- Hi everybody,
this is Roberto Blake of robertoblake.com
helping you create something awesome today.
So today I'm going to answer an interesting question.
Should you become a freelancer?
A lot of this is a personal decision
and I can't really tell you that yes or no
you should become a freelancer,
but there are some things you should
look at before you commit to this
to see if it's right for you.
Now again, a lot of this is going to be based on
my experience, it's going to based on
what I've talked to other freelancers about.
There are a lot of freelancers here
in the Create Awesome community,
many of you are members of the Facebook group,
many of you part of the email list
and we've had conversations in social media.
So, it's not just my opinions here,
a lot of this what I've talked to other
creative and art directors who hire freelancers
and work with them about.
There are other freelancers
who've given me their perspective on this.
So, this is kind of an aggregate, if you will,
of all that information and data
and I'm just the guy that's delivering it,
so don't shoot the messenger here.
So, becoming a freelancer is going to mean
you need a tremendous amount of self-discipline
because you're going to be logging your own hours,
and so if you're someone
who doesn't have a lot of self-discipline,
does not pay attention to details,
and can't keep a consistent schedule,
it's going to be really hard on you
and it's going to be even harder on your clients.
So, I would reconsider if you don't
meet those qualifications.
If you're someone who's very easily distracted,
this could be a very challenging career prospect for you,
especially if you want to do it full time,
because there's always going to be
something to distract you.
The other factor you should look at is
whether or not you're going to be a full time freelancer
or whether this is a part time thing
or a side hustle for you.
Being a full time freelancer is very risky,
and so if you're in a situation
where you have a family
or where you're not financially stable,
then going all in on this could be very dangerous for you
and I would say you really need to do a personal evaluation,
you need to talk it over with your family,
and you need to figure out
what the best decision is going to be moving forward,
and I would try taking it slow
before you go full time on that commitment.
It might be something you're very passionate about,
but I would encourage you to make it
as practical as possible.
Freelancing also requires
a significant investment on your part in terms of resources,
so being able to buy the tools of the trade,
being able to replace them at the drop of a dime,
all of those things are super important,
so you have to be in a position
to where, financially, this makes sense.
If you're someone that's very introverted,
it's not that you can't be a freelancer,
it's that the challenge for you
would be new client acquisition.
If you're introverted,
but you're a master of SEO and social media,
then this could be less difficult for you
in terms of client acquisition,
or if you're willing to outsource
and partner with someone who is very
sales and marketing oriented,
that could be a great proposition for you.
You will have to leave money on the table,
but having 70% of something is better
than 100% of nothing,
and if this person could get you deals
and close and close at a higher rate than you could,
then it's probably for the best.
If not, then, again, you might have to
reconsider doing this full time,
because the reality is the marketplace is very saturated
and it's very noisy and it's going to be very difficult
for somebody who can't come outside of themselves
to be competitive there.
Quality work matters.
It's not going to speak for itself,
it's not going to sell itself,
and if you can't get in front of it,
you need someone who can
because otherwise, you're going to lose
to your loudest competitor.
Showing up matters.
People are not hunting you down for this work
and so you cannot be naive about it,
you cannot be romantic about it.
Salespersonship matters.
Oh my God, does it matter.
And so your talent is not the variable
of your success there,
it's that actually, salespersonship matters
because the marketplace decides
and showing up is how you get things done.
It doesn't matter if you're the nicest person in the room,
if you don't go out onto the dance floor
and ask a gal to dance,
being the nicest person in the room
isn't doing a lot for you.
So, that's what I have to say about that one.
And yeah, that's a little bit of a jab at some of my trolls,
and I'm really excited and happy
about doing that here on the channel,
but it's also very practical
because I'm trying to teach you
and illustrate a point that sales matter.
Getting money really matters as a freelancer
and so, instead of waxing poetically
about how good you are,
it's about how good you are at selling.
If it doesn't make dollars, it doesn't make sense, right?
So, I would encourage you to figure that out.
I would encourage to figure out
whether or not you're the best person
to sell your brand and to get new clients,
or whether you need to partner with somebody,
or whether you need to use an agency of some kind.
There's one like Aquent and VitaminTalent,
and these companies help freelancers
and creative professionals find clients,
or even find full paid positions if they want that,
or even remote telecommuting project based jobs.
So, all of these things are avenues for you
to overcome that particular obstacle or weakness.
You can get better at selling if it's in your personality,
but if it's not, I would say just outsource that weakness.
Also, keep in mind that freelancing is very stressful,
especially when you're first starting out.
So, if you're someone who suffers from
depression and severe anxiety,
I would encourage you to consult
a mental health professional,
consult your family, and really just do a
personal self-evaluation so that you don't
put yourself in a situation that is very risky for you,
not just financially, but for your health,
mentally and emotionally, or even physically.
There is nothing that you're going to do as a job
that is worth putting yourself and your wellbeing at risk.
So, I would encourage you to really think about that,
because it's something that's so important
and is not talked enough about in our industry.
If freelancing is right for you,
it can be very lucrative and it can be very practical
and it can be the beginning of financial freedom for you.
If you have questions about freelancing
or working with difficult clients,
leave those in the comments section.
I'd love to try and help you out.
Anyway, like this video if you like it.
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Check out the other awesome content on the channel.
As always you guys, thanks so very much for watching
and don't forget: create something awesome today.