The secret to being a successful freelancer | The Way We Work, a TED series

239,456 views ・ 2020-11-02

TED


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

00:00
Transcriber: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Camille Martínez
0
0
7000
00:00
I used to be really bad at earning money.
1
266
2575
Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Daban Q. Jaff
00:02
Early on, I was a junior financial planner,
2
2865
2245
00:05
and my job was to help people manage their wealth.
3
5134
2439
00:07
But my salary was so low that I started riding my bike to work
4
7597
3163
00:10
to save money on gas,
5
10784
1345
00:12
and I started a garden to save money on food.
6
12153
2478
00:14
Now I run a bookkeeping agency
7
14655
2022
00:16
that specifically serves creative businesses.
8
16701
2623
00:19
[TED: The Way We Work]
9
19348
2382
00:21
[Made possible with the support of Dropbox]
10
21754
2004
00:23
This might sound strange coming from a former financial planner,
11
23782
3042
00:26
but I'm not a fan of capitalism.
12
26848
1751
00:28
Almost everyone I work with and know and love is an artist, including me.
13
28623
5115
00:33
So I know, the way the system is set up,
14
33762
2549
00:36
freelancers and artists are too often way underpaid.
15
36335
3843
00:40
They often feel like focusing on money will corrupt their creativity,
16
40202
3775
00:44
or they think they're just not that good at making money anyway.
17
44001
3375
00:47
But the truth is, we can be good at it,
18
47400
2564
00:49
and in fact, we have to be,
19
49988
1305
00:51
because our freedom is at stake:
20
51317
2137
00:53
our freedom to create, to influence
21
53478
2259
00:55
and to use the power of money
22
55761
1669
00:57
to change the very exploitation that keeps artists broke to begin with.
23
57454
4736
01:02
I'm not struggling anymore,
24
62682
1724
01:04
and I've learned a lot since being a financial planner,
25
64430
2635
01:07
and I just wanted to share that knowledge.
26
67089
2036
01:09
So here's what I've learned and done.
27
69149
1774
01:10
One: what you do.
28
70947
1804
01:12
When it comes to your offer,
29
72775
1337
01:14
you have to be able to answer the following question:
30
74136
2486
01:16
Why would anyone hire you over your competition?
31
76646
2243
01:18
If you can't answer that question, neither can your potential clients,
32
78913
3326
01:22
which means you can't charge more for the thing that makes your work special.
33
82263
3636
01:25
Price becomes a differentiator, and bidding becomes a race to the bottom.
34
85923
3443
01:29
What sets you apart could be what you do, why you do it or how you do it:
35
89390
3562
01:32
a string quartet that arranges and plays hip-hop medleys
36
92976
2883
01:35
or a branding firm that has a unique way of marketing technology to Baby Boomers
37
95883
4716
01:40
or a prop and set designer
38
100623
1490
01:42
who's known for crafting beautiful papier-mâché miniatures.
39
102137
3301
01:45
Two: who you do it for.
40
105462
2004
01:47
After you determine what sets you apart,
41
107490
2039
01:49
position yourself for your ideal customer.
42
109553
2237
01:51
In order for this to be effective, you must narrow your focus.
43
111814
3224
01:55
Without focus, you try to be everything for everyone,
44
115062
2478
01:57
and you end up being nothing for nobody.
45
117564
2323
01:59
Then, use the kind of language that appeals to your target customer.
46
119911
3411
02:03
Create the kind of marketing materials or the kind of portfolio that attracts them.
47
123346
4040
02:07
Then be in the real-life and virtual places they are.
48
127410
3018
02:10
For example, if you're a videographer
49
130452
1961
02:12
and you want to work with mission-driven companies
50
132437
2439
02:14
that bring clean water to places where it's scarce,
51
134900
2411
02:17
create a video trailer that shows exactly how the power of film moves people to act.
52
137335
4810
02:22
Three: when it's time to talk money, understand the real value that you create.
53
142169
4924
02:27
You're not just being compensated for the time that you work on a project.
54
147117
3817
02:30
You're being compensated for everything you've learned
55
150958
2597
02:33
and everything you've done over the years
56
153579
1985
02:35
that make you excellent at what you do.
57
155588
2214
02:37
Ask yourself questions like:
58
157826
1637
02:39
How does your service impact a customer's bottom line?
59
159487
2682
02:42
How do you create efficiencies that generate cost savings?
60
162193
2887
02:45
How much money can your customer make
61
165104
2069
02:47
from a product that you helped them create?
62
167197
2372
02:49
For example, if you're a freelancer that helps YouTube creators
63
169593
3754
02:53
develop merch like T-shirts and dad hats,
64
173371
2782
02:56
mention how much money you've helped your clients generate.
65
176177
3110
02:59
Or, if you've created a diversity and inclusion training program
66
179311
3566
03:02
for corporations,
67
182901
1424
03:04
talk about how much time and money a company saves purchasing your product
68
184349
3813
03:08
instead of developing their own.
69
188186
2009
03:10
Four: make sure your price includes your taxes, your overhead and your profit.
70
190219
4856
03:15
When you're a freelancer, you are your own business,
71
195099
2921
03:18
so you're responsible for marketing,
72
198044
1976
03:20
accounting, taxes, legal, insurance,
73
200044
2328
03:22
overhead and profit.
74
202396
2218
03:24
If you price too low,
75
204638
1446
03:26
you've already negotiated against yourself.
76
206108
2696
03:28
And if a potential customer balks at your pricing,
77
208828
3032
03:31
don't apologize.
78
211884
1526
03:33
Just say that you're running a business
79
213434
1866
03:35
and you can't afford to do the work for less.
80
215324
2098
03:37
Instead of corrupting your creativity,
81
217446
1812
03:39
focusing on making more money could actually enhance it
82
219282
3493
03:42
by giving you the freedom of choice.
83
222799
1928
03:44
Because when you earn enough working with clients that value your work,
84
224751
4193
03:48
you don't have to compromise by working with clients who don't.
85
228968
3218
About this website

This site will introduce you to YouTube videos that are useful for learning English. You will see English lessons taught by top-notch teachers from around the world. Double-click on the English subtitles displayed on each video page to play the video from there. The subtitles scroll in sync with the video playback. If you have any comments or requests, please contact us using this contact form.

https://forms.gle/WvT1wiN1qDtmnspy7