John Heywood rightly said, “many hands make work light.” I certainly found this to be true when my freelancing business grew as a result of the overwhelming number of jobs that I had to do. I knew that I needed more hands to make the workload lighter if I were to still provide exceptional service and complete the jobs faster. However, I knew that I needed to surround myself with persons who had the characteristics of a successful freelancer. You may be wondering, what are the right characteristics of a successful freelancer? There are many, but we are going to explore my 10 vital characteristics of a successful freelancer, based on my observations and experience as an Online Entrepreneur.
1) Freelancers must have a willingness to learn. This means that even if the person we hire is not an expert, or not very skilled in the area that we need to do the job, he or she can still be a great support system. However, he or she must be capable of learning quickly, working consistently, and be good at following instructions. Simply put, we need to work with someone who is teachable.
2) Efficiency is important for a successful freelancing business. It is vital that the persons we work with be good at finding effective ways to work hard and smartly to ensure the business’ productivity.
3 Professionalism is an important trait in business, however, there should be a balance. On one hand, we need to surround ourselves with a team that has complementary personalities. This ensures that we enjoy working with each other, and we understand each other. On the other hand, there should be respectful boundaries – business and friendship should not mix.
4) Respectfulness should always be felt between co-workers and the boss. There will be times when opinions differ, but respect should always be maintained.
5) Clear communication is important to prevent misunderstandings. This is very essential when our teammate is remote and has to solely rely on virtual communication. By doing this, we ensure that information is shared clearly instead of causing confusion or misinterpretation.
6) As freelancers, intuitiveness is a very useful trait. It comes in handy when unexpected situations and challenges arise, and they require us to think on our feet to resolve the problem. Hence, it is good when we have a support team that understands how we work so that each person can make a spontaneous decision and still do a good job. This balances the way we do business with creativity, and it ensures that the outcome is good for business.
7) When the challenges come, be it a difficult task or a demanding client, tenacity is key. As freelancers, we have to be determined to not allow a crisis to defeat us. Instead, we have to be a united team that rises to the challenge.
8) There are many important traits for freelancers, but flexibility ranks among the top characteristics for successful Online Freelancers. Even though we can plan, be organized, and try to prepare for potential challenges, we can never be fully prepared for everything. As a result, having a flexible team ensures that we have the support system we need to handle unexpected urgencies, such as dealing with a last-minute job that is profitable, but it comes with numerous demands and hurdles. Simply put, the freelancing business needs a team that understands the importance of being flexible to accomplish the objectives of the business.
9) Good time management skills are important in whatever we do, but are especially when we are working as freelancers. Hence, we need to surround ourselves with people who can juggle well and keep track of the multiple jobs, whilst ensuring that we are efficient and produce good work.
10) Competence should never be overlooked. Yes, we can work with a team that learns together and grows together, but the quality of the work should never be compromised. That is the reason why Online Entrepreneurs usually feel more comfortable working with persons who have the competency to do a good job. When we are hiring an employee for our businesses or accepting a helping hand to lessen an overwhelming workload, we have to weigh the pros and cons of hiring someone who is willing to learn versus someone who is competent.
In conclusion, there are many characteristics of a successful freelancer. However, these are my ten important characteristics of a successful freelancer. These traits, whether they are combined or they stand-a-lone, they ensure that we are adequately prepared to hire a temporary or permanent member to our online freelancing business team. Believe me, having individuals with these characteristics, will reward our business with the productivity and success we seek!
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