Freelancing Year 3: The Biggest Lessons I’ve Learnt

At the end of 2017, I decided to leave my full-time job and go freelance. I took a few months off and then around March 2018, took my first steps as a freelance marketer. Thinking back over the last three years so much has changed about me, my business, the way I see the world, my ambitions, and my goals.

After my first year, I wrote a piece about the things I’d learnt. The first year was definitely the hardest, it felt like nothing was happening quickly enough. Like I would never get where I wanted to, always working so hard but feeling like the accomplishments didn't quite measure up and the earnings weren't where I expected them to be. I also did that thing many freelancers do where you look to other freelancers whom you feel are so successful and you wonder what else you could/should be doing, why aren’t you as successful as them? What’s their secret? If you’re a freelancer or a small business owner I’m sure you can relate to this… I’ve met so many over the years who have all said the same thing!

But then year 2 hit, and suddenly things turned around. My 2nd year went by so quickly, I totally missed the anniversary and didn’t write a follow-up piece to my first one! It was another year full of learnings, but also progress. I felt a lot more comfortable in what I was doing and grew in confidence. I also formed fantastic relationships with clients and other business owners and freelancers.

And suddenly I’ve hit the 3-year mark! Just like that, in the blink of an eye!🤯🤯🤯

I love looking back and reflecting. I think it’s so important to take the time to think about everything you have achieved, everything you have learned, things that could have gone better, and how you plan to move forward from here. Setting goals and ambitions, while taking into account everything you’ve experienced.

So, here are some of the things I have learnt in the 3 years I have been freelancing. If you’re just starting out and feeling like I was in year 1, then this might be some reassurance of how things do come together, and it will all work out! If you’re much further along in your freelancing journey, then maybe this is a time for you to also reflect and share your advice and learnings.

Lesson 1: Don't be afraid to try new things

When you’re not a full-time employee, you have a lot more freedom to try new things. And I encourage everyone to do that. It’s such a good way to learn more, to get more of a rounded view of a whole project, to figure out what other skills you have or what else you’d like to pursue. If you just do the same thing every day, you might be missing out on a new passion you didn’t know you had!

In the last couple of years, I tried my hand at project management and translation. Both of these projects came via Hoxby, a global community of freelancers that I just cannot recommend enough. Project management was quite fun for me, I’m a naturally organised person and a good communicator, and as a business owner, you often naturally manage projects anyway! So, I tried it, loved it, and have now added that as a skill. Translation is also something I’d wanted to do for a while. I don’t have formal training in this area, but I’m multi-lingual. I am native Portuguese and I speak fluent Spanish. So, when the opportunity came up to work on a translation project that didn’t require formal training, I jumped at the opportunity. A great project to be a part of and I learnt a lot from the other translators on the team.

There is a lot of advice out there for freelancers and business owners that you should find your ‘niche’ because that makes your services more targeted. And I totally agree with that. But I also think that you should first explore what else you’re capable of before deciding what that ‘niche’ looks like for you.

Lesson 2: Stop taking on those low paying gigs

You know how it goes, you get a spur-of-the-moment request to edit some copy, proofread some work, write a short blog article, or a couple of sentences for a web page. It's an hour or two of your time and an extra £10, £20, £30 in your pocket. Great, I'll take it!

That was me at the start. It made me feel like I was being productive, that every little bit counts, and that it's always better to have a bit of paid work rather than no work. But while it may feel productive at the time, it's actually working against you. It's taking away precious time and headspace that you could be dedicating to something that'll serve you better in the long term.

In the early days, it's quite normal to take on this approach, especially while you're trying to establish yourself, build up a client list, and pay those bills! But after three years, I’ve decided to stop doing that.

I’m a lot more conscious of the projects I take on and consider the return and the potential for future work or long-term relationships. My time is limited, so I want to make sure I make the most of it. I also feel like I have a lot of value to offer and shouldn’t undersell myself. It sets a bad precedence – giving someone a lower rate at the start will make it harder to increase your rate over time.

So the lesson I've learnt is, even though it might feel good to be ‘busy’ and you may be feeling super productive, stop taking on those lower-paying jobs – they’re sucking your precious time and attention. Free up that space in your day and in your mind to allow for better things to come along.

Lesson 3: Always ask for what you deserve and stick to it

This is linked to the previous point. But I cannot stress this enough. It’s hard in the marketing industry because there are so many cheap alternatives. How can you justify charging £200+ for a blog post, when there’s someone on fiverr who claims they can do the same for £10?

To me, it has become clear that if the client is asking me to do it much, much cheaper, then they haven’t understood the value I have to offer. So here I have 2 choices: educate them, or walk away. I usually try the first option before the second. I will spend time during the pitching process to explain what value I bring to the table: my 10+ years of experience, my knowledge of marketing, SEO, content, social media. My positive testimonials, my success stories, what my input can do for their business, what the client can expect from working with me etc.

If that still doesn’t work, then I have no problem walking away. If they would rather go with the £10 fiverr option, then they are obviously not the right fit, so good luck to them!

I think my rates are fair, and I have no problem justifying them. I will negotiate to a certain extent, especially for larger projects or long-term relationships, but I am not willing to undersell myself or to set a bad precedence.

Lesson 4: Understand your imposter syndrome

Oh, that imposter syndrome. It creeps up on you. Just when you are feeling confident and in control, suddenly you get that little voice in your head that makes you doubt everything you’re doing.

I’ve found that this normally follows a pattern – there’ll be some sort of trigger that wakes up that little voice. It's been a lesson in getting to know my patterns and understanding what triggers my imposter syndrome.

For me, it’s normally with ‘new’ things, like a new client or a new project. I start off feeling confident, having just pitched and won the work. Then when it gets real and things actually start to happen, that’s when my confidence dips. I feel like I’m not doing enough, my client will be disappointed, they will regret their decision, etc., etc.

So, I just have to keep reminding myself that this is just my pattern. This is how my brain works. And I remind myself that to this day, no client has ever expressed disappointment in my work. No team member has ever felt like I didn’t do enough. So, stop thinking that way!

In these moments, I try to surround myself with positivity. I might read some of the lovely testimonials my clients have written for me, or go for coffee with a friend who always perks me up, go for a long walk or do an intense cardio workout (exercise always helps lift my mood). And just remind myself that this is just how it feels in the beginning, and in a couple of weeks this feeling will be gone and I’ll be back in control!

Lesson 5: Go with your gut

This is so important. As a freelancer, I have control over who I work with, what I work on, and how I work. So, if something doesn’t feel right, I have the power to walk away.

Listening to your gut is crucial. If it’s telling you that this client or project isn’t right for you, don’t ignore it.

When work was running low, I've taken on projects out of desperation, I ignored my gut and thought "it'll be fine, it'll get easier". And always ended up regretting it. In the meantime having wasted precious time and energy on something that I knew wouldn't be worth it.

It's happened with new clients but also existing clients. The dynamics changed, or the client started demanding more than we agreed to. Or started treating me like an employee and expecting me to be on call and available to them 24/7, ignoring the timelines we'd set in place etc. I've been through this enough times now to know not to ignore my gut. Ever.

If it feels wrong, don’t be afraid to walk away. Making space in your life allows for better things to come along.

Lesson 6: Prioritise your business

It’s so easy to get lost in client work, to spend hours making your clients’ businesses successful, but then neglect your own. Whether you see yourself as a freelancer or a solopreneur, at the end of the day you are a business owner. So, you need to see yourself that way. And this is something I have learnt in the last year.

When I first started out, I set up a website and wrote some blog posts. I was doing quite a lot on social media and linkbuilding. Then I got busy. And pretty much neglected all of this in year 2. But finally, I decided this wasn’t going to help me in the long run.

So, I updated my website, refreshing my services and reflecting what JVF Marketing is today. I started a newsletter, I’m getting back into blogging and will be doing some guest blogs and podcasts in future.

I've learnt I should treat my business as I would a client’s business. Follow my own advice. Work on my website, keep it updated and looking good. Work on my social media, content, newsletters. Allocate some time each week to work on this, just as I would allocate time for client work, and not let other things take priority every time. Prioritise my business.

Lesson 7: Keep in touch but don’t overdo it

Remember that business owner who said they wanted to work with you? Have you been hounding them after they didn’t respond to your emails? Or remember that quote you sent that you still haven’t heard back from? How many follow-up emails did you send?

I used to get so frustrated by these situations. I'd send follow-up email after email, I would sometimes try calling, and overall just spend a lot of energy getting annoyed by this situation. Big lesson I've learnt: let it go!

Of course, we should follow up, but if you have sent three follow-up emails with no reply or tried to call but it went to voicemail, then let it go.

There are so many reasons why someone isn’t getting back to you. Maybe it’s just not the right time, something else has come up and taken away their attention, they’re dealing with a crisis at work or at home, maybe they need more time to think about it, maybe they’re not interested but don’t have the courage to tell you, the list goes on.

By following up like a hound-dog you’re just wasting valuable time and energy that you could be applying to something else. You’re also pursuing something that might not happen and it could put you in a bad mood, or demotivate you.

I’ve found that if you follow up a couple of times, then the ball is in their court. If they want to work with you, they know where to find you.

So, rather than hounding them, I have found other ways to stay on their radar. This could be through my newsletter, or I might send them some interesting data I’ve found that might be of use to them, or follow what they do on LinkedIn and comment or join conversations.

I once had a client who asked for a quote but then didn’t get back to me for 4 months! They’d seen my quote, but then had to deal with some family stuff, then a couple of changes within the business and they just put it to the bottom of the priority list. But when the time was right, they got back in touch, thanked me for my patience and we ended up working together after all.

In the meantime, I had been pursuing other opportunities and didn’t lose sleep over it. If it’s right for you, it’ll happen.

Three years on and I'm still learning every day! It's a rollercoaster ride and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Are you a freelancer? How long have you been on this journey? Share some of your own experiences, I'd love to learn from them