Wouldn’t it be nice to live in a world where, if we just had the courage to take the first step, everything else would fall neatly into place?
If we just went on that date, we’d get married and live happily ever after. If we just went to one house showing, we’d find our dream home. If we just started our freelance business, the clients would all come running…
It’s like the old Field of Dreams adage: “If you build it, they will come.” (If you haven’t seen it, it’s a good one—right in Kevin Costner’s heyday.)
But sadly, that’s *never* how it works. If you want people to come and—more importantly—stay, there is some work involved.
When a lot of people think of going freelance, they just assume they’ll go out there and clients will fall into their lap. They often forget that freelancing in itself requires a certain set of skills and qualities to be successful.
So if you’re wondering, “Is freelance training really necessary?” The answer is a resounding…YES!
Any Job Requires Training
As someone who has gone from a full-time job right into freelancing, I know how daunting it can feel to have a whole day ahead of you that’s no longer completely scheduled out for you by a project manager.
Now, YOU are the project manager and you’re wearing a lot more hats as a freelancer than you would in a normal 9-5 job. And while that’s fantastic in so many ways, you also need to know *how* to wear those hats.
If your goal is to go freelance, just having expertise in your field isn’t going to get you there on its own.
It’s not just a case of, “Okay, I have a skill now, I’m not employed by someone else, I’m freelancing!” First of all, if you haven’t yet been paid for it, you’re technically not freelancing. But it’s also important to recognize that freelancing is a skill set aside from the skill you offer to your clients.
And when you hear people’s frustration around freelancing like, “Oh, freelancing is SO hard and risky, there’s no consistency in income—I’m going back on staff”, it’s likely because they jumped into freelancing without a plan. One of the biggest reasons freelancers fail is because they didn’t have the set of freelancing skills they needed to succeed.
You need training for any career, whether it’s flying a plane or being a post office worker. And freelancing is no different.
Can’t I Just Google It?
When you decide to become a freelancer, you are essentially signing up to be the owner of a small, micro-sized business. That means you need to think about all aspects of starting and running a business, from landing clients to managing business finances.
Sure, you *could* learn on the job, haphazardly searching for random bits of information that may or may not be relevant to your business. You could spend years making mistakes, getting corrected, trying to find mentors that can teach you, and bumbling through projects hoping that clients will keep working with you (even when your communication and project management skills are sub-par). Oh, and that’s if you can land a client with no experience or knowledge to begin with!
But the truth is, it’s just a waste of your time and energy to try to learn it yourself when other people can teach you. Why put your career and success at risk trying to figure it out on your own when there are people who know what you need to know and are ready and willing to put that knowledge at your disposal?
And we’ve put together the Freelance Success Framework to answer just those needs. You get the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of being a freelancer, no matter what service you’re offering (graphic design, bookkeeping, social media management, web development, or corporate wellness consulting, etc…). The FSF will help you consistently land clients who need your service and give you all the tips, tricks, and strategies that will help you get your freelance business up and running and on the right track.
“Just Go Freelance” is Terrible Advice
Fundamentally, it is a very simple process to build your freelance career into as big of a career as you want. But just because it’s simple, doesn’t mean that it’s easy. If you want a successful career—surprise!—there’s going to be some work involved to get you there.
And one of the hardest parts of freelancing for many of us is overcoming our own resistance and getting out of our comfort zone. This is hands down the number one thing that people don’t prepare for when they say “I’m just going to go freelance”.
As adults, we often feel like we should just know how to do things and when we don’t know something, it makes us feel uncomfortable. But why should you know it? No one’s born knowing how to freelance. Just like no one’s born knowing how to design a web page or write copy.
And so once you reframe it and see freelancing as a skill you are learning, that helps to shift your perspective so that you’re not stuck thinking you should just be able to figure it out on your own.
“Just go freelance” is terrible advice—holding your nose and jumping in is a really unnecessarily risky way to lead your life, your career, and to deal with your finances.
But the good news is that if you want to be a full-time freelancer and make a good income, it is 100% possible. It’s just a very discreet set of steps that you have to go through to make it happen.
And you can take the very first step by watching our free, on-demand video training now, where we reveal the three secrets to earning six figures as a freelancer!
Your Turn
How are you honing your freelance skills to set your business up for success? Let us know in the comments below!
