Working as a freelancer can be a very liberating feeling in many ways, but there are also a lot of pressures that come with being self-employed. Not only do you have to file your tax returns every year, but you also need to make sure you are working with enough clients to cover your living expenses, as well as finding a healthy work/life balance for the sake of your well-being. If you have recently become a freelancer and are finding this difficult, below are a few ideas that you might find useful to get more out of your working experience.
Get into a Good Routine
One of the benefits of working as a freelancer is that you can decide which hours you want to work during the day. This is ideal for those who are looking for more flexibility and prefer to work outside of the traditional 9-to-5 office hours. However, while this can be a perk, it can also be easy to fall out of any good routine. Not only can this impact your productivity, but it can also start to affect your general well-being. If you want to get the most out of your freelancing career, a good place to start is setting yourself working hours throughout the week and sticking to this routine. It will help you maintain a good balance between work and downtime, and hopefully, help you stay more focused.
Keep Developing Your Skills
You might have a talent for the type of work you do, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still be striving to make improvements. When you are employed by another company, usually there are employee development programs in place to help you enhance your skills and reach your potential. As a freelancer, you will need to take on this responsibility, especially as you will be competing with a lot of other talented professionals in your field. Consider writing down a list of your strengths and weaknesses to understand better the areas you could make improvements. Once you have done this, set aside some time each week for professional development to research and practice some of the other skills you want to work on.
Find a Suitable Workspace
A lot of freelancers choose to work from home as this might be more convenient or cost-effective for them. If you are going to do this, make sure you have created a dedicated workspace in your home to help you have some separation from work and your living environment – ideally, having a spare room you could set up as a home office. While this can work for some, you might find that paying to use a shared workspace or leasing a private studio might be more beneficial to you. This could help you put more distance between your home and work, which might improve your focus, enable you to relax more when you are at home, and even offer a more professional appearance if you want to meet clients. Do some research to find a workspace in your budget by looking at places like this company for studio space in Manchester.
Make the Effort to Network
Whether you’re self-employed or not, networking can be greatly beneficial to your career. Freelancers will have more pressure to make these connections, however, as you can’t rely on your employer to introduce you to people or recommend you for a promotion. Using social media platforms like LinkedIn can be great for this, but other channels might be useful to you depending on the kind of work you do. For example, if you are a photographer or artist, using Instagram can be a good way to showcase your work and connect with potential clients.
You should also look out for other networking opportunities in your local area and beyond. Conferences that are relevant to the industry you work in can be a good place to meet potential clients or even other freelancers whom you might be able to collaborate with on a project. At the very least, these events could be an educational opportunity for you to learn more about what is trending in your industry or develop your skills.
Make Time for Promotion
Networking is great for meeting potential clients, but this isn’t the only way you can source more work. You will need to make time to promote yourself as a freelancer across the relevant channels, whether that is through social media, or creating profiles on relevant sites for the type of work you do. You should also consider creating a professional website for yourself where you can share samples of your work, and more details about yourself, and even keep a blog that can give website visitors further insight into what you do.
If you want to get more out of working as a freelancer, consider the tips above and see how they can help you achieve your goals and boost your client base.
