6 Things You Must Do to Be a Successful Freelancer

If you think that freelancers have the freedom to avoid bothersome tasks, you’re right. If you think that freelancers can get spoiled, you’re wrong. Earning a decent sum of money is not any easier for a freelancer than it is for an office worker and can, in fact, be more difficult due to the tight competition.

If you want to succeed as a freelancer, you need to be clever in your choices and determined to push through all obstacles. The gig economy is, after all, far larger than one country’s economy, and all the world can bid for gigs (well, most of it anyway).

Let’s see how you can become a successful freelancer.

1. Consider Being a Digital Nomad

There is a huge difference between freelancers and digital nomads, but the latter can also encompass both practices. For example, if you’re coming from a rich country and can perform your work remotely, moving to a less-expensive country may be the best option.

Consider the benefits: you’ll retain your high salary and spend considerably less while abroad. That will allow you to set money aside and enjoy the digital nomad lifestyle.

However, not everything is ideal. You’ll need to learn about U.S. expat taxes and manage your own insurance while abroad.

For the first, you can either hire a local bookkeeper or learn bookkeeping yourself. For both, rely on the expat community’s advice, especially from the people who have spent some time in your chosen country already.

2. Manage Your Schedule

If you’re not bound by a fixed schedule — that is, if you’re freelancing rather than relying on a single job with fixed working hours, you should learn to manage your schedule.

To fully enjoy the freelancer lifestyle, you don’t want to take on so much work that it robs you of the independence a freelancer should enjoy. This is most efficiently achieved by securing a stable client base. That’s why you should always give your best in every gig so that the client won’t need to consider other freelancers for their future projects.

3. Continue Learning

Being the best is not easy. It has never been, no matter the setting, and freelancing is no different. If you want to grow professionally on your own terms, you should keep learning. In addition to hard skills, you’ll also need to master soft skills and the right ways of communication.

Custom eLearning is a godsend for freelancers, so take your time choosing the best courses online. There is literally a choice for everyone — you only need to plan your time and resources wisely.

4. Choose the Right Tools and Apps

For freelancers, choosing the right tools and apps is essential. And not only that — you’ll need to stay informed about the trends (which change rapidly, by the way) so that the potential clients won’t need to walk you through their communication processes.

The choice of proper email management tools is essential, as online communication starts with emails. Don’t simply rely on traditional choices like Yahoo or Gmail if you need something more advanced. Even investing in a professional email client is a good idea, as you’ll be using the benefits of email all the time.

5. Eliminate Slacking Off

Even if you have established a passable schedule, you should still use your free time wisely. Many freelancers simply laze off in their free time and soon become dissatisfied. This is not a good idea. Even if schedules and freedom may not mix well, it is still better to draft a daily schedule, at least in the beginning, planning activities for your free time.

Don’t skip lunch breaks and rest well, but make sure to also include all other activities you normally enjoy and limit the time for performing them (especially if you’re a Netflix fan). Later on, you may abandon the schedule if you think it constrains you, but it is essential to discipline your brain in the beginning. Otherwise, you’ll just be doing what office workers do — go shopping and stare at the screen aimlessly in their free time.

6. Manage Financing

For gig workers, there’s no telling how much money they will earn in a month. For many freelancers, well-paid projects come occasionally, and they make do with the payment for several months. If you fall into this category, rationalize. Enjoying the moment is the unique opportunity freelancing offers, but it is also advisable to leave some money aside and do smaller projects for daily costs, especially if you’re considering digital nomadism in the future.

Travelling is not cheap and to country hop, you’ll need to have spare money.

Conclusion

Freelancing is a great choice, but even if the freedom it grants is alluring, you’ll still need to be disciplined. Since you won’t be constrained by fixed working hours, use the spare time you’d normally spend on commuting and similar for other activities.

After all, the greatest benefit of freelancing is the opportunity to make different life choices than poor office workers, so use your time and resources wisely. And don’t forget to think about the future!