Where Do You Go from Here?
Steve Slaunwhite, Ed Gandia, and Pete Savage
There’s no denying that the wealthy freelancing journey will present you with challenges, difficulties, and tough decisions. And while it’s certainly not the easiest path, we believe (and we suspect you do, too) that it is the most rewarding one. Few careers enable you to continually choose the people you work with, the projects you work on, the income you earn, and the lifestyle you enjoy, all at the same time! And fewer still allow you to adjust each of these variables as your needs and interests evolve. Of course, there’s also the satisfaction of seeing your plans, strategies, and hard work pay off—the satisfaction of generating a great income by delivering great value to your clients, not from a paycheck that may not truly reflect your individual contributions.
But there’s something else. Wealthy freelancing, if you allow it, can help you experience life in full stereo and vivid Technicolor. There’s something about being able to decide what you work on, whom you work with, where you go, and how you’ll get there that will bring out the very best in you. It will make you come alive and help you attract more of what you want—at times, almost without effort. As you commit further to your dream of freelancing, you’ll notice that people, places, and opportunities seem to suddenly align themselves in your favor.
We’re not the first to offer this advice. In fact, the great German thinker and writer Goethe best described what’s in store for you once you take bold action toward your dream:
Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.
So hold fast to your vision of becoming a wealthy freelancer. Give it everything you’ve got, and expect good things to unfold. As you do, your whole life will become clearer, richer, and more exciting. It’s the difference between seeing the movie The Matrix on an iPod and seeing it on a giant IMAX movie screen … in 3-D!
Fortunately, anyone can reach this level of fulfillment in his or her freelance career. All you need is the right mindset, the right strategies (which we’ve shared with you in this book), and the right level of action and determination.
But where do you start? How much should you do? How do you successfully implement these ideas? It’s all up to you. However, if you’re excited about the possibilities of wealthy freelancing, we suggest you get started now, while the excitement is high and you’re motivated to take those first few steps. What follows is a simple framework (and a bit of inspiration) for putting the ideas in this book into action.
Determine the Size and Nature of the Gap
Start by analyzing the current state of your freelance business. What types of projects are you working on? What kind of clients are you working with? What income level are you earning? What kind of lifestyle are you enjoying? Go back to the “Wealthy Freelancer Worksheet” you filled out in the first chapter, the one where you detailed the types of projects, clients, income, and lifestyle you want. How does your current state compare to where you want to be? How big is the gap between your current state and your ideal state? Give that some thought.
Don’t get discouraged if the gap seems huge. Instead, draw excitement from the fact that you alone are in control of bridging that gap. Not your manager, not some bureaucrat, not some sort of exploratory committee. Yes, you may have some work to do, but take comfort in knowing that most of the secrets to helping you narrow that gap are contained in this book.
Put Your Plan into Action
As we suggested in the first chapter, rather than letting the ideas in this book overwhelm you, pick a few strategies you’d like to implement over the next few weeks and create a simple action plan for putting them into play. But don’t just stop there. After you’ve drafted your plan, write down three simple and quick steps you can take in the next three days to help implement the first item on your list.
Following this advice is crucial if you wish to move quickly toward your wealthy lifestyle; so get your pen handy and identify those three things now! Pick something you could do immediately, something you can do tomorrow, and something you can do the day after. These tasks shouldn’t take you long to accomplish, and they should be tasks that will give you quick wins, even if they’re small, psychological victories.
For instance, if the first idea you want to implement is to revisit your goals and set bigger and better ones, maybe your first task is to sit down with your spouse or significant other this evening and talk openly about where you want to be 1, 3, 5, and 10 years from now. On day two, based on that conversation, you could carve out 30 minutes to write down both your long-term and short-term goals. And on day three, you could spend an hour breaking down each of your one-year goals into monthly milestones and weekly action items. Frankly, it doesn’t really matter what three tasks you pick for this exercise, as long as they help you implement one of the secrets—and as long as you commit to doing them as if your life depended on their accomplishment.
Don’t underestimate the effect these baby steps will have on your psyche. Taking even the smallest action will get you on the right path and will start building the momentum you need to keep yourself focused.
Think “Ready, Fire, Aim”
According to Michael Masterson, author of the bestselling book Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat (Wiley, 2008), most people spend too much time trying to get things just right before they take action. In other words, they practice a “ready, aim, fire” philosophy. Masterson says, “The nothing-less-than-perfect attitude has been the theme of many success stories, but it is exactly the wrong notion to have in your head when it’s time to launch a new product or business. When the time is right, you must fire. If you spend another moment aiming, the opportunity to hit your target may pass you by.”
So if you’re just now launching your freelance business, don’t wait to start prospecting until you have a logo, business cards, a great-looking website, and an impressive portfolio. Instead, tap into your network to find businesses you can help, even if you do it for a highly discounted fee. If you’re already an established freelancer, don’t let perfection get in the way of action. Go back through this book and make a list of all the ideas you want to implement. Prioritize them, draft a simple plan for putting them into practice, and then take action!
Remember: it doesn’t matter where you get started. Just get started somewhere … now!
Don’t Put Your Goal on a Pedestal
Every worthwhile goal we’ve reached became far easier to attain when we stopped thinking about the goal’s “grandness.”
For instance, as a sales professional, Ed started landing big software deals only after he downplayed the difficulty and skill necessary to be successful at it. He also resigned from his job to become a full-time freelancer, but only after he realized that doing so was just the last step in a well-executed plan.
When Steve wanted to achieve his dream of writing a book, at first it seemed overwhelming. Who was he to think he could be a successful author? It was only when he focused on the first step—learning how to create a winning book proposal—that he eventually had a breakthrough. Today he has six books to his credit and counting.
When Pete wanted to step up the caliber of his clientele and start doing freelance work for large, well-known corporations, he put his fears aside and took massive action by building a self-promotion strategy from scratch. That campaign—a direct-mail package that he wrote, printed, and then manually assembled on his dining room table—landed him a lucrative retainer contract with the largest corporation in Canada!
The moral here: don’t put your goal of wealthy freelancing on a pedestal. Think of it as completely achievable, as natural and mundane a goal as saying you’ll wake up at 6 A.M. tomorrow. When you take away the goal’s “grand-ness,” you take away its power over you. And once you’re no longer standing in the dark shadow of the gargantuan goal that once towered before you, you can begin taking action to accomplish it.
Be Tenacious
The biggest reason freelancers fail to develop a wealthy business is not a lack of opportunity, it’s giving up too soon. Too many aspiring freelancers get discouraged at the first sign of rejection and decide that maybe the opportunity is not real. And a staggering number of experienced freelancers, jaded after years of grinding it out the old-fashioned way, conclude that this level of performance is reserved for a few lucky souls.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The ideas and advice contained in this book come directly from the trenches. Each of us has used these ideas and strategies to develop wealthy freelance businesses in a relatively short period of time—and so have thousands of our coaching students, newsletter subscribers, and readers of our blog, TheWealthyFreelancer.com.
Interestingly, each of us came from very different circumstances and faced very different challenges when we each decided we wanted to change the way we made a living. Ed had become disillusioned with the exhausting treadmill of direct sales. He wanted to take charge of his future so he could be home with his young family and have more control over his career. But Ed didn’t want to sacrifice his six-figure income or his family’s financial future in the process. Therefore, he developed a methodical action plan to go from successful salesperson to successful freelancer, a process that took 27 months of hard work to complete.
Pete, on the other hand, was pushed “backward and blindfolded” into the world of freelancing when he was fired from his job at a boutique marketing agency. For Pete, there was no time for self-pity at the loss of his job. Instead, he began mentally plotting his move to become a freelance copywriter during his dismissal interview! That was on a Friday. By Monday morning, Pete had landed his first freelance gig.
And Steve, well, he just plain hated being an employee. He admired his father, who had been successfully self-employed all his life. Steve wanted to do the same, so he combined his writing, teaching, and marketing skills to make that happen.
It’s All Worth It!
At the end of the day, is it worth it? Is pursuing a wealthy freelance business worth the trouble, pain, effort, and inevitable disappointments along the way? Absolutely it is! And it’s worth it no matter where you are in your career or what wealthy freelancing means to you. In fact, the challenges you will face in the pursuit of a wealthy freelance business are not that much greater than those you will encounter if you opt for the status quo.
But the rewards from wealthy freelancing are so much sweeter!
Famous motivational speaker Jim Rohn once said, “We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. Discipline weighs ounces, regret weighs tons.”
Pay the price. Endure the pain of discipline. You’ll be a better person for it. You’ll inspire others. And you’ll live in peace knowing you truly made the most of your talents and your time while on this Earth.
Are you prepared for what’s to come? You bet you are! You’ve just read the book, now go live the life. And be sure to savor the moment when it comes, that moment when you realize that The Wealthy Freelancer … is you.
And then please share your wealthy freelancing story with us. Visit our blog at www.TheWealthyFreelancer.com/success.
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