Depending on how you answer that question, you pretty much position your value in the market. To me, freelancers are those who perform their duties by translating documents / writing articles / making graphic design etc. Entrepreneurs - solopreneurs, to be more specific - are those who not only are capable of attaining their professional responsibilities but are the ones who can turn their goods / services / talents into a profit. Entreprenuers are the ones to sell the great ideas of different languages - something we call a translation.
In my early days of arrival to the translation industry, I often met phrases like "In the freelance world, you have to be a great marketer of yourself"; "You won't succeed unless you have a great sense of business"; or "Running a freelance business requires just as much effort and expertise as any other business." For a moment, I refused to believe in all that. I thought that I was not going to need any business tactics or plans in order to be a successful translator. I had a firm belief that if I am a great professional of my area of expertise than I would not need any marketing skills and clients would come to me anyway. Shorty after that, I figured that a lack of business spirit was not the way to go.
Since I never graduated from business school and the only business-related courses I had at the university gave me nothing but headaches, I decided to turn to the beautiful world of the Internet to learn about marketing, PR, advertisement, online solutions and social media. I was lucky enough to discover a marvellous website of the International Freelancers Academy which I strongly recommend for any freelancer worker to take a look at. Ed Gandia shares wonderful tips and useful information for all of us.
I also highly recommend to review last year's official report about the freelance industry. (https://s3.amazonaws.com/ifdconference/2012report/Freelance+Industry+Report+2012+updated.pdf )
* Interesting data from the report: did you know that the majority of freelancers in the world are women? (71,1%) Recently, I was told that freelancer women are also called shelancers. Funny, right? :)
Given my hunger for information and my determination to become a pro freelancer - not to mention all the available literature of business, strategic planning and marketing - today, I am wiser, smarter, better educated and more prepared to succeed in the freelance market. I know that I must have strategies, plans, backup plans, solutions and new, innovative ideas in my arsenal. I am not afraid to learn something new every day and I always appretiate help from other freelancers / busines thinkers with greater experience.
How do you address this problem? Are you happy to be considered a solopreneur? Do you enjoy all the marketing aspects of your freelance work? If you feel different, what do you hate the most about this type of entrepreneurship?
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