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In our final video of the stage, we're going to ask ourselves a few questions. This self assessment is a chance for you to figure out whether a freelance career is right for you.
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That was a lot of information to digest
all at once, so
0:00
let's talk about what the key takeaways
are from everything we've discussed.
0:03
Freelancing and being your own boss
requires knowledge and
0:08
a set of skills that are quite different
from being a great employee.
0:11
To understand if you would be good at
freelancing,
0:15
you need to understand your capabilities
and your limits.
0:18
In other words, you need to complete a
simple self-assessment.
0:21
Ask these questions of yourself, and
evaluate your answers.
0:26
If you answered a resounding yes,
0:29
then freelancing is absolutely a career
path for you.
0:31
If you answered no to all, or
0:35
are unsure, then you might have to rethink
what you want to do.
0:36
No's don't mean that you can't freelance,
it just means that you might be lacking in
0:41
certain areas, and need to work on them if
you want to have a successful career.
0:45
First up, are you self motivated?
0:51
No one is going to tell you what to do, so
0:54
you need to be able to get up on time, get
yourself to work, and get things done.
0:56
The self motivation should manifest itself
in different areas of your life.
1:01
You should be motivated to teach yourself
new things, so
1:06
you stay on top of the industry, and
always be in demand.
1:08
You will need to break out of your comfort
zone, and
1:12
tackle hard things like business
development.
1:14
And, you will have to seek out events to
attend, so you can grow your network.
1:17
All these things will be hard if your
strengths are solely technical.
1:21
Bu, if you're motivated to learn, you
shouldn't have any problems.
1:25
Do you have good time management skills?
1:30
One of the advantages of freelancing is
being able to work whenever and
1:32
wherever you want.
1:37
But, the downside of that is it's easy to
get distracted.
1:38
Can you set a strict schedule for yourself
to get things done?
1:41
Can you dedicate time towards things which
are necessary for your career as
1:45
a freelancer, but seem like they're
getting in the way of making money?
1:49
Things like conferences, networking
events, and
1:53
side projects, and even more important,
administrative work.
1:55
All this can take up significant time out
of your week that you could spend working.
2:00
Are you good at project management?
2:05
If you don't get a handle on managing
projects,
2:07
you won't last that long as a freelancer.
2:09
Finding and securing work is one thing,
but
2:12
keeping the client happy throughout the
entire process is quite another.
2:15
Hitting your milestones and delivering
work on time is very important.
2:19
Are you a good communicator?
2:24
You will be the point of communication for
everything in your one-person business.
2:26
You will need to be good at talking to new
clients,
2:30
good at pitching to these clients, good at
keeping them updated, and
2:33
great at appeasing them if they get
annoyed or angry.
2:36
You have to be amazing at keeping your
cool with difficult clients, and
2:40
getting them to work with you, and pay
you.
2:44
Being a good communicator is essential to
succeeding as a freelancer.
2:47
Do you embrace change?
2:51
Nothing is steady about freelancing.
2:53
Clients come and go, and your paycheck
fluctuates often.
2:55
You have to be okay with that.
2:59
You have to be able to adapt to the
situation, and
3:01
work as hard as you can, and as smart as
you can, to overcome the obstacles.
3:03
As daunting as it sounds, it can be fun.
3:08
You can branch out and try different kinds
of projects, be an author,
3:11
write a book, get paid to teach other
people.
3:14
There's many things you can do, but at the
core of it, you have to be okay with
3:17
trying all these different things, and
being prepared for the unknown.
3:21
Like I said earlier, answering no to any
of these questions doesn't make
3:25
freelancing a bad career choice for you.
3:28
If I had to pick a few characteristics
that are really important,
3:31
it's that you are a self-motivated
individual, and that you embrace change.
3:34
There are lots of people who start out
freelancing being bad at
3:38
most things required.
3:42
But, that didn't stop them.
3:44
They were motivated enough to overcome all
of their shortcomings,
3:45
learn what they needed to, and succeed.
3:49
Spend some time answering these questions
for yourself.
3:52
Again, it's not about having all these
skills right at the outset, but
3:55
determining whether you're the type of
person that can learn these
3:59
things as you go.
4:02
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