Ryan “The whole idea of coworking is to bring bright, creative people together and let the ideas collide”
Often with things in life you have a vision of what it is going to be. Essentially until that one thing becomes a reality you never stray from that vision.
Speaking to any freelancer they will tell you that initially turning down a potential client is one of the most challenging actions you can take.
With anything you invest time in, getting started is perhaps one of the hardest notions. Waiting for the ‘right time’ and not just going for it might not be the best way as you could keep putting it off forever. Sure there’s a sensible time to do everything, and everyone has different ways of working, and time management, but you need to work out the best routine for you, and your family and go with it.
How many ex colleagues do you keep in touch with? Whether it’s Facebook, phone call, text messages or perhaps face to face? I assume the number is quite small.
Ex colleagues should never be underestimated. As humans we hate delving into the unknown. Instead we retreat back to what we know well. Tried and tested methods of individuals you know and trust. Those friendly faces, high achievers, people you’ve heard nothing but good things about. How many companies have you worked in where the senior members of staff have come from the managing director’s old company? Football managers take players from one club to another (Harry Redknapp and Niko Kranjčar anyone?) as they know the character and work ethic of the said individual. Reputation management in this way is done across the globe.
Excess always worries me or should I say individuals who do things to the excess. The gym, work, alcohol all spring to mind. Freelancers can be victims of excess too. I alluded to this within my ‘Making time to create side projects’ post but wanted to dig a little deeper.
Being just a freelancer may be the most lucrative work you can do now but you also need to assess longevity and the times when you are not working. Billable time is billable time. Freelancers cannot create time.
Client work is appealing and incredibly addictive. There seems to be some type of magnetic force drawing you to take on more client work. The feeling of ‘just one more’ or ‘what if I lose a client’ becomes too much. Saying no can be one of the hardest things in your self employed/freelance career. But by saying YES to everything are you reducing the free hours you have in a week to be creative and build your empire?
Working on the web in the digital space gives you a platform to create side projects. Whether that’s an affiliate business, buying domain names, drop selling products or perhaps a blog like this one. There should be an end goal with everything you do and a reason why you do it.