要成為成功的自由職業(yè)者，就得像企業(yè)一樣經(jīng)營(yíng)自己的工作。

When I started freelancing more than a decade ago, I was determined not to become one of “those” freelancers. I woke up early, showered and dressed, and sat dutifully at my desk. When I wasn’t working on an assignment, I forced myself to pitch new ideas and contact new editors.
Today, I’m reaping the benefits of that early diligence and, thankfully, letting myself enjoy the perks of being a free agent. I get some of my best work done in the early hours, in pajamas. I carve out time for long runs in the middle of the day, even if it means working later at night or on the weekend. When I have a lull, I relish the down time.
Delve into the “business models” of successful freelancers and they seem to have the best of both worlds—autonomy, flexibility and a steady paycheck. The secret: They run their freelance careers like a business, even if that business happens to be headquartered at the kitchen table. Here are seven habits I’ve adopted or picked up from my growing network of freelancer friends.
1) Perfect your elevator pitch: Entrepreneurs know how to succinctly describe what they do and where they add value. As a freelancer, you need to take a similar approach, if only for your own sanity. Years ago, I realized that simply saying I was a freelancer connoted that I spent my days passing time in coffee shops or dabbled in writing between spin classes. “Well, some of us have to go to work” was a common response. Now when people ask what I do, I say I’m a financial writer. Specificity adds credibility—and makes it easier for would-be clients to identify you on LinkedIn.
2) Have a pricing strategy: For early freelancers this can be tricky. On the one hand, you want to build your book of business, and that may require working for less than fair market value. Consider it your start-up costs. Once you have enough work in your pipeline, however, you need to set parameters, both on an hourly and project basis.
3) Make calculated exceptions: That said, there are times when you should be willing to negotiate, whether it’s under the banner of employee morale (your own) or business development. If a project opens doors, takes you in a new direction that interests you, or benefits a cause you care about—think of it as your personal social giving campaign—there is additional value, beyond the fee.
4) Write a mission statement: OK, so maybe you left your j-o-b precisely because of mission statements and TPS reports. Still, there is something to be said for understanding why you go to work, so to speak, and do what you do. In a corporate setting, your managers help you think about career development. In the freelance world, it’s up to you to set goals and chart your path.
5) Pay yourself a salary: Managing cash flow is probably the biggest challenge for freelancers. For me, the solution came when a freelance friend, a video producer, mentioned her maternity leave. “How did you swing that as a freelancer?” I asked. Her strategy is to treat herself as an employee of her sole proprietorship. She pays herself the same salary every two weeks, rain or shine. In good months, she builds up reserves so she can still earn a steady salary when things are slow. A regular paycheck not only makes it easier to pay bills and plan, it makes it harder to treat big checks as a license to splurge.
6) Create a virtual water cooler: Unless your work regularly takes you outside the home office, isolation is a risk. Even the most self-sufficient members of the gig economy need confidantes to brainstorm ideas or talk through dilemmas. What about your spouse or partner? Unless he or she knows your industry and can offer truly unbiased advice—easier said than done—it’s no substitute for a network of peers. My network includes colleagues in my field, many of whom are in full-time jobs, as well as an eclectic mix of freelancers.
7) Don’t try to do it all: Founders of start-up companies often talk about how, in the early days, they do everything from develop the product to take out the trash. In time, though, they staff up and focus on the areas where they add the most value. Freelancers can also benefit from this evolution. “Focus on what you’re good at,” says my friend Martin, a freelance photographer who has assembled a small team of experts to help him with everything from bookkeeping to production. He’s also learned to pass on jobs that aren’t a good fit. “Have a network of other freelancers close at hand for the things that seem to be your road blocks or time sucks,” he says. “It makes it a lot easier to say no.”
十幾年前剛開(kāi)始自己?jiǎn)胃蓵r(shí)，我就下決心不做傳統(tǒng)意義上的自由職業(yè)者。我每天早早起床，洗澡換衣服，然后在桌前認(rèn)真工作。沒(méi)有工作的時(shí)候，我就強(qiáng)迫自己想想新點(diǎn)子，認(rèn)識(shí)新編輯等等。
而今，一開(kāi)始建立的好習(xí)慣讓我受益匪淺，我真正享受到從事自由職業(yè)的快樂(lè)。清晨，我穿著睡衣完成一些最耗腦子的工作。白天抽時(shí)間長(zhǎng)跑，即使要把工作推后到深夜或者周末才能完成。工作間歇時(shí)，我就好好享受閑暇時(shí)光。
深入了解成功自由職業(yè)者的“商業(yè)模式”就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，他們似乎擁有兩全其美的生活：高度自治且靈活，又有穩(wěn)定的收入。秘訣在于：他們像管理企業(yè)一樣經(jīng)營(yíng)自由職業(yè)，只是企業(yè)總部可能是在廚房餐桌上。以下七個(gè)習(xí)慣有的是我學(xué)來(lái)的，有的來(lái)自我越來(lái)越廣的自由職業(yè)者朋友圈子。
1)學(xué)會(huì)用最短的時(shí)間給別人好印象。企業(yè)家知道如何用最簡(jiǎn)練的語(yǔ)言描述自己的事業(yè)，以及核心價(jià)值在哪。自由職業(yè)者也一樣，哪怕只是為了幫自己想清楚也好。幾年前我發(fā)現(xiàn)，告訴別人我是自由職業(yè)者等于在暗示，我每天在咖啡館無(wú)所事事，或是踩動(dòng)感單車(chē)的間隙玩票似的寫(xiě)點(diǎn)東西。對(duì)方一般會(huì)這樣回應(yīng)：“唉，我們還得去上班。”現(xiàn)在別人問(wèn)我在做什么，我會(huì)說(shuō)是財(cái)經(jīng)領(lǐng)域撰稿人。表明專業(yè)領(lǐng)域不但能提高可信度，也讓潛在客戶更容易在LinkedIn上認(rèn)出你。
2)有一套定價(jià)策略。對(duì)自由職業(yè)的新手來(lái)說(shuō)，學(xué)會(huì)定價(jià)有點(diǎn)難。拓展業(yè)務(wù)時(shí)，要價(jià)可能得比市場(chǎng)價(jià)格低一些。不妨把低價(jià)當(dāng)作創(chuàng)業(yè)的成本。一旦手頭的工作夠多，就要想清楚定價(jià)策略了，一般是按每小時(shí)收多少，或是每個(gè)項(xiàng)目收多少計(jì)算。
3)學(xué)會(huì)算大賬。這就是說(shuō)，無(wú)論是為了維持員工(你自己)士氣還是為了開(kāi)拓業(yè)務(wù)，有時(shí)在報(bào)價(jià)上都應(yīng)留有余地。如果有個(gè)項(xiàng)目能開(kāi)闊視野，帶你走上感興趣的新路，或者對(duì)你關(guān)心的事業(yè)——比如個(gè)人回饋社會(huì)有幫助，那么項(xiàng)目就有附加值，不能只看能賺多少錢(qián)。
4)明確個(gè)人目標(biāo)。或許你辭去之前的工作正是受夠了寫(xiě)個(gè)人目標(biāo)和測(cè)試流程規(guī)范(TPS)報(bào)告。不過(guò)，適當(dāng)寫(xiě)寫(xiě)能幫助你想清楚上班的意義，也就是說(shuō)你要明白為什么要做手上的工作。在企業(yè)里，領(lǐng)導(dǎo)會(huì)幫你考慮職業(yè)發(fā)展問(wèn)題。干上自由職業(yè)，你就得學(xué)會(huì)自己設(shè)定目標(biāo)，規(guī)劃職業(yè)道路。
5)給自己發(fā)薪。管理現(xiàn)金流可能是自由職業(yè)者最大的挑戰(zhàn)。有一次，一位做視頻的自由職業(yè)朋友說(shuō)給自己放產(chǎn)假，我發(fā)現(xiàn)她的辦法很好。我問(wèn)她：“你做自由職業(yè)，怎么給自己放假?”她的策略是，把自己看作個(gè)人企業(yè)的員工，每?jī)芍馨l(fā)一次薪水，不管生意好壞數(shù)目都不變。生意好的時(shí)候，她將結(jié)余存起來(lái)，不景氣的時(shí)候再貼補(bǔ)。定期支薪后，應(yīng)付開(kāi)銷(xiāo)、制定收支計(jì)劃時(shí)會(huì)從容許多，賺到一大筆時(shí)也不會(huì)肆意揮霍。
6)要注意維持社交圈子。如果你的工作不用經(jīng)常外出見(jiàn)人，要小心與世隔絕的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。即便再能自給自足，也需要三兩知己聊聊天出出主意，遇到難事也有人傾訴。找伴侶或是愛(ài)人說(shuō)?除非他或者她了解你的行業(yè)，能給出中正客觀的建議——說(shuō)來(lái)容易做來(lái)難，排憂解難最好還是找圈子里的同行。我的朋友圈里就有不少?gòu)氖孪嗤�領(lǐng)域的同事，許多人做全職工作，也有些自由職業(yè)者。
7)盡量別大包大攬。初創(chuàng)公司的創(chuàng)始人經(jīng)常會(huì)談到公司剛起步時(shí)，從開(kāi)發(fā)產(chǎn)品到扔垃圾什么都做過(guò)。但過(guò)段時(shí)間有新員工加入后，就會(huì)把專注創(chuàng)造價(jià)值。自由職業(yè)者也可以學(xué)習(xí)這種重心的轉(zhuǎn)化。我的朋友馬丁就說(shuō)過(guò)：“要做你最擅長(zhǎng)的事。”馬丁是自由攝影師，他組建了一個(gè)小型專家團(tuán)隊(duì)，幫忙處理從記賬到制作等各方面事務(wù)。他現(xiàn)在還會(huì)把不方便做的工作轉(zhuǎn)出去。“要跟自由職業(yè)者圈子保持緊密聯(lián)系，做起來(lái)有困難或是時(shí)間不合適的工作就可以推薦給別人，”馬丁說(shuō)，“這樣推掉工作就容易多了。”