Table of Contents
Today many people prefer freelance to permanent jobs or office jobs. Especially, the young generation. Of course, freelance and permanent jobs both have pros and cons. We will take a look at the difference between them next time. But today let’s try to summarise the top 5 most essential skills for freelancers.
TOP 5 Most Essential Skills for Freelancers
We will talk about soft skills which are important for all freelancers regardless of the type of work they do, the industry, etc. Because freelance jobs are very varied.
And these skills are important not only for freelancers but for everyone. We listed those skills in no particular order.
1. Time Management
Many people wrongly treat freelance time as freedom. Yes, most freelancers have a more flexible schedule, but it doesn’t mean that they don’t have a schedule at all and time constraints. Time is a very important basic of everything.
And to be a successful freelancer you need to learn how to organize your time. Each successful freelancer has a daily to-do list, goals, and deadlines. It helps to finish the work on time and keep a work-life balance.
Of course, you decide what to do and when to do it. But at the same time, don’t forget that if you are a freelancer, you have much more responsibilities, and first of all, you are responsible for how you use or waste your time.
2. Communication
Communication skills are very important in any sphere of our life, in any workplace. And it is of the same importance for freelancers. You can be an expert in the industry you are working in, but if you have poor communication skills, the risk of losing clients is super high.
Everyone should learn how to build strong, positive, reliable relationships with partners, clients, and anyone. Communication is also about the capability to clearly deliver your thoughts and ideas.
In addition, good communication skills are not only about the way you talk or write but also about time. If you will reply to your customer a week or month after you received his/her request, you may lose that customer or get negative feedback.
Also, it is important to keep in touch with your customers. So, they will remember you and will come back to you or introduce you to their friends or partners. That is networking. So, good communication skills will help you to be a part of powerful networking.
3. Finance
Another side of freelance is the absence of different benefits and financial extras from companies. Usually, permanent employers have a paid vacation, companies provide health insurance, holiday gifts, etc. And one of the most important things is that people who have a regular job will receive a pension after retirement.
Therefore, it’s crucial to learn your budget. You should be sure that your expenses aren’t higher than your income. And don’t forget to make savings, so you will have many in case you won’t have a job.
Remember, how many people stayed without jobs and money during the pandemic?
4. Regularity
Freelancers should have a proactive mindset. They need to always think about the future, about learning new things, improving their skills, so they will always have a job. If you look at platforms for freelancers (ex, Fiverr) you will see that the most active freelancers learn new skills, update their portfolios, etc.
Regularly send offers to your potential customers. Especially, if you just left your traditional job and started exploring the freelancer’s path. You always need to be on the same page with trends.
5. Risk management skills
Freelance is like your own business. And as in any type of job, there can be risks and problems too. Therefore, you need to learn how to anticipate, assess and deal with risks.
Some people call freelance a risk. And there is a deal of truth in it. There is a risk that you won’t find a job, the risk that your customer won’t pay you, the risk that you will have personal issues and won’t be able to work, etc. If you decided to be a freelancer you need to learn how to manage different risks.
Summary
Being a freelancer means being a highly responsible person. Because you have to consider much more things than regular employers. And you have to develop basic soft skills to be a successful freelancer with a work-life balance.
Do you have those TOP 5 Most Essential Skills for Freelancers? Which other skills are important for freelance?
