More than eight months ago I started as a freelance communications freelancer and coach. I was really looking forward to it and I already had an eye on a number of assignments. A flying start was in store! The first months passed quickly and I enjoyed working for different clients. At the end of December I sent my invoices and took a few days off around the holidays. Because as a self-employed person you can of course decide that yourself.
And then it became quiet. Very quiet. The month of January was horrible. I really fell into a hole. I had nothing to do and I couldn't get new orders. Was that the existence of a self-employed person? Was it beginner's luck those first few months, or was it normal to have little work in January? I didn't actually know, because I had 'zero' experience as a freelancer.
Take what you can get. The fact that I had no freelance assignments meant that I started responding to all kinds of things. If only I had work (= income). Because of course you can't keep that up for long. Certainly not in the beginning. I networked like crazy and was surprised and disappointed when people did not respond immediately when I asked if we could make an appointment. At the end of January I realized that it might be a good time to take another look at my business plan. Even if it was only to become aware of what I wanted to do again. I had promised myself that I could 'waste' a few days to go back to square one.
Focusing I started by critically examining the assignments I had completed in the last five months and whether they were in line with the plans I had made at the start of my career as a self-employed person. That wasn't too bad. The freelance assignments largely corresponded to what I wanted to do. But in January I had completely lost that focus by responding to 'all' assignments that came along.
Persistence Then I looked at how I had gotten the assignments and what I had done in between to find new freelance work. The assignments had more or less come out of the blue and I had done virtually nothing in terms of acquisition. I was too busy working. Somehow I expected the assignments to come naturally. I made a hard landing and realized that I had to take a different course in order to maintain my self-employed existence.
Now, two months later, I am very happy that I gave myself time to go back to the beginning. It has taught me that you have to stay focused on your ambition and that you have to maintain that focus. Spending a lot of time on things you don't believe in is a real waste of time. I have stopped responding to every potential assignment and that gives me peace of mind. I have developed a new concept and the information material will go to the printer next week. And I continued to invest in my network, but took the 'pressure' off.
This approach already resulted in new contacts and new assignments during February! It is now mid-April and I am extremely busy. And I have agreed with myself that I regularly ask myself whether I am still focusing on the right things and whether I am sticking to it. Even if it doesn't work out immediately, for me freelancing means focusing, holding on and persevering!
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