So what is preventing people from becoming freelancers and quit their day job (if they are fortunate to have one)? The lack of a personal brand.
The full-time corporate world operates on slightly different rules to jump from one company to another based on your personal network and influence. But in the freelance world, having a personal network is not enough; you need a personal brand.
Building a personal brand doesn't mean becoming popular. A personal brand is built when you add value to people's lives through your content, sometimes without charging anything for it.
If you want to build a strong personal brand as an influencer, you need to start with blogging. Write a few articles a month about what you learn, what you know, and what you have experienced. Writing is the best way to let the world know that you exist.
Once you start writing, you will see that opportunities will come your way. Start helping out people with your content and then with free consultations. There are many freelancing opportunities in the world, and you can become a specialist in one category. Let's say, for example, you are an SEO expert. Start writing about SEO on your blog, share them on social media, and post videos about what you know.
Research companies that you want to help and maybe create an SEO audit report for them and cold-email it to them. If you add value first instead of asking for an opportunity, an opportunity will come your way.
You cannot demand heat before you throw in the piece of wood. Set up a calendar that shows your available times and let people book a free 15-20 minute consultation call with you. This is how you add value and then get a sale without asking explicitly for sale.
Freelancing makes you an entrepreneur where the product is yourself. This is the first step in your long journey of building something for yourself that eventually becomes greater than yourself.
Freelancing also requires professional relationship skills, sales skills, and the skill of adding more value than what you are getting paid for. This skill is vastly different from the skill of being an employee.
If you are not in a full-time corporate job right now, it is time to start freelancing instead of trying to find a job in the post-pandemic, new world order.
If you are already in a corporate job, you need to start freelancing as a side-hustle as soon as possible. Even if you are just building your brand and doing free consultations, it is more than enough to start with because it creates the foundation for your future freelancing journey.
You might have friction getting started in this journey if you are an employee or have been one because the typical mindset is to look for security and "something guaranteed" for every piece of effort that you put in. Getting started with your freelancing career is the first step in dealing with career and professional uncertainty.
I cannot tell you what opportunities you will get once you start building your personal brand. But I can say with conviction that once you start, you will start getting opportunities.
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