Ruminations on Freelance Success
I am no stranger to grunt work. Starting out in my forty-odd-year career, I worked as a hospital housekeeper, an assistant stage manager, a cub reporter for a local suburban newspaper and in a variety of entry level office positions. At first glance, these jobs have little in common. On closer inspection, they have contributed largely to my understanding of business — from the place it counts most. From the bottom up.
What makes a good employee? What makes a good boss? The flesh-and-blood application of standards, procedures, production, operations, sales, accounting, administration and information management. The irksome art of navigating office politics. But above all, finding answers to that crucial question: what keeps the customer (or patient or audience or reader) coming back? I didn’t find the answer in books. I learned by doing. I learned by interacting with co-workers, bosses and, as my career progressed, with clients, competitors, suppliers, end users and readers.
Along the way, I learned that the very things that kept them coming back were the same things I admired in the business setting: quality, delivery, attitude and respect. I have tried to incorporate these elements into every project I take on.
My clients are busy people. I respect this by researching extensively, fact-checking as I go, working as independently as possible, checking and double-checking, and writing to sign-off on the first draft. I have rarely been disappointed. Over time, the better I know my clients, the more effectively we work together. I have delivered projects based on detailed twenty-page briefings supported by reams of research and others from a quick conversation in the hallway or a few words scratched on a post-it note. I’m flexible. I find my own way through.
Ultimately, I have learned that my success boils down to these basics: delivering what I said I would deliver — in the time frame and at the price I said I would deliver it. It has been a good strategy.
Over thirty years as a freelancer, I have created a life doing what I love most. I have never advertised, instead relying exclusively on word-of-mouth referrals and return business. I don’t have a business card, but those who need me know where to find me. Many of my clients and professional associates have become good friends. I believe that our working relationships have brought value to both of us, value that far exceeds the projects we collaborated on so many years ago.
Oh... and despite any success, real or perceived, I still do grunt work.
