Capturing Chaos

A recent post on Freelance Writing From Home reminded me how narrow people tend to be in their thinking. The author was addressing the idea that too many people seem to have—that freelancing means you spend every day, all day, writing. Aside from the deadliness of such a routine, freelancing doesn’t even necessarily refer to writing. “Freelance simply means being self-employed. It doesn’t mean writing. You could be a freelance photographer or a freelance consultant.”

As a freelancer, you’re running your own business, which is supposed to be a path to freedom, not a different kind of slavery. Certainly, you’re going to have to work hard if you intend to make a living at it. But along the way, you should be learning how to work smarter so that you don’t have to work as hard.

One of the ways to work smarter, that isn’t discussed nearly often enough, is available if you have several talents or skill sets. Integrating those skills means that your freelancing will be more profitable, and probably more enjoyable. I know someone whose job is in danger because her company is outsourcing more and more of its work to India. She’s desperate, but has no idea what she’s going to do if she’s loses her job in this, the worst of all possible times.

Her job involves copywriting and editing, and graphics design. She’s also a good photographer. That’s an incredible basis for a productive freelance career, and I will be trying to nudge her in that direction.

And that brings up another problem. If you’ve always worked in the real world, how do you even start thinking about making the transition to the internet? And how do you find the information you need as a complete newbie, without spending months chasing down information sources that lead you nowhere?

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