When I started freelancing more than a decade ago, I was determined not to become one of “those” freelancers. I woke up early, showered and dressed, and sat dutifully at my desk. When I wasn’t working on an assignment, I forced myself to pitch new ideas and contact new editors.
Today, I’m reaping the benefits of that early diligence and, thankfully, letting myself enjoy the perks of being a free agent. I get some of my best work done in the early hours, in pajamas. I carve out time for long runs in the middle of the day, even if it means working later at night or on the weekend. When I have a lull, I relish the down time.
Delve into the “business models” of successful freelancers and they seem to have the best of both worlds—autonomy, flexibility and a steady paycheck. The secret: They run their freelance careers like a business, even if that business happens to be headquartered at the kitchen table. Here are seven habits I’ve adopted or picked up from my growing network of freelancer friends.
1) Perfect your elevator pitch: Entrepreneurs know how to succinctly describe what they do and where they add value. As a freelancer, you need to take a similar approach, if only for your own sanity. Years ago, I realized that simply saying I was a freelancer connoted that I spent my days passing time in coffee shops or dabbled in writing between spin classes. “Well, some of us have to go to work” was a common response. Now when people ask what I do, I say I’m a financial writer. Specificity adds credibility—and makes it easier for would-be clients to identify you on LinkedIn.
2) Have a pricing strategy: For early freelancers this can be tricky. On the one hand, you want to build your book of business, and that may require working for less than fair market value. Consider it your start-up costs. Once you have enough work in your pipeline, however, you need to set parameters, both on an hourly and project basis.
3) Make calculated exceptions: That said, there are times when you should be willing to negotiate, whether it’s under the banner of employee morale (your own) or business development. If a project opens doors, takes you in a new direction that interests you, or benefits a cause you care about—think of it as your personal social giving campaign—there is additional value, beyond the fee.
4) Write a mission statement: OK, so maybe you left your j-o-b precisely because of mission statements and TPS reports. Still, there is something to be said for understanding why you go to work, so to speak, and do what you do. In a corporate setting, your managers help you think about career development. In the freelance world, it’s up to you to set goals and chart your path.
5) Pay yourself a salary: Managing cash flow is probably the biggest challenge for freelancers. For me, the solution came when a freelance friend, a video producer, mentioned her maternity leave. “How did you swing that as a freelancer?” I asked. Her strategy is to treat herself as an employee of her sole proprietorship. She pays herself the same salary every two weeks, rain or shine. In good months, she builds up reserves so she can still earn a steady salary when things are slow. A regular paycheck not only makes it easier to pay bills and plan, it makes it harder to treat big checks as a license to splurge.
6) Create a virtual water cooler: Unless your work regularly takes you outside the home office, isolation is a risk. Even the most self-sufficient members of the gig economy need confidantes to brainstorm ideas or talk through dilemmas. What about your spouse or partner? Unless he or she knows your industry and can offer truly unbiased advice—easier said than done—it’s no substitute for a network of peers. My network includes colleagues in my field, many of whom are in full-time jobs, as well as an eclectic mix of freelancers.
7) Don’t try to do it all: Founders of start-up companies often talk about how, in the early days, they do everything from develop the product to take out the trash. In time, though, they staff up and focus on the areas where they add the most value. Freelancers can also benefit from this evolution. “Focus on what you’re good at,” says my friend Martin, a freelance photographer who has assembled a small team of experts to help him with everything from bookkeeping to production. He’s also learned to pass on jobs that aren’t a good fit. “Have a network of other freelancers close at hand for the things that seem to be your road blocks or time sucks,” he says. “It makes it a lot easier to say no.”
十幾年前剛開始自己單干時，我就下決心不做傳統意義上的自由職業者。我每天早早起床，洗澡換衣服，然后在桌前認真工作。沒有工作的時候，我就強迫自己想想新點子，認識新編輯等等。
而今，一開始建立的好習慣讓我受益匪淺，我真正享受到從事自由職業的快樂。清晨，我穿著睡衣完成一些最耗腦子的工作。白天抽時間長跑，即使要把工作推后到深夜或者周末才能完成。工作間歇時，我就好好享受閑暇時光。
深入了解成功自由職業者的“商業模式”就會發現，他們似乎擁有兩全其美的生活：高度自治且靈活，又有穩定的收入。秘訣在于：他們像管理企業一樣經營自由職業，只是企業總部可能是在廚房餐桌上。以下七個習慣有的是我學來的，有的來自我越來越廣的自由職業者朋友圈子。
1)學會用最短的時間給別人好印象。企業家知道如何用最簡練的語言描述自己的事業，以及核心價值在哪。自由職業者也一樣，哪怕只是為了幫自己想清楚也好。幾年前我發現，告訴別人我是自由職業者等于在暗示，我每天在咖啡館無所事事，或是踩動感單車的間隙玩票似的寫點東西。對方一般會這樣回應：“唉，我們還得去上班。”現在別人問我在做什么，我會說是財經領域撰稿人。表明專業領域不但能提高可信度，也讓潛在客戶更容易在LinkedIn上認出你。
2)有一套定價策略。對自由職業的新手來說，學會定價有點難。拓展業務時，要價可能得比市場價格低一些。不妨把低價當作創業的成本。一旦手頭的工作夠多，就要想清楚定價策略了，一般是按每小時收多少，或是每個項目收多少計算。
3)學會算大賬。這就是說，無論是為了維持員工(你自己)士氣還是為了開拓業務，有時在報價上都應留有余地。如果有個項目能開闊視野，帶你走上感興趣的新路，或者對你關心的事業——比如個人回饋社會有幫助，那么項目就有附加值，不能只看能賺多少錢。
4)明確個人目標。或許你辭去之前的工作正是受夠了寫個人目標和測試流程規范(TPS)報告。不過，適當寫寫能幫助你想清楚上班的意義，也就是說你要明白為什么要做手上的工作。在企業里，領導會幫你考慮職業發展問題。干上自由職業，你就得學會自己設定目標，規劃職業道路。
5)給自己發薪。管理現金流可能是自由職業者最大的挑戰。有一次，一位做視頻的自由職業朋友說給自己放產假，我發現她的辦法很好。我問她：“你做自由職業，怎么給自己放假?”她的策略是，把自己看作個人企業的員工，每兩周發一次薪水，不管生意好壞數目都不變。生意好的時候，她將結余存起來，不景氣的時候再貼補。定期支薪后，應付開銷、制定收支計劃時會從容許多，賺到一大筆時也不會肆意揮霍。
6)要注意維持社交圈子。如果你的工作不用經常外出見人，要小心與世隔絕的風險。即便再能自給自足，也需要三兩知己聊聊天出出主意，遇到難事也有人傾訴。找伴侶或是愛人說?除非他或者她了解你的行業，能給出中正客觀的建議——說來容易做來難，排憂解難最好還是找圈子里的同行。我的朋友圈里就有不少從事相同領域的同事，許多人做全職工作，也有些自由職業者。
7)盡量別大包大攬。初創公司的創始人經常會談到公司剛起步時，從開發產品到扔垃圾什么都做過。但過段時間有新員工加入后，就會把專注創造價值。自由職業者也可以學習這種重心的轉化。我的朋友馬丁就說過：“要做你最擅長的事。”馬丁是自由攝影師，他組建了一個小型專家團隊，幫忙處理從記賬到制作等各方面事務。他現在還會把不方便做的工作轉出去。“要跟自由職業者圈子保持緊密聯系，做起來有困難或是時間不合適的工作就可以推薦給別人，”馬丁說，“這樣推掉工作就容易多了。”
