I guess I'm a freelancer now??
At the end of my first summer out of college, I felt that my summer vacation was over and it was time to "start" my career. Due to Co-vid, I moved out of my college apartment and into my dad's place instead of an artsy city. It bruised my ego a little bit. There is quite the stigma about moving back in with you parents, but it can actually be a very practical decision, and it certainly benefited me in many ways.
It didn't seem like companies were hiring so the only other clear option to me was freelancing even though I felt totally clueless about where to start with it. I try to be confident in everything I do, but it really seemed for far-fetched to me that I would be able to make a living off of my art as an independent contractor. Yet there were tons of successful entrepreneurs who started from square one just like me, so f*ck it, why couldn't that be me too?
Honestly, I attribute most of my success to this "f*ck it" attitude.
So I broke down the business model into the broadest categories:
Clients
My Services
Prices for Services
And then I wrote out all my questions and obstacles for each category that would need to be tackled in order to get this business running
Clients -
Where do I get them?????????????????
Why would anyone hire me?????????
Who can I reach out to for referrals?
My Services
What do I do?
How do I keep improving my skills?
Prices for Services
How much $ should I charge? Hourly fee/flat rate?
And then I wrote out all the tasks I needed to do either solve the problems or answer my questions
Clients -
Where do I get them?????????????????
Go on Social Media and let the world know you're looking for jobs
Why would anyone hire me?????????
Because people have hired you in the past
Who can I reach out to for referrals?
Make a list of any person or business who could use your services
Reach out to all those people for opportunities or referrals
My Services
What do I do?*
Make a list of all the projects you've worked on up until this point, and find the recurring themes
What do you think you're currently most skilled at?
How do I keep improving my skills?
Go online and see what skills other professionals emphasize.
Make time every night to target that skill (like a workout)
Prices for Services
How much $ should I charge? Hourly fee/flat rate?
Go online and research
*This was later amended to "What do I like to do?". Don't be like me and wait to ask yourself this question. It's a fundamental question for your professional happiness.
After charting out this rough skeleton on my business, I felt soothed that all the next steps I needed to take were well within my reach. I just had to be consistently performing the tasks I laid out. I politely batted away any thoughts of failure or any pestering expectations for success because I knew they would paralyze me from taking action.
As scary as it is, you learn by doing. I knew that there would be things that I couldn't anticipate, but I would just have to trust that I would handle anything that came my way. Trusting yourself is a huge part of being a freelancer. I even dare to say it's first step to starting any business or endeavor in life. Trust that you'll be adaptable and resilient. Trust that you'll get better. Trust that you have what it takes -- even if you're not sure yet what it takes to make your dreams come true.
And for those who have no trust in themselves - don't worry. Trusting doesn't come naturally to me either. And throughout my journey, I lose trust in myself all the time, but I always gain it back because trust is fuel for me, propelling me out of depressive funks and motivating me to take on bigger challenges.
Whenever I begin a potentially overwhelming project, I feel like a mountain goat taking tiny steps down a steep cliff. I always make a skeleton of a plan because it helps me outline the tiny steps, and with each step I get more confidence and then before I know it, I’m scaling the mountain.
So make your skeleton! Complicated things always seems much simpler with a skeleton, and it creates a roadmap that will give your confidence to get started!
Lessons:
It's ok to move back in with your parents
If you're clueless about achieving a goal, start making a list of all the categories the goal involves
Write out alllllll your questions, doubts, and fears for each category
Write out all the small first steps you can take to resolve each individual question, doubt, or fear you laid out