{"id":251,"date":"2013-12-14T11:46:25","date_gmt":"2013-12-14T02:46:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.finchproservices.com\/?p=251"},"modified":"2016-01-07T16:08:44","modified_gmt":"2016-01-07T07:08:44","slug":"finding-and-getting-freelance-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/n8finch2024.local\/finding-and-getting-freelance-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding (and Getting) Freelance Work"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Taking the Freelance Plunge<\/h2>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s nothing quite like asking someone to pay you for something you&#8217;re not quite sure you can do.&#8221; -Me.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>One of the most <code>!important<\/code> and delicate times for a business is the <strong>validation<\/strong> phase: <em>do people want to and will they give you money<\/em>? You&#8217;ve built your product, or practiced your elevator pitch <em>just so<\/em>, and you&#8217;ve even made a business card that you can hand out to people.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Nice<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve done that too. And I still do. It&#8217;s probably one of the best things that you can do in order to form your new identity. You are no longer sitting on the sidelines; you&#8217;re getting into the game (albeit with frequent breaks, because you&#8217;re winded and maybe not in the best shape yet. At least you didn&#8217;t injure yourself yet!).<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The business cards, the elevator pitch, the three page website (landing, about and contact pages) are meant to do one thing: <strong>establish your new identity as a freelancer<\/strong>. And that&#8217;s what you want, right? You want:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>people to call you when they need X.<\/li>\n<li>folks to ask (and pay for) your opinion on Y.<\/li>\n<li>your family and friends to take you seriously when you say, &#8220;I&#8217;m a Z&#8221;.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And this is all good and well&#8230;<\/p>\n<h2>The Identity Crisis<\/h2>\n<p>However, behind the fresh smell of business cards, the pat on the back for your DYI website, and excited jitters of your first meeting with a client, there&#8217;s a deeper shift going on.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a shifting of your identity. Who you are as a person is changing. If this is a &#8220;side gig&#8221; for you, now you say, &#8220;&#8230;oh, and I also do XYZ on the side&#8230;&#8221; While the new tag-lines and suffixes to your self-introduction may sound convincing, it probably feels more like you&#8217;re still trying to talk yourself into what you&#8217;ve committed to do:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I think I can, I think I can&#8230;<\/li>\n<li>Is this really me? This isn&#8217;t really me&#8230; is it?<\/li>\n<li>Who is crazy enough to believe me? I don&#8217;t even have a customer\/client yet!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The crazy thing is, <em>you actually start to believe yourself<\/em>! And then, you land your first client.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Done<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>I can tell you, the first time I started bidding on jobs in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.elance.com\">Elance<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jobs.wordpress.net\">WP Jobs<\/a>, I was sweating buckets! Could I really deliver on what I was talking about?<\/p>\n<p>My first client was great, and I spent a lot of time emailing and talking through the project that we were going to do before there was any money on the table. I set up their website for a very low rate (already underpricing myself; classic rookie move!), and made sure they were satisfied and sent a feedback form.<\/p>\n<p>I didn&#8217;t get any feedback, but thankfully, they&#8217;ve returned for a second session.<\/p>\n<p>Two points of validation:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>They were willing to pay once.<\/li>\n<li>They enjoyed my final product and services so much they&#8217;re back for more.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>And <strong><em>that<\/em><\/strong> is when you know you can get the next client&#8230; and the next one&#8230; and the next&#8230;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Estimated hours spent acquiring first three clients:<\/em> <strong><em>9<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><em>Value of the validation of my products and services:<\/em> <strong><em>Priceless<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Bonus<\/h2>\n<p>This is my first post that I&#8217;ve written <strong><em>entirely<\/em><\/strong> with Markdown. <em>What is Markdown<\/em>, you say? It&#8217;s the easiest language you&#8217;ll ever learn.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Your Website Engineer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yourwebsiteengineer.com\/webinars\/markdown\">Check out this webinar for more information.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Google\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\">adfasdfasd<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Taking the Freelance Plunge &#8220;There&#8217;s nothing quite like asking someone to pay you for something you&#8217;re not quite sure you can do.&#8221; -Me. One of the most !important and delicate times for a business is the validation phase: do people want to and will they give you money? You&#8217;ve built your product, or practiced your [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Finding (and Getting) Freelance Work | Nate Finch<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/n8finch-site.site.strattic.io\/finding-and-getting-freelance-work\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Finding (and Getting) Freelance Work | Nate Finch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Taking the Freelance Plunge &#8220;There&#8217;s nothing quite like asking someone to pay you for something you&#8217;re not quite sure you can do.&#8221; -Me. One of the most !important and delicate times for a business is the validation phase: do people want to and will they give you money? You&#8217;ve built your product, or practiced your [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/n8finch-site.site.strattic.io\/finding-and-getting-freelance-work\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nate Finch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-12-14T02:46:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-01-07T07:08:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nate\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@n8finch\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@n8finch\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nate\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/n8finch-site.site.strattic.io\/finding-and-getting-freelance-work\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/n8finch-site.site.strattic.io\/finding-and-getting-freelance-work\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Nate\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/n8finch.local\/#\/schema\/person\/619068414583ca3c43bb135af49a47ce\"},\"headline\":\"Finding (and Getting) Freelance Work\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-12-14T02:46:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-01-07T07:08:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/n8finch-site.site.strattic.io\/finding-and-getting-freelance-work\/\"},\"wordCount\":581,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/n8finch.local\/#\/schema\/person\/619068414583ca3c43bb135af49a47ce\"},\"articleSection\":[\"20 Hours Ahead\",\"Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/n8finch-site.site.strattic.io\/finding-and-getting-freelance-work\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/n8finch-site.site.strattic.io\/finding-and-getting-freelance-work\/\",\"name\":\"Finding (and Getting) Freelance Work | Nate Finch\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/n8finch.local\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-12-14T02:46:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-01-07T07:08:44+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/n8finch-site.site.strattic.io\/finding-and-getting-freelance-work\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/n8finch-site.site.strattic.io\/finding-and-getting-freelance-work\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/n8finch-site.site.strattic.io\/finding-and-getting-freelance-work\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/n8finch.local\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Finding (and Getting) Freelance Work\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/n8finch.local\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/n8finch.local\/\",\"name\":\"Nate Finch\",\"description\":\"All the things, keeping it clever...&#x1f913;\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/n8finch.local\/#\/schema\/person\/619068414583ca3c43bb135af49a47ce\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/n8finch.local\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/n8finch.local\/#\/schema\/person\/619068414583ca3c43bb135af49a47ce\",\"name\":\"Nate\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/n8finch.local\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/n8finch2024.local\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/nate-pic_ykd6mq.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/n8finch2024.local\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/nate-pic_ykd6mq.jpg\",\"width\":796,\"height\":792,\"caption\":\"Nate\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/n8finch.local\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Finding (and Getting) Freelance Work | Nate Finch","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/n8finch-site.site.strattic.io\/finding-and-getting-freelance-work\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Finding (and Getting) Freelance Work | Nate Finch","og_description":"Taking the Freelance Plunge &#8220;There&#8217;s nothing quite like asking someone to pay you for something you&#8217;re not quite sure you can do.&#8221; -Me. One of the most !important and delicate times for a business is the validation phase: do people want to and will they give you money? You&#8217;ve built your product, or practiced your [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/n8finch-site.site.strattic.io\/finding-and-getting-freelance-work\/","og_site_name":"Nate Finch","article_published_time":"2013-12-14T02:46:25+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-01-07T07:08:44+00:00","author":"Nate","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@n8finch","twitter_site":"@n8finch","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Nate","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/n8finch-site.site.strattic.io\/finding-and-getting-freelance-work\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/n8finch-site.site.strattic.io\/finding-and-getting-freelance-work\/"},"author":{"name":"Nate","@id":"https:\/\/n8finch.local\/#\/schema\/person\/619068414583ca3c43bb135af49a47ce"},"headline":"Finding (and Getting) Freelance Work","datePublished":"2013-12-14T02:46:25+00:00","dateModified":"2016-01-07T07:08:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/n8finch-site.site.strattic.io\/finding-and-getting-freelance-work\/"},"wordCount":581,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/n8finch.local\/#\/schema\/person\/619068414583ca3c43bb135af49a47ce"},"articleSection":["20 Hours Ahead","Blog"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/n8finch-site.site.strattic.io\/finding-and-getting-freelance-work\/","url":"https:\/\/n8finch-site.site.strattic.io\/finding-and-getting-freelance-work\/","name":"Finding (and Getting) Freelance Work | Nate Finch","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/n8finch.local\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-12-14T02:46:25+00:00","dateModified":"2016-01-07T07:08:44+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/n8finch-site.site.strattic.io\/finding-and-getting-freelance-work\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/n8finch-site.site.strattic.io\/finding-and-getting-freelance-work\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/n8finch-site.site.strattic.io\/finding-and-getting-freelance-work\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/n8finch.local\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Finding (and Getting) Freelance Work"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/n8finch.local\/#website","url":"https:\/\/n8finch.local\/","name":"Nate Finch","description":"All the things, keeping it clever...&#x1f913;","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/n8finch.local\/#\/schema\/person\/619068414583ca3c43bb135af49a47ce"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/n8finch.local\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/n8finch.local\/#\/schema\/person\/619068414583ca3c43bb135af49a47ce","name":"Nate","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/n8finch.local\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/n8finch2024.local\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/nate-pic_ykd6mq.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/n8finch2024.local\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/nate-pic_ykd6mq.jpg","width":796,"height":792,"caption":"Nate"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/n8finch.local\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/n8finch2024.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/n8finch2024.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/n8finch2024.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/n8finch2024.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/n8finch2024.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/n8finch2024.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":804,"href":"https:\/\/n8finch2024.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251\/revisions\/804"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/n8finch2024.local\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/n8finch2024.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/n8finch2024.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/n8finch2024.local\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}