Appendix:
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Selecting a gig that works for you
You’re here because you aren’t 100 percent sure that you know what you want to do as a freelancer.
That’s cool. No judgment. Let’s talk it through.
In an earlier chapter I mentioned that your penchant for video games could actually translate into a career.
Not a gamer? There are plenty of other opportunities.
Love writing? You can’t snap your fingers and become a bestselling author, but you can get companies to pay you (beaucoup bucks) to write web copy, articles, newsletters, ad copy, and taglines. This happens to be what I do.
As I mentioned earlier, the trick is to find something that:
1. You enjoy
2. You are good at
3. People need—and will pay for
In order for this to really work, all three items must be in place. Too often, people focus on two out of three, and then wonder why it blows up in their face.
If you only have #1 and #2:
You might love training turtles to stick their tongues out on command, and you might be great at it, but there might not be a six-figure demand for your talents in your community. (Then again, there’s always the Internet...)
Passion + skill + no market = a hobby. Have fun. Enjoy it. But don’t quit your day job.
If you only have #2 and #3:
Good at fixing computers? Cool. There’s a market for it, even beyond all your relatives who only invite you over to “take a quick look” at their computers.
But if you hate it, you’re not going to last long.
Skill + a market + no passion = you might as well stay at the desk job you already hate.
If you only have #1 and #3:
Love photography? Know of a market for it? Awesome. But—and I mean this in the nicest way possible—if you suck at it, or even if you’re pretty good at it (and you don’t get better before trying to make it a business), this will not end well.
Passion + a market + no skill = forget about there being a market. It’s not a market for you. (Sorry.)
Notice that I use the word “skill” instead of “talent.” Talent is innate. Skill can be acquired.
So if you’re passionate about something marketable but you’re not yet good enough to be a professional, evaluate whether or not it’s worth your time and resources to invest in improving your skill.
I’m not out to crush dreams, here. I just want you to be realistic.
I don’t need to tell you what you enjoy doing. You already know what you enjoy. You can make a list:
• Eating
• Sleeping
• Binge-watching television of questionable quality
• Running
• Writing
How about what you’re good at? There’s one surefire way to tell: What do people ask you for help with?
• Are you always tasked with editing a friend’s cover letter or helping others write speeches?
• Are friends always asking you for a copy of the great pictures you take?
• Are you known as the go-to coding guru?
• Do people ask you for advice on training for a race?
• Do you volunteer to be the A/V flunky when they make promotional videos at work?
You may think of something as a hobby, when it could actually be a job.
Of course, that all depends on the third factor, which is the market. If you’ve identified something that you enjoy and are good at, it’s time to figure out whether or not you can realistically earn money doing it.
Chapters 7 and 8 talked about pricing your services. First, just try to figure out if there is anyone out there who pays for the type of work you want to do.
Here’s one important thing to consider: There’s a difference between being a freelancer and being a freelancer who primarily works from home.
If wearing sweatpants is a top priority for you, be aware that many freelance gigs require—gulp—interacting with real humans, in person. That usually means real pants.
Examples of freelance gigs where you probably have to wear real pants on a regular basis:
• Photographer
• Videographer
• Personal trainer (though you can likely get away with workout pants)
• In-person tutor
Examples of freelance gigs that can typically be done from home—though you’ll still probably get pulled into occasional meetings:
• Copywriter
• Social media strategist
• Virtual assistant
• Graphic designer
• Online tutor
• Web developer
Some jobs, such as marketing, project management, and accounting, are still traditionally done on-site.
There are clients who will let you do these jobs primarily from home, though they’re harder to find, and you may have to charge a lower rate.
Now, there is the small matter of qualifications. The first and most critical qualification is experience.
You can’t exactly snap your fingers and declare yourself to be a web developer if you’ve never done it and don’t know anything about it.
The only people who do that are politicians. (I kid, I kid.)
You may or may not need formal educational training. I have two advanced degrees and I can tell you that my clients give precisely zero craps about the letters after my name.
They want to know if I can write, and they want to know that they won’t have to hold my hand and babysit me and coddle me.
Prove that, and you’re golden.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ellen Hunter Gans is a freelance writer, editor, and communications strategist. She founded Word Couture Consulting in 2009 and writes cool stuff for cool people. Ellen holds a Master of Science degree from the London School of Economics, a Master of Arts degree from the University of Southern California, and a Bachelor’s degree from the College of Saint Benedict. All that school was a little self-indulgent and excessive.
Ellen loves highbrow audiobooks, lowbrow TV, late afternoon sunshine, adding to her “countries visited” list, Oxford commas, and the three Cs: cabernet, coffee, and carbohydrates.
She is also an endurance athlete who has stumbled through a full Ironman triathlon and 15 marathons, including the Boston Marathon. (In 2013. While pregnant. That was scary.) Her work has been featured by the Huffington Post, Scary Mommy, and Runner’s World magazine, and she has produced stellar copy for myriad national and international clients.
She lives just outside Minneapolis with her awesome husband and adorable son.
Introduction
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
Annie Dillard
Holy crap, sweatpants are comfortable.
Ellen Hunter Gans
Let’s get right to the point: Maybe you don’t hate your job, but the thought of showing up day after day, week after week, year after year as you trudge toward retirement makes you a little nauseous.
Is this really all there is? Cubicles and bosses and commutes and tiny annual raises and team-building activities and awkward small-talk at the communal bathroom sink and Ralph two cubes over who insists on eating stinky lunch at his desk EVERY @#$%& DAY?
Barf.
Here’s a better idea:
• Set your own hours
• Work from home—or the beach...
• Be your own boss
• Do work you actually enjoy (most of the time)
• Work as much or as little as you want
• Eat your stinky or non-stinky lunch whenever and wherever you darn well please
• Never be unemployed again
• Enjoy unlimited income potential
• Take unlimited vacation time
• WEAR. SWEATPANTS. TO. WORK.
This, my friends, is called being self-employed. In this book, I’ll mostly call it freelancing. Freelancing is glorious. And potentially very, very lucrative.
I’m going to help you figure out:
a) If freelancing is right for you; and
b) How to do it the right way.
I want to address two things right up front.
First:
There are plenty of traditional gigs that will allow you to work from home. That’s definitely an upgrade over a cubicle, but it still means you’re beholden to the confines of a regular gig.
I’m talking about building your own solo career and being your own boss.1
Second:
I’m not knocking traditional gigs.
There are a lot of cool jobs out there. If you have engaging, satisfying work that you love and have no desire to do something else, let me give you a big high-five and bro hug.
But, since you bought this book, I’m guessing you are at least a wee bit curious about what else might be out there.
Now, on to the good stuff
Here’s what you’ll be rewarded with if you stick with me through the next 13 teeny, tiny chapters. No fluff, no filler, just real, actionable strategies.
It’ll fly by, I promise. By the end, you may well be ready to hand in your two weeks’ notice. We’ll talk about how to:
• Decide if being your own boss makes sense for you
• Identify your ideal line of work
• Create your brand
• Price your services
• Find clients
• Manage your time
• Win at life*
*Ahem. I may have gotten a wee bit carried away there.
This book is for you
While I am indeed a freelancer, this book is not about me. It’s about you. I use my own experiences to provide context, but I’ll also offer plenty of research and practical advice.
