Many thanks to good chum Jake Poinier (Dr. Freelance) for providing this example of blog post excellence. I had the distinct pleasure of sharing thoughts with Jake over some Starbucks swill back in December. He’s as congenial, professional, and downright fun to be around as he comes across.
About three weeks ago, Jake intrigued me with mention of a Freelancer Life Cycle (his trademark). I asked him to put his thoughts down and share with us. I love the idea of unconcious compentence, mainly because it’s true. Leave it to Jake to give us a forehead-slapping “Ah ha!” moment.
The Freelancer Lifecycle
by Jake Poinier
A few weeks ago, Lori posted on Double-duty Marketing–ways to market that make it easier for freelancers to increase their earnings with minimal effort. I commented that “marketing is inextricably linked to where you are in the Freelancer Life Cycle”…and today, she asked me to guest post on what exactly I meant by that!
I’ve always embraced the concept of reaching the level of unconscious competence. There’s more detail at that link, but briefly stated, it means moving from the point where you don’t know what you don’t know to understanding it so well that it’s second nature. For the sake of applying it to freelancers, let’s name some specific stages.
- Clueless. Starting out, we may be excellent writers…but often don’t have the first clue about things like negotiating or marketing ourselves. You may not have a decent portfolio or know where to focus. That can result in “I’ll take anything” syndrome, which is hazardous to morale and bank accounts alike. (I have no empirical evidence to prove it, but reckon this is the biggest cause of freelancers who boomerang back into a corporate job.)
- Business First. Now, you’re starting to understand that you don’t always have to say yes, and that you’re a businessperson first, creative genius second. Pricing becomes easier, and you start to raise your rates. You begin to recognize the warning signs of clients from hell.
- Selective. This stage is a relief, and your mom probably isn’t worried about you anymore. By now, you have a solid portfolio, maybe focused in one topic, or maybe scattered all over the joint. (That’s me.) You’re still having to hunt down a lot of your work, but the key is that you’ve identified the jobs that are profitable.
- Referral Heaven. You’re spending the bulk of your time doing work rather than finding it. Confidence in your business acumen is on a par with your writing talent. You have tight relationships with a few graphic designers, editors, and other freelancers. And perhaps most important: If work slows down for some reason, you don’t freak out–you just crank up the marketing machine a notch or two.
Where are you in your freelancer life cycle, and how long did it take to get there?
Jake Poinier blogs regularly as Dr. Freelance and runs an Phoenix-based editorial services firm, Boomvang Creative Group.
I'm shifting between Business first and Selective, depending on the day. Closer to Selective. The new business plan is Selective — that's the whole point.
I freelanced while I was on Broadway, and I've been totally away from B'way for a few years now. I can't remember. When did I start the quarterly taxes again?
I think I a lot of people boomerang back to corporate life because they assume freelancing is quick and easy money, and when they find out how much initiative they have to show continually, they'd rather crawl back into the corporate cave and not have to worry about it.
Freelancing is about sustained initiative and motivation. It's not "easy money".
I was a part-time freelancer for 10 years before I moved to full-time freelance. Despite all that, I still started out in the Clueless stage when I began the full-time path. Having a client go bankrupt in my first few months is what immediately propelled me into the Business First stage. After 2 years as a full-timer, I'm now in the Selective stage and am absolutely determined to get to the Referral Heaven as soon as I can.
I agree with both Devon and Jake…many if not most people who try to freelance never get out of the Clueless stage. Some b/c they really thought freelancing would be easy and others because they never transition to the Business First mindset.
Devon, I think we do a lot of transitioning between these stages at various times in our career. Right now, I'm at Referral Heaven, but I'm trying to think like I'm at "Selective" so as not to get caught without projects.
Ronda, I think that's normal to start out Clueless even when you've been familiar with the work for a while. It's an entirely different beast to take it on as a career than as a part-time way to earn money.
I think after five years, thanks to a handful of clients giving me regular work, I'm about halfway between stage 3 and 4.
My main problem is that when there's a lull I tend to regress to the "I'll take anything" mindset fairly quickly. Thankfully I don't have much down time any more!
Good morning, all. Great comments!
Devon makes an excellent point about initiative, sustained motivation and strategy. You can rest comfortably Clueless…and reap exactly what you've sown…or you can take on the difficult but rewarding steps to make a valid biz of it.
Ronda, nothing like a bankrupt client (I think I've had 5 or 6 through the recession) for a reality check, eh? But, it sounds like you've turned it into a positive–nice.
That's almost exactly my mindset, Lori. I'm pretty well in RH but take nothing for granted. You've illustrated another hallmark of the three top stages–they are not static and you can't *ignore* what you did to get you there.
Krista, what you're describing is Maslow's classic "conscious competence." A few years ago, you wouldn't have even recognized that tendency to backslide, or you would have accepted it as "part of the business." It's not, and you're now armed with that knowledge.
Great post, Jake!
I bounce between Business First and Selective quite often. When work slows down (like now, for instance) I slip back to Business First, spending more time on marketing while squeezing in what I call filler work – the kinds of assignments I'd normally pass on when in the Selective mode. Maybe they pay slightly less than I like, or they might be on boring topics.
FYI- k1paula2 is me. I decided to try signing in with my wordpress ID. Wish it just said Paula, but at least my name is in there….
Jake, thanks again for indulging my need to pick your brain. I'm loving this post and these comments!
Krista, doesn't regression stink? But as Jake says, you're seeing it, so that in itself is progress. And that conscious competence is great – it beats the conscious incompetence I see around the 'net. I strive to be unconsciously competent as well as self-actualized. I have big dreams. 🙂
Paula, you have many personalities. LOL Weren't you posting as your dog last week? 🙂 It's tough not to be in "Business First" mode when the checks aren't coming and none are expected.
If only I had a separate paycheck for each of my personalities, Lori!
Jake, love unconscious competence… had forgotten about that term and it's a good one.
I'm discovering a need to be more business-like which is something I've had some resistance to for many years and am now finding exciting.
Excellent post, Jake. I'm pretty happy to have passed stage 1. 🙂 Actually, I think that you can revisit points in that cycle when clients leave or your circumstances change.
On this day of ♥ I am loving this post!
As others pointed out, I think we can shift back and forth depending on what's happening at the time. I would say I am solidly selective while knocking on referral heaven's pearly gates. 🙂
I feel I hit the solidly selective last year. I tripped over it a time or two before that, but had it down pat last year.
Again, great post, Jake.
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