Freelancing Success In One Word — Workflow: Freelance

As many of you may have heard, there’s a Wealthy Freelancer book in the works. Actually, it’s more than in the works, it’s written, edited and scheduled for release in the new year. (More details on that in the months to come.) This is one MEATY book, and it just may be the definitive… wait… I’m getting ahead of myself. I digress. All I wanted to say is that I think the book will come in around 280 pages, but I can sum up the essence of this book for you in one word.

It’s a word that you should PAINT on your office wall, or at least print out in huge font and stick beside your computer screen.

The word is commitment.

Commitment comes before success. Before, not after. True in freelancing, true in life. You don’t get to half-a** your way into something worthwhile, holding yourself safely back from full commitment until you actually achieve that “success.” Uh uh. You have to commit first. Usually, it feels risky. Usually, it feels uncomfortable. (Hint: those are the feelings you should be paying attention to. The path to your success begins just outside your comfort zone.)

Here’s what Goethe says about commitment…

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.

“Countless ideas and splendid plans” amount to nothing if you’re not committed. Here are some common challenges freelancers face, and the solutions to them. NOT the step-by-step, how-to solutions because we could fill a book with those (in fact, we did) but the fundamentals to those solutions: the commitment part that must come first…

Challenge: “My clients don’t pay well or take forever to pay.”

Solution: Commit to finding better clients by spending more time marketing your business. Do more of what works. Or do something new. If you’ve never sent sales letters out before, try it. If there’s a business networking event or trade show where potential clients might be, assemble some materials and go there. Ask your friends, colleagues, past employers and any decent clients for whom you may have worked for referrals.

Challenge: “A client called me for a project and I never heard back.”

Solution: Commit to establishing a ‘lead nurturing’ system. That’s just a fancy way of saying you need to stay in touch with prospects. Send out a regular newsletter. Look for interesting articles that are relevant to your prospects and mail or email them. Include a personal note. Send a “case study” which shows how you solved a problem for a client. Write a short special report. Record a podcast. Interview an expert in the industry, have it transcribed, and send it out. Do a variety of things.

Challenge: “I mailed out a bunch of sales letters / made some cold calls / sent emails / wrote articles and nothing happened.”

Solution: Commit to following up. Make more phone calls, send more emails, write more articles and sales letters. Send post cards. Send Starbucks gift certificates and an invitation to meet for coffee. Try things.

Goethe’s poem continues by the way, and ultimately finishes in a very famous piece of prose. Here’s what comes after the lines, “the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too…”

All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.

I find those words very inspiring, but you don’t have to be a Goethe to inspire someone with your words. If you’ve done something in your freelance business that demonstrates your commitment to its success, please take a few minutes to share a story or two with us here, and inspire your fellow freelancers to greatness. (And if you haven’t done something… Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it.)

~ Pete Savage, Co-editor