Freelance Talk – The Success Code of Freelancing
by Gina Yap in People+Organizations | 1 Comment | Add your comment

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Many freelancers look up to successful freelancers and wonder to themselves, “What’s the success code of freelancing that put them up there at the top of the ladder? What makes them successful? What do they know about freelance success that I don’t? How do I get there?” – The first success code is to stop looking for the success code because there isn’t one. The key is you have to walk down that road. No shortcuts, no magic puff. It’s taking each step that matters.

Step 1: Get Started.
Stop talking about being a freelancer. Get started and actually be one. Do whatever it takes to be a freelancer. If it means setting up a working hour or working on small jobs first, do it! Lift your freelance career off the ground and take flight. You can’t be a successful freelancer until you get started. Talking about being a freelancer will not get you anywhere. You have to be one to be a successful one.

Step 2: Live Up To It.
Put on the freelancer cap and live up to it. Don’t call yourself a freelancer if you’re not one. A freelancer works. Be sure to deliver the services you promised your clients. Complete projects and meet deadlines. Cover each project from the very beginning to the end of the race. If it means meeting clients, preparing invoices, doing the creatives and administration work – do it! A freelancer means you have to handle everything from the very start to the very end. Live up to it!

Step 3: Make Money. Lots Of Them!
Why is a freelancer successful? Because his/her business makes money! So you have to make sure you harvest profits from all your hard work. How so? By weighing the ups and downs of your expenses. Never undercharge a client just to get the job; make sure you charge enough to cover your expenses and make a profit out of it. If you are thinking of a marketing strategy to sell your services, think of ways that would bring in projects that pays you. Freelancers are not professionals who work for free.

Step 4: Keep Pushing!
Most freelancers give up before they even got started. Or when business is low and the money is not coming in, they simply throw away their computer and give up. They blame it on the economy, on their clients, on their bad luck, and even on other successful freelancers. But hey, everyone goes through low tides. Only those who push through and keep standing on their feet will experience breakthrough. If you are seeking for that breakthrough, push on, your freelancing career will flourish if you keep pushing on.

ABOUT THE COLUMNIST

Gina Yap Lai Yoong is a full time freelancer focusing on writing and designing communication strategies for branding & marketing campaigns for various corporate clients in the country. While many wouldn’t choose to dive into the challenges and uncertainties of full time freelancing, she has decided to travel this path so that she could spend more time doing the things she love – which includes helping others to discover the full potential in them through inspiration and motivation. Her debut Malay novel is out at the market in 2010. She resides at Cybermate's Dungeon.

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