We’re hearing it more and more – work from home, work remotely, live and work anywhere. The job titles and success stories of a freelance career are drawing people into servicing a world gone online.
A simple look at your Facebook feed and with the right filter, you’ll see how dramatically things are evolving. Yes, the queue is long, so many are waiting for peace of the pie, but real people are making an absolute success out of the current status quo.
But, here’s the thing, the train has already left the station. And, those freelancers that are making it, the real success stories, they didn’t one day hop onto the internet as their options and opportunities began to diminish as a result of the global pandemic.
But, here’s the thing, the train has already left the station. And, those freelancers that are making it, the real success stories, they didn’t one day hop onto the internet as their options and opportunities began to diminish as a result of the global pandemic.
There wasn’t an aspiration to simply walk away from it all, to embrace the cosmic shift that has swept through the world.
The truth? The Freelancers, regardless of their trade or niche, that are making it big right now, they’ve been grinding in the trenches for years.
The truth? The Freelancers, regardless of their trade or niche, that are making it big right now, they’ve been grinding in the trenches for years.
There are no overnight successes. Sooner or later you’re going to realize that you’ve very much entered a numbers game, where there are always bigger, and badder fish. And for the most part they’re not running around chasing down new leads or spending their life savings on web-based advertising, they’re set.
The big fish are sitting there, and the food comes to them. They’ve set up their infrastructure and they are perfectly situated right now to reap the rewards of a freelance career path that many, for decades, snubbed.Â
The freelancer, the lone wolf, you against the world, no security, no benefits, “you’ll be begging for a job, you wait and see†you know the people that moved outside of the norms of society’s expectations.
And now the tables have turned quite dramatically in favour of the freelancer, the instant service provider whose skills and talent have a clear track record, a personality, and story behind it.
So where does that leave all the new kids on the block, hungry for a chance to prove themselves and get in on the action? I hear it so often, “I just want someone to give me a chance, you know so that I can show people what I can doâ€.
Correct, you do, but the instant success that you’ve romanticised or misunderstood as owed to you and your divine gift – it’s fiction.
Your gift, talent, and niche, well there are better people out there who are more established and they have the credibility you so desperately want to establish, so what do you do now?
You persevere…
That’s all there is to it. If you give up and go get a job, don’t look at it as a failure, see it rather as a lifestyle that you weren’t cut out for. It’s a jungle out there, it’s cutthroat and that’s the nature of the beast.
Go back to the office, cut your teeth at a desk for a few years, learn the value of eating BS and churning out gold. Get so fed up with where you’re at, but still be passionate about what you’re doing and what you could do, get the plan together, make the connections, and hustle on the sidelines.
But if you cannot do that, if turning back isn’t an option, and you still want to be a part of the movement, build your freelance career, sip coffee and work on your laptop from anywhere – well, there is one place where things are getting so competitive that outsourcing is becoming a necessity.
Find yourself a top-rated seller on Fiverr, Upwork or Freelancer – it doesn’t matter on which of the top freelance sites you find them – and make a connection there. You’re trying to sell yourself to the world – start by selling yourself to one person, one big fish and if you’re successful you’ll be able to put food on the table again.
Find yourself a top-rated seller on Fiverr, Upwork or Freelancer it doesn’t matter where you find them and make a connection there. You’re trying to sell yourself to the world – start by selling yourself to one person, one big fish and if you’re successful you’ll be able to put food on the table again.
It’s unethical, I think, but that doesn’t seem to get in the way of the machine working.
And that mechanism is quite simple, the big fish doesn’t have the time anymore to work on every prospect that needs their services. The top-rated freelancer doesn’t want to turn down good money, remember these professionals are charging to the dollar, not the pittance you are, to get your name out there, and people are paying a lot.
So you become a freelance groupie, prove your value to an already established “big fish†with a great freelance career and you work under them, getting the experience, a healthy cash flow, and a little mentoring too.
What you don’t get is any of the credit, that’s not negotiable, probably an NDA in there somewhere too.
But it’s happening all over freelancer sites, and I’m not talking about individuals outsourcing aspects of a gig that they cannot do themselves, I’m saying so and so big fish has eight website developers churning out work for clients who all think that he is responsible for it, when in fact he has evolved into a project manager and the face of the brand that he worked so hard to create.
What does that mean for you, well it means that not only is the market saturated but your big fish has become an octopus, able to take on the same workload as 10 people because he is now supported by a team that propels his brand and success forward.
And that team working underneath the brand, the name, they’re getting cents on every rand.
Freelancing is no longer the game it used to be, you’re not only up against other writers, developers, designers, etc – you’re up against micro corporations within corporations.
Everything is changing, remember that. If you want to succeed, if you want that success you’re going to have to drop the facade, and be honest with yourself, can you make it in this?
Everything is changing, remember that. If you want to succeed, if you want that success you’re going to have to drop the facade, and be honest with yourself, can you make it in this?
Do you have the drive, the connections? Are you willing to cry into a pillow and eat nothing but bread some months? Climb into credit card debt that you can’t afford to pay back?
The rewards of a freelance career are worth it, trust me, but to achieve the goal, you’ve got to look right in front of you. You need to see and accept the work that you will need to put in, not fantasize about the destination.
You’ll break your own heart fixating on the prize rather than the effort that it’s going to take to reach it.
I can’t make you any promises, I’m also happy if you should prove me wrong. Your success is your destiny and the universe wants that for you, so do I, but to do that, realistically, you need to understand the beast you’re climbing into bed with and see it for what it really is.