11 Essential Qualities Of Successful Freelancers

Although it’s true that anybody can be a freelancer, it’s also true that not everybody has the qualities required to be a successful freelancer. As with any profession or career, there are essential qualities of successful freelancers and without them work life can be difficult.

In this article I will point out the 11 essential qualities of successful freelancers in order to help you analyze if you’ve got what it takes to live the Freelancers Life. Having these qualities will make you a jewel among the ordinary freelancers in your field and help you create a freelance career that flourishes, not flounders.

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1: Self-Discipline

This is one of the most important qualities of successful freelancers and independent contractor. As is evident from the words “free”-lancer and “independent” contractor, when you’re a freelancer, you’re on your own for most of the journey. It’s up to you to develop your career and without self-discipline it’s not likely to happen.

As a freelancer, you need to line up your clients yourself the majority of the time and once you do have clients, you need to make sure that you deliver quality service and product one time, every time and that will take self-discipline.

You need to have self-discipline to get up early, work late, work weekends, meet client deadlines, find new clients, nurture current clients, go the extra mile for great clients, be friendly, smile, and so many other things. And you need to do these things even when you might not want to.

You have to constantly remember that you’re working for yourself. There is no one that is going to push you to put your best foot forward. If you can’t get projects done when your client needs them or when you promise, your client will find someone else that can do it.

2: Time-Management Skills

This one goes hand in hand with self-discipline. If you don’t manage your time well it’s going to be hard to accomplish all that needs to be done not just for yourself but for your clients as well. Know what you can reasonably do in a day, plan it, and get it done on time, every time.

Clients will not stay with you long if you’re not able to manage your time and get their projects done on time. They appreciate freelancers who can meet deadlines, sometimes extremely tight ones, and the absolutely love freelancers that can finish projects earlier than promised.

3: Self-Motivated

Again, when you are a freelancer, there is no one there to motivate you to get things done. You have to do it for yourself. Being self-motivated means being confident and driven. You know that you’ve got what it takes to get the job done and that your clients won’t find a better person for the job then yourself.

Being self-motivated means you are able to self-direct your day, your projects, and your actions in a way that advances your standing in the freelance world. Motivation means you know how to push yourself when something needs to get done and get done right. It also means you are constantly striving to better yourself, your services, and your offerings to your clients.

4: Professional

No one wants to deal with an individual or company that’s unprofessional and unfortunately there are many out there who aren’t professional. You want to show your clients that you’re different than everyone else.

If you want to be taken seriously as a freelancer, then you need to get your client to trust you. Getting your client to trust you means you need to communicate extremely well, keep your promises, meet your deadlines and maintain outstanding standards of quality. You also must always be thinking about what your client needs and wants from their interactions with you and deliver more than they expect.

Professionalism means you listen to what your clients need and want and you deliver those things in a way that no one else is in your niche or industry. This is a quality that will get you far on your freelance journey.

5: Flexible

Most, not all, but most freelancers get projects from clients on a schedule that is less than regular. If you’re one of the lucky freelancers who has a set project schedule with your clients, good on you. However, freelancing usually requires us to be flexible. There will be times when you’re inundated with work and no time to do anything else. There will also be times when there’s not a client or project in sight and you must be prepared for those.

No two days are the same when you’re a freelancer. Some days you’ll have large projects. Other days you’ll have small or non-existing projects. Many times your working hours will will be long and exhaustive and other times you can stop and watch a movie or clean your house in the middle of the day.

Flexibility is key in the freelancer’s life. You have to be able to deal with the ebb and flow of clients and workloads. You need to be able to be calm both when you’re working non-stop and when you don’t know where your next job is coming from.

You also need to be open and flexible to projects that might be outside your usual skill set. Try something new. Push yourself to take a job that you don’t feel as confident about. Going outside your comfort zone might just unveil a skill or a career direction you’ve never given a thought to before. Flexibility will get you far in the Freelancers Life.

6: Outstanding Communication Skills

This is a quality and skill that anyone who deals with human beings needs to master. However, if you’re a freelancer this quality is vital to your survival. As a freelancer, you will be in constant communication with your clients and your ability to get ideas and concepts across to them is absolutely imperative.

You need to be able to come across well in all forms of communications including on the phone and on video, in writing, and in person face-to-face. When I was working on my degree, the one thing my professor stated clients wanted the most from graduates was the ability to communicate well.

In addition to being able to communicate well verbally and in writing, you also need to be fluent in the use of communication technologies like Skype, Slack, Zoom, Voicemail, text messaging, and so much more. Communication is the lifeline of your freelance business. Without it, you will find it challenging at best to build a freelance base to work from.

7: Organized

The quality of being organized is one that is revered by employers. Just randomly pick a job description online and I can bet you it probably states somewhere to need to be organized. And it’s no less needed by freelancers.

Organization will be your lifeline when living a freelance life. You need to organize your workload, your finances, your client files, your personal life, your household, your children, and multitudes of other things in order to be successful in your freelance career.

Missing deadlines, losing client phone numbers and messages, misplacing payments or refunds, not remembering if you billed a client or not, forgetting where you left your kids (I really hope that last one isn’t a regular thing with any of you…if it is, get professional help please.) are things that clients (and spouses) will find unacceptable.

Being unorganized can cost you and your clients money and business. If you cost your clients money because of your lack of organization, they will most definitely find someone else to do their projects. As a freelancer, you need to learn to plan your time and organize every aspect of your business if you want to survive long-term.

8: Responsible

When you’re a freelancer, your clients aren’t interested in your excuses. They expect results. They’ve turned the responsibility of getting a project done to you, you’ve promised to do it, and they expect you to deliver on your promises. This is what being responsible means.

Just because you work for yourself, doesn’t mean that you can do whatever you want. At least not if you expect to build a business and gain a reputation for quality work.

You must be prepared to do the job you’ve accepted no matter what. If you’re not prepared to do the job regardless of what comes your way, you might not be a good candidate to freelance. You need to be aware that your reputation is on the line. It can take months or years to get a great reputation but it can be destroyed in an instant if you’re not responsible and respectful to your clients.

You need to take responsibility and make sure you deliver the project no matter what is happening in your life at the moment. Being a freelancer in some ways is harder than working a regular 9 to 5 job because there’s no one else to protect you from the client’s expectations. You need to deliver quality work every time no matter what. If you aren’t prepared for that responsibility, you probably aren’t cut out to freelance.

9: Persistent

When you decide to become a freelancer, you don’t just announce it and clients flock to you. You have to do a lot of work and be very persistent in order to build up your business.

You can’t be the type of person who gives up and gives in when the going gets hard. You need to stand up to the challenges and know that you are going to overcome them. Sometimes being a freelancer is really easy but most times it’s pretty difficult especially if you’re not willing to put in the work. It’s certainly not for the faint of heart.

When you’re looking for clients you need to be persistent in your marketing of yourself to them. You also have to be persistent and consistent in doing your absolute best for your clients once you do get them. There will be times when jobs fall through or a client disappoints you by canceling a contract or not paying you. When this happens you need to be able to pull yourself out of your funk and continue on. If you don’t, you will find yourself wondering where your next paycheck is coming from. Persistence will make sure you keep going and growing.

10. Goal-Oriented

Many freelancers wander from project to project with no real plan and there’s nothing wrong with that as long as the projects keep coming. However, what happens when there is no next project?

For this reason, being goal-oriented is a must. In order to be a successful freelancer, you need to have a game plan. How are you going to make sure you’ve always got work? Where will you go to when there’s a dry spell and you need to pay the bills? Do you have a back up list of freelance job sites that you can go to when you need some cash quickly? All of these things need to be part of your goal planning.

You also want to be able to answer questions like, where do you want your freelance business to be in five years? How do you plan to get there? How do you plan on getting new clients? How many clients can you comfortable take at one time without sacrificing quality? How are you going to make sure you’re taken care of in retirement? How are you going to pay for any emergencies that might come up? How much do you have in your savings account?

Being goal-oriented means you not only set goals for yourself, your business, and your clients but you also regularly evaluate your progress, course-correct if necessary, and set new goals along the way.

11. Embrace Inner-Reflection and Self-Improvement

As a freelancer or human being for that matter, being successful means lots of hard work and determination to begin with. However, it is also necessary to be able to embrace inner-reflection and self-improvement.

You need to be able to not only see what’s great but also see the things that need improvement in your business and in yourself. Human beings are flawed beings and that’s what’s so wonderful about us all. We have the ability to always get better at anything we do. Anything we don’t like or want to be better, we can change it in an instant if we really choose to.

Having the characteristic of inner-reflection and self-improvement means you are able to step back, assess what is and decide to change, if necessary. It’s the ability to not take offense when others offer constructive criticism or ideas for ways to improve and really reflect on what is being suggested. Self-improvement requires us to look within and be brutally honest with ourselves. It requires a strength that very few possess. Those that do possess this characteristic can achieve things that others can only dream of.

Tips For Building Successful Freelancer Qualities:

• Plan and Schedule: I would literally get nothing done without the help of a 17-month planner. Every year, like clockwork, I order a new planner for the year ahead. Every year it’s exciting to me. Why? Because this little spiral book will be what keeps me and my freelance work running. When I get a new client or project, I immediately break the project down into it’s parts and schedule it into my planner. I do this to assist me in making sure 1, I get the project done in time and 2, so I can plan not only other projects but also, my personal life around those projects. Everything goes in this planner – projects due, doctors appointments for myself and my guy, holidays, invoices billed, payments received, etcetera. I personally love Fringe brand planners like this one but whatever once speaks to you is the one you should get.

• Exercise Regularly: Exercising regularly not only improves your health but helps you discipline yourself to do something even if you don’t want to. Now some people love to work out…I’m not one of them. However, once I make myself workout I feel wonderful and proud of myself for pushing through. Working out can be anything from taking a long walk to hitting the elliptical for an intense workout. Do whatever works for you. I always make sure to get 10,000 steps in daily and I keep myself accountable by doing it with my guy. I also joined 99 Walks, which rewards me when I achieve my monthly goal with a cool bracelet with that month’s theme inscribed on it. If you decide to give 99 Walks a try (which I highly recommend) make sure you join my group specifically for freelancers appropriately named Freelance Walkers in the app.

• Get Good Zzzz’s: Let’s face it, without a goodnight’s sleep none of us are worth much and self-discipline goes out the door. Enough said. Get to be early so you can be ready for the projects tomorrow has for you.

• Cush-Time: When possible, give your clients a deadline that you’re going to meet that calculates in what I call “cush-time”. Cush-time is a little extra time to get the project done that allows for those unexpected things in life – a medical or dental appointment, a day when you just need a little extra time to yourself or when you or someone you love isn’t feeling well, a weather-emergency day or two, or even a day when your electricity goes out for no apparent reason and you can’t get online. All of these have happened to me just recently and fortunately, my cush-time saved the day. My clients were happy with me and I was able to deal with the unexpected things that happen sometimes.
  • Now, sometimes building in cush-time won’t be a possibility because the client has a hard deadline that is tight when you get the project. In those instances, you have to push through and do everything possible to deliver on time.
  • As a rule, I usually look at the client’s deadline and then breakdown how much I need to do daily on that project to get it done in time. Then, depending on how far away the deadline is, I plan a day or two a week where I won’t be working on the project. I then recalculate what I have to do daily to meet the deadline by factoring in those days off. This provides the cush-time. If I decide not to use the cush-time, which I frequently don’t use it, then you’ll get the project done early and you’re on the way to creating a raving-fan client.

• Do What What You Say: Your word is your bond. When you tell a client that you’re going to do their project and meet their deadline, make sure you always do that. They are trusting you with their business. If you lose that trust, you will find it hard to keep them as a client and after awhile, your reputation could get tarnished.

• Break Down Goals and Projects: Just as I mentioned in #2 to break down projects, you also need to break down your goals into smaller steps. Doing this provides a clear path to achievement and achievement fuels self-motivation. Once you feel the thrill of success in the little things, it motivates you to achieve other things in your life.

• Celebrate Achievements: Celebrating the achievement of goals as well as projects is a great way to give yourself a pat on the back. Giving yourself a treat helps to build the cycle of positive reinforcement. Meaning you’ll be more motivated to achieve something else.

• Picture Yourself Where You Want To Be: Regularly envisioning where you want to be, tells your brain what you want and in doing so, your brain will find the way to get you there. Doing this and taking action on your goals will create a motivation to do more and be more.

To learn more about becoming a freelancer, check out our Getting Started articles here.

Also, check out this article on the Top 5 Qualities to Look for When Hiring a Freelancer for an idea of what entrepreneurs are looking for in a freelancer.

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Veronica Buhl is a freelance social media manager and author, who has been a writer, editor, proofreader, summary writer, and transcriptionist for some of the top motivational and self-improvement speakers in the world. She has also helped numerous clients develop their websites, blogs, and social media presence in order to promote their businesses, non-profits, and projects. She is the author of the book, Making Your Business A Social Media Superstar, and is co-author of the book, The Massage Disadvantage. Her official website can be found at www.veronicabuhl.com