How To Be a Successful Freelancer

In this video, part of a TED video series called The Way We Work, Paco De Leon, a musician and finance expert, has revealed efficient ways to be a successful freelancer.

She shared her experience saying that, as a financial planner her job was to manage the wealth of the people but on the other hand she was terrible at earning money. For this reason, she had to adopt the tricks of saving money such as, setting up a garden to cut food expenses and riding a bike to the office to save gas costs.

She laments that artists and freelancers are often paid inadequate wages and they quietly suffer thinking that, if they stay focused on money, their creativity will be affected. Since she is not struggling anymore, she shares her knowledge and experience to help the artists and freelancers who might be suffering exploitation.

According to her, in order to stand out from the crowd it is imperative to have a good understanding of what you do, why you do it, and how you do it better than the rest. This is because you are less likely to get work if you are not able to demonstrate the uniqueness of your work to your potential client. Furthermore, she advises to be specific in work and focus only on your target customers because if you try to please everyone, you won’t be able to please anyone.

She also explains how to talk about money when the time comes. For example, it is beneficial to talk about the real value of your work and the amount of time your work saves the client, etc. While talking about the price of your work, it should not be forgotten that the price should also cover the rest of the expenses that you bear as a freelancer to take care of things like marketing, accounting, taxes, legal, insurance, etc. Then certainly, by making as much money as you are entitled to, you will be able to give yourself the freedom to work for those who truly value your work.