When you go freelance, you have the opportunity to escape the dysfunctional part of the 9 to 5 life. Think of life without your Michael Scott-like boss. The thing is, though, a lot of freelancers don’t actually escape. That’s because even though a freelancer is the boss, s/he is also their own employee. And if you want to be productive and happy over the long-term, Boss-you has got to create a productive and functional work environment for Employee-you.
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As a freelancer, work can take time coming in. You need to prove yourself over and over to prospects. On top of that, accolades can be few and far between.
This life can lead to a crisis in confidence and imposter syndrome moments. As someone recently posted in a freelance Facebook group:
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A freelance designer I know was lamenting the loss of her ‘bread and butter’ client. “That’s my mortgage money,” she said, clearly surprised by this turn of events.
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Anyone who’s ever been to a networking event knows that most of the responses to “and what do you do?” wind up sounding a lot like: “I do statistical analysis and data reconfiguration for other companies.” Huh?
If you’re a fan of the TV show Friends, you may recognize that as Chandler Bing’s job description. You may also remember that no one could remember what Chandler Bing’s job was. No wonder.
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I recently met a couple of freelancers at an event at my co-working space. Both of them are among the fortunate – solopreneurs in interesting fields who make a good living. Instead of seeming happy and satisfied, however, they were stressed.
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I recently went out with a friend in another industry who regularly hires consultants as part of her work. She told me that she no longer sees a mutual friend of ours who is also a consultant. Why? Because each time they spent time together, he would “pitch” her.
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I recently attended an industry event and saw a man ask a freelancer how her business was going. She responded with “Okay, but it could be better…” in a tone that suggested that “okay” meant “pretty bleak”.
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I spent most of 2018 with my mind in a thick fog. The sudden death of a family member left me feeling shocked, depressed and struggling to function.
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I have an industry friend who is forever running off to client or prospect meetings at times that are terribly inconvenient for her. One time she ran an event until 11:00pm and then had to leave at 6:00am for a client breakfast. Another time, she was cutting a vacation short to fly out the next morning for an out-of-town meeting.
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These days, we all seem to glorify the “hustle”. If you’re not working at least 12 hours a day, what are you doing with your life?
A few years ago, I was working full-out and putting in time on evenings and weekends.
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Hey there! I’m Ellen and I teach freelancers in professional services how to grow their practice. Don’t wait for the phone to ring or work for the wrong clients, take success into your own hands. My courses will teach you how to go from surviving to thriving.