Are you Freelance Material?

Here’s the Rub.

Not everyone that wants to be a freelancer has the skills or temperament for it.

Let’s see if you are up for it!

What are your strengths and what are your weaknesses?

This can be difficult to assess.

We often underestimate or overestimate our skills.

Let us look at what we need to assess

Technical Skills:

What can you do and how well can you do it?
If you are a seasoned professional looking to branch out, you will have some measure of your ability.

If not, get some.

If you are a writer, ask someone to read your material.

If you’re a coder, get it tested by someone you know and trust.

As a freelancer, your technical skills will be important.

But the pace at which you deliver them will also be important. Your time will be translated directly into money so your technical skills will need to be both efficient and, where possible, automated.

Organisational Skills

You are now a ‘Business of One’ so you will need to keep all of your delivery tasks and your administrative tasks under control. It is useful to employ a productivity process if you can, but just pick one and don’t chase the latest productivity methods.

Business Skills

As you are running a business and so you will need at least the basics of business skills.
Cashflow management, appreciation of profit and loss and the ability to manage costs. As you will be running a business there will be administration, reporting and taxes to consider.

Relationship skills

Your net worth will be a result of your network and your ability to work well with your clients.
You will need to understand their requirements, explain your value to them, overcome any objections, resolve any conflicts and ensure you get paid. These all take some ability and effective interpersonal skills.

Personality traits of a successful Freelancer

As a freelancer, there are some personality traits that are helpful. You can develop these if you don’t have them already:

• Mindset – You have to believe you can do it.
• Self-confidence – Both in your technical skills and your ability to deliver.
• Problem-solving skills – You aren’t always going to know what to do but need to solve that problem – Professional attitude.
• Good communication skills.
• Flexibility – To adapt to changing requirements.
• Stamina – There will be busy times that you need to push through.
• Business Knowledge – The knowledge or experience of running a commercial enterprise.

Helpful Characteristics

As a freelancer, you can also benefit from some behavioural characteristics.
Again if you don’t have them now you must consider developing them:

• Organisational skills
  • Planning Skills – For both projects and your business development.
  • Responsibility – for yourself, your project and your client’s outcomes.
  • Budgeting skills – Stress management.
  • Commitment – Ability to persuade and sell.
  • Strong customer service – Without customers you don’t really have a business.
  • Strong work ethic – You’ll need to work even when you don’t want to.

Is that you?

Not having these traits and characteristics will not stop you being a successful freelancer.

But having them or developing them will increase your chances of success.

You should not let this put you off.

Persistence and adaptability is the real key to being a successful freelancer.

If you can find a way or make a way then you will be a success.