Being a freelancer can be one of the most rewarding things you do for yourself. You have the autonomy of time, freedom to work and play, and the opportunity to scale your business based on your goals for the future. But, where there’s an abundant mountain of upside, there’s typically a slippery slope to a downside.
Freelancing is essentially a singular journey and you don’t always see the drop before you can start to feel isolated or unsure of yourself. Sure, you get to work with pretty cool clients and meet amazing collaborators along the way – but what about the moments where you need to talk through a serious work problem or you feel like no one understands what you’re going through? That is a huge reason why so many beginner freelancers don’t feel they can keep going since they either feel totally alone, completely disoriented, or just frustrated because no one gets them.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
You can protect yourself from sliding down that rocky hill of seclusion by being a part of freelancer communities who are finding fulfillment in their own careers – just like you. They can help support and motivate you to do your best, celebrate every win by sharing your progress, and can even help you find more clients to work with (which is always a huge plus).
With this article, you will learn why finding a freelance community is essential to your success and how to find one that suits your needs and lifestyle.
Why Finding A Freelance Community Is Essential
Relationship Building
The value you get from a freelancer community often directly correlates to how intentional you are putting value into it. Finding that group of fellow creatives that can inspire you to show up and do the work – even when you’re overthinking and procrastinating until you literally can’t even – is invaluable to starting your freelance career off on the right foot. Building relationships within your freelance community is how even the best nomads balance their work, their lives, and their creative interests. Learning best practices and what not to do from one another is the best way to save you the headache of learning things the hard way – like these top 5 common mistakes freelancers make that you can learn from because the Legiit freelancer community is all about helping each other do better. See, it’s working already!
Organic Networking
Have you ever had someone reach out to you, only to realize they just wanted to know who you know or try to sell you something? That often leaves a bad impression and doesn’t make you want to stay in touch with them, especially since you’re looking to build trust between potential collaborators or clients. When you find a freelancer community that suits you, you are connecting with people who are on the same journey as you. That means any questions you bring to the table or advice you give from experience will build genuine connection and trust to grow an organic network of people that want to get to know you – not just what you can do.
Mental Support
Mental support is key to any successful freelancer’s business mindset. Even the freelancers who are the most savvy in business or experienced in their field need to take care of themselves to bring quality time, work, and results to their clients. It makes a big difference when you have people who know what you’re going through – whether it be a difficult client (we’ve all had them at least once) or an overwhelming high volume of orders (which is good but exhausting). Just because you are finally doing this on your own doesn’t mean you have to feel like you’re alone.
How To Find Your Ideal Freelance Community
Your first step should be to understand who you are as a freelancer and what you are looking for in a support system. You can start with these 3 simple questions:
What industry am I interested in learning about?
You don’t have to choose a niche group unless you want to, though learning from those within your industry is always helpful. Joining a group with freelancers in different fields can ultimately help you build a more diverse group of relationships, network across industries, and find support in ways you may not have realized you needed.
Which platform is the most enjoyable and easiest to visit regularly? (Slack, Discord, Facebook Groups, etc.)
The best way to break this down is to think about which sites you already frequent. Are you already on Slack for clients or friends? Do you visit Facebook often? Those are good places to start as they both have phone apps you can use when you don’t have your computer available. Also, be mindful that it’s easy to burn out from excessive social media usage. If you aren’t strategic about who you are engaging with online, it can become more stressful than helpful.
Do you know of any freelancers you could follow for additional resources?
Social media is full of freelancers that are doing exactly what you want to do, so look through their pages and see what they’re sharing. LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook Groups are great places to see what they are posting and promoting within their freelancer community groups. Follow their hashtags and profiles to gain more insight and find hidden gems that can help you at any stage of your freelance journey.
Final Words
Finding a community that can cheer you on or inspire you to go after what you want is essentially the best step you can take to become a happier, more successful freelancer long-term. Whether you find your own local community or join a Freelancer Facebook Group like Legiit Official Facebook Group (or both!), the value found in building those relationships, networking organically, and feeling mentally supported is priceless.
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