Mindsets to Have As A Freelancer

Freelancers are entrepreneurs

In order to survive, your mind is your main asset.

FUN FACT: Only 50% of businesses survive after 1 year.

You could lose a business due to a pandemic, but the right mindset will get you up again and again no matter what happens. For example, my friend who is a baker used to bake wedding cakes during the pre-pandemic. The business was booming, and things were going well.

Suddenly, worldwide quarantine halted any big events. She was sad that she had to give away so many deposits because of the unwarranted circumstances, BUT she didn't give up. She quickly changed her business strategy and started selling cakes and pastries to cater to local and nearer customers while working from home. Today, she is opening a small cafe, while still serving custom-made wedding cakes and have multiple employees managing the business.

Things like this would not happen if she gave up, and I really found it inspiring.

With strong mindsets, you can achieve many things in life, especially as a freelancer!

So, here are some mindsets you can start instilling in yourself.

1. Stop Being A Victim

The world is not conspiring to bring you down. You don't have the worst problem in the world, and no one wants you to not succeed.

When bad things happen to you, try to see it as a challenge to make yourself better, instead of moaning and complaining.

Plan strategies to tackle the problems, and strive to make the best out of any bad situation. Along the way, don't forget to enjoy yourself!

2. PMA - Positive Mental Attitude

It's not toxic positivity, but a positive mental attitude can bring you up after falling down.

Avoid self-criticism and pessimism. Not only it sucks your own energy, but it also brings the people around you feeling down.

So, if things don't go your way, you are allowed to be sad about it, but, after that, always find a positive perspective on everything. There will always be one or more good sides to everything that happened. Are you still struggling to find clients as a new freelancer? Check out this post.

3. You Are Not Your Business

A mistake in your business does not mean you are a bad person. You just need to learn from the mistake.

The other day, I had the worst experience with a client, and she said I was the worst freelancer she ever dealt with. Thanks to her, I began improving my customer service skills and being more diligent in the way I deal with clients.

I will not lie, I did feel horrible, but, I am glad I did not give up.

I went to Skillshare, read eBooks, watched some YouTube channels that teach customer services, and just carry on in my freelancing journey.

I am quite confident that today, I am calmer and have a better customer service experience with my clients!

Again, a bad experience did not mean I am a bad person. There is always a remedy for bad actions. Just learn from it.

4. Be A Giving Person

The core of any business is to give value in return for money. Practice being generous in your knowledge, kind words, and actions to ensure long-term survivability.

When you are going to a restaurant, no matter how good the food is, if the servers are horrible, you won't go back to the place, right? The servers need to be generous in their actions to attract more customers.

If you shop from a store, and they gave you a free gift, you will likely remember them and recommend their brand to others as well.

There is a huge impact to being generous & kind. If you choose to be like this, you will definitely survive as a freelancer for a long time.

5. Do Things For Long Term

Other than being generous, always find ways to invest in yourself or your business.

Education, networking, marketing, outsourcing, etc. It will be hard at the beginning, but it is going to be worth it in the long term.

A growth mindset is the main key ingredient if you want to succeed as a freelancer. Luckily for us, we don't have to go to the office to do the typical 9-5, we can use any of our spare time to invest in these things!

Conclusion,

whatever you do, grit and mindset will be the determination of your future success. Some could have every resource in the world to be a freelancer, but without these traits, they will fall behind and struggle.

Do you agree with these points? What else do you think I should include?

Say hi, and comment below!