How to Become a Successful Freelancer: Five Key Rules

Talented professionals often give up on freelance and return to the office. To avoid this fate, remember the five rules.

1. Set a precise schedule.

To feel free on a freelance, you first need to limit yourself appropriately. Yes, your schedule may be more flexible and correspond to inspiration or tastes. To organize it in such a way, you need to understand at least these tastes and productivity cycles. After all, for years working on a schedule devised for you, you probably have no idea when these are your most productive hours. To do this, it’s not enough to wait for inspiration, to wait “when trampling”. Need to experiment. Then in time, you will be able to build your working day, as conveniently. But this is serious work - to take care of yourself and draw conclusions. Not everyone is ready for it.

2. Forget about the sweet feeling of freedom.

Probably everyone heard jokes about a freelancer who did not crawl out of his pajama pants and worked right out of bed without going outside. Understood, and yet they step on the same rake, burn out, curse freelance and return to the office. And all because of the perception of freelance as a free lifestyle without a frame. It would be best if you learned to perceive freelance as a job immediately. No more, no less. You may not recognize the sweet sense of freedom, but then do not drive yourself into destructive labor 24/7. After all, the advantage of working in the office is that it ends at 7 pm. And it starts at 8 - 9. And it does not last continuously for a whole day.

3. Analyze what skills you need to master.

To understand what skills and roles, in addition to your direct professional skills, you need to pump yourself to be active on a freelance. You need to analyze what functions your employees performed for you in the company in which you worked. Then it will probably turn out that, suppose, the new business manager was looking for customers for whom you then did the work. Perhaps the project manager spoke with these clients for you and monitored the deadlines. And your boss may have presented your work for you, or evaluated and made corrections. So, now all this: communication with the client, organization of timing, and presentation are your direct responsibilities. And from them, no less than from your talent, it depends on whether your freelance will be successful and whether there will be a line of customers.

4. Do not forget about networking.

Finally, learn to communicate with people, learn networking. Make it easy for customers to find you even if you are a complete introvert. Learn to enjoy communication, communicate boldly, skillfully, positively, competently. You can place your portfolio on all possible sites for freelancers. But little will work for you as word of mouth about how great it is to work with you. Get out of the freelancer’s pajama pants, go ahead, to industry events, get acquainted!

5. Take care of self-presentation.

And finally, about that same portfolio. Now, when the influx of customers is not provided to you “from above” (from a new business manager or company owner), your self-presentation should be at a new level. Learn to sell yourself and your work. Do not be lazy and do not skimp on time, effort, and even money to design your site, resume, or portfolio of projects at the highest level.