"Back to the Basics" | A Freelancer Series

As 2023 draws ever closer towards the end, and some of us are trying our best to accomplish whatever goals we've set of the year, others might be trying to look to 2024 and thinking about the things that they want to start doing. About a month ago, I wrote an article on LinkedIn where I attempted to share 7 of the most essential lessons for aspiring freelancers to achieve successful careers in this line of work. You can read about it here.

After which, I also decided that it would be timely for me to release a series of articles to dive into the various aspects of a freelancer's life, and share my thoughts and experiences with you on how to be really successful in each of those areas. The goal is that before 2023 draws to a close, I would've published a small library of articles to help individuals like yourself to become more successful in the months and years to come.

So before we get into all of that, I'm going to start with the most basic stuff:

• What you need to think about (before you start...)
• What to do next (now that you've secured your first client/customer)

Within each of those sub-topics, I will cover in slightly more detail about how you should plan your initial investments (if you need any starting up costs), setting clear goals for yourself (as a freelancer), identifying who your target clients will be. I will then cover what to do next, now that you have secured your very first client/customer. I'll share about time management, establishing effective communication, and how to build a strong relationship with your customer/client.

So, let us dive right into it!

What you need to think about (before you start...)

After spending close to 18 years as a freelancer, I think I'm in a pretty good position to talk about my own mistakes and lessons. Becoming a successful freelancer isn't instantaneous. And you shouldn't be expecting that either. In order to be a successful freelancer, it requires putting enough thought into your plans and timeline. It requires that you are both grounded in your view of what is possible, but also have some faith because freelancing in many aspects, is like running your own business (minus the formality).

What Drives You?

We all want to get into freelancing for a number of different reasons. Some folks get into it because they are simply looking for an avenue to pursue their side interests. They do it because they are passionate about it, and they aren't really thinking about trying to make a profit. And then there are those that want to do a career switch (outside their main income source) but see that they might not have sufficient working experiences to compete with the others in the job market. Freelancing becomes the next viable method to building up their working experiences. Finally, we have the third category of freelancers. They view freelancing as a way to generate an additional source of income (on top of their full-time jobs).

While those three categories are where we find most freelancers today, it is not uncommon to find freelancers who want to do it for slightly different reasons. But whatever that reason is, your first objective before you actually start taking on clients - is to thinking about what your mission statement is. What really drives you? What motivates you? Why are you doing this?

Having a strong and clear mission statement is extremely important, especially during the more challenging spells along your journey. There will be times when you'd start to question your own choices. You will experience plenty of self-doubts. Trust me, I've already been down that path multiple times myself. It is in such moments that you need to be able to remind yourself of why you started in the first place. Having a really strong personal mission as a freelancer will keep you going during the darkest times.

Do You Require [Any] Start-up Investment?

While you might only be a freelancer, like I mentioned before, it is in many ways quite similar to managing your own business. You need to think about your start-up investment (or capital if you prefer that terminology). For many freelancers, usually this doesn't involve much. In many cases, you might already have everything that you need to get up and running. In other cases, you might actually need to purchase additional hardware, tools, software, and so on.

But whatever the case maybe, I would strongly recommend that you take the time to sit down and make a list of everything that you need in order to perform a really good job. The only question that you really have to answer is, "what will I be needing in order to deliver a high-quality product/service for my clients/customers?"

Think "Lean"

Now, depending on your available start-up funds, and the list of everything that you might need in order to deliver a great product/service, the next thing I want you to do is to think "lean". By lean, I mean, what is the absolutely minimum that you need to get started? It is not always necessary that you must have everything ready before you begin. In fact, speaking from my own experiences, I believe that it would be wiser to just start with the bare minimum. And once you have started earning more, you can then plan which of the items on your list you should invest in next.

I believe the most obvious immediate benefit of thinking "lean" is that you get to lower your initial investment (using less time to breakeven on that investment).

But taking a "lean" approach to your budding freelancer career also doesn't mean that you go straight for the cheapest tools and hardware available. I highly recommend that you start with something of better quality. Something that can last you for at least the first few clients/customers (before you need to start thinking about upgrading what you have). Nothing says "expensive" like paying for something cheap, only to have it breakdown in the middle of servicing a client. The replacement costs (in certain aspects of freelancing work) can be even more costly.

Who are Your Target Audiences?

Another really important aspect of being a successful freelancer, is to develop a clear vision of who your target clients/customers are. No matter the kind of services or products you are trying to promote/market, knowing who your target audiences are is winning half the battle.

I can speak from experience that when your vision of your target audience isn't clear, you can end up wasting a lot of time and resources going after clients and customers that might not be suitable to what you're trying to offer. Regardless of whether your target audiences are business entities or individuals you need to be able to answer these questions clearly and be specific about it:

• What is the demographic?
• What are your charging rates (i.e. hourly)? Hence, will your target customers/clients have the budget to pay you?
• What is your unique value proposition? If there are indeed competitors, how do you differentiate yourself from them? (Again, it's not about who is cheaper or more affordable.)

The "Abundance Mentality"

As a freelancer, you need to constantly and consciously adjust and keep your mindset in-check. It is not uncommon for freelancers to sometimes feel like they are competing with bigger companies that are providing "more professional" services. When I first started out as a freelancer, I always had to struggle with my own self-doubts. It's like having an sense of inadequacy. I was constantly worried that I would not be good enough to compete with other more experienced freelancers, or the design agencies with their nice physical offices. I was worried that more clients would flock to them instead of considering a freelancer like myself.

I was basically having a mindset where there isn't enough for me. That mindset made me desperate each time that a potential client/customer came along. I was so desperate that I lost all negotiating power (even though I did have some unique value proposition). My desperation was my own "Achilles heels" during those earlier years of my freelancing career.

But as soon as I started to change the way I think about freelancing opportunities, and I started to promote my value instead of worrying about the lack of opportunities, things began to change. I was able to start charging more and I also became more confident about myself and what I was offering. In that moment (and the immediate moments after that), I began looking back and realizing that I was able to secure some of those gigs over other more experienced freelancers, and in some cases, even more well-established international consulting firms. It helped me to realize that there is always an abundance of opportunities. All we have to do is change our perspective.

What to do next (now that you've secured your first client/customer)

Great! Now that you have secured your very first client. The deal/agreement has been signed, what's next?

For the majority of freelancers that are starting out for the first time, we often don't put too much thought into it. We usually just dive right into work. It's not uncommon for first-time freelancers to be so excited that they would suddenly "disappear". From the customer/clients perspective, it's like we've dropped off the face of the earth and they won't hear from us until closer to the deadline that we have promised them.

I'm sure you can almost immediately tell that there are a number of major pitfalls to this situation. But just to share a few of them here:

• a lack of communication always leads to more miscommunication.
• constant check-ins with the client would help to avoid massive reworks towards the end (delaying the deadline).
• constant communication also helps to establish accountability and trust.

Being a freelancer (like running a successful business) isn't all about the work. Although, yes, being able to deliver amazing quality, in terms of the services you provide, or the products you create, are the main priorities. But no, it is not the only important aspect of becoming a successful freelancer.

Building Meaningful Working Relationships

To be a successful freelancer is also about building relationships. While I wouldn't go that far to calling it friendships, I think it is possible for some working relationships to transform into friendships over time. Meeting up with your client bi-weekly doesn't necessarily mean that you need to discuss work every single time. Some meetings could just be for coffee/meal, just to chit-chat and spend time getting to know each other better. It is about building genuine and authentic working relationships with your clients.

Managing Your Cashflow & Expenses

After I had published this article yesterday, I realized that I had missed out on one really important aspect of being a successful freelancer. While it has nothing to do with the client/customer, in hindsight today, I think that it is still an extremely crucial quality that every freelancer must have in order to be considered successful.

I've already highlighted the fact that freelancing isn't the most stable source of income, and with that, I think it is quite obvious to draw your own conclusions that there will be times (sometimes weeks, and sometimes months) where you may find it difficult to secure a gig. That is also a major part of the reason why I've always seen freelancing as a side gig rather than a full-time thing (especially during the early years of getting into it).

It actually took me a really long time before I finally managed to learn one of the most basic lessons of what it means to be a successful freelancer - money management.

When it comes to freelancing (unlike working in a full-time job), when you manage to secure a gig, chances are you would already have collected an upfront deposit. If you haven't been doing so, you really should. Never ever take on a job without an initial upfront payment. This is to protect yourself. At the very same time, for many new freelancers, the joy and excitement of closing your first deal can sometimes become a form of temptation in itself. You might end up feeling tempted to want to increase your daily expenses/budget. Maybe eat something nicer, or arrange your meetings with clients are fancy cafes and so on. Maybe there's something that you really want to get and now that you finally have the budget, you're thinking to yourself that it's okay to pay for it.

That guys, is what I call "instant gratification".

This may not be the case of every single freelancer for sure. I think there are some who are wiser and more prudent with how they use their funds, and that's a good thing. We should all aspire towards that. But there are some of us who aren't as naturally good at managing our finances. And yes, there are those of us who might succumb to the urges and temptations to spend our money on things that we might not need in that immediate moment.

Because I spent most of my freelancing career on the side (usually on top of a stable income), I never really had a lot of practice when it comes to bring prudent or wise with my finances. I loved certain tech gadgets and yes, I used to indulge in certain expensive hobbies (i.e. photography). Over time, I realized that I was spending when really, I should've been saving up and setting the money aside for the rainy days.

After 18 years of being a freelancer, I'm at least glad to share that I've finally understood the importance and value of money. With that, I've also learned to appreciate the reality that when I do secure a freelance gig, it is my responsibility to manage my finances wisely.

Just because you have a bigger (slightly more comfy) budget now, it doesn't mean that you have to increase your expenses along with it. Inline with an earlier subtopic about thinking "lean", I want to challenge you to do the same with your expenses. Figure out ways to do more with less. Be resourceful. Bear in mind that there is no guarantee that you will immediately land a gig right after this client/customer. And chances are, you have no idea how long you'll need to last until the next one comes along.

I felt that this lesson is so crucial, especially for newcomers because the early years of freelancing is often the most difficult ones. You won't be making a lot of profit (on top of the project expenses/costs), so you really need to be wise with how you're spending your money. The more resourceful you can be, the better you will be at rolling over some of those potential expenses into your profits/savings.

Even at the top-tier level right now (with the potential of making 20% profit on each client), I'm still thinking about how I can be more resourceful, keep my expenses as lean as possible, so that I can increase my profit from 20% to 25%, taking that extra 5% from the expenses that I can save over time.

Being wise and prudent with your expenses & budget should never be done at the expense of the quality of your work. Never ever take shortcuts on your services or products simply because you think it would help to increase your profit margin. Once the client learns about it, you will lose your reputation and the trust they have in you. That unfortunately is not something you can earn back so easily.

These days, I choose to maintain what I like to consider as a 90% "cash-only-spending" lifestyle. Most of what I spend on, I would either pay for it with cash, or NETs. If I really need to renew my subscription for a certain tool, I would use my debit card services. I no longer own any credit cards and I don't see the need to have one either. This is more of a personal choice, so you may not need to do exactly what I do. For me, I just find it easier to maintain 100% visibility of where and how I'm spending my money. It's much easier to account for nearly every single dollar that I have. And I actually like what I'm doing.

Achieving Maximum Productivity Through Work-Life Balance

I won't lie, at the previous peaks of my freelancing journey, I was able to truly experience the kind of "work-life balance" that most first-time freelancers are attracted to. It's part of the reason why some freelancers considered the idea of going full-time into freelancing. Although I would not recommend it for 99% of first-time freelancers. Not unless you already have at least a solid amount of savings and a good base of potential referrals and network to tap on.

Since this article is speaking to that 99% of first-time freelancers, I'm going to share with you my advice and lesson on how to achieve that work-life balance that you're so excited about.

First of all, I need you to manage your own expectations about this goal. Most first-timers usually struggle with this the most, so it's not uncommon for first-timers to take awhile to get use to the lifestyle of being a freelancer.

To really achieve a real, genuine work-life balance as a freelancer, you'll need a few things:

• Have clearly stated work hours. Regardless of whether you're doing it outside of a full-time job, or doing it full-time, be very clear with yourself and your clients about your operating hours.
• Make sure that you also have time set aside for yourself ("me-time"), and also time for your own family commitments.
• Now that you have time for work and fun, you need to dedicate yourself fully to those working hours that you have set. Remember, achieving maximum productivity isn't about how many hours you've spent working on something, it's about how much you can achieve within the hours that you've set for work.

These days, I ignore 99% of people on LinkedIn who likes to brag about their "hustle lifestyle". Honestly, I don't find it impressive at all. Most of these folks thinks it makes them sound amazing. But really, it just means lousy time management. They have zero work-life balance. And trust me, they are usually the first ones to experience extreme burn out. I say that only because I used to one of them.

If you want to build a long, and sustainable freelance career without losing your passion along the way, you will need to find your own balance. There's never a one-size-fits-all solution here. What would work for you might not work for me. So you have to go figure out what that balance in your life will look like, and then set your time management around it.

Communicate. Communicate. Communicate.

As a final part of this "Back to the Basics" freelance article, I want to talk about the most important aspect of your work as a freelancer - Communication.

I wasn't always very good at this. In fact, this used to be my greatest flaw/weakness as a freelancer. I've always seen myself more as a "doer". I tend to prefer doing the work, and showing the results of my work, over having multiple discussions and WhatsApp exchanges. I used to avoid it.

But my avoidance of communicating with my clients also led to some of my biggest failures and regrets as a freelancer too. Every time I look back and reflect on my lessons, I would remember those times when things would've turned out so differently had I taken the time to properly communicate with the client.

Having great effective communication is a skill that you can develop over time. It doesn't require long, lengthy WhatsApp or constant email exchanges. Sometimes one well-written (i.e. point-form) email is more than enough to cover 10 lengthy WhatsApp messages.

Verify, Don't Assume

There could be instances where the customer/client prefers to bombard you with multiple messages just to share their thoughts and ideas. And sometimes, when the group chat gets flooded with messages, it can be very easy to lose sight of certain points and overlook it.

I highly recommend that you get into the habit of noting everything down. Once you have done that, go over the notes and see if you understand what the client is trying to tell you. Chances are, there will always be times when the message could be lost in translation, other times, the client is in a rush and they have this sudden inspiration and they just want to quickly share their thoughts with you (not in properly structured english sentences).

So, if there is anything that you are not sure, I highly recommend that you pick up your phone and call your client. Arrange a time to call them if they are busy so that you can verify certain things they are trying to tell you. Never assume that you know what they mean. One of the biggest mistakes that any new first-time freelancers can make, is to assume they know what the client/customer want.

Welcome to the Club!

Before I end this article, I want to take a moment to welcome you as an aspiring/brand new freelancer. As challenging as it might seem to be a first-time freelancer, I want to encourage you to think about the rewarding experiences that comes with your decision to take on this new adventure. Sure, I think like most things in life, freelancing might work better for some people than others, but I also believe that if you have done the necessary preparation and groundwork, you will stand a better chance of having a fruitful experience being one. Whether or not you will ultimately become a successful freelancer still requires performing well in other areas, and that's what this series of articles is meant to do. But as a top-tier freelancer, I am telling you that getting the basics right, is absolutely essential regardless of whether you are a first-time, or an 18-year pro!

Welcome to the club!