When you start your own business you are totally out of your comfort zone. Now you know. This means that most of the things you do or should know generate doubts, fears and even anxiety. It is natural, you have high expectations of finally having more personal freedom and independence, but you do not know how to make your business work and be profitable. Beyond the technical knowledge you can learn during the first years, there are skills that you must acquire to become a good entrepreneur. These are the ones that I recommend working for if you want to be successful as a freelancer:
Skill number 1: Networking
It is still very common that most people who work in other companies only use their networking skills (and sometimes very poorly) when they need to change jobs. So it is not strange to think that when these people decide to take the big step of becoming independent professionals, they have no idea how to use this tool. If you feel identified with this, you should know that you have to make a strong change here because just as you need oxygen to breathe every day, your business needs your networking skills.
Networking is neither more nor less than your ability to connect with other people and generate a relationship. It is not about sending dozens of invitations on Linkedin or other social networks. Connecting means having a relationship, contributing, collaborating with others, learning from others, interacting, doing joint projects. Generate synergy. While it's true that social media is an excellent medium for networking, don't forget that another equally valuable medium is local events that you can attend. These give you the opportunity to interact in person with other people who may be in your same situation (being independent professionals) or may be potential clients. In any case, listening to their problems and solutions, concerns and opinions can help you improve your business.
A fundamental point for you to keep in mind: take care of your privacy as you consider best, but forget about anonymity if you want to be an independent professional and have your own business. You need people to know you, connect with you, trust you, and they won't if they are not clear about who you are and what you think. It is not about giving personal information. In fact, it is highly recommended to have your personal and professional life well separated so that unnecessary aspects are not mixed. It is about being able to express opinions and convictions relevant to your activity in the market.
Skill number 2 - Personal Marketing
It is incredible even how many people lack this tool and they miss an incredible opportunity to promote their business. Is this your case? Let's solve it in two paragraphs. First of all, personal marketing is the skill that will allow you to publicize your ideas, skills, abilities, strengths. In essence, yourself and your business. Many entrepreneurs are afraid to talk about their entrepreneurship. They are embarrassed or inhibited from mentioning it to others for fear of criticism or disinterest. But what you have to think about is the following:
- Not everyone is going to be interested in your business (if your strategy is set correctly, you don't do everything for everyone. You have a specific market niche, a group of ideal clients that you serve better than anyone. Those are the ones who you want them to show more interest). And even when they are potential clients and you feel that they do not show interest, you can find an excellent opportunity to discover what you could modify in your proposal to make it more satisfactory. You miss the opportunity to tell someone who could be about your business. interested. Maybe it's a potential client or someone proposing to enter into a mutual collaboration agreement. Or simply someone with whom you have a conversation and that generates an idea for your business.
The first step for you to start working with this skill is to do (and practice) your Elevator Pitch. It is called like this to a presentation of you, of your business with clarity, concrete and that arouses interest in 30 seconds. For example, if I am talking and connecting with you (networking skill) and you tell me that you have the dream of undertaking but do not dare, I would say to you: “oh look how good, of course, it is a great step and it is natural that there be fears I am just dedicated to helping freelancers who like you want to get started to have their own business and do not know how to do it. Do you want me to tell you a little more about how I could help you? ” It is fast, direct, concrete and clear. And it opens the door for the other person to say "yes, great, what would it be like?" or "sure, maybe another time."Remember that if you are at an event your time (and that of others) is very limited, so the best thing would be that if you are interested in knowing more, you can ask for his personal card and contact him for a call or meeting at another time. Don't try to start a sale. It is about promoting, presenting, exposing, communicating.
Fear of rejection is frequent and sometimes very inhibiting. The next time you feel it, go ahead and take the step to face it thinking that even in the worst case scenario, you can take the opportunity to discover what you could improve to spark that interest.
Skill number 3 - Assertive Communication
This is one of my favorites. It is not only necessary for freelancers and business owners, and frankly it is one of the most lacking in general as individuals. Assertive communication is knowing what to say, at the right time, in the right tone and in turn communicating what we want (whether we want to express an opinion, defend a position or ask for something).
The first thing you need to be an assertive person is to know yourself very well. This often includes knowing what your limits are and enforcing them. You also need to learn to ask, naturally, without feeling bad about it or anticipating the results.
One of my favorite notes on how to develop Assertiveness is an entire chapter of the book How to Overcome Impostor Syndrome ?, written by my mentor Dr. Aida Baida. She describes an assertive person as one who has these characteristics:
- High knowledge of yourself, you know what you want and feel You accept your limitations and at the same time you fight to achieve your goals You are true to yourself and your values, you express what you think and feel and you take responsibility for your life. You communicate directly, Open and polite with people at all levels, from family to coworkers. You ask for what you want instead of waiting for your mind to be read (my favorite!) You choose the people around you and are firm in your decisions You accept that they reject your requests and you fit the noes well, knowing that they are not rejecting you.
Developing this skill will not only make you look and feel more confident and confident in yourself, it also frees you from a terrible burden “that of wanting to do things perfectly all the time and of wanting to like and be accepted by everyone. world".
The first step you can take to be more assertive is to become aware of what situations you have been in lately where you have not been. Try to go over in your mind what you could have done or said differently to feel better (maybe change your speech, maybe put some limit or on the contrary, encourage yourself to do and say something beyond rejection). Identify 2 or 3 of these situations and aim to take a different attitude the next time a similar situation occurs.
Become a master in these 3 skills, naturalize them and enjoy them, and you will see how you get not only better results in your business but a wonderful growth in your personal and professional development.
