If there’s ANYBODY who should be stepping up their freelance skills, it’s Black people who’re just stepping into the workforce.
Even if you’re ready to jump straight into an employed job tomorrow, you face challenges that no generation before you has. If you want to get the most out of your work life, you need insurance against an unpredictable employed career. Don’t get it twisted though, freelancing and employment aren’t opposites. As a matter of fact, a lot of the skills you use to find freelance gigs and build a relationship as a freelancer are the exact same ones you’ll use to find employment. Skills like…
- Approaching organizations with the value you offer (instead of auditioning for a “chance”)
- Building long-term relationships and networking within your field
- Researching the best contacts within an organization
- Becoming a self-starter
- Lifelong learning habits that don’t rely on any one employer
I won’t try to talk you out of employment…I was employed 15 years myself before I started freelancing and it’s going to be an important part of the vast majority of our careers. I will though, encourage you to start freelancing as early as possible, building relationships (that can also lead to employment), and start taking control of your income so you can build an agile, flexible career that can carry you through things like…
- A slow start finding your first job
- An increasingly freelance workforce
- Layoffs
- Frequent job changes
- Underemployment
- Career changes
Ready to get started? Here are a few resources to help you out…
4 Ways You Can Use Freelancing to Build a Professional Career
The Best (and Shortest) Intro to Freelancing I’ve Ever Heard…
How much does freelancing cost?
5 Freelancing Myths That Could Be Hurting Your Career
You Don’t Have to Get Freelancing Right the First Time (or even the second)
Pros and Cons: Freelancing, Entrepreneurship, and Creative/Social Projects
Intro to Value (Read this even if you’re employed…especially if you’re employed)
The BlackFreelance Newsletter
Your Freelance Profile Workbook
