Freelancers, THRIVE, don’t just survive.
by Gina Yap in People+Organizations | 2 Comments | Add your comment

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It’s normal to be earning just enough to survive when you first start out as a freelancer. In fact, it’s a blessing to be surviving the first few months when most others out there are struggling to earn their first pay cheque on the first month. But don’t let that leave you comfortable. Survival is just the first stage of freelancing. As freelancers, we must thrive and succeed beyond the survival circle because that’s the whole purpose in the first place: To stand up and succeed in the things we love to do most. If you are just looking at survival, you may as well get a fulltime job and be well secured in your life. Freelancing is not a survival game; it’s a thriving game. And here are some ways you can thrive as a freelancer.

Never limit your earnings
Don’t be easily satisfied with what you achieve. If you earn RM2,000 with a fulltime job, know that you should earn more than that when you start freelancing. Why? Because you deserve more. When you have a fulltime job, your boss determines your value. When you are your own boss, your value is in your hands. You determine how much you want to earn; not based on your boundaries but based on what you can do beyond your boundaries.

Think and plan long term
Don’t stop at this month’s pay cheque. When you have earned the amount you need to live life this month, don’t stop and enjoy life. Don’t live on that money and wait for next month to come to worry about next month’s pay cheque. Think long term and act ahead. In the freelance world, there are ups and downs. Some months you earn more, some months you earn less. Be prepared and plan long term to keep thriving.

Expand your network
A surviving freelancer acts within his circle of friends; a thriving freelancer acts within and beyond his circle of network. There is no limit to business and client leads. Your potential clients could be anywhere. They could be your friend’s friends, or your facebook’s friends, or even friend of friends. If you limit yourself within your network, you are stopping yourself from getting more business leads. Expand and go beyond. Tap on other people’s network to grow even more. That way, you won’t earn enough just to survive, you will thrive for success.

Keep clients happy
And they will definitely come back to you. No matter what your business is about, a regular client is always better than a touch-n-go client. Always give your best to every project because the world is watching you. Your performance in one will affect your reputation, which would affect your business opportunities. Serve your clients well and keep them happy. Then they will come back to you for future projects and even recommend you to their network of friends.

ABOUT THE COLUMNIST

Gina Yap Lai Yoong is a full time freelancer focusing on writing and designing communication strategies for branding & marketing campaigns for various corporate clients in the country. While many wouldn’t choose to dive into the challenges and uncertainties of full time freelancing, she has decided to travel this path so that she could spend more time doing the things she love – which includes helping others to discover the full potential in them through inspiration and motivation. Her debut Malay novel is out at the market in 2010. She resides at Cybermate's Dungeon.

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