1. Remember the Thank You's, forget the forgetful.
One of the best gifts anyone can give you as a freelancer is their thanks. The people who realize and recognize your talents and professional outlook are customers for life. Some of them even stay after business hours and become true friends. Freelancers get to work for more than one boss and they also get to choose who they work for. If you are being paid for a job to do, but are given unreasonable working conditions and are given minimal recompense, even no form of a "thank you," you get to work with someone better next time. There are plenty of fish in the sea, so keep fishing for that Catch of the Day.
2. Boredom is a call sign for something more.
Too many people take a job because it is the only source of income they have. They do they see themselves working at a job they do not enjoy for long? I hope not. I wrote freelance articles for a real estate company for a month and decided it was a whole new field I did not have any interest in, despite the above minimum wage per article. The knack of the freelancer is to never be dissatisfied and to keep interests at the forefront of any opportunity given or taken. If you don't like it, try something new.
3. Money talks, but does not have ears.
It is inevitable that when you are starting out as a freelancer, there will be less than ideal jobs you will have. Before you hit your stride, it is important to remember that you have many, many choices, including your pay rate. If a job pays too little, you are able to negotiate a raise for the work you offer. Similarly, if the pay is at a favorable high, but the parameters in which your work is carried out is too heavy to bear, again, discuss and reach a comfortable change that churns out your best work. Never settle for good enough, aim for just right.
4. Work on your watch.
We all have the same 24 hours and schedules change all the time, sometimes at the most inconvenient times. If people need your supply, be in demand but to a fault. Work certain hours, certain days, provide certain specialties for particular projects, decide when you are available. Have people fit you in to their schedules instead. No more last minute changes or requests either. If people need your expertise, they will receive you as you want to be received: on your own watch.
5. Hire yourself.
There will be days without work and not the vacation days you expected. When the days start to get longer and the work gets fewer and far between, it is time to adjust and adapt. It is not that no one will hire you. The work you can do for someone who cannot do it themselves is invaluable. It is just a matter of finding the right haystack to search through. On those "days off," take some time to reevaluate your work life. Are there days where you are free that could mean more business for you? Are there avenues that you could dabble in to create more streams of income? Freelancing does not have to be barren, but until it becomes an oasis, quench your thirst anywhere you can.
Freelancers make their work their play and their own playground rules.
