Aspiring business owners are usually in awe of what I do. They wonder how I’m able to land jobs and make a full-time living from home. I’ve been there. I’ve seen my friends and other freelancers I admire making way more money than me. For quite some time, I couldn’t figure out how they were able to keep closing on great contracts while I was having way more stops than starts. Things changed for me when I commit to action instead of obsessing over finding the secret clue that would bring me more income. The secret sauce is nothing but hard work. There is no shortcut.
It’s Time to Stop Gathering Information
A reader of my blog recently emailed to let me know they do more researching and upgrading their skills than freelancing and earning money. Don’t get me wrong — there is a time and place to learn and increase your skills. I plan to take a writing course before the end of this year to brush up on my skills. I’m not a perfect writer. However, I work hard, I welcome feedback, and I’m someone my clients can rely on to get a job done. These aren’t things you need to learn from reading a bunch of blog posts or books about freelancing. You need to start doing the work. You’ll never get started if you’re more focused on chilling in Facebook groups with other freelancers or reading business advice without acting on it. Taking in too much information and not implementing is a key reason freelancers fail.
I’ve found many nuggets of fantastic information from being on email lists of entrepreneurs and reading blog posts. But you need to be acting on the advice instead of getting lost down the information rabbit hole.
Get Into Action Mode
You may be wondering — how do I get into action mode? The answer is easier than you think. Start by only doing income generating activities. Do exactly what’s necessary to make money and continue doing that until you starting earning an income.
For freelancing, it’s pitching. Don’t get discouraged if you’re starting at square one. Pitch clients for services. There will be many people who completely ignore your pitches and others who decline your offer. However, eventually, you’ll get your first client.
From there, keep the momentum going. Continue pitching and leveraging your network. If you consistently do good work, you’ll get referrals and offered more opportunities. Raise your prices every so often, and you’ve got yourself a career.
These are the basic ingredients that go into freelancing successfully. There’s no magic trick that you’re missing. Yes, there are new marketing tactics you can learn to help you along the way but the basics always remain the same. You can’t make money without doing what’s required and showing up consistently. There’s no such thing as easy freelance money.
Final Word
It’s easy to get stuck in the business research phase because it feels like you’re actually doing work. You could actually just be wasting time. Research will not benefit your bottom line if you’re not doing anything with the information. Start implementing.
