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The Roadblocks to Freelancing

The road, or rather, the journey towards full-time freelancing was not an easy one. It is something that I continue to be amazed about...myself. Remember, I did this during the early days of the internet when even 'telecommuting' was often met with 'Are you nuts?!' My grandmother asked me to get a REAL job, my family wasn't happy that I have wasted three years worth of law degree and I was facing a financial and parenting crisis.

I mean, come to think of, I really had the balls to do it when I was a brand new mother with an extra mouth to feed, eh? I can guffaw my way through now....it wasn't funny back then. LOL.

I've friends who passionately expressed their wish to freelance and asked me how to go about doing it. I will peel it all down into a few things:-

Networking
Freelancing means you are in it on your own now. You will need to be sociable and sell yourself often. Pimp yourself or get someone to pimp for you. Loads of it. Yes, freelancing is all about 'getting things done' but there is nothing to be done if you do not go out there and sell yourself. So, put on your best clothes and smile away.

You guys have it easy, man, cause you have the internet, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and all the forums in the world working for you, so work it. Tsk. And we had a small site called Ryze for online purposes and ToastMaster something that we had to attend like....at a ghastly time.

Set aside time for specific things
Otherwise, nothing will get done. You will have emails flying in, deadlines floating by, and then child wailing beside you or a phone that won't stop ringing (that can be good AND bad news, depending on the situation), requests and demands for a 'meeting' (something I hate most because it is known to be one of mankind's most reliable time wasters - and when you are freelancing, TIME is MONEY). So, read and reply emails quickly, make prompt decisions, think fast, find answers and give instructions (if any) confidently.

Move on to the next thing on your list.

And yes, the next thing I will mention would be....none other than....

Use a list
I don't particularly care whether it is a notebook, a 555 book, pieces of paper, your tablet, your computer, an online tool, an organizer (OMG! I will take a picture of my old one and let you have a look....it is such an ancient concept!), use a checklist. Or you will die.

Shut down
There will come a time when you need to shut down, no matter how much of an Iron Man you believe you are. You are not. You are human. Mortal. Shut up and shut everything down.

For a detailed summary of working for yourself, I pretty much agree with what Lifehacker put out some time ago and you can read the whole thing for yourself. Makes pitch perfect sense.


p.s. Funny how I am talking about work on a Saturday. Filling up my tub for a quick dip, that's why. Have a great weekend, people of the world. Be awesome.

XOXO,
Marsha
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