5 Tips for Freelancers in the Gig Economy

Right now is your greatest opportunity to be a freelancer.

In a world of disruption and uncertainty what is certain is your ability to control your future and not wait for someone to do it for you.

Not too long ago, I met 28-year-old Georgie. Georgie had just lost his job in Philadelphia. He decided to become an Uber driver, create a YouTube channel, and deliver for Instacart. When I asked Georgie why he made that choice instead of going back to a typical job, he said:

“Because I’m wasn’t free to take control of ME, and now I am.”

At that time, Georgie had over 125,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel.

I’m sitting in the back of this Uber listening to this, and I am completely blown away.

How brilliant is that?!

Georgie was able to replace his entire income and take control of his future. 

He dropped me off at the airport, it hit me: he was not waiting for something to happen. He decided to MAKE something happen.

Tip #1 - Commit to making the leap.

The only hand that can feed you in any economy is the one at the end of your wrist. 

To make it as a freelancer, you need to have the grit and the hut-spa to get out there and make something happen. 

You don’t have to know exactly HOW you will do it just yet—you just need to know that you CAN. 

Commit in your heart to making the leap. Decide right now what you CAN do instead of listening to some of the voices that will haunt you to say what you CAN’T do. 

Tip #2 - Love and learn from what you do.

You have to pay attention to how you emotionally connect beyond the transaction you need to get done in that moment.

No matter what you do: find a way to love and learn at the same time.

For example, when you drive for any of the rideshare apps, it’s also a learning experience to see what customers like, what they don’t like, and how do you adjust how you do what you do to make sure that they become a life-long customer(eitherto the platform or to you).

I was using a rideshare app a few days ago, and I started a conversation with the driver who happened to be from Seattle. He asked me if I was into jazz and suggested I visit a place called Jazz Alley. 

Right then in the back of his car I went on my phone and looked up the schedule at Jazz Alley. Sure enough, an artist I had been wanting to see for years was performing.

When he dropped me off, I gave him a large tip added to that ride share because he decided he would go beyond just dialogue and really made it a point to connect with me and enhance my experience. 

You may not do that gig forever, but if you find a way to love it and learn from it, you will open doors to the next experience.

Tip #3 - The money is never where you think it is. 

I learned this from my friend, Joel Block. Joel taught me that, in business, when everybody is going right, you go left. 

When others are zigging, you zag. 

So as a freelancer, you have to begin to look for what’s missing. 

What’s missing is where you make the most money. 

As a freelancer, what is your end goal? How long are you going to do this, and why are you doing it? Are you not only doing it for money but also for meaning? 

Tip #4 - Do a freelancer study 

Any place you go, it’s the top 20% that drive 80% of the revenue. 

Who are the top 20% of influencers in your space? What do they do really well, and how do they drive all the revenue? What are their habits? What are their failures? What are their wins? What can you learn from them?

I had to learn early on that if I wanted to be an established author, I had to learn from the successful authors to see what they were doing and not doing. One of the things I quickly realized is: successful authors have a way to build an ecosystem that drove other revenue around their books; not just the book itself.

So, creating a surround sound of marketing that book taught me: I need to build other products and services around that experience.

Tip #5

I believe in the law of reciprocity.How can you look for an opportunity not just to benefit yourself but to pay it forward?

Can you refer others to something someone else is doing and send business their way without looking for anything in return? 

That’s coming from a place of abundance instead of scarcity. 

BONUS TIP - Work hard and build strong relationships.

Someone recently asked me why I thought I was successful when there were so many other people trying to make it in my space. This was my answer:

I will out-hustle you, I will out-think you, I will out-relationship you, and I will absolutely follow up. 

The fortune is in the follow up, and I am all about relationships. 

What separates me is understanding the psychology of nurturing and developing one-to-one relationships long term. 

I understand that, plus I will do the work on the back end. 

Because while relationships are 50% of your success, relationships don’t work unless you do.

I am willing to get up earlier than anybody else and read the book, write in my journal, do my meditation. 

Then I will get out there and out hustle you. 

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Simon T. Bailey is an international speaker, writer and personal transformation strategist. He is the author of Shift Your Brilliance: Harness the Power of You, Inc., and Be the SPARK: Five Platinum Service Principles for Creating Customers for Life.

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