My Freelance Journey: 12 Things I’ve Learned Along the Way
Posted April 15, 2009 in Freelance Stories, Inspiration
From starting my own company at 17, moving to South Africa at 18 where I didn’t know one single person and the moving home at 19 to build my online business, I feel like I’ve gone through it all. The last 2 years have been full of highs and lows as is often the case, but thankfully I’ve learned a lot in the process.
Today I want to look through the 12 things I’ve learned about the likes of managing time and staying motivated, to getting more clients and building relationships. I’ve split up the post into the 3 parts of my journey over the last quarter of a decade and shared my experiences from each.
Part One — My Company
At the age of 17 I decided that I wanted to start legally offering internet marketing services to others. I had a lot of success with the likes of SEO and Social Media so I wanted to use my talents to earn a nice income while I was in college. I closed my company recently due to other projects, but I did learn a lot from the adventure.
People Don’t Mind Where You Work From – If there’s one thing that stopped me looking for clients earlier is that I didn’t think I would have a chance at getting decent clients while working from home. Some of you may think that is stupid, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who has thought this. As soon as I did start to promote my business and receiving proposal requests, I made it clear that I worked from home and was working solo.
To my surprise, this didn’t bother anybody. I’ve realised that 99% of the time, the only thing clients care about is that you get the job done and you do it well. If your home location is putting you off from marketing your services, don’t let it; it’s generally irrelevant. Of course there are some exceptions to this and it can be harder to land larger clients, but use what you have now as a starting pad for bigger and better things.
Have a Site Which Shows Your Best Work – This might seem obvious but I still find countless examples to this day of people who don’t keep some form of online portfolio. If you’re a graphic designer then put up your latest projects, if you are a social media consultant then show why you know your stuff and if you’re a programmer then link to some applications / scripts that you’ve made.
I find a lot of people simply marketing themselves on forums, and while this can be an effective method, it can be hard for people to remember how they found you when they want more work. There’s no excuse not to have a site online in this day and age, my blog on internet marketing was the most effective avenue I had for generating new clients.
Network As Much as Possible – I say that my blog was my best source of clients, but in order to grow my blog I had to network heavily. Whether it is commenting on blogs in your industry, being active on forums or creating connections on LinkedIn, you need to stay active.
In fact, networking on one SEO forum is where I got offered the job I’m going to tell you about in part two. You never know which CEO is going to land on your blog one day or be browsing a Design / SEO / PHP forum and happen to really appreciate your helpful response.
Leave Plenty of Time for Reporting – Although some of you will have to report as soon as a job is completed, when I was running my own operations, all reports were due by the end of each month. During a week it can be easy to dedicate time to each client, but everything comes in a flood when you get to the end of the 4th week and reporting time has arrived.
It took me a few months to really get into the swing of leaving enough time for reporting, ideally you want all your other tasks out the way before the last day or two in the month so that you can dedicate your working hours to getting reports complete. Additionally, you can also complete parts of each report where possible during the month so there is less to do at the end.
Part Two – Leaving it All Behind
I loved doing my own thing, but while handling clients I was also in college I had a really hectic and stressful lifestyle. I was offered the opportunity to move from the UK to South Africa to be a Social Media Manager for some of the biggest companies in the world, and it was an opportunity too good to miss.
Pick the Brains of Your Colleagues – One thing I really missed when working from home was the atmosphere of having others around and the socialising that comes with it. I’ve always tried to be a jack of all trades and know a little bit of everything whether it comes to writing, creating logos in Photoshop or even some basic PHP scripts here and there.
Moving to a large company, I was surrounded by people with large talents in many different fields, all of whom I could learn from. If you get the opportunity, become a sponge and soak up as much as you can from others. It’s likely they’ve learned a few shortcuts in their work that you can apply to your own.
Make Solid Relationships – Whether you are planning on staying with a company for a long time or you want to keep the connections you make for when you leave, making solid relationships is a must. I’ve written a simple guide on how to make friends but the basics always apply:
- Be approachable – make sure that people know they can talk to you
- Be genuine – don’t change to make others happy, just be your honest self
- Stay positive – nobody wants to spend time with someone who’s always depressed
If you are in an industry you love, the relationships you build along the way are likely to be crucial to your success, especially in the current economic situation.
Make Future Plans Known Where Relevant – When I moved to South Africa I made it clear with my boss that I would probably be leaving after my 12 month contract to work for myself in this industry. This meant I didn’t have to worry what I might say on websites such as Facebook and being ‘caught’ for having other plans.
Of course, there will be times when being clear is a bad move but for me the situation was understood which removed any stress that ‘sneaking around’ might have caused.
Make Your Main Talents / Preferences Clear – If you’re a designer who prefers working on logos rather than creating website designs or vica verca then make that clear. If you prefer doing the manual work and having someone else do reporting then make that clear as well. It’s not always possible to have this much leeway but if you can show that your time is best spent focusing on your talents (preferences) then you are going to enjoy your job much more.
Any company would be stupid to have you doing work someone more willing could do when you can focus on your strong points and the attributes they hired you for in the first place.
Part Three – Freelance (Working from Home)
Now we’re back to my current situation. After 16 months in South Africa I returned home to the UK about 3 weeks ago. I’m making a good online income through blogging, affiliate marketing and building some niche sites. My main aim is to build my personal development blog to one of the biggest on the web, but for now I’m still taking on some consulting work and designing a few websites.
Set Times for Starting & Finishing – If you are used to a working routine, it can become all too easy to settle into ‘lazy mode’ once you have the freedom of working from home. I make sure that every day I wake up at 7am and try to stop working between 4 and 6pm unless I’m working on some important projects.
If you don’t set times for yourself it’s likely that you’ll lie in a lot of days and also you’ll never stop working because the office is always in the same building. Self-discipline is the key here.
Look at Ways to Motivate Yourself – Without the pressures of a boss and no colleagues to work alongside, it can be difficult to motivate yourself when working from home. Some ways I use to motivate myself include:
- Visionboard – Have a place for pictures of what you would like to be able to achieve from all the work you are doing
- Set false deadlines – Give yourself a time limit in which you must get certain projects completed
- Appreciate your situation – Remember what it was like when you had to go through traffic to get to work everyday
Even just using one of those tips should help kick you into gear pretty quickly.
Make the Most of the Opportunity – I’m earning enough of an income to afford to stay at home, just not quite enough to follow through with my plans to travel around the world. Make the most of the opportunity you have to work in a place where it’s likely that you have less distractions, but all the resources you need to get things done.
If you see working from home as a way to work less hours and take life easy, don’t expect to increase your output or income on a large scale.
Try to Increase Your Income Sources – If you are working from home, I assume that the majority of you have a job which is internet based. If that is the case, look at ways in which you can increase your online income. I have a tattoo site I set-up in about two days that makes me around $10 a day. That isn’t much but an extra ~$300 a month can definitely come in handy if you ever struggle with other areas of revenue.
In your spare time, research some ways to start making a passive income and try to apply your skills in other areas rather than just working for other people. This will put less dependence on you needing clients and allow you to pick projects that you really enjoy.
That’s it! I know this has been a monster post but I’ve tried to include everything that has worked for me. if you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments below and I’ll do my best to supply an adequate response.
Photo by Tambako the Jaguar
Related posts:
- 2007 – Nine Things Learned This Year
- 20 Things I Learned Using Twitter
- What I Learned About Freelancing from Lucille Ball
About the author: Glen Allsopp is the author of ViperChill, a blog on viral marketing.
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26 Comments
Glen Allsopp
April 15th, 2009 at 10:01 amThanks again for the opportunity guys. I know this was a huge post, but I really hope it benefits people who take the time to read it!
Laura Spencer
April 15th, 2009 at 10:24 amThis is a great article, and right on target.
Pantelis Vratsalis
April 15th, 2009 at 10:28 amThanks for this really nice post Glen. I think the whole travelling thing has taught you a lot (especially doing it such young. I’m in the same process, but turning 30 in a few months, so I’m kind of jealous :-). And, as they say, a long journey always begins with a small step. Good luck!
Catherine Cantieri, Sorted
April 15th, 2009 at 10:42 amThat was a great post. It always helps to read the experiences, insight and advice of people who’ve made a successful business. Cheers!
Blog Expert
April 15th, 2009 at 11:14 amNetworking is huge these days. It can definitely take you to the top a lot a faster.
tim
April 15th, 2009 at 11:14 amAwesome post – a truly excellent read. Thanks very much.
Nicole Foster
April 15th, 2009 at 11:38 amA great post and a great read! I never even thought of starting something up on the side for a little extra money outside of freelancing. Do you have any ideas for having something on the side that will bring in a little extra money without too much effort?
HyperLocal Marketing
April 15th, 2009 at 11:57 amGreat post and inspiring. I recently started off on my own as a freelancer helping companies make an impact online and I can relate to many of the emotions you expressed in this post.
Colin Wright
April 15th, 2009 at 1:12 pmVery solid article, with well articulated tips.
Nikhil
April 15th, 2009 at 2:56 pmGreat article,
Excellent tips and most important very detailed article.
Its sure-shot Del.icio.us
Luis Eduardo
April 15th, 2009 at 5:18 pmThis is a great post, i’m starting my freelance carrer and posts like this one, are a great help to me, i hope i’ll do a post like this one in some months when i’ll be succesfull thanks to you.
Glen Allsopp
April 15th, 2009 at 5:50 pmHey guys, thanks a lot for the awesome comments!
Lauren
April 16th, 2009 at 2:09 amThis is great coming from someone at the younger end of a freelance career. My own fear is often that I haven’t been at this for 10, 20, 30 years like my peers.
That aside, you hit on 2 of the most important aspects of freelancing: online networking and self-discipline. It’s a dangerous luxury to cheekily think “nobody will know if I knock off a bit early or just scratch these few items off my list without doing them”…. So I iove the idea of a board with photos of your goals/where you want to take your business. Sobering reminders to get-’er-done!
My best “get-going” trick to date?
The thought of commuting in rush hour on a busy Monday tube train or bus, full of miserable people, hating life. That alone always makes me work harder at the start of the week!
Susanne
April 16th, 2009 at 8:39 amNice article.. Especially the tips about staying on point while working in the comfort zone called home are useful. Ill get my vision board up and running today! Thanks!
Sid
April 16th, 2009 at 8:53 amGreat article! I find working at home can be great, but also very distracting if you don’t have a good quite place with good lighting. Do you guys have any tips on the type of small business to set up for freelance/consulting work to make sure that liability and taxes are taken care of?
Thanks again!
Sid
dpihosting
April 16th, 2009 at 11:10 amHi
Very informative and truly speaks your experience. Great. You give some important points like
# Networling
# Passive income
# Motivation
All are most needful for the freelancers. Thanks.
Laurie Phillips@Dead Company Club
April 16th, 2009 at 12:40 pmThis post is great.
I’ve found that to keep solid relationships I have to make the effort to stay in touch. I also recognize that I’m pretty isolated working from home. So I meet with former colleagues or clients on a regular basis, at least two a week, for coffee or lunch. They give me ideas and perspectives that I don’t see in my little world.
I also have to work to “refill the creativity bucket” by reading all kinds of things: classics, magazines, non-fiction, blogs: many which that have little or no relationship to my work. I can apply some of this otherwise unused knowledge to my writing. For instance, I was reading Thoreau’s Walden while working on a blog post about managing expenses while unemployed. I wrote about his unusual sense of living on the cheap to inspire laid-off readers (http://www.deadcompanyclub.com/2009/03/18/brilliant-and-broke/) to look at their own living habits.
Finally, I need to take some time off and just do something different every so often. I’ll go thrift shopping and give myself a $5 limit, eat lunch in the park or go to a gallery opening. It helps me keep my tendency to over-focus in check.
Vjekoslav Ratkajec
April 17th, 2009 at 3:55 amHi Glen, great artice!
I know how you feel, I’ve been working and studying for 3 years now. It’s very hard when you have to choose which will you do first. My success on college has been determined a lot by choices I make in business area. Sometimes I was so swarmed with work that I had to drop things for college, or not to make to deadline. And it is hard to focus on one thing. Also I had, what I call “freelance breakdown”, when all the work was overwhelming, and caused me to do bad on college, and not to work for whole 2 months. I needed time for myself.
Solomon
April 17th, 2009 at 5:35 amHi Glen,
It’s a wonderful article! It’s one inspiring story, and thanks for sharing!
Nikhil
April 17th, 2009 at 12:36 pmOne more point,
A MUST READ Article for all the beginners in freelancing business.
Nikhil
April 17th, 2009 at 12:39 pmHi Glen,
Can you tell me the link of your Tattoo Site??
Pamela Hilliard Owens
April 18th, 2009 at 9:42 amExcellent article! Since officially starting my business in July 2008, things have really expanded and grown into areas I never thought of before! Now I must bring more focus and discipline into my work-from-home schedule. Point in fact: it is a beautiful Saturday and I will be inside at my desk finishing a couple of projects that should have been done already. But they are due on Monday, so work I must.
This post is a keeper!
Mghmg
April 27th, 2009 at 2:19 pmWow Nice Article
Thanks
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