FreelanceM.ag

Will you succeed as a freelancer?

The truth is that no one really knows.

It would be great if there were a way to guarantee freelancing success, but there’s actually no sure way to know how successful your freelancing business will be.

There are, however, some important factors that can give you a clue about how successful you will be. Attitude is one of those factors.

Attitude makes a huge difference in freelancing. Freelancers with a good attitude tend to be more successful. Freelancers with a pessimistic attitude tend to achieve less.

In this post, I’ll identify some positive attitudes that you should adopt to improve your chances for freelancing success. If you liked this post, you may also enjoy reading 10 Marks of a Self-Disciplined Freelancer.

Why a Good Attitude Is So Important

You may think that you have no control over your attitude. You would be wrong.

It is true that sometimes you cannot control your circumstances. For example, you can’t force a potential client to hire you. But, you can always control how you react to those circumstances.

Let me explain.

In the example above, if you blasted off an angry email to a client who rejected you, I think most people would agree that you were exhibiting a bad attitude. You chose how to respond to the situation, and in this instance you chose to respond negatively.

In the same example, you could also choose to respond positively. Instead of blasting off an angry email, you could instead thank the potential client for considering you and encourage them to remember you in the future.

Do you see the difference?

Now do you understand why having a good attitude is so important to freelancing?

What Attitudes Do Freelancers Need?

So, what is a good attitude?

Here are five good attitudes that can positively affect your freelancing business.

1. Determination. To be a successful freelancer you have to first want success. You have to want it so much that you won’t quit when the going gets tough (and it will). A determined freelancer is committed to his or her freelancing business and is willing to put in the time and money to make sure that the business succeeds. Give yourself a chance to succeed. Most freelancers who quit, quit too soon.
2. Optimism. If you’re the type of person who becomes easily discouraged, you may have trouble as a freelancer. That’s because freelancing provides plenty of opportunities for you to get discouraged. An optimistic freelancer will realize that most setbacks are temporary. A pessimistic freelance will give up at the first sign of trouble. To maintain optimism, start each day off by thinking about something that’s going well, no matter how small.
3. Confidence. It takes a certain amount of self-confidence to freelance. You have to believe that you are good enough at what you do to make a living at it. If you don’t believe this about yourself, you can’t expect your clients to believe it. Occasional self-debt is normal. But if you truly don’t belief in yourself, your freelancing business is already in trouble. I find client testimonials and recommendations help me to maintain my confidence.
4. Reliability. When you make a purchase, you expect the product or service that you purchased to be reliable. You’re counting on it to deliver as advertised. Your freelancing client feels the same way when they hire you. They are counting on you to deliver quality services on time. Don’t let them down.
5. Loyalty. A good freelancer is loyal and also inspires loyalty in others. This can be difficult to master, but it’s important. Clients like to do business with people who make them comfortable and avoid doing business with people who make them feel uncomfortable. I think the key here is to view your clients as individuals. Individual treatment is something your client won’t get from a larger entity.

Now that you know what type of attitudes lead to success, you can work towards developing those attitudes in yourself. Having a good attitude may not guarantee freelancing success, but it comes pretty close.

Your Turn

I’ve shared what I think are successful freelancing attitudes.

What’s your take?

Do you agree? Disagree? Want to add another attitude?

Share your thoughts in the comments.

Image by katerha