Okay, it’s time to get a little real up in here. I get so many emails a day from readers and budding freelancers who want to know what it takes to start their career.
They want to know how they can land work.
Whether they’ll be able to make a full-time living from freelancing, and what first steps they should take.
Alongside these questions, there will often be a sentence or two about how brave I am to have gone freelance or how lucky I am to get to live the lifestyle I do.
Full disclosure: I’m neither brave nor lucky. In fact, I might just be a little bit stupid and reckless.
I’m not a powerful business woman who rocks suits every day and can make sales deals in her sleep. I’m just a 25-year-old writer who sits at home on my own most days in front of my laptop.
What does it take to be a freelancer?
There seems to be this idea that to be a freelancer or to start your own business, you have to be this super-unicorn kind of human. That you’re someone a bit different; someone who was built in another way to the rest of the world.
That could not be further from the truth.
Confession time. Before I became a freelancer, I held similar ideas about those working for themselves. I looked at them with a sense of awe: how did they manage to get so lucky in life? What happened to them to help them get to where they are now?
Now I’ve been self-employed for almost 2 years, I can safely say there is only like a 0.2% element of luck involved, and, more often that not, it takes a pivotal moment to make that jump.
A pivotal moment like being made redundant, or moving to another country, or getting out of a relationship.
These springboard moments are usually what causes people who were considering going freelance to finally take the plunge. Why? Because they make us realise that life is short and fragile. That things change all the time. That bad things happen, but that also amazing things can happen if we let them.
I also want to let you know that you don’t have to wait for a springboard moment to go freelance.
You don’t need to make any rash decisions when it comes to your relationships and your country of residence. You don’t even need to quit your job (in fact, a large percentage of freelancers work around their job in the early stages until they build up a name for themselves).
You don’t have to be thrown into freelancing as if fate had it planned for you all along (also, for the record, I’m really not a fan of fate, I believe we make decisions and choices that get us where we want to be).
In the early days of freelancing, everyone is in the same boat. Everyone is muddling along trying to figure out what works for them and (more importantly) what doesn’t. Even if a freelancer looks like they’ve got it together and are killing it with awesome clients, there’s still a lot of uncertainty going on behind the scenes. Trust me.
So what it boils down to is that it’s not a special kind of person that can turn freelancing into a lucrative career, it’s a special kind of strategy.
You need a plan, not a personality transplant.
The most confusing part for budding freelancers, though, is the idea that everyone’s story is different.
My journey was a pretty ill-thought out one, whereas others might have been planning their career switch up for years. Some people’s businesses seem to skyrocket in a matter of weeks, while others plod along at the same pace for five or ten years before they start seeing an upward curve.
But there’s one thing that stays the same in all of these cases, and that’s the fact that freelancers are no different from anyone else. They just took the left fork in the road instead of the right. It’s as simple as that.
I see a lot of articles out there that discuss whether freelancing is only for a certain kind of person. Now, I agree with this partly, because I believe you have to be self-motivated and willing to put in the hard work, but these are traits that you can train yourself to excel in.
Just because you’re not self-motivated at the moment, doesn’t mean you can’t change that over time. Just because you’re a bad writer and you want to be a freelance writer, doesn’t mean you can’t learn to write.
The skills you need to be a freelancer can be learnt.
The traits that will help you get further in a shorter amount of time can be learnt.
Being a freelancer is one long learning process that never ends (trust me, I’m soaking up new info every single day). The person I was at the start of my freelancing career is not the person I am now.
This post isn’t the usual actionable, advice-driven content I write here on Wanderful World, but I hope it shows you that if you are thinking about going freelance, you can.
The person you look up to and admire? They were in your position once. The worst thing you can do is judge the start of your career on someone else’s middle (or even judge at all, for that matter).
So let’s get this show on the road.
What makes a good freelancer?
Someone who’s business-mindedSomeone who’s the best at what they do in their industrySomeone who is braveSomeone who is incredibly lucky- Someone who is willing to learn
It really is as simple as that.
I agree 100%! Before I went freelance I thought it was only people who had everything together who went freelance. Now I know better – it’s just hard work, hard work and a lot of perseverance!
I thought exactly the same! I’ve since realised all you need is determination and the willingness to put in the work!
So totally, totally true!
Glad you can relate, Liz!
I’ve been freelancing for 6 years now and still struggling to get and maintain clients. But I refuse to give up because being home for my family is more important to me than comfort, and because I could absolutely NOT force myself to sit at a desk from 8-5 every day anymore. 🙂
Sometimes we have to push on through if it’s a lifestyle we really want – giving up isn’t an option! I quite enjoy the hustle. I’d much rather spend my weeks hustling into the unknown than sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day doing a job I only semi enjoyed!
I loved reading this, Lizzie, and it also made me feel a hell of a lot better about everything! I used to think I wouldn’t be cut out for freelancing, but as I’ve dipped my toes in over the past six months I’ve realised that it’s pretty perfect for me. I’ve always been driven and motivated, and helping other people build their business through my writing is something I can only dream of doing – but I’m trying to do baby steps every day of making it happen!
So great to hear that, Holly! We’re all capable of making the life we want when we really put our minds to it (and are willing to put in the hard work to go with it!).
Wonderful post, Lizzie! And so true – taking that chance and doing what you want to do is more about learning and doing and less about “luck”. I wouldn’t be actually pursuing a freelancing career without your awesome course: “Launching Your Life as a Freelancer” and your encouraging newsletters and articles. Thank you!
Thanks, Judith! It really grinds my gears when people tell me how “lucky” I am… It kind of devalues all the hard work I’ve put in over the years. I’m so glad my course and newsletters have given you the encouragement you needed – that’s my ultimate aim with this blog!
Such an inspiring posts. As an aspiring freelance artist, kind of muddling along this gave me hope again.
~ Sofie
I’m so glad you liked the post and could find encouragement in it, Sofie!
Lizzie,
Such a great post for budding freelancers. While I still think the type of person you are can dictate whether you take action or not, if you’re willing to learn, you can succeed.
Okay, my twins are yelling and covered in peanut butter. Gotta go!
Elna Cain recently posted…7 Tips for New Freelance Writers
Thanks, Elna! Absolutely – it’s all about the willingness to learn!
This is so true!
I always tell people: You get out of freelancing what you put into it. You have to be willing to learn (as you said), and willing to work hard for the better-paying assignments. You have to constantly be honing your skills, improving your writing, and marketing yourself. You have to put yourself out there, or you won’t get anywhere.
Loved your post!
Thanks so much, Alexia – glad you liked it! You’re so right, it’s all about striving to do better, putting your nose to the grindstone, and putting yourself out there. Couldn’t have said it better myself!
I wish I had read this before I went freelance! Great post! It really is all about the willingness to learn, especially with the digital world constantly changing!
Thanks, Melinda! And I completely agree!
I’d love to be a freelancer but I feel like I’m not sure what I can freelance AS, and there’s so much competition, particularly where writing is concerned. I suppose my problem isn’t one of motivation, more a confidence issue. Like, why would someone hire me over someone else?
Oh, that’s SUCH a good question. For a lot of freelancers there’s a confidence issue, especially for those just starting out. The thing I tell my students and readers to consider is the VALUE they bring to the client or project. Then it doesn’t matter if you have no experience or have never freelanced before. It’s all about what you can bring to the table, whether it’s an easy-to-work-with attitude or specialist knowledge of a niche subject.
Loved this article and helped me realise I’m not mad and I can do it – thank you 🙂 I am glad I stumbled across you.
So glad you liked it, Colita! And no – you’re not mad at all!
Thanks for the encouragement. Right now I am a “freelance” house cleaner who wants to be a freelance writer. I have tapped into the cleaning market and now I have to figure out how to tap into the writing market. Glad I’m not alone!
Awesome, Sharla! Once you’ve got the marketing side of things down and know how to put systems in place when you’re working for yourself, it’s much easier to side step from one freelancing business to another. Good luck!