5 Career Lessons Worth Taking and Applying

Back in 2006, I started freelancing as a side hustle. I was a full-time editorial editorial assistant at WeightWatchers.com and wanted to expand my writing skills while earning additional income. I was full-time for nine years and worked on my freelance writing business for seven of those before media layoffs led to my decision to freelance full-time.

Staying in the freelancing business means I made many mistakes, and learned a ton of business—and life—lessons along the way.

5 Lessons Learned That Transformed My Freelance Career

Here are important teachings I discovered along the way.

Get ready for rejection.

If you’re a freelancer—or employee —who hasn’t experienced rejection yet, you’re not putting yourself out there. Freelancers should always be marketing, sending pitches or cold emails to potential new clients consistently to bring in work and avoid putting all of your focus on one client. Anyone who works for themselves—or is a creative employee trying to come up with new ideas for their company—should have extensive ideas to share and know that not all of them will be accepted in the end. And that’s okay. Thick skin is necessary if you’re going to be in this field.

“Every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being re-directed to something better,” author Steve Maraboli

Just because a client says “not right now” doesn’t mean it’s “no” forever; send them another idea or reach out to someone else at the company later.

Follow up often.

Rejection can also come in the form of managers ignoring your email. More often than not, someone misses your email or doesn’t respond to it because they were doing something more important. I can’t tell you how many times my follow-up email for a pitch was the first one an editor actually read. I have been on the other side of this equation when I was an assigning editor at magazines! Make note of the cold emails you send, your follow-up date, and the next follow-up date a few weeks later.

Stay in touch.

Building good relationships is an important component of my business. I check in every so often and see what people are up to on LinkedIn and make note of former editors that moved on to new jobs. Last summer, I reached out on LinkedIn to congratulate a former editor on her new job. Our conversation quickly moved to her offering me freelance work that resulted in over $10,000. Reach out to former colleagues and clients to see how they are doing. It helps you stay top of mind.

Time is worth money.

This is a lesson that many understand early on. When I was writing press releases on nights and weekends in my 20s that paid about $200 each, I knew that as I would become faster, my hourly rate would increase. This is a career lesson that I teach in my freelance writing online course, How to Earn $100 An Hour or More Freelancing. While I understand many corporations need to work with an “hourly rate” for freelancers and independent contractors, I try to avoid getting paid for articles or projects this way. I explain to my clients that as I become more proficient in their content needs, I don’t want to make less money for doing a higher-quality job more efficiently. I’ll have them pay a flat fee or we’ll agree to an hourly range for projects each week or month.

Keep quiet.

Ready to negotiate when a client asks about your rates? Channel your inner car salesman. Throw out a number higher than you’re willing to take. And then wait. Silence can make people uncomfortable. Don’t fill in the silence justifying your rates or explaining things. Let the client stew on it and get back to you if they need to. Chances are, if your rate is too high, they’ll let you know and negotiate. Silence is confidence. Try it.

?What are some learnings that transformed your career?