Reasons Why Networking is Important for Freelancers

As a freelancer, you need to get into the habit of networking; there are no shortcuts to this. Every freelancer needs to have a networking strategy in place.

I totally agree that there are a lot of benefits to working remotely, especially if your home office or co-working space is a quiet, calm and comfortable environment.

There are no long bathroom lines, you get to enjoy the comfort of eating out of your own fridge and you don’t have to make small unnecessary talk with people.

But there are a few downsides to all these amazing perks of being a freelancer.

As a freelancer, you most likely get to spend a lot of time alone. Yes, it is important to spend time alone, finish work and just focus on your tasks. However, we must admit that working for hours on end without physically speaking to someone really sucks sometimes.

Sometimes that loneliness and boredom can really hurt your creativity. Well. for me, personally, it does. I usually have to get outside to see things in order to jumpstart my creative processes again. Half of being a successful freelancer is definitely being disciplined and the other half is having that creativity and passion. It’s necessary to refresh both of sides by constantly refreshing your routine and setting out time to get work done.

Most times, that means getting out into the world and physically seeing what’s out there to write about and draw inspiration on.

An effective way to do this is to network with other professionals who know a lot about the things you’d like to work on. It’s important to make it a habit, even if it seems a little bit trivial.

Here are the reasons why freelancers should network with others at LEAST once a month:

1. Exposure to new ideas: It’s easy to sift through the same sources of ideas over and over when you work from home and barely interact with other people face to face. A networking lunch or event can lead to some new inspiration, new ideas and tips that you hadn’t considered before.
2. Explaining your work will help you understand it better: When networking, you will be asked what you are working on often times. Having to explain this a couple of times will help you refine your thoughts and in the long run, can help you perfect an elevator pitch or simply help you refine your ideas.
3. Other professionals are a great sounding board for pitches: Speaking to others is definitely a great way for you to consider what kind of projects to work on and why. Seeing others get excited about your idea can help you with your confidence. It is also an amazing boost to collaborate with others. You get to swap pitches and assignments with other freelancers.

It isn’t easy to always “put yourself out there” to meet someone or a group for a networking dinner or coffee, or even a full-blown networking event. But think of it as going to the gym. You don’t always feel excited to do a hard, sweaty workout. But after you power through the workout, you feel so much better and a lot of things improve (especially your emotional and physical health).

If you’re new to freelance networking try scheduling it in. Try to join a club or online group that has meetups from time to time. This may help hold you accountable whenever a networking event comes up. Start slow, with smaller get-togethers or by meeting up with just one or two people at a time.

Don’t rush yourself and if all you start off with is one meet up every few weeks, that’s a great start. Freelancing is a lifestyle, so don’t put yourself down if you feel like you aren’t getting it right. We all make it up as we go, so why not find some company along the way.

Thank you for reading! Be sure to make some time to network with others!