By Barb Baylor Anderson, Anderson & Associates
Where do you start with offering freelance advice, and how do you condense it into 300 words? Good questions. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I will share my two cents.
First, I would not have wanted to spend the bulk of my ag communications career any other way, even though getting started in freelancing was intimidating. If it were not for a couple of veteran freelancers at the time who were graciously willing to answer my questions and editors willing to give me a chance, it may have been even more of a challenge (thanks Sara Wyant, Gregg Hillyer, Jerilyn Johnson, Marcia Taylor and others). It is important to share what you know with others.
Second, I keep several sayings pinned to my office bulletin board that I consider foundations for freelance philosophy. In fact, if I were to remove them, there probably are dark spots underneath the paper. The sun shining into the window has not had a chance to fade the burlap background they’ve been there so long. Not that I have been freelancing for 25-plus years or anything…
So here is a glimpse of my bulletin board, and the thoughts that motivate my business:
- Always give your clients your enthusiastic best.
- Mind the store. No one cares about your business the way you do.
- Keep expectations high. Keep overhead low.
- Listen to your critics. They will keep you focused and innovative.
- Remember winners do what losers don’t want to do.
- When someone wants to hire you, even if it’s for a job you have little interest in, talk to them. Never close the door on an opportunity until you’ve had a chance to hear the offer in person.
- Forget committees. New, noble, world-changing ideas always come from one person, working alone.