My first three gigs just appeared from nowhere, pure blind luck.

For a year I really thought that that was how it worked, and it took me quite a while to learn these lessons.

This is a great point. Freelance work does not come easily – especially when you’re starting out. Starting a freelance career can take an immense effort to find those first clients and build a portfolio – and even once you’ve got going, finding new clients requires persistence and determination – which can be challenging when you’re working solo. We need a blog post about this…

I tend to do Steps 1 to 4 ok – it’s Step 5 that I need to work on.

Thanks for the prompt!

However, I think too many freelancers decide that they aren’t good at marketing, or selling themselves (same thing really) and so cut short their ambitions, or never try very hard to find work.

I’m not great at the hustle.

I suck at hustling.

I’m not particularly confident or charismatic either.

But I understand the value I offer, and I’ve practiced explaining this to potential clients. And in my own quiet, understated way I can sometimes convince people to hire me.

So don’t worry if you can’t hustle because there are 101 ways to succeed.