Six Character Traits Needed for Freelancing
Posted December 17, 2010 in Getting Started, Lifestyle
Before starting a career as a freelancer (this advice also can be applied to any other career), it is a good idea to compare the qualities required for the respective job with your own mentality and way of working.
If somebody is very creative, fun, and spirited, then it is a complete mistake to choose to be an employee. Changing jobs is a challenging event, but if somebody really doesn’t like their job, they should make the change without any regret. Here are the six ideal character traits necessary for freelancing.
1. Persistence
Nothing can replace persistence. If you are one of those people blessed with a huge talent and you expect to be in demand, then you are wrong. Not even a genius can produce a masterwork without the use of a pencil and some paper. Or, in our modern times, a mouse and a computer. This trait is essential for everyone, but for freelancers the ability to persist is greatly needed.
The beginning of a freelance career is a difficult period. You will try to convince a lot of clients that you are a cheap and competitive solution, but usually you will be ignored by 99% of them. Only a few people have the inner strength to overcome this step of waiting for a first client or project. I honestly just passed this initial part of my freelance career, so perhaps I am not the best example. But, I really want to help people who are in my past situation.
Never give up after just a few months of intensive work. I spent more than a year trying to compete on various job boards, but when I least expected it the client work came. Suddenly, everything became clear and simple. Keep in mind, hope should never die!
2. Patience
This trait is strongly linked to the previous one. It is “the fuel” of your persistence.
First of all, it is unpardonable for any freelancer to not have enough patience when he or she is working with a client. Usually, a client has a vague idea about their project and how it should be done. Some customers are paying more, some less, but a professional in any field should pay attention to all clients regardless of the size of their project. A pleased client is one who receives the needed explanation from the hired specialist. We all know that not all people are experts in web design, development, or SEO. Patience is always good to use when dealing with clients.
Secondly, you should be very patient with yourself. Novices often want a sudden transformation, from amateur student to real pro. But, becoming a pro takes time, and of course, patience. Usually it takes years to become a completely successful freelancer.
3. Communication Skills
It is totally unfair, but it is not the most talented freelancers who get the most expensive and important projects. Rather, it is the freelancers who understand how to make the clients trust them who are the winners.
I want to emphasize, the huge majority of clients don’t know anything about Java or .psd files–they only want a good job done by somebody, preferably at an affordable rate. The Internet is a global marketplace and freelancers should embrace a more commercial profile with strong communication skills. Communicate enough with your clients so that you can accomplish the tasks you were given, but do not contact them so much that you annoy and bore them. A balanced communication style is the key to success.
4. Efficient Management
I believe that almost every person who has a boss who isn’t sympathetic (or, in some cases, is hated) thinks that they could be a better boss than the one they currently have.
Working as a freelancer gives you the tremendous advantage of not having a boss, but it hides a paradox. As a freelancer, you are your own boss and unfortunately, you may be too severe with yourself. Sometimes you may miss a holiday due to a new task. If missing holidays is not the exception and becomes a rule for you, you may find yourself with never-ending projects.
This is where good management comes in. It is very important to separate your personal life from your professional one. Working too hard may be beneficial for your own career, but a disaster for your social life. We are freelancing to live, not living to freelance.
5. Be the Best at Something
Freelancing means providing great service and being trustworthy. Every client has his or her own system of choosing between service providers, a company, or a freelancer.
A freelancer cannot replace the work of a whole team. Needing a team is still the main reason for selecting a company. To overcome the situation, the freelancer should be really well-prepared and must have a solid background to cover all aspects of a project.
In a nutshell, be very good at what you are doing when you start the adventure of freelancing. Or, learn and practice (even postpone) your launch as a freelancer. You need to be a master in your field to gain projects.
6. Resilience
Finally, everyone should be optimistic! The life of a freelancer isn’t easy (you probably expected this). Clients come and go and this may take all your energy. Be very positive. Don’t let everything bring you down!
Your Turn
What do you think the ideal character traits are for freelancers?
Share your answer in the comments.
Image by ~ezs
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About the author: This article has been written by Daniel Pintilie, a freelance writer working for for Go-gulf.com, a kuwait web design company that provides web design solution in Bahrain, Sharjah and Middle East.
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29 Comments
kymlee
December 17th, 2010 at 9:01 amI agree with all of these. Patience is not only important for dealing with clients who aren’t sure what they want, its good for managing your own expectations. When starting out, things tend to take longer than expected or just don’t turn out as planned. Managing your expectations can make the difference between moving past disappointment quickly and getting stuck.
Angie - The Work at Home Wife
December 17th, 2010 at 9:03 amAs someone who isn’t a big fan of change, in the online world being able to accept and incorporate change is necessary. The online world changes so rapidly. The way we market, communicate, and even do our work is constantly evolving.
You can’t get too comfortable. :)
Chris
December 17th, 2010 at 10:02 amGreat article! All of these traits are very important on a day to day basis for freelancers. Freelancing is definitely not the easiest job out there and it does take a lot out of a person, so I agree that you have to be a little “different”. I think resilience is very important, it is very easy to get brought down because of a bad day or a client, but it’s how you bounce back from that, that makes you a good freelancer. Stay focused, stay positive, and move forward.
Rachel Small
December 17th, 2010 at 10:57 amFantastic post. When starting out as a freelancer, it’s easy to get discouraged by lack of work. Persistence and patience are absolutely crucial. If you are passionate about what you do and take the time to learn the necessary skills, the work will come.
Holli
December 17th, 2010 at 12:48 pmGood article and I totally agree! I’ve just started out freelancing and just landed what I consider to be my first real client. I partnered with someone who is really good in his field, and so far it’s working out really well! I want to give my client the best product possible, and I don’t think I would be if I tried to do everything myself. Also, I just want to add that Twitter has been a great resource for finding possible partners for projects.
Eddie Garrison
December 17th, 2010 at 1:55 pmGreat post and I have ato agree with Rachel as well. I think allot of freelancers may never make it as far as they actually could because they do get discouraged early on if they are not getting enough work. Or any for that matter.
Nancy G.
December 17th, 2010 at 2:01 pmChris touched briefly on my favorite: FOCUS. It’s my Achilles’ heel. OK, gotta get back to work …
Kim Stone
December 17th, 2010 at 2:09 pmDaniel, I’m curious about the back story for this comment: “I honestly just passed this initial part of my freelance career, so perhaps I am not the best example.”
One thing I’d like to emphasize is that it may take a few tries before freelancing sticks. There are many variables to freelance readiness. I, for example, was a student 6 years ago and was eager to make my own way. So I started a firm and quickly found that my skills were lacking in many important ways – design, business, marketing, etc. So I went back to a full-time job and continued to build my skills on side projects. Then, when I was laid off last May I decided I was ready to take the leap. I possessed not just a stronger skill set but had a full enough portfolio and a lot more maturity. So for me the “startup phase” was a long process and I learned a lot about patience. It’s a never-ending process of growth but it’s nice to finally be over the initial hump.
Melissa
December 17th, 2010 at 2:23 pmDon’t forget self-motivation. And the desire to work rather than watch TV or play Wii all day :)
Elizabeth Shipley
December 17th, 2010 at 2:25 pmThanks for this engaging article!
One trait that really helps me is my enquiring mind. I’m constantly curious about a wide range of subjects, so I’m always eager to follow up whatever topic I’m working on.
Daniel Pintilie
December 17th, 2010 at 3:50 pmfor Kim Stone:
I said I am not the best example because I have some years of freelancing but never can say: it is enough: I know everything in my field. I believe that someone who has more years of freelancing should have written this article, but I put a lot of effort to post a quality article…you should tell me if my work is good or not.
For everyone:
it is a great honor to share my opinions with you and I find also some good tips…I really hope that this post to help someone. Anyway, thanks to all for the time lost reading my article!
TLC
December 17th, 2010 at 4:33 pmWell said. I especially liked your comment that people who are creative, fun and spirited should not be employees. Well, at least not employees of people/companies who want compliant, cookie-cutter people who don’t rock the boat. Those people never change the world!
Jason Fish
December 17th, 2010 at 4:38 pmI’ve always said it makes more business sense in any economy to freelance with a few stable clients than to work for one company [theory: don't put all your eggs in one basket]. In 16+ years I’ve enjoyed at least double, and sometimes quadruple the income I can make working for one company at a [lower] steady salary, only to eventually be let go perhaps when the market changes. As a strong proponent of Freelance, for me, the income fluctuations, frustrations, required discipline an joy of setting your own hours (as sometimes we’re more “creatively inspired” at different times of the day) always outweighs any “9 to 5″ job…. not to mention we’re free to “create”, minus office politics. I’d rather treat a client like a king as a freelancer than be an employee of a corporation who places profits over it’s workers…. so if profits fall, workers are expendable.
Jeff
December 18th, 2010 at 5:37 pmThis article really nails what it takes to be a successful Freelancer. I started off slow as well, just about limped into becoming a Freelancer and now I seem to be getting a steady amount of projects coming in on a regular basis. I work through Elance and now that I’ve built up a reputation of very positive reviews from my clients I now get invites to bid on about a dozen projects a week, and I can now be choosy with which projects I feel are right for me. I also tend to get many repeat projects from happy clients, so it just becomes a matter of scheduling the projects out for the future and meeting the deadlines every week. For anyone just starting out, it does take some time, but with a little dedication and marketable skill, it will definitely happen.
Kelsey
December 19th, 2010 at 8:13 pmThese are all great qualities that I certainly agree with, especially patience and persistence.
angelee
December 20th, 2010 at 3:45 amOrganizational Skills is also important… You have to be organized in everything from your desk to your files and to your projects.
Mark
December 20th, 2010 at 11:33 pmConfidence, you wont get to far if you cant talk to people.
Vivek Parmar
December 21st, 2010 at 3:22 amtry to embeed all these qualities in me, no one is perfect but hard work and sincere efforts help you to make a sucessful one in freelancing business
Issa @ Ajeva
December 21st, 2010 at 8:04 amI think it’s P — for Passion for me. Freelancing can be a lonely road to take and it’s tough getting motivation everyday. But with passion, you can turn from being a good freelancer to a great one. I guess, if you add my trait on your list, it would sound like the Seven traits of an Effective Freelancer, and the likes. Thanks for sharing this inspirational post though!
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