Top 5 Tips to Emotionally Prepare Yourself for a Freelance Career

By Naomi Nakashima, 24th Jul 2010 | Follow this author | RSS Feed | Short URL http://nut.bz/1zfosxzq/
Posted in Wikinut>Business>Freelancing

Preparing to work as a freelance professional entails much more than simply buying a computer and opening up a PayPal account... You have to get yourself emotionally prepared for work as a freelancer as well!

Why prepare emotionally?
1. Thicken Your Skin.
2. Remember You're not Alone.
3. Learn to be Flexible.
4. Learn to Separate Confidence from Arrogance.
5. Remember - There's a Job to Do.

Why prepare emotionally?

Working freelance can be very liberating. Finally - you can be your own boss, set your own rates, and do something that you truly love to do without paying an arm and a leg in start-up fees. In fact, thanks to viral marketing sites such as Twitter and Facebook, you really don't have to pay much money to even advertise or market your services.

But freelance work is stressful and can be very emotionally trying.

Taxes are always a headache - but taxes as a freelancer can be a migraine. Finding consistent work while completing existing projects, keeping money in your bank account balanced and in the positive, working around unreasonable or downright bad clients... And what if your computer - despite your best efforts - contracts a virus?

So many headaches.

Before you decide to dive in and start a career in freelancing, make sure that you are prepared to handle the stresses emotionally and constructively. It won't do you (or your client!) any good if you throw that computer with the annoying mouse out the window in a fit of stress and rage.

1. Thicken Your Skin.

Being a successful freelancer requires having a thick skin. If you don't already have one, you're going to need to start growing a layer of thick skin.

Family and friends may sneer at your announcement that you want to start a freelance career. They may even try to talk you out of it with stories about how hard it's going to be. And while some of them (hopefully!) have the best of intentions, it can still add to your stress level.

You will also be dealing with clients of all types. Sure, sometimes you will find that dream client who knows exactly what he wants and knows how to convey his vision to you without a problem. But more often, your client will not know how to describe the scope of their project to you - and will blame you if your ESP is turned off that day. And let's not forget the name calling that can come with delivering a final product that your client is not happy with.

And let's not forget that you will be rejected from some jobs for any number of reasons. Rejections are just a part of freelancing - and you'll have to get used to it.

Learn to take the name calling, snickers, complaints and sneers in stride and with grace. Remember not to take any of it personally. Instead, learn to take criticism as inspiration to do even better.

2. Remember You're not Alone.

You may fancy yourself a loner; or maybe you even just like to keep to yourself. But when launching your new career as a freelancer, you will also be launching yourself into a whole new level of loneliness.

There's something to be said for working within an organization - teamwork and brainstorming sessions, potlucks and birthday celebrations... All of them help to bring the employees closer together while also developing each person individually. When you decide to work as a freelancer, you'll have to say goodbye to many of these functions. And finding the advice you seek or inspiration you need will no longer be as easy as walking down the hall to another coworker to ask your questions.

But that doesn't mean that you'll be alone. There are plenty of other ways to get the feeling and support of working with a great team even if you are working alone. There are networks and support groups available all over the Internet that can help you get over those times when you just need to talk to someone else. There may even be a local networking group in your community where you can meet other professionals in person. Seek out these support groups and get involved before you dive into freelancing, and you can be sure you will always have a vent to rant at and a shoulder to lean on as and when you need them.

3. Learn to be Flexible.

Sometimes your client will give you all creative rights over their project, and other times they will shoot down your input and your ideas in favor of their own. Some clients will be happy with your first draft while others will request (or sometimes demand) constant revisions until the project meets their standards.

You have to remember that you will sometimes have to bend over backwards to make your clients happy. If you're not comfortable with this level of flexibility, then chances are you will not enjoy a freelancing career.

4. Learn to Separate Confidence from Arrogance.

Part of being able to sell your services to new clients means having confidence in your abilities. It's not good enough just to be a great writer - you have to know you're a great writer and you have to convince potential clients of this.

However, confidence can easily turn into arrogance - and in the world of freelance, there's just not enough room for an ego. And believe me, I have met plenty of people who don't deserve the ego they strut. Make sure you know where your confidence ends and arrogance takes over... Draw that line, and then cut out anything that crosses that line.

5. Remember - There's a Job to Do.

Working from home means having the ability to set your own hours - which means more availability to be with friends and family. No more missing out on baby's first steps, missing out on dinners or parties for the sake of work.

But it also means opening yourself up for more distractions than ever. Family members may forget that you're really at work when you're sitting in front of your computer. You may get caught up with a great show on television or a sale happening at your favorite department store; or maybe even starting to enjoy some of the other hobbies and crafts that you didn't have time for before...

Even with all the new freedom that working from home may offer you, it's still important to remember that the operative word is working from home. The project still has to be completed and up to professional standards - there's no room for error or slacking when you're a freelancer. If you're not able to separate your work from the other aspects of your life, not only will your income suffer, but your reputation and your ability to find future work will suffer as well.

That said, the idea of keeping home and work separate goes even further. If you're the type of person who always brings the stress of work home with you, then adjusting to working from home will be even harder to do.

Before you launch into a new freelancing career, make sure you have the supplies you need to do a great job; but don't stop there. Start to prepare emotionally and mentally for the changes that are going to come about. Failing to prepare yourself in this way could make getting started in your new career much harder - or worse - may ultimately lead to your failure as a new freelancer.