With freelancing entrepreneurs to represent over 20% of the workforce by 2020, it’s important for all young adults who enter the independent market to consider that they’ve put all the chances of success on their side. Naturally, when you decide to join the world of freelancers or young entrepreneurs, you need to be aware that your job security now lies in the past.
If you get no contract, there will be no pay at the end of the month. This means that you need to pick a sector that you know well and for which you have trained. Additionally, you also need to pick a sector where there is sufficient demand for your skills. After all, you might be an expert in painting patterns on wood fences, but if nobody needs your skills in town, you need to look elsewhere – in location or area of expertise.
But there’s another important point when you take your first step into the freelancing world: You need to look the part. You need to ooze with self-confidence, power, and professionalism.
Know your role and rehearse until it’s perfect
When you become an entrepreneur, how you interact with your partners, investors and clients becomes essential in growing your business. This means that even though you are set to sell your specialist skills, you also need to know how to convince and how to shine with expertise.
Unfortunately, this implies that your training isn’t over: Business owners need to understand essential management skills to manage their growth effectively. But they also need to remain down-to-earth: You are your own boss, this doesn’t make you better than everyone else.
This just makes you responsible for your team, your product, and your ideas. In short, there is a lot of humility, soft business skills and self-promotion tips to master to be able to succeed in this domain.
Pick a costume that says creative & professional
Entrepreneurs can design their own office wear rules. You can choose whether you want your business to be casual, formal or semi-formal. You have probably noticed that a lot of young entrepreneurs tend to focus on a casual chic fashion to make themselves appear more approachable. If you share this way of thinking, you will need to personalize your outfit to keep it individual.
You can look at options of gold chains or similar classic jewelry to make a business outfit elegant and personal, or maybe just consider a signature color that you can wear. If you know of the SEO company, Moz, you have probably come across Rand Fishkin who has made the mustache his signature accessory for years.
Never take the stage without the right props
Finally, you’re an entrepreneur. Therefore you need tools to sustain your enterprise. Think of your needs in simple terms: You will need a host for your website; e-commerce facilities if you choose to sell online; payment solutions for your online buyers; game development tools if you are in the gaming industry, user engagement tools to improve your website, collaborative platforms to work on projects with the team, etc.
Your role is to find out the areas that you need to support with the right digital tool. Thankfully, there is a tool for almost anything, and the majority of them are inexpensive, so you have nothing to worry about!
