What is an entrepreneurial freelancer?

I’ve seen freelancing change so many people’s lives—complementing intentional lifestyle design, filling in gaps of unemployment, and creating new career options. It even opened up a world of possibility in my life when I started over 10 years ago.  

But too many people step into this world and end up disillusioned, frustrated, and let’s be real…sometimes in worse mental and financial shape than when they got in. That’s a situation that I believe is largely avoidable. 

Charting a better path starts with the concept of entrepreneurial freelancing. 

What is entrepreneurial freelancing? 

Entrepreneurial freelancing is an approach that treats freelancing as more than just replacing a job. It seeks to forge a new kind of career by treating our solo endeavors as serious businesses. I think this type of freelancing will be not only beneficial, but necessary to navigate the world that’s emerging through all the layoffs, change, and chaos that we’re seeing today. I believe this is true for people regardless of whether they want to be employed or whether they never want to have a boss. 

But there’s a challenge in defining entrepreneurial freelancing. Ask five people what an entrepreneur is and you’ll get five different answers. Some say you’re only an entrepreneur if you bring something completely new into the world. Others use the term as a substitute for “employer”. But almost all make some kind of nod to a specific relationships with risk and opportunity. This is where the heart of entrepreneurial freelancing lies.  

Risk and the entrepreneurial freelancer

We engage with and acknowledge risk. We don’t abdicate responsibility to an employer to figure out the challenges of a market. We take on responsibility to address it through key elements including:

• Leveraging the guidance of employment
• Careful niche selection
• Intentional marketing

We work to minimize risk in our businesses and for our clients, but also for our communities and families. We do this through a strategic approach to freelancing that employs strong habits, an openness to regular objective feedback, and a dedication to regular professional development. 

Opportunity and the entrepreneurial freelancer

The entrepreneurial freelancer is also always open to undiscovered opportunities. 

We commit to being the best employer we’ve ever had, looking for emerging possibilities in freelancing to earn more while reducing friction in our businesses. 

We push toward becoming part of a healthy freelance ecosystem where we seek to bring value not only to ourselves, but to our clients, other freelancers, our communities, families, and to the world overall. We prioritize stability and sustainability and health, letting go of toxic habits and value of traditional employment.

We understand that the opportunities in freelancing extend to creating a new breed of career built for modern challenges—careers that are rooted in and informed by traditional employment, but that reach beyond those limitations to envision new ways of living and working. 

Entrepreneurial freelancing is a journey, and one that I invite you to join through the BlackFreelance community today.