STARTING YOUR FREELANCE CAREER - Set Yourself Apart From the Crowd in Your Small Home-Based Business

By Marilyn Crain

You need an edge! It's a tough world out there. Freelance professionals in any field face enormous competition. To succeed--to attract clients and keep them for the long term--you must find a way to set yourself apart from the crowd.

Take a look at what you bring to the table when you face a prospective client or submit a proposal. Perhaps you feel pretty good about your education, your skills and your experience, but to stay competitive you can't stand still. You have to grow with your business.

You can give yourself an edge over the freelance competition if you:

· Shine from the beginning.

Present a professional resume and/or portfolio. You don't have to spend a lot to market yourself well.

· Do your very best work on every project.

No job deserves less. Whenever possible, go above and beyond. Just a little extra effort can yield amazing results.

· Show genuine interest in your clients and their projects.

Do your homework. Learn everything that will enable you to meet and exceed the expectations of every project.

· Meet your deadlines. Be flexible.

If you are asked to work within a tight schedule, then by all means do it if you can.

· Communicate.

Answer your telephone calls and e-mails promptly. Keep the appropriate people in the loop, so they will feel comfortable with the progress you're making.

· Be a team player.

Do everything you can to support and make the other members of the team look good.

· Keep current in your field.

Continually upgrade your knowledge base and your skills.

Please use this list to start your own. It's most important to be proactive, to always be aware that you need to add value to what you offer. Above all, don't let yourself become stagnate. If you stop growing, you'll just become a face in the crowd!

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Marilyn Crain

Marilyn Crain is a freelance writer with an extensive background in human resources, information systems and performance improvement. Most of her writing has been in these business fields, but she is now expanding her horizons into other areas.

She has had a lifelong love of reading and writing. Among her many passions is sharing history with children through her developing series of children's historical fiction soon to be out on www.ezetta.com.

She is a partner in the e-newsletter/e-marketing site evoicenewsletters, as well as, the soon to be launched eZetta.com, author's site devoted to e-book publishing and decodiva.com, a site filled with beautiful living resources. She is co-publisher of two newsletters, The eVoice and The Freelance Life. You may contact her: marilyn@smartwriters.com.

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Marilyn Crain

Marilyn Crain is a freelance writer with an extensive background in human resources, information systems and performance improvement. Most of her writing has been in these business fields, but she is now expanding her horizons into other areas.

She has had a lifelong love of reading and writing. Among her many passions is sharing history with children through her developing series of children's historical fiction soon to be out on www.ezetta.com.

She is a partner in the e-newsletter/e-marketing site evoicenewsletters, as well as, the soon to be launched eZetta.com, author's site devoted to e-book publishing and decodiva.com, a site filled with beautiful living resources. She is co-publisher of two newsletters, The eVoice and The Freelance Life. You may contact her: marilyn@smartwriters.com.