The Confident You

What I’m reading: Spartina by John Casey (still not sold on this one)
What’s on the iPod: Summertime by Kenny Chesney

Ashley, this is for you. Last week you said this: “I think I’m just scared to fail. Maybe that’s a good topic for another post — how did you build confidence in yourself?”

You’re right – it’s an excellent topic. Building confidence is less about convincing yourself of your talents. You have that already. It’s more about separating from your fears and presenting your business, not your self, to clients.

Separate your emotions from your work. This is a job. It’s a business. It’s not your ego on display waiting to be trampled. Start thinking of your writing as a service, as a business. It’s creative, sure, but it’s something someone ordered from you, much like you’d order a pizza or call in a plumber. They need your skills. Will you screw up? Hell yes. A few times at least. But is that personal failure? No. They’re missteps that occur in any business. Shake it off and move on.

If separating the emotion still seems hard, think of your writing business as a child or a loved one. You’d protect a loved one like a lion protecting cubs. And again, it takes you outside yourself. You’re now protecting something other than yourself. That business of yours needs protection. There will be clients who will challenge your price, your talents, and your ability to deliver. There are so many reasons why that happens that have nothing to do with your talent – they don’t want to pay the bill, they’re being pressured by bosses or rival business colleagues, they’ve changed their minds and don’t want to admit it, or they simply cannot communicate effectively what they want.

Get the price you need in your head. Notice I didn’t say the price you want. That’s irrelevant. I want a million bucks, but it’s the price I need that matters. So how do you figure out what you need? You do the math. Figure your expenses versus actual hours per week you’ll work. Remember, not every hour of every day will be spent working. You have to market and hey, you have to eat. I don’t know a freelancer who works a solid 40-hour-plus work week on a per-hour rate.

Once you realize just how much it takes for you to cover the expenses (don’t forget your IRA and insurances) and make a profit, you’ll realize how much you need to charge. Also, look at other freelancers – are what they’re charging well above, well below, or in line with what you charge? Understanding how much you need to make a profit makes you less likely to undersell yourself.

Learn how to invoice. Anyone can send out a piece of paper with an amount due on it. You’ll build more confidence as a business owner if you decide right now to send no more than three invoices before you take extreme measures. And you’ll do this with every client, not just the ones who are suddenly overdue and not answering emails. Get in the habit now of billing regularly, knowing how much your late fee will be, and what you’ll do if three months pass and they don’t pay. (I posted this on About Freelance Writing.)

Aim higher. Anne Wayman said it best: If you raise your rates, the level of clientele improves significantly. If your rates right now are bargain-basement, you’re going to spend much of your time arguing over nickels with cheapskates. Get the rates up there with the rest of the freelancing community. You’ll see the arguments drop and the number of clients who appreciate your skills rise.

Understanding your writing as a business makes it easier to detach from the emotions and gain some confidence.

Writers, how did you find it in yourself to develop a business confidence?