When The Choice To Retrain Isn't Optional
by: James Copper
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Recessions are traditionally not a bad time for freelancers. By reducing staffing costs, big business frees up its budget and brings freelance suppliers into the fold as required. With the business world currently restrained by the financial crisis, increasing numbers of unemployed are taking to freelancing with various levels of success.
It isn't enough to just hang out your shingle
Flying solo is all well and good, but not when you have no clue what you are doing. Whether you cut hair or design logos, if the customer is being charged for a service that the supplier has not the promised skill to deliver: that equals fraud. While not prosecutable, it's certainly unethical.
A dedicated freelancer just starting out will ensure that the up-skilling happens before offering to provide services to an unsuspecting buyer.
Retraining to provide services
Retraining can mean a lot of different things to different people; and requirements vary across industries. Heavily regulated professions such as teaching, law or engineering will require that newcomers meet strict criteria in order to qualify for accreditation. Other service industries will make no demands and simply allow market forces to determine success or failure.
Success requires some form of retraining to ensure that within the scope of services offered in your freelance endeavour, the work is of industry standard.
Defining bounds and staying there until ready to progress
An important part of self-employment is knowing your own limitations. If a project is beyond your immediate skill, it is not acceptable to 'practice' on your client. Turn down projects which fall beyond your bounds until such time as your retraining is complete in the additional area.
Find the gaps
Just because you can't manage certain projects right away does not preclude you from planning to fill those skills gaps. Adaptability is valuable in self-employment as it represents greater options and range in meeting the needs of customers. A designer who can use a range of tools is going to find freelancing easier than one who is limited to a single application. Switching to solo enterprise means the responsibility is upon your own shoulders to retrain as required.
Learn from others
To retrain does not have to mean formal education; but rather the mindset should be tuned to be receptive to the learning of new skills. Participate in internet forums suited to your field and get to know other freelancers: they will have seen it all before and can advise on the pitfalls as well as help you find the opportunities.
Define a niche
It's great to retrain across different technical skill sets to give yourself the flexibility of many options, but equally important is communicating to customers what you area really all about. Just because you took the time to learn a complex but peripheral software package does not mean it then automatically becomes central to your remit. Define your niche and keep the Aces up the sleeve for when they can add value.
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About the Author
James Copper is a writer for http://www.baol.co.uk/retraining.html where you can find information on Retraining
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