Guest post by Heather Redding
Freelancing is one of the most popular ways to build a successful career in the digital landscape. Now that professionals can build relationships with their clients through video conferencing, email, and online messages, there’s no limit to what you can accomplish.
When you’re a freelancer, you have a lot of freedom. You can choose which project you want to work on, find the perfect clients, and even make your own decisions about what your time is worth.
Unfortunately, along with all this freedom come a few challenges. For instance, you’re the only one responsible for driving constant revenue for your bottom line.
Freelancers are also under more pressure to ensure that they know how to manage their time correctly. No supervisor or manager is hanging over your shoulder to hurry you along when you fall behind on your deadlines.
Here are five essential skills that can make freelance life easier.
The Drive to Constantly Improve
As a freelancer, you’ll have a specific skill to share with the world. It might be that you know how to produce an amazing podcast. Perhaps you can offer your talent as a graphic designer, or a developer, building websites for clients.
The critical thing to remember is that no matter how good you might be now, there’s always room for improvement. Every industry is in a state of constant evolution, responding to changes in technology, the economy, and even society. As a freelancer, you need to be ready to evolve at the same speed as your clients.
Always be open to learning new things, and make sure that you stay ahead of the curve when it comes to essential skills.
There are plenty of online courses and even mentors that can assist here.
Persistence and Dedication
Becoming a freelancer is about more than just ditching the traditional work-life. You’re effectively creating your own business, and that’s going to come with some challenges. Even the most successful freelance companies have issues at times. You may not earn a great income every month, and you might struggle with losing clients from time to time.
When you have dips in your earnings, or something else goes wrong with your freelance venture, it’s important tostay committed to your goals. Being patient and focusing on reaching your targets is essential.
If it helps, consider researching some of your favorite entrepreneurs and learning about the issues they overcame on the path to success.
Communication Skills
In any business, there are few things more important than good communication skills. You’re going to need to build relationships with people as a freelancer. This includes the relationships that you develop with your clients and any experts you choose to work with.
Learn how to get your point across quickly and concisely. You need to exude friendliness, without boring people, or getting too in-depth. It’s also important to feel comfortable using a variety of communication tools these days.
Aside from telephone and email conversations, you may need to have video calls and instant messaging chats too. Learn the etiquette associated with every service you use.
Marketing Skills
As a freelancer, you’re essentially selling your talents to a vast audience. This means that you need to know how to market yourself and convince people that they want to buy from you. For some freelancers, this will mean building a social media presence to connect with customers.
In other circumstances, you might find that the best thing you can do to market yourself is build a strong online presence with plenty of thought-leadership articles, videos, and podcasts.Whatever you do, you need to ensure that you’re constantly attracting new clients and new opportunities.
No-one is going to deliver revenue for you on a platter in the freelance world. Even if you’re using freelancer forums online, you still need to convince clients to choose you rather than your competitors.
Time Management Skills
Finally, as a freelancer, it’s up to you to ensure that you’re making the most of your schedule. There’s no strict time that you need to “log into work” or clock out again. Instead, you can pick the schedule that works best for you.
However, this also means learning how to make the most of the time you have. Uncovering techniques like the “eat the frog” method, so you know which tasks to target first is a great step. You may also need to figure out how to arrange your days to tackle the most complicated projects on your list when you’re feeling at your most productive.
Good time management skills can also reduce your chances of procrastination, so you adhere to the deadlines that your customers expect and provide them with the services that they need. The better you are with your time, the more your clients will appreciate you.
Becoming a Fantastic Freelancer
Freelancing can be an excellent career opportunity for creative and dedicated people. It’s a chance to build an income doing something that you love. However, there are also a lot of challenges to consider too.
If you want to survive in the freelance market, you need to ensure that you know how to manage your time, market yourself, and consistently enhance your skills.
The tips above will ensure that you take your first steps into the freelance world on the right track.
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Heather Redding is a part-time assistant manager, solopreneur and writer based in Aurora, Illinois. She is also an avid reader and a tech enthusiast. When Heather is not working or writing, she enjoys her Kindle library and a hot coffee. Reach out to her on Twitter.