Why Freelancing is so “Intimidating” and How to Overcome It

“Can you really make a steady living doing that?” I bet we’ve all heard this answer when we told someone that our careers are freelance based, or that we were planning to launch a freelance career. Our capitalistic society, and other people, make us feel like freelancing isnt a real career, that we will never make enough to come out on top or be comfortable. Its intimidating because you work for no one but you, you bring in your own clients, work, and income. You are responsible for keeping it profitabe. Thats a ton of pressure on one little person! But, it is so doable. In some industries, it might be true that freelancing is more difficult to make a full-timeg gig, but I think its less about the industry, more about the freelancer.

Another thing out society teaches us is that goal-oriented thinking is the way to achieve things. Set goals, make them realistic, achieve the goals. While its great to have goals, what researchers have found over the years is that people are 1) happier and 2) acheive more when they take on a process-based achievement model. This is something that I have had to rely heavily on in building my freelance business. Instead of just working from the framework of “I want to be a copywriter and make a full income”, I’ve tried very hard to focus on the process of doing so. For example, asking myself “what do I need to get done today that will get me further along in the process?” rather than “What do I need to do to become a successful copywriter?” This breaks down the action steps into small, achievable tokens and allows you to focus on the actual progress you are making. Instead of focusing on the fact that Im not yet a 6-figure successful copywriter, I focus on how much more confident I am than when I started, how much better my writing has gotten, and the win of a client deciding to work with me. This keeps me motivated and on track to continue to work towards this dream of mine every day, rather than trying to do it all at once.

So, the next time youre feeling discouraged or overwhemed about starting or maintaining your freelance career, remember, its about the process, NOT the goal. Give yourself the best chance at staying motivated and just focus on how much better youre getting every day at becoming who and what you want. Get fired up!