing to learn and learn some more. Nowadays, I spare a few hours a day to learn some new programming skill. I want to be efficient, and ready for any challenges that come my way.
Ultimately, my goal is to be able to execute any ideas I have so well that I will be able to escape all hustle and live in a big fat mansion with my wife and kids and never have to wager my time for money again.
Some Learning resources
When I started taking learning on the web, I relied heavily on Lynda.com which is now a part of the Linkedin Network. It is still a great resource but there are others that are quite as good. So, I will share some of my favorites.
Why would I put Eduonix first? Because they have the best free packages of any learning platform out there.
You can start and finish a web design and development course for free and even get certification all for free.
2. Udemy
Udemy is excellent because they offer many $10 courses. But warned however I was bought a course on the site only to find the instructor was a different guy.
3. Coursera
Coursera is great especially because they have partnered with the likes of Google, Harvard, and Microsoft to offer free courses. The only drawback is the monthly $45 charge.
3. Specialize Early
Before I talk about specialization, let me address a question that is already making its way to the top of your head.
“Why is this guy a blogger and web developer if he thinks freelancers should specialize?”
First of all, I am not a blogger. I’m a writer. Writing is a general skill that anyone should have. In fact, everyone is a writer one way or the other and the better you are at articulating your position, the more you will reap from life in the long run. Blogging on the other hand, is a skill. You’ve got to know how to run a blog, attract traffic, optimize content, research the competition, monetize, and so on.
While I know some of these things from my career as a web developer, I care little about blogging in general and will scarcely go out my way to research “my competition”.
Granted, there are some people who push their writing skills to extremes and some of them are known to us as Shakespeare, Stephen King, and Leo Tolstoy. Their level of skill while admirable is also of little interest to me. So, I’m neither professionally a writer nor a blogger. These are just skills that I can’t help knowing.
Sometimes, you will find me looking for writing assignments in various freelance marketplaces. Well, if you must know, I run an underground writing lab where I profit from the toil of others. It’s just pure capitalism and there is nothing more to say.
And now to the matter at hand, why do you need to specialize?
Specialization makes you more nibble and therefore dependable. When you are a specialist, you always know what to do and will not lose sleep over a hard task. You will also not miss deadlines, anger your client, or deliver substandard work.
In the book, The Magic of Thinking Big, Schwarz says that he cannot assign work to someone who has “all the time in the world” as they will likely not deliver. Similarly, most clients will not deal with a jack of all trades.
The more extensive your skills are, the more untrustworthy you seem. It’s a shame but that’s the truth.
Earlier, I said I was good in math's and statistics. I still I’m but you will never hear a word of it especially when we are discussing a web project. Not only does it not matter but it is also bad for business.
4. Plan For Everything
Plan for too much work and plan for too little work. Plan for change in technology, and plan for disruptions in the industry. Plan on what to do in the morning, and plan for what to do before you call it a day. Plan, plan, plan.
I recently read a book that said humans are distinct from other animals because only they can plan for the future. You might say hold on, “that’s not entirely true, what about squirrels? They bury nuts for winter and that’s also planning”.
Sorry to break it to you, but it is not. Other animals act on instinct and the squirrel doesn’t really know why it has to bury nuts for the winter. It is just compelled to do so.
A squirrel can’t for the promise of a thousand well-oiled nuts tell you what it will be doing in the afternoon let alone a distant winter. Only humans can plan for the future and this is what makes you and me so unique.
It follows that if the only edge humans have over other animals is their ability to plan, then humans who stick to their plans are going to be more prosperous than those who don’t. This is true everywhere and to become a successful freelancer, you need to craft a plan and stick to it.
I’m not an expert on planning, but I know a few books that have helped me greatly on the matter.
- Eat That Frog
Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy will teach how to stop the terrible habit of procrastinating. Procrastination will eat your life away and if you don’t stop you will achieve less of what you are capable of.
2. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Covey is one of my favorite books. It distills what top achievers do to get amazing results. It might be the only book that you ever have to read.
3. How To have a Good Day
Ultimately everyone’s goal is to have a good day one day at a time, How to Have a Good Day by Caroline Webb will teach you that.
4. Deep Work
Deep Work is another of those books that you only need to read and change your life forever. Deep work is a 21st century skill that every freelancer should have.
4. Know Your Way Around
The freelancing universe is insanely huge and just as the opportunities are endless, it is easy to get lost in the maze.
So, I’ve created a list of some of the best freelancing sites out there if you don’t know where to look for jobs.
- Fiverr
Fiverr.com is great especially for beginners with a variety of skills. Sure, it is crowded but it is still possible to earn lots of money on the site.
2. Upwork
Upwork.com , formerly Odesk, is one of the best places to bid for online work. The marketplace is a bit competitive but if you persevere long enough, you can get lots of clients and jobs from the site.
Other freelancing sites include:
5. Build your personal Brand
Ever heard that eventually all wells run dry?
In your career as a freelancer, it means that you shouldn’t be too dependent on a single source of income. I once had my Upwork account suspended and was devastated. Suddenly, I was out of work and had to start from scratch. While my experience might never happen to you, why take any chances?
The solution is to make it easy for clients to find you, when they need someone like you. And the way to do that is by building a personal brand.
Leverage the power of your networks, carry a business card, tell your friends and family what you do. Broadcast it on social media, and if you can, write about it like I’m doing right now. If you do all that AND MORE, good jobs will always find their way to you.
Certainly, there is much more to being a successful freelancer than is contained in this article but if there is one thing that I’ve learnt you don’t have to know everything or do everything right to be successful.
Don’t even take my word for it. Here is a quote on knowing just enough from someone who is way more successful than we can ever hope for.
Everybody’s got a different circle of competence. The important thing is not how big the circle is. The important thing is staying inside the circle. — Warren Buffet
