The Roller Coaster that is Freelancing
February 6, 2008
by Tim Guetschow
We all know that in freelancing, as in any business, there is a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs. Most of the time, people think of this as the ebb and flow of income. Though income definitely ebbs and flows, this time I’m talking about emotion. Motivation. Enthusiasm. Hope.
I recently experienced this phenomena. I was bidding on a job and decided that, for this particular bid, a sample would be in order. I had a pretty good idea of what the guy wanted, and it was a quick turn-around job, so I whipped up a little something to show him. I wrote up a proposal which I sent with the sample to him late that night. The next morning, to my surprise, a message was waiting for me.
“Wow! Thanks for the sample! It looks GREAT!”
He went on to say that it wasn’t quite what he was looking for. So he sent me a sample he had found which was closer to what he wanted, and he asked if I could include that kind of style in the design, and, of course, I said “yes.”
Within five minutes he had sent me, via PayPal, the deposit that I required to start the job. Not only did he immediately decide to give me the job, but he ended his talent search three days earlier than he had planned.
What a great way to win a job! I felt like I was on top of the world. Could it get any better? Not only was he impressed by my quickly done sample, but he stopped searching almost immediately after finding me. He found exactly what he was looking for, and it was ME!
I went on to finish the job in about a week, which was about a week earlier than he wanted it. We had wonderful communication throughout the process, and both of us were as pleased as we could be with each other. It’s great to find great clients!
If I had died right then, I could have finished with “and I lived happily ever after.”
I was feeling like I could win any job I wanted because, obviously, I’m just that good. Along came another opportunity to bid on a quick turn around job. The guy described what he wanted pretty well, so I thought “let’s do another sample and knock this guys socks off.” I did the sample, wrote up a similar proposal and sent them off. The next morning, again, I was surprised. No message. Hmmm… maybe he hadn’t actually looked at my sample yet, so I gave him more time.
The next several mornings were the same story. Finally, I got another message. “I like the sample. How much do you want for it?” “Come on, man, where’s the enthusiasm?” I thought. He apparently hadn’t read my proposal very closely, because the price was in there. So I told him again.
Again, several days went by with no reply. And then, came the reply, “No thanks too much.” “What? You’re not gonna get anything decent for cheaper” I thought. So I was frustrated. I decided to start writing a proposal for another potential job that I was thinking about. I went to the online job board where I had found it to read the project description again, and found that he had already given the job to someone else! He didn’t even give me a chance! This was not turning out to be a good day.
I searched around for some other projects on the job board and found nothing. NOTHING! By this time I had moved from frustrated to dejected and deflated. Just last week I was an all star! At the top of my game! From way up there, I could see for miles, and all I saw was sweet success. Nothing could stop me. And now, 11:30 p.m. tired, frustrated, and dejected, I was thinking “Why I am even doing this? Will I ever win another decent job? ‘Too much’ he says. Maybe my work isn’t that valuable. Is this whole freelancing thing worth it?” So I just went to bed.
Ok, so maybe I was over-reacting a little. But it was quite a disappointment. And the next morning, the feeling was still lingering and along with it, a lack of motivation. So I was sitting at my computer going over in my mind what had happened the night before.
The thought occurred to me that I needed a dose of encouragement. Something to get me excited again. So I went to google and punched in “entrepreneur motivational podcast.” And there it was. A very well done small biz podcast that gave me exactly what I needed. It gave me all kinds of new marketing ideas, reminded me how great it is to have your own business, and it was hosted by a guy in the UK, so it was like listening to Monty Python at the same time!
So, as I said at the start, freelancing is a roller-coaster ride. There will be ups and downs both financially and emotionally. When you’re on top of your game, don’t get too self-confidant, and when you’re at the bottom, don’t get too discouraged. And when you are discouraged, or even when you’re not, go find something to read or listen to, or someone to talk with to lift your head so you can see what’s going on around you. The world hasn’t stopped, and the opportunities still abound. Just don’t get caught up in your own little world, and definitely, don’t get off the ride before it’s done. That’s just stupid.
