“People can’t hire you if they don’t know that you’re available.”
In this insightful video, Sanne Vliegenthart shares with us 10 things she’s learned since becoming a freelancer, sharing not just what she’s learned about work, but also herself.
If you’re considering delving into the world of freelance work, then Sanne’s video is a must-watch. She begins by explaining that October marks the one-year anniversary of her switch to freelance work, having spent the last five to six years working in publishing, specialising in the areas of “social media, digital, video production and kind of anything along those lines”. As she explains, her reason for switching was that she “really wanted to learn a lot of new things. I was ready for a different step, a different challenge.”
Sanne mentions the importance of letting people know you’re available, saying that, “People can’t hire you if they don’t know you’re available.” This means making sure you’re “emailing old colleagues or old contacts”, have your own portfolio and sharing on social media that you’re available for work. In the same vein as this, she mentions that you should regularly follow up with people about work.
In the world of freelance work, very often you may get approached by people about an opportunity and you will respond promptly with your rates. However, she points out that these new prospective clients may have “gotten very busy and they’ve kind of dropped the ball on it, or they haven’t had a chance to get to it”, so chasing them up and ensuring “the project keeps going can sometimes be, like, a big part of your responsibility”.
Sanne made a fun observation in relation to chores and daily tasks, saying that when you work as a freelancer “you can do certain things during the nine to five that you would usually do after work hours”. These tasks include going to the gym, grocery shopping, etc. She recommends you make the most of these little privileges. Similarly, she says that it’s important to know or figure out when you are most productive during the day, so that you can tailor your day around this. Sanne finds “the afternoon and early evening are, like, peak times” of productivity for her, so she tries to schedule her day around this.
Overall, this is a truly insightful, fun and informative video about freelance working life, which is full of helpful advice for anyone considering becoming a freelancer and even for those currently working as one.
Want more?
Check out Tom Scott‘s video teaching us about the phonetic alphabet. Alternatively, watch Bertie Gilbert review every Harry Potter film.
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