Are You Really Bold Enough to Succeed as a Freelancer?
Posted July 25, 2010 in Inspiration
How bold are you?
If you answered “not very,” it may be time to step outside of your comfort zone for the sake of your freelancing business. You see, it takes a certain amount of boldness to succeed as a freelancer. If you’re too shy, your freelancing business may suffer as a result of your shyness.
The good news is you can learn to be bold.
Being a freelancer is a bold move in and of itself. Being a freelancer means you’ve already had the courage to step outside of convention and take maximum control of how you earn a living. Not everyone can do this. There are many people who would like to enjoy the freelance lifestyle, but they just aren’t bold enough to take the very first step.
In this post, I’ll examine seven more bold moves that will help your freelancing business to get ahead.
7 Bold Moves That Can Help Your Freelancing
Here are seven bold moves that people often have trouble making. Yes, if you are bold enough all of these bold tactics could help you to grow your freelancing business.
- Cold calling. It’s natural to be afraid of cold calling. Most people get a little nervous when faced with the prospect of talking to a total stranger. However, cold calling can work extremely well if you do your homework and focus your cold call efforts specifically on your target market.
- Face-to-face meetings. Are you hiding behind your computer? Clients with bigger projects often want to meet the person who will be doing their work face-to-face. This means a meeting. Naturally, there’s some risk to a face-to-face meeting (what if you and the client don’t hit it off), but the rewards are bigger too.
- Contacting a more experienced peer for advice. You’re stuck. You absolutely don’t know what to do next. If this is you, I guarantee that you’re not the first person who has dealt with your situation. Someone else in your field, probably already in your social network, has already faced and solved your problem. Why not contact them and ask for help?
- Post something controversial. It can take a lot of courage to post something that you know others may not like. But, sometimes that bold and courageous post is just what it takes to help others relate to you better and to build the type of relationships that you need to really grow your business.
- Talk more about your freelancing business to friends and family. Let’s face it. Our friends and our families can be our biggest critics. Half the time, they may not really understand what we’re doing or even believe that we’re actually working. The support of your inner circle is an important asset for success, so take the time (once again) to explain your business to them.
- Do something you’ve never done before. It takes a bit of boldness to try something new. Even as a freelancer, it’s easy to get into a routine (although no one is imposing one upon you). You can get very comfortable doing the same work over and over, but are you growing professional and personally?
- Follow your dream. Nearly everyone has a dream that seems to be just beyond their reach. You’d like to achieve your dream, but you’re too afraid to try. You won’t ever know whether or not you can turn that dream into a reality unless you are bold enough to do what it takes to follow that dream.
I’ve listed seven bold moves that can help you to grow your freelancing business. Next, we’ll discuss why it’s more important to be bold than you might think.
Stepping Outside of Your Comfort Zone Can Help You
Being bold is just good business. Bold moves, such as making cold calls and contacting others, are often how we get our customers.
Did you know that boldness can be good for you emotionally as well?
It’s true. If you challenge yourself with something new, it builds your confidence (which, in turn, makes it easier for you to take the next bold step when the time comes). You will also feel a greater sense of satisfaction when you complete something that was a challenge for you.
Staying comfortable may be, well…comfortable. But, the real emotional benefits come when you take some risks and leave that comfort behind.
What About You?
Is there something just beyond your grasp that you’re afraid to do, but you know that you really should try? Why not make a bold move and just do it? Take the steps needed to bring your freelance business to the next level.
Share the bold business moves you’ve made (and how they’ve affected your freelancing business) in the comments.
Image by divemasterking2000
Related posts:
- 30+ Examples of Big, Bold, and Beautiful Website Navigation Menus
- Bold, New Ways to Market Your Services
- Do You Think You Could Succeed As A Freelancer Or Web-Worker?
- Does a Freelancer Need to Be Hypercompetitive to Succeed?
- Are You Too Shy To Succeed?
About the author: Laura Spencer is a freelance writer from North Central Texas with over 20 years of professional business writing experience. If you liked this post, then you may also enjoy Laura’s blog about her freelance writing experiences, WritingThoughts. Laura is also on Google+.
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33 Comments
Greg
July 25th, 2010 at 10:07 amThank you for this article.
It’s time to think… and to act !
Nicolas Miranda
July 25th, 2010 at 11:22 amThank you for posting this Laura. It is very true that most people are scared to step outside their comfort zone. I was one of those people who would hide behind the computer and never make face to face meetings or even make calls. I would do everything by email. But i noticed that certain clients wanted to meet and talk on the phone, so I obliged and the outcomes have been great.
Komal
July 25th, 2010 at 1:17 pmI agree to the points mentioned here but my main problem is the fear of cold calling. After reading this, I am thinking to give it a try.
Andy
July 25th, 2010 at 11:01 pmPlanning cold calls has helped me heaps—not that it stops me from getting nervous, but having an objective, key points to discuss and answers to potential responses written down in front of me gives my confidence enough of a lift to (most of the time) get out of the conversation what I wanted.
Laura Spencer
July 25th, 2010 at 11:06 pmHi Everyone!
Freelancing can be a bit scary, and especially so when you have to put yourself out there to face possible rejection (such as when making cold calls). Of course, if you plan well (as Andy points out) and keep your goal in mind you can reap the rewards.
Freelance FactFile
July 26th, 2010 at 8:35 amAs a writer, I really don’t like standing up in front of people and giving presentations but a few years ago I thought it would be a good move to give workshops on copywriting. So I attended a three-day ‘Train the Trainer’ course and then devised a couple of one-day courses.
I gave the one-day course three times plus a couple of shorter workshops but I really didn’t enjoy doing it. I succeeded in doing something outside my comfort zone but I didn’t feel comfortable doing it. Still, you’ve got to give these things a go.
Freelance FactFile
July 26th, 2010 at 8:43 amI agree. Marketing should be a ‘drip drip’ activity rather than a blast of activity a couple of times a year. And, yes, courses/certifications are a must. Way back, when I started writing my first website, I went on three courses and bought relevant books to ensure I knew everything there was to know at the time about writing great web copy.
Now things have moved on and recently I’ve needed to know about writing web copy for search engines. So I’m currently following a course called SEO Copywriting which will give me an accreditation once I’ve passed the exam at the end of it.
Justin
July 26th, 2010 at 9:37 amWow, great article! This wasvery inspiring to me today! I have recently gotten married and finding work has been tough where i live. I am going to really step out and put myself out there in a way I haven’t tried before!
Thank you for sharing this! It’s exactlywhat i needed this morning!
Bakari
July 26th, 2010 at 4:06 pmI think the biggest challenge for me is homing in what services I can effectively offer. I currently write a lot about Mac software and general Internet services, but it seems that this niche is not something I can advertise to potential clients beyond Apple-related websites. Any advice?
Leisa Good
July 26th, 2010 at 6:39 pmI often do a one-hour FREE consultation over the phone. It is a good “ice breaker”, and also I can see if the client and I would be a match.
This was a little intimidating at first, because I kept thinking about my Southern accent. However, I did get through it and several others!
Just remember that everything we are currently doing (driving a car, having kids, etc.) was once out of our comfort zone.
HTH
Mauro A. Litsure
July 27th, 2010 at 3:51 amMy bold move was when I realized my motivation to work for my employees just wore out and I decided I would spend my next year using their office and bandwidth as my own office space and tool to actually promote my freelance business. I’m still at an early stage where business is slow but hey, we have to be persistent right?
Laura
July 27th, 2010 at 5:10 amGreat post!
Def. hit home for me. Especially the hiding behind the computer. I’ve done one face to face, but then again I don’t have many local clients. However I prefer to talk through email then on the phone as well.
One of the things that I’m a little shy about is my prices. I just don’t have the guts to charge high prices, or what most would call average. Pricing is to each designer, and most designers are fairly private about their pricing structure.
However just to give a example… I’ve seen some designers quote anywhere from $200 – $1000 for a logo ( and I’m not talking the designers that give out logos for $30-50)
However, because at the time, I probably more or less in need of the money to get buy in my new freelancing venture, I charge WAY below market on a logo just to get the client.
How do I find the guts (the boldness) to charge what I should be charging and not undersell myself.
Louisa
July 27th, 2010 at 6:55 amThis struck a nerve with me too. I would prefer not to have to go and meet potential clients, however I was reminded how important this aspect is when I was emailed by someone recently wanting a website.
I had tried to call them but with no answer I opted for the email route and sent them a questionnaire to fill out. I called them a couple weeks later when I’d had no reply and they told me they had gone ahead with someone who came in to see them and that they didn’t have time to fill out the questionnaire. I should have been bolder and more persistant in contacting them by phone and suggested meeting up instead. Lesson learnt!
I’m also similar to Laura in that I’m shy with pricing. Hope I will overcome this one!
Issa
July 27th, 2010 at 11:26 amNice tips there, Laura. I really love items # 4, 6 & 7. I’d say it was passion that made me fight hard for my freelancing dreams. I wonder why there are many who think that freelancing is easy. I’d say the contrary.: Freelancing are for toughies! It’s like going out on a battlefield and never knowing if you’re going to face an evil witch, a dragon, or a wicked sorcerer. I remember a talk from Seth Godin where he said that one should just go with what you want – regardless of what people are doing. If you follow the crowd, you’ll look like everybody else.. and look where this guy is right now. Even his blogs are phenomenal.
dp
July 27th, 2010 at 4:11 pmI like this post. I think one should attempt boldness in every aspect of their lives, not just freelancing. It’s good advice and Bold is a good word.
I think for a designer, creating their own product is a bold move. They already know how to brand it and market it.
So it goes…
-dp
RACNicole
July 27th, 2010 at 8:00 pmCompletely agree with everyone else. Great article! If I may add one additional piece advice… it would be to sign up with a freelancing service that provides escrow protection, contracted work, and free arbitration. When I began freelancing online, I looked over my options and was concerned about working without getting paid or being goaded into giving a clitent more than what I agreed to. Thankfully I found vWorker.com to enforce ethical outsourcing/freelancing standards on my behalf. I never have to worry about those things at vWorker so I strongly recommend it.
Huw Rowlands
July 28th, 2010 at 11:07 amThanks for this…this is just what i needed!!
farah
August 4th, 2010 at 8:27 amthis is really helpful. okay, so now we have to be bold but we’re not sure if we have a good quality to be a translator and i’m not sure if i could satisfy the customers.. so, what should i do?
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