Hey gang! Here is the third and final post pertaining to lessons learned in my first year as a freelance B2B writer. I think there are a few good nuggets here:
Get really good at what you do. Malcolm Gladwell claims in his book Outliers that it takes a minimum of 10,000 hours to become an expert in anything. That’s right – whether your goal is to become a concert pianist, best-selling novelist, or Olympic Alpine skier, in addition to raw innate talent, you must spend at least 250 forty-hour weeks, or roughly five years of working full-time at your chosen craft, before achieving expert status.
This seems daunting. And this level of dedication to becoming truly great at what you do certainly is challenging. But my philosophy is: if you’re going to do anything, do it well. In a corporate job, where you’re collecting a paycheck every week, it is easy to become complacent. Despite a lack of experience or lack of caring you may be able to fly under the radar for a while, as your flaws are covered by others in the organization.
This is impossible as a solopreneur. You are the business. Your talent, skill, responsiveness, and reputation mean everything. So, make a commitment to continuous improvement- to becoming the best that you possibly can. It was your decision to do what it is you do. Now just give it your all.
Eliminate Distractions. As a solopreneur, it is really easy to get distracted. Like, really easy. Right now, my Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts are all beckoning to me. Emails are pinging. Even the phone rings every once in a while. And since I’m working from my home office today, the kitchen is right around the corner, with coffee and pastries only steps away. By the way, this Alabama Shakes playlist on Amazon Prime is just awesome… I wonder what I should listen to next?… which leads me to…
Be productive. This is among the most challenging areas for new solopreneurs. The ability to focus, eliminate distractions, and be truly productive is very difficult, particularly considering that virtually all of the motivation needs to come from within. You don’t have a boss looking over your shoulder, or even peers in the next cubicle wondering what you’re doing all day. You are truly accountable to no one but yourself. It has been challenging at times for me as well, but I’ve discovered a few techniques that have helped me to become, and stay focused.
Use the 50/20/50 rule: I learned from my business coach, Ed Gandia (see more about Ed, below). Simply put, you break your client projects (or even your business-building projects) into two-hour productivity blocks. Within each two-hour block, break it down further into two 50-minute work sessions, with a 20-minute break in the middle. This works really well for me, and I’ve experienced a 20-30% increase in my daily work production just by following this rule.
For the 50/20/50 technique to work however, it is absolutely critical that you eliminate all distractions during the 50-minute blocks. That means: shutdown your email client (Outlook, Gmail, etc.), turn off your social media, turn off your phone, and shut the door to your office. Then plug into to some soothing, non-intrusive music (my preference for music while I work is the FocusAtWill app – it costs a few bucks a month but is well worth it! Thanks to my colleague Gary Wilkin for the tip) and start cranking away! The key is to really focus in during the 50-minute blocks, and then reward yourself with a (relatively) lengthy 20 minute break, during which you can stretch your legs, go for a walk, take a coffee break, or even get in a quick workout! I don’t recommend doing more that 2 or 3 of these two-hour sessions in a work day. You’ll find that you are mentally tired after a couple of these sessions, and you don’t want to burn yourself out!
Get Thee a Coach! This was one of the most critical decisions I made early on. I chose to join a small group coaching program led by a B2B writing professional/coach, Ed Gandia. I had been following Ed’s published output for a while – he produces a ton of really fantastic content, including his book, The Wealthy Freelancer (coauthored with Steve Slaunwhite and Pete Savage), his bi-weekly podcast, and free training webinars. It wasn’t cheap, but I decided to make the investment to participate in his 6-month B2B Launcher program, along with five other freelance copywriters in various stages of just getting their business up and running. Best investment I’ve made so far.
Don’t undersell yourself. Set your prices for what you are worth. It takes time to figure this out, and especially in the beginning, quoting your rates to a new prospect is one of the scariest aspects of being in business for yourself. You feel like a fake, and you believe that if you quote too high the prospect will hang up on you, laugh in your face, or perhaps worse, never respond to your emails again. Unless you are completely outside the ballpark, it usually doesn’t work out this way. Do your homework, ask around and figure out what the going rates are for your type of work, and quote a fair price based on your skill, experience, and investment of time. As you gain experience, confidence, and references, you’ll be able to increase your rates over time.
Outsource those tasks that are outside your core competency, what you don’t like to do, and what you don’t do best. For me, this includes things like doing my taxes and transcription services. For you it may be proofreading, building your website, or even personal tasks like mowing your lawn. The most successful solopreneurs have a real good sense of what their time is worth. If they are wasting time on tasks that they don’t enjoy, that someone else can do efficiently and well for much less than their internal hourly rate, they outsource it. Not only does this help you stay productive in your business, it gives you back quality time to spend on hobbies, vacation, and with your family and friends.
Well that’s it! I’m sure I haven’t exhausted every lesson learned over the past year-plus in the freelance writing world, but this is a good overview of some key takeaways. If you have any thoughts or other ideas of what makes for a successful solopreneur, please email me at ted@tedgoldwyn.com. I’d love to hear from you!
To your success…
Ted