What to do when bad days happen as a freelancer
(Transcribed from the Freelance Fairytales Podcast)
You’re going to have bad days as a freelancer. Lots of them. I can’t even count how many bad days I have had over the last 7-years freelancing. It’s these days that shape the kind of business person you are going to become.
When I was first starting out, I almost quit. I had one of the worst days of my business life - or so it felt. But because I didn’t quit, I got a little bit stronger. And stronger and stronger. It kept going to the point where now someone can make an entire video crapping on me, and sure it might hurt for a couple of days, but it’s not going to stop me. That’s the best way to build confidence is to just do it and push through anyway. Nike obviously knew what they were doing with their tagline.
No but for real, bad days as a freelancer. It can look like:
A bad review
A nasty client
A 3rd revision
A cancelation and loss of revenue
Too much work
Isolation
The list can go on. I always tell people, the first step in enduring bad days as a freelancer is to anticipate it. Truly. Prep your mind for it before it happens. That way, it won’t be shocking. It’s the shocking element that can make it so tough. If you know these things are going to happen, then when they do happen, you will be more calmly able to face them and process them.
Let’s say you get a bad review. That sucks and many times, it’s super unfair. It’s totally ok to spend some hours being bummed. Don’t rob yourself of those emotions. I call that toxic positivity - when people expect you to be this perfectly fine stoic being through everything. You can for sure be bummed. Grant yourself that.
But after, use those emotions to fuel your fire. Message all past clients with a discount. Drum up sales. Take to social media. Use the Buyer Request portal. Maybe try another freelancing platform - maybe this was a sign. Everything happens for a reason. Use your emotions to fuel your response like that in a positive way.
Maybe you’re drowning in too much work. That’s an amazing problem! It’s a sign you need to either raise your prices or hire help. There is nothing wrong with expanding out your freelancing empire. There’s a movement of people in the freelancing world trying to demonize those that build businesses around their freelancing brand. They’re just mad they haven’t figured out how to do it themselves. Everyone wants a business that works without them. Start building yours and own it!
Maybe there was a cancelation on Fiverr and you loss your money from it. Contact customer service and fight it. Fight it for days if you have to. Many times, they give it back! But you’re not going to get it back if you don’t ask. Again, use those emotions to create change. You don’t have to accept the negative outcome! I don’t accept anything like that in my life. I go ok, here is the situation, how do I fix it? My mind always jumps to: what is the solution here?
Be Patient with Yourself
And then after all that, in order to process your bummed out emotions healthily, give yourself space to go on a walk for an hour - maybe without your phone so no one can reach you! Text a friend to hang out for dinner. Maybe go paint or do something totally different from work. This is just work at the end of the day. It does not define you. You are not the freelancing work you deliver to clients. The phones make us way too plugged into everyones needs today. It’s so unhealthy. Take some me-time to unplug from the business. It will be there when you get back - trust me. I had to learn this the hard way, too!
Know that you are not alone. I have bad days - we all do. Please do let them scare you into quitting. There is nothing worse than quitting. When you quit, you tell your brain you weren’t able to do something and it imprints that into your thinking pattern. You must push through.
Guys, that’s why I made a free Facebook group that has like freaking 23k people in it right now! Called Freelancing Mentorship with Alexandra Fasulo. 24,000 people are waiting to be your coworker. It’s a really magical thing to watch unfold. The group has totally taken on a life of its own. Join it, please!! We can at least fix the isolation here.
You got this guys. Keep going.