Have you considered why you want to start freelancing? You likely have your reasons, but are they helping you make your business decisions?
Before I became a writer, I wanted to go into law (true story, I took the LSATs and did pretty well!). But before I seriously looked at applying to law schools, I came across a writing program that intrigued me much more than law school did.
Growing up, I had always wanted to be either a writer or a lawyer. I had also wanted to be the first female jockey to win the Triple Crown, but I rarely rode horses growing up, and riding horses is a fairly basic requirement for being a jockey.
Although I loved the law, being a lawyer seemed like a recipe for long, stressful days with little control over my time, nights spent intensely staring at paperwork while drinking wine and eating takeout, and holidays spent frantically emailing and fielding phone calls from panicked clients (or so I was led to believe by television, although I see what some of my lawyer friends go through and their lives don’t seem all that far from this reality).
Wanting more control over my time—and maybe less stress—I started my freelance business. That was one of my initial “whys” (as in, “Why did I want to be a freelancer?”).
The question for you is, what is your why? Why do you want to start freelancing?
It’s an important question, but not because there’s a right answer. In fact, there is no right answer. You could want to be a freelancer for the unlimited earning potential, the flexible hours, the ability to choose your own projects, the desire for creativity, or the chance to work from anywhere in the world.
There are a million reasons to start freelancing, and none is more correct than the next. Some might be more realistic than others, but that’s a discussion for another day (you’re highly unlikely to earn $1 million your first month freelancing unless you count lottery earnings as income, and even then it’s a long shot).
What matters is whether or not you keep your why in mind as you build your business.
People start freelancing for many (typically) romanticized reasons: they envision a life where they’re in control of their time, work the hours they want, and only take on the projects that interest them.
They see themselves working from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the deck of their cabin overlooking the ocean, crafting a perfect article for their very wealthy client who approves their work without question or comment and pays them vast sums of money.
“Give me more of that and I’ll pay you double,” this hypothetical dream client says to us (very few real clients ever say that).
The thing is, while that view of freelancing is fantastic, it’s often the opposite of what happens when we start our business. When we’re scrambling to find clients. When every project feels like it could be the last. When we’re worried about paying the bills.
The start of our career is when we set patterns and habits that can—if we’re not careful—stay with us throughout the life of our business.
When you start freelancing, you want to take on as many clients as you can because you’re terrified you won’t make enough money, the few clients you have will hate you and fire you, your business will fail, your dog will hate you for your failure, and the world will fall apart, sending you into a shame and regret spiral that even triple chocolate ice cream can’t pull you out of.
In the panic of starting a business, it’s tempting to charge well below what you’re worth, take on any projects that come your way—even if they’re boring or the client comes with a gigantic neon sign that flashes “red flag” every time they speak—and forgo weekends and holidays to squeeze in one more project.
You become a massive people pleaser because, bills.
But…
- If you get into freelancing for the flexible hours, working seven days a week, 16 hours a day with no holidays isn’t flexible.
- If you want unlimited earning potential but you’re only charging $10 an hour, you’re definitely limiting your income.
- If you want control over the projects you take on but you say yes to every client who meets with you, no matter how tedious or toxic they seem, you have no control.
You can tell yourself you’ll break those habits as you grow in your career, but once they’re set, they’re hard to break.
I remember meeting one freelancer who was 20 years into her career. She bragged that she earned close to $100,000 the previous year, but she had worked every weekday and weekend and hadn’t even taken a day off for Christmas. She was exhausted from all the hours she put in.
To earn $100,000, she gave up control over her time. Working that many hours, she is almost certainly not charging enough for her work. At that point, she probably could have had a decent in-house communications job and most likely would have at least had Christmas off.
What to do?
Take the time to get to know your why. Revisit it sometimes. Ask if the decisions you’re making reflect it. If not, it might be time to make some adjustments. Maybe revisit how much you’re charging or who you choose to work with. Maybe it’s time to consider an in-house job or a hybrid position.
Write down your why and keep it at your workstation so you can reflect on it when it comes time to make hard decisions about your business. (“Do I really want to work for that client who insists on arguing with me over every word I write but will only pay me $15 an hour? Does that help me live my why?”)
Don’t be alarmed if your why changes as you evolve. Your reasons for starting out as a freelancer might not be the reasons you stay. That’s okay. It’s still important to reevaluate what drew you to freelancing and whether you’re actually living the life you dreamed of.
Ready to take your freelancing to the next level? Words That Attract Clients, shows you how to create messaging that truly reflects your why and draws in the clients you want. Start building the freelance business you’ve always dreamed of!