I know a problem that circulates the freelancing community is the worry of being isolated and therefore feeling lonely due to working from home as opposed to working in a larger group or office environment with others. This doesn’t have to be the case though. Too often, freelancers confuse productivity with being confined to their home-office, staring at the computer screen – if they’re not working on a computer, they’re not being productive. I find that some of my most productive times which directly benefit my business are those when i take some time to do some reading. I sit on my sofa or in a chair, armed with my pad and a pen and read through the next chapter of my book about building my business or work my way through the mountains of marketing articles i save to my Instapaper account. You are still working by doing this, it’s just a different type of work and can lead to some more productive streaks soon after. It’s also a really great way to relax and take a ‘productive break’ part way through the day.
But that’s still lonely and isolating you might say! Yes but not if you take this new idea of how to be productive a little further. Online social networking is often a huge factor in the life and business of any freelancer. Hours can clock up just looking at Twitter or your business’s Facebook page. While it can be good to stay connected this way, it can impact your physical social skills, health and ability to communicate (in less than 140 characters). Growing your business is as much about the offline, meeting people face-to-face networking as it is about the ‘how many followers you have’ online networking, so my suggestion is this: find some offline networking events and attend them. Not only will you be adding in a dash of intense sociable-ness into your otherwise confined freelancing lifestyle but you will have the ability to build your confidence, talk to more people, spend time somewhere away from your normal working environment (which i think can be a great thing for motivation) and get other people excited about your business. It is extremely hard for others to understand your enthusiasm about you and the work that you do via a quick status update online (unless maybe you use lots of !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) but is much easier to show your interest in your subject field if you meet people in real life. Handing out business cards is also a great way for people to keep you in mind and remember your services. My business cards, for example, are letter-pressed onto a thick paper ‘board’ and so have a de-bossed effect. This tactile approach to my business card helps a connection be made between it and the person I am handing it to. It’s also a great idea to have a business card that’s a bit different. When starting Voltronik full-time, i knew that there was competition in my local area, what with much larger web design companies and freelancers, so i made a serious effort to ensure my business card would make sure that people took me seriously. It is not a cheap card that came in bulks of a 1000 from Vistaprint. Each one was hand made – no digital printing involved, so each card is slightly different and i hope that this conveys a sense of seriousness and design flare about my business.
I digress. The point i am trying to make is that if you make the effort to make your freelancing career less lonely, it will only benefit your freelancing career in the long-run.