8 Things That Might Be Holding Your Freelance Career Back


Working for yourself is, like most things, a series of trade-offs.

You might miss regular paychecks, but can build multiple income streams with greater potential for growth. You might miss out on corporate benefits, but paying out of pocket for some of them might not be worth spending most of your week in a career you don't care about. You might lose your old idea of "security," but in the process, you gain a new idea of freedom. You lose the comfort of walking the well-worn path, but you might gain the confidence that comes with singlehandedly engineering your life

No two freelance careers are the same, so while giving advice in broad strokes isn’t always effective, there are some very common reasons for which otherwise capable and potential-laden individuals aren’t seeing the success they’ve imagined and are actively working toward.

Here, a few reasons why you could be holding yourself back without even realizing:

1. You’re too hung up on your art.

Working for yourself does not mean you no longer have to accommodate other people’s needs and preferences. If you are receiving compensation of some sort, those giving it to you will be expecting you to deliver the product they want or need. Working for yourself may mean you have more time to do what you love at your own discretion, but it doesn’t mean you’re exempt from caring about other people’s opinions of what you do.

People who do not see their work outside of the scope of their own interest are usually in for a rude awakening. Freelance work is about prolificness. If you cannot, or are unwilling, to perform to meet the needs of your audience, publisher, employer or client, you’re not going to work for them for very long.

2. You don’t have a home base.

One of the more appealing, if not aspirational, aspects of being a freelancer is your theoretical ability to work from anywhere. However, not having a home base somewhere could be holding you back.

When you choose a city or town to settle down in, you start making local connections. This is an especially wise move if you choose to live in a smaller city, or up-and-coming area of the country. Rather than fighting with 1,000 people for a client’s project in New York, you could be competing with 5-10 in a different location. Initially reducing the competition is a great way to begin building the portfolio you need to earn the attention of bigger clients. Do not underestimate the importance of starting with the people you know, and working your way out from there.

3. You took the dive too soon.

The most typical story you’ve heard about a freelancer chasing their dreams probably sounds like this: They were in a comfortable but unfulfilling job, had an awakening one day and realized they were on a dead-end path, quit their job that Friday, and found their way despite all the odds.

Not only is this irrational, it’s irresponsible. It’s setting you up to fail, or at the very least shortcut your potential because you’re too busy scrambling to figure out a way to survive. Before you launch your freelance career, you need to not only have an objective and a concept for what you’re going to do, you need to have a clientele lined up. You need to see whether or not you can actually do the thing that you think you want to.

4. You like the idea of freelancing, not the reality.

The concept of being untethered is nice in theory, but when it comes to the practice of having to work all of the time, file your own taxes, be hyper-diligent about money, self-promote and be vigilantly on the lookout for new work all of the time, you quickly realize that there is no such thing as being completely “free” when it comes to your career. Working from yourself does not mean your responsibilities cease, it means they shift.

This is not to say that it is a poor life choice overall, but it is to say that some people will respond better to the particular pressures and expectations than others will, and the self-awareness to recognize which of the two you are is crucial.

5. You’re a lot of talk but little product.

Certainly, you're familiar with the type of "big idea" people who always seem to be talking about the next grand idea, but never seem to be seeing it to fruition. It's easy for freelancers to fall into this trap: to receive affirmation for talking about how hard they work rather than showing the product of that hard work, and proving it.

You’re more in love with showing the world that you are someone who works for themselves than being someone who actually works for themselves, your career will be predictably short-lived. Be mindful of what you let yourself be validated for – what is reinforced is what you will adapt to.

6. You're all product but little promotion.

If you don't think you have to market yourself well, or at all, you are probably incorrect. Regardless of your field, being able to sell yourself, your product or your skill set is imperative.

“Putting yourself out there” doesn’t mean buying some ad space, setting up a Twitter account, writing a few blog posts and hoping for the best. It means toeing the edge of your comfort zone and sincerely engaging – creating – a community in which you are known for your expertise, and receive support in continuing to develop yourself. You should constantly be challenging yourself to extend your reach.

7. You don't have a routine.

It's common for freelancers bask in the idea that because they make their own schedules, it's preferable to work "when they feel like it." It doesn't take long to discover that this kind of erratic approach is unsustainable. If you're struggling to be productive, the lack of a routine is probably largely to blame. It is essential that you commit to working for a period of time each day whether or not you want to – otherwise, you'll never get much done.

8. You aren't inherently motivated by what you're doing.

It's incorrect to assume that unproductive people are lazy or don't think their goals are important. In reality, they just aren't motivated enough by what they're doing. Mentally harassing yourself to care about something you don't fundamentally care about isn't going to work, either.

The trick is finding something that inherently motivates you so that you act on your own accord, by your own volition. It’s recognizing that if you aren’t performing as much as your peers are, perhaps that’s because you are better suited for something else. This doesn’t mean you’ve failed, it means you’re being redirected to a better fit.