Common Craft is fast becoming one of my favorite blog subscriptions. Their blog is full of entertaining how-to-do-its and just good, common sense advice on a variety of topics. Today’s blog was called Classic Lesson Being Small and Happy. I was surprised to see they used a fishing story to bring their point home.

My last blog post used a fishing story as an example of measuring success, that you don’t need a big system to be successful at freelance. Of course it’s normal to want your freelance business to grow, but how big do you have to be before you feel successful? The Common Craft blog post gives us all a reminder to keep our idea of success in line with our happiness.

I believe that one of the most important roads to success in freelance is defining your business model and staying true to it. “Plan your work and work your plan”. Don’t be manipulated into going into deeper waters until you’re ready and sure you can navigate through the currents and waves. And be sure you don’t go so deep that you can’t get back to solid ground when you need to.

Anyway, the story at Common Craft does a far better job of making the point than I can. Click the link above and enjoy.

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A thread on The Blog Experiment and member Vertexity’s avatar got me thinking… what is success?

If you look at the stick figures, at first glance it appears that Lefty was more successful than the fellow on the right. But, what if I told you that Lefty caught his fish after a long day of fishing in a new boat using a depth finder and a full tacklebox and the other fellow caught his fish in ten minutes with just some strong line, a hook, and a worm?

Lefty certainly caught the bigger fish, but the other guy knew his business and captured quick results.

What does this have to do with freelance?

Line, bait,hook?—sound fishy?  

What’s Your Line?

Fishing line is strong and transparent. In freelance, your line is your business model.

Keep your line strong.

Focus your services on the areas of your expertise. Don’t over extend your business into those areas where you won’t shine. Gather a good list of trustworthy service providers in other areas and use it as a resource for outsourcing or referrals.

Be transparent.

Write a proposal that puts you and your client on the same page. Tell your prospective clients exactly what you’ll do, how long it will take, and how much it will cost.

In my proposals, I have a section that I call “determination of responsibility”. I use it to tell clients what I’ll do and what I need from them (e.g. content information, logos, photos, etc.) to complete the project. The section could also be used to let the client know about peripheral services that you don’t provide. For instance, if you don’t offer hosting but have agreed to find a web host for them, you might use that section to detail what you’ll do and what they’ll need to do to get the service started.

The bait

A worm on a hook wriggles as if to say, “look at me”. It’s an active invitation for the fish to bite. In business, the bait might be called “promotion”. It’s what draws attention to your business and gets you noticed. Flyers, your website or blog, business cards, press releases, advertisements are all bait.

However, the best and least expensive way to promote your freelance business is to show your niche market your expertise through activity in the niche, whether it’s joining an on-line forum or an off-line group. The keyword here, is “active”. Become an active, indispensable member of whatever groups you join and you’ll get noticed for what you can do.

The hook

Fish hooks are those shiny bits that attract and snag fish. The hook is the one thing that makes your freelance business shine and often the decisive element that persuades a prospect to become your client. It’s what puts you ahead of your competition. Some call it “your unique selling proposition”. Some new freelancers think that price is their only hook, but your resourcefulness, dedication, experience, and expertise are all attractive aspects of business, and in my opinion, better long-term hooks than price.

You don’t need a big system to get results. Although you might be “the other guy”, if you know your business, you can fish with the best of the pros. However, don’t be afraid to start small. Capitalize on what you do well. Find your niche and put your line in the water. Small fish often school together. If you use the right hook, line, and bait you have all you need to catch your limit.

Editiorial note: Thanks to a comment from Dave McNally (Vertexity), I reversed the sections “The Bait” and “The Hook”. I hope my meaning is clearer now!

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