Earlier this year I wrote an article about finding clarity in your freelance business. It caught the eye of the lovely Michelle Garrett over at Garrett Public Relations, she’s also the host of the #FreelanceChat Twitter Chat. She was kind enough to invite me as a guest to chat on the topic. Here’s a summary of our chat.
Q1: How do you define clarity in your freelance business?
A1: defined: it's the state of being clear.
— Kelli Koladish - The Growth Catalyst™ (@kellikoladish) March 11, 2021
In freelance business, it's about knowing exactly
> who you are
> what you do and
> who you do it for#FreelanceChat
A general consensus started to form that it should also include knowing what you WON’T do. As Rachel Wendte included in her response.
A1: Clarity in your business is a concrete answer to the question, “What do you do, how do you do it, and who do you do it for?” The hidden fourth question in there is, “What DON’T you do?” Just as, if not more important. #FreelanceChat
— Rachel Wendte (@rkwendte) March 11, 2021
Q2: Why is having clarity in your freelance business important?
A2: When you're managing your own business and wearing all the hats, there are so many things that can pull you off track.
— Kelli Koladish - The Growth Catalyst™ (@kellikoladish) March 11, 2021
You can start chasing the shiny objects and that can cost you:
> Sanity
> Time &
> Money
If you have CLARITY you can avoid all of that.#FreelanceChat
Anything that can reduce anxiety is up on the priority list for me, so I thought this response from Teodora was spot on!
A2. Clarity reduces anxiety.
— Teodora Ema Pirciu (@emapirciu) March 11, 2021
When you know what you want and how to get it, you waste less time wandering around your business and having second thought every time you must send a pitch/draft/project. #FreelanceChat
Q3: What are some ways you can find clarity in your freelance business?
A3(a): I think freelance success has to do with self-awareness. Knowing your strengths & weaknesses. Knowing what you REALLY want out of your business are probably the most important things.
— Kelli Koladish - The Growth Catalyst™ (@kellikoladish) March 11, 2021
(like get brutally honest with yourself)#FreelanceChat https://t.co/USx4ozy8LJ
A3(b): Other things you can do are:
— Kelli Koladish - The Growth Catalyst™ (@kellikoladish) March 11, 2021
Take note of the projects/clients you've loved and any correlations they have.
Be a scientist and unafraid to try new things. Sometimes clarity reveals itself by testing.#FreelanceChat
Our friends over at Pulse Blueprint came in with the “what you don’t like” approach to discovery as noted here:
A3: Think about what you hate doing, and think about the deeper reason
— PulseBlueprint (@PulseBlueprint) March 11, 2021
- Is it cause you're bad at it?
- It's not fulfilling?
- It doesn't interest you?
These q's help you get to "well it doesn't have X" -- that's what you actually want. That's clarity#FreelanceChat
Q4: How can having clarity in your freelance business lead to growth?
A4: Working on the projects you LOVE are also typically the one's where you can have the most IMPACT for the clients.
— Kelli Koladish - The Growth Catalyst™ (@kellikoladish) March 11, 2021
So when you find that sweet spot, you'd be amazed at how quickly the growth can happen.
It can happen in exponential kind of ways.#FreelanceChat
Matt reminded about avoiding that analysis paralysis.
A4:
— Matt Lady (@mattlady) March 11, 2021
If you are DIRECTIONALLY correct, you can go much faster and have mini pivots down the path.
If you aren't sure you are headed the right way, you overthink and analyze, and scrutinize each and every little thing — can slow you down too much.#FreelanceChat
Q5: What other ways can finding clarity help you as a freelancer?
A5(a): Clarity can help in several other areas like:
— Kelli Koladish - The Growth Catalyst™ (@kellikoladish) March 11, 2021
> Goal setting
> Planning
> Productivity
> Life (dramatic, but true, LOL)#FreelanceChat
A5(c): The caveat there is you have to get clear with YOURSELF before you can lead the clients.#FreelanceChat
— Kelli Koladish - The Growth Catalyst™ (@kellikoladish) March 11, 2021
Everyone knows I’m a fan of business processes and tools, Stefan reminded us of that benefit too.
A5: Business admin
— Stefan Palios (@stefanpalios) March 11, 2021
When you focus what you do (or at least are clear on your breadth), you can build systems for it that save you a few minutes every hour - it adds up#FreelanceChat
And that pretty much wraps up last week’s chat. Another great way to find clarity in your freelance business is to join a community of like-minded people—come join #FreelanceChat every Thursday at 12 pm ET. New faces are always welcome, and I’m sure you’ll learn as much as I do every week.
