I tend to get emails from just-starting-out freelancers and new businesspeople a lot. Sometimes it's about a project; other times there's a more direct question involved. Those are the ones who want to know how they can do what I did - get a home-office-based professional services business onto a paying basis. They want the secret.
There are plenty of books out there, and I'm not going to rehash them here.. suffice to say I agree with some of the conventional freelance advice, and disagree with a lot more of it. The popular "how to" books don't paint an accurate picture of how rough the business can be sometimes or what the real challenges are, instead promising fortunes for a pittance of work in no time flat.
It don't work that way. It's almost never easy, but if you stick around long enough and pay attention - ask questions, get to know people, learn things - you gradually stop screwing up so often. Your income begins to rise, the projects get better, the clients more prominent. It usually takes two to three years of crawling over broken glass to get to that point.
Most freelancers don't get that far, and end up quitting and scrambling back to their cubicles where there's a ready-made social system and regular paycheck. No judgment call from me, there. You have to be at least a little crazy to stick with it. Significant others don't understand. Neither generally do banks, or leasing managers, or car dealers. If you're not willing to sacrifice a lot to survive this way, then giving up is the sane thing to do. To each his own and happy landings.
But to answer that question, "How do I succeed?", my answer is that it's the wrong question. The appropriate question is, "How do I survive?".. because the truth is, you never succeed. That's the motivational fantasy that says that eventually you'll be let off the survival hook without having to die to get there.
I assure you, it won't happen - you just get better at facing challenges, which get tougher as you grow and get harder. It never ends. You only survive.. or you don't. And remember, survival is not mandatory.
If you plan to stick around, start by learning to psychologically live day by day. Start every day fresh, making the goal of that day to find at least one opportunity to improve the quality of your life. Cut an unneed expense; figure out a way to boost your income, if even by a few dollars. Streamline things. Figure out a way to get more appreciation and joy from the people, places and things already in your life. Look for that one thing that presents itself today that you can turn to your advantage. Don't put it off.
At the end of the day, as you're settling to bed, drop it. That's it. You've done your bit for God and country, made the best decisions you could with what you had available, and took the best advantage of the opportunities that presented themselves. The day's over. Make the last thought before sleep one of gratitude - to God, the universe, karma, your better instincts, whatever suits you - for the opportunity to do it, and then get some sleep.
Remember that (as Tom Hanks says at the end of the film "Castaway") tomorrow morning the sun will rise.. who knows what the tide will bring?
Survive today, survive tomorrow. Keep surviving, no matter what fate shovels at you. Do that, and I promise, you'll outlast the ones who don't.
More thoughts on beating the Florida heat (from the last entry)..
I kept shutting off the A/C here more and more often until finally I just kept it off and started figuring out better ways to stay cool. A small and sturdy aluminum fan made by Lakewood (bought at Walmart for $12) has made a tremendous difference - just parking it on my desk during the day covers a lot of the cool front.
The best solution I've found so far, though, is incredibly low tech: the simple bandana. I took a cheap cotton T-shirt, cut out a big chunk of material, soaked it in water and tied it around my head - and was just blown away by how well it kept me cool, especially under the fan. The cotton wicks the water for hours and I stay perfectly comfortable in 85-90 degree afternoon. Not a great fashion accessory in a client meeting, probably - but for hanging around the office, it sure beats a $250 power bill.
I'm going to follow up on the beating-the-heat thing in an upcoming entry. Now that the A/C is off full time, I'm working out how best to put my money where my mouth is.
http://www.rswarren.com/blog/article.php?story=20060903210521457
http://www.rswarren.com/blog/article.php?story=20060903210521457