Five Things Every Freelancer Needs

Are you thinking of quitting your day job, and pursuing a living your own way instead? Freelancing enables you to utilise your skills, earning money doing something you’re good at and enjoy, but it’s not always smooth sailing. Here are five things you’ll need to get started.


A pleasant, organised home office

When you work from home, it’s so easy for your work to take over. You find yourself answering emails in bed, typing up projects during family tv time and checking social media at the dining table. Working as a freelancer gives you so much flexibility, you really can fit your work around your life. But you should still be taking steps to keep the boundaries from becoming blurred. Fail to do this, and it will feel like every day is a work day. You end up feeling like every hour your awake you’re working (even when you’re not) and it can affect your productivity.

Five things every freelancer needs.

A home office where all of your work takes place helps to keep things separate. When you’re done for the day, close the door behind you and then enjoy your free time. This enables you to return to your projects with ‘fresh eyes’ and feeling sufficiently rested. Make your home office a place you want to spend time, decorate in light neutrals for a bright and airy feel. Invest in a good quality desk and chair, and add some accessories to make it look homely without being cluttered.

Buckets of self motivation

When you have a boss breathing down your neck at work, you don’t have much choice but to get on with what you’re supposed to be doing. However, when you go freelance you no longer have this. Sure, each project you take on for a client will have a deadline, but without self motivation it’s easy to leave everything until the last minute, where you can end up rushing and not doing your best work. You might even miss deadlines and lose clients. To be a freelancer, you absolutely need to have self motivation. You need to get up and get the work done without anyone telling you you have to.

A can-do attitude

Working for yourself in any capacity can be difficult. There are ups and downs in workload and profit which can be a little stressful for anyone. Maintaining a can-do, upbeat and positive attitude is a must. If things go down, you need to consider ways you can boost business. If you’re dealing with a difficult client, you need to be able to remain calm and professional.

The software to succeed

You might be working from home as a freelancer, but your venture still needs to be run in a professional way. And one element of this involves having the right software. Much of this depends on what you do, for example, if you’re a video creator you’d need the best video editing software. Most freelancers will need software to send large files to clients, there are other alternatives to wetransfer too which are worth checking out.

The ability to work alone

As a freelancer, most of your time will be spent working alone. Whether or not this is a positive thing all depends on your personality and working style. For some, it’s a dream come true- no annoying colleagues and peace and quiet to get on with your tasks. For others it can feel lonely and isolating, particularly if you’re used to a group atmosphere at work. Something to consider before taking the plunge.

Freelancing is a great option for many people but it can be tough.  Here are 5 things every freelancer needs to succeed.

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