idialogue

2023.05.29

How to have a successful freelance career

idialogue Mentor Lina Mass has been "working for herself" for more than 7 years. Today, she is a well-recognized brand strategist and founder of the Dizainerių sambūris (mentorship and courses for designers) and a Mentor, helping dozens of those who dream of a freelance career.

 

Like many freelancers, Lina spent the first years of her career working for employment in advertising agencies and printing houses.

 

"When I looked at my career progress, I realized that I had nothing to be proud about, no work that I could put in my portfolio. I was just a small cog in big corporations. So I freelanced for the next two years and built up my portfolio, which allowed me to get a job at a creative advertising agency. However, after two years at the agency I realized that I want to grow and that personal freedom is a priority for me." - shares Lina.

 

Freelancing is definitely not for those who like to get everything ready on a plate

 

First of all, I would like to say that I really don't like the word freelancer because it contains the word "free". This creates a false impression in the market that the freelancer should do for less or even for free. 

 

I look at the freelance career as at the school of life, so it is for people who want to grow. Working for yourself means that, in addition to the quality of the service you provide (in my case, it is creating a visual identity, conducting strategic sessions and preparing a brand strategy), you must additionally know how to talk to the client, manage your own and business finances (it is very important to look at freelance activities as a business), planning time, setting goals and achieving them... Freelance is definitely not for those who like to get everything ready on a plate - here you will have to make even the plate yourself.

 

You also have to work a lot with internal beliefs, blocks, imposter syndrome, perfectionism, fear of failure, and then also fear of success... This is where real personal growth begins, clarification of priorities and finally self-realization.

 

The most attractive thing is that there are no limits here - you can earn as much as you want to work. Of course, when freelancing, you need to be able to tolerate the uncomfortable feeling of insecurity, because there is no stable income that falls into your pocket every month. 

 

How to switch to full-time freelance work?

 

With no plan, no experience, and no interested audience, I wouldn't recommend jumping right into freelancing full-time. This is not an overnight success. I myself see examples where a long and consistent work of several years awaits before a successful freelance career is possible. True, I also see such examples where newcomers bloom and unfold in all their beauty in a matter of couple of months, and in a year they achieve all the financial goals that they planned to achieve in 5 years.


When mentoring graphic designers who want to work for themselves, I advise them to have 3-6 months of salary saved up as a backup so you don't have to desperately search for clients and orders. This will give space to make friends with courage and the mindset of experimentation - act more and try, think less and stress less.

 

Try, try, try… instead of thinking and quitting without even trying

 

I see that freelancers often struggle with self-doubt and fear of failure, and this kills a lot of potential.


This can be "treated" by asking the question: "What is self-confidence?" For me it's knowing that taking a certain action will get me the result I want. For example, if I were to get up and walk to the couch right now I have confidence I can do it because you've done it 100 times before.

 

And what does this act look like for a one-year-old child, is he guaranteed to reach the couch without hitting his nose? No, because he is taking his first steps and he has no walking experience at all. However, he is driven forward by the desire to experience and test things himself, and he accepts uncertainty and risk.

 

We should all go back to this childhood mindset of the experiment - try, try, try... until you succeed, and not to overthink much and stop before you even reach momentum. Self-confidence grows steadily with the actions we take. It's really not the other way around, as many like to think: "I'll start when I feel confident..."


Furthermore, fear of failure is often based on previous bad experiences that led to the emergence of limiting beliefs. I solve this problem by asking myself or someone else: "What's the worst that can happen?" How can I prepare for it or how can I avoid it? Also, what's the best that can happen?" These two questions show very well the full picture of fear and risk and what we lose by not trying.


Also… have you heard of the fear of success? For many, this is an unheard term, but the reality is that this fear of success is way more common than one thinks. This fear is even more difficult to recognize, and it is precisely this fear that often leads to the emergence of self-sabotage, when for reasons that are not rationally understandable to us, we start to put brakes into our own wheels. At this point, it is important to monitor our inner beliefs: what we think about ourselves, how much we think we are worth, how much we allow ourselves to earn. 

 

Don't be the world's biggest secret

 

It is important to inform your personal circle (family, friends and social network contacts) about your new activity. The goal is for them to know what you are doing and be able if not to order your services themselves at least to recommend you to others. These people know you and therefore trust you, making it much easier for you to get orders.

 

The second option is about making new acquaintances, going to networking events, participating in meetings of business communities. It's definitely not enough to have a website and expect the orders to flow. People choose to work with people they trust. How much trust in you can another person gain after viewing your website? What about after chatting with you for 5 min.?

 

So in short, talk about your activities and new services, talk over a cup of coffee with a friend, talk at a family reunion, talk on social media accounts.

 

Yes - in the beginning you have to look for customers yourself

 

In the beginning, you will need to find customers yourself, because they have no way to google you or find you on Instagram. Later, you can think about where to invest your time so that customers find you themselves.

 

The answer to where to look for clients depends only on each person's strengths: you like to make videos - create a YouTube channel, you like to take photos - invest in Instagram, you are good at writing - run a blog (just take a look at SEO so that the work is not wasted). It is better to choose one channel and pay maximum attention to it than to be everywhere, but actually nowhere.

 

Also, don't forget that desperation is a smelly thing… and customers can sense when you're desperate for an order. So my advice is to approach the client with only one task in mind - to help him no matter what. Of course, without overstepping yourself and your limits and directing elsewhere where your competence no longer covers. A client who feels high-quality involvement and genuine listening to his needs will want to work with you and will recommend you to others.

 

A steady source of income is possible

 

When freelancing you will need to spend more time looking for customers only for the first two years. Later, if you provide quality services and customers remain satisfied (and if you also find ways to exceed their expectations) they will recommend you to others. That's when the customers show up and with them the flow of income.


It is also very useful to diversify activities, for example, teaching, selling your works on platforms, consulting or working part-time in some company. Of course, it is highly recommended to set aside a portion of your income for investments that will later generate passive income.

 

How to choose customers?

 

I will give an example that I think can be applied:

 

Graphic designer wants to work with cozy family businesses that run meaningful activities and help them grow by forming a representative brand image. However, such businesses often find it difficult to define what they want,  they have many doubts and do not always choose the best option as they have little business experience... and their budget is very limited, so are the requirements. Therefore, in a month you will need to take more such orders to get the amount you want to earn.

 

If a graphic designer prefers more clearly defined tasks and a higher budget range, he chooses to work with companies. Mostly, these are larger companies that have their own marketing department. In this case, there will be less freedom, more instructions, higher requirements and less warm and cozy communication. The activities will be less stressful and more focused on the effective achievement of business results, which is not always so motivating and inspiring.

 

I know one thing for sure - ideal cooperation will be between people who have a similar "vibe", values ​​and outlook towards business. After all, we freelance so that we can choose with whom we want to work with.

 

Don't get stuck in a cycle of being busy

 

It is very useful to set a minimum order amount (prices for your services) so that one day you don't wake up with the abundance of 20 euro orders each more important than the other. When freelancing it is very easy to get stuck in the cycle of busyness. The only question is - are you aiming for something more than just having a job? What are you aiming for? After answering this question, the answer of how you should price your rates will come. I have an automatic rate calculator that is based on my desired monthly income.

 

P.S. before sending the quotation to the client, it is important not to negotiate too much with yourself in an attempt to lower the price for the client.

 

Most importantly…

 

You have to foster courage (confidence will come later) to accept uncertainty and discomfort, to have no expectations and to experiment a lot.

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