8 Freelancer Mindset Challenges to Overcome For Success With Steve

“You have to have a deep pool of self-belief resilient to the tremendous amounts of lows you will probably experience.”

Meet digital nomad and freelance writer Steve

Steve has been traveling since 2014 but he only started her digital nomad journey 3 years ago. He has worked in tourism and was a photographer and video maker. When the pandemic hit, he couldn’t produce much so he shifted careers and decided to become a freelance copywriter. Even though he has experience in the creative industry, copywriting was a new career for him and came with its own set of challenges. Challenges he had to overcome as a creative freelancer.

A simple hack that worked for Steve was sharing his news with his sister. He shares that by saying it out loud to someone else, it would keep him accountable.

The first thing he did was tell his sister that he was going to be a writer, just for accountability. He needed to say at loud to someone that he was going to be a writer. The next step was registering for a freelance platform so he could get his first gigs. With so many online job platforms out there, Steve focused on only one platform: UpWork.

We wrote an article about the best job platforms for freelancers and remote jobs. Click here to see the list of 10+ links.

Steve focused on sharpening his profile and started with very low-paying jobs. Digital nomad Jaimi did the same thing but this is how they both gained practice, built a portfolio and got positive reviews that led to more work with less effort.

We understand that it doesn’t sound great but the truth is that you can learn many things along the way which are essential for your success. Steve shares:

It’s part of the mindset you can’t get paid well until you get paid poorly.

Common mindset challenges every freelance experiences and how to overcome them.

Freelance life advice #1 Be conscious about your working hours

One of the biggest challenges he encountered was being resilient to the tremendous lows you will experience. We get it! This doesn’t sound sexy but it’s part of the freelancer life and even more so when you are a digital nomad freelancer. So how to overcome this? Here are a few more challenges and tips Steve shares in this episode:

Freelance life advice #2 Connect with your willpower

Keep on trying no matter how hard it is. You basically have to be able to take all the losses and say let me try one more time and one more time. Tweak your process little by little and start finding what works and what doesn’t work but don’t give up.

Freelance life advice #3 Accept the learning curve

Have an open mind and accept that any new career is a huge learning curve so you can learn from the good and uncomfortable experiences. So be easy on yourself and approach everything as a new learning experience.

Freelance life advice #4 Build a thriving community

Surround yourself with like-minded people and folks who relate to your work and your lifestyle. This means you will look for a community where the focus is on things that matter to you. For Steve, it meant surrounding him with people interested in mindset, personal growth and professional growth.

Freelance life advice #5 Be critical of your flaws and superpowers

Identify the things you can improve in your work and how you can become a more successful business owner. Next, you need to take action and learn how to solve it so it doesn’t become an obstacle to your success. For example, Steve didn’t feel confident in the business side of things. So he took on a business coach that helped him with simple but important things like contracts and his sales process.

Freelance life advice #6 Working on your mindset

You don’t have to be always happy because this journey will have ups and downs. Working on your mindset and engaging with things and people that will help you grow will create a perspective contributing to your success.

Freelance life advice #7 Don’t be afraid to start your freelance career

The last piece of advice Steve shares is that you shouldn’t be afraid to start, especially when it comes to writing. There is so much work available these days and there are two things to keep in mind, according to Steve:

Freelance life advice #8 His final advice is simple but true: believe in yourself and stay hydrated.

That might sound fluffy but the truth is that if you don’t believe in yourself, other people cannot believe in you. So continue to work on your confidence so you can.

Connect with our Nienke Nina and our guests

Your host Nienke Nina

More digital nomad tips and life advice via instagram @digitalnomadsdaily

Connect with Nienke Nina on LinkedIn @Nienke Nina Keizer

Find Nienke Nina on Instagram @nienkeninatravels

Meet the digital nomad Steve

Follow his on Instagram via @Finally.made.it

Follow his journey on LinkedIn via @steve Tsentserensky

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