4 Lessons After 4 Years Of Freelancing

#2. Get better at what you do… fast.

4 min readMar 17, 2022

My fiance and I were sitting with some family, talking about what was going on in our neck of the woods. I talked about my struggles with Long Covid and its subsequent impact on my mental health, our upcoming wedding, and my freelancing career.

I realized I had already passed my fourth anniversary of freelancing through that conversation. The pandemic felt like it wiped two years off the map, but I really did start in early 2018.

It all feels more manageable now but back then, it was a challenge. When you start something new, you feel foolish and flub around until something works.

Eventually, you get into a bit of a groove.

So I’ve stuck with it for four years and counting. That time did not come without lessons.

There are too many to mention.

However, these four lessons helped me — and continue to help me — on this journey.

1. You need to spend more time selling.

Sometimes, you fall in love with your client work and the things that they are building. There’s nothing wrong with that, but as a freelancer, they can cut you in an instant. No hard feelings. It’s just the way things go.

To stop you from losing your mind — and your money — you need to have a steady stream of client work.

The only way to achieve that is through selling. Whether it’s pitching, cold calling, social selling, or word of mouth, you need to put yourself out there.

It’s better to have too much work (then you can hire help) than three clients. If one client bounces, so do 1/3 of your income.

We don’t spend enough time on this as freelancers, and I’m guilty of such. Split your time — at least 65:35 — into service delivery and prospecting. It helps you to be more intentional with your time.

This mindfulness about your time leads to the second lesson.