Before Going Freelance

Carl Sagan was a cosmologist who famously said: "If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe", meaning that before buying the ingredients and even before the farmer plants the apples or the wheat or the sugar cane, if you really want to make something from scratch you would have to go all the way back to the big bang, or whatever came before. The same way, if you want to start a career as a freelancer from scratch, before you quit your day job you must start by asking yourself the first and most basic question: am I capable of running a business?

Being a freelance photographer I can tell you that it's all fun and games while I'm shooting, but sadly shooting only accounts to approximately 10% of my time. The other 90% is spent on looking for clients, meeting with clients, pre-production, post-production, self-promotion, crunching numbers and what it seems like an infinite number of other administrative tasks. So if what you are is what you do the most, a freelancer is a business person even before being a crafter.

If you are considering a career as a freelancer, you should ask yourself at least some of the questions below:

  • Do I have the financial support? Many years can go by before you start seeing profit. At best you will be covering your expenses in those first few years. So before quitting your day job make sure that you have money for the rent, for food and for keeping your business running until you start seeing profit.
  • Do I understand the Industry? If you want to become a Makeup Artist, for instance, do you know what kind of makeup will you do? Retail? Bridal? Indian Bridal? Fashion? Special Effects? Will you work from home or go to your client or liaise with a brand, a salon, a studio or a production company? Do you need an agent? Have you considered assisting?
  • Do I know my client? Who is that person? Where do they work? What do they like? How do they like to be approached? Do they use similar services? What is their budget? When do they hire?
  • Do I understand the business? So you have got the clients and you have got the jobs... what's next? Do you understand invoicing and accounts receivables? How about cash flow? Have you ever filed taxes? Do you even need to at this stage? VAT? Self-promotion, prospecting, sales funnel, 80:20? Do these concepts make sense to you?

These are just a few questions that will help you realize if you are ready to be a freelancer. They are not meant to scare you off, on the contrary. They are meant to make you understand that there is so much more to freelancing that meets the eye.

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7 Ways To Survive Creative Freelancing

Being a freelancer in the creative industries requires a lot of commitment and self-confidence. No matter how advanced in your career you are, when there is work and income you feel fulfilled and grateful, but when there is none it makes you question your decisions. Bellow you will find a few tips on how to stay focused on your creative journey:

  • Believe in yourself: I know that I repeat myself a lot, but this is probably one of the best advises that I have ever been given and I try to always pay it forward. You are good, your work is good. Keep on pushing and don't give up. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will your brand. Success, like good wine, requires time.

  • Keep improving your skills: low work periods are the perfect time to learn a new skill or to develop further the ones that you have. Take that course that you have been putting on hold because you never seem to find the time. Continuous education broadens our horizons.

  • Embrace your accomplishments: you haven't gotten to where you are by chance. You have worked really hard to get here and that is in itself an accomplishment. So pause, take a deep breath and give yourself credit for what you have already done. And now, get ready to keep on going. Even if things are not working out the way that you planned, it would be a little unfair with your past self to quit now.

  • Ask for help: if you feel stuck you should talk to someone and ask for help. You are not alone, the creative industries are full of people just like you who know what you are going through. We have all been there at some point so why not reach out to someone who can give you advice on how to move forward?

  • Limit your expenses: they say that you always have to spend some to make some, but cutting down on unnecessary expenses will help you spend your money where it is actually helpful. Keep on spending on self-promotion, as this will give you income in the future, but take less taxis and walk more.

  • Focus on yourself, not others: we all go through different paths in our journey, some get there faster than others, while some start with a destination in mind and end up somewhere completely different in the end. Focus on your own journey and stop wasting time and energy feeling bad for yourself when others seem to be doing better. Grass is always greener...

  • Stay open to opportunities: the roman philosopher Seneca allegedly said “Luck Is What Happens When Preparation Meets Opportunity", meaning that we must always be prepared and open for when the opportunities arise. And they often present themselves when we least expect them so always be ready and receptive: carry business cards with you in your wallet, in your bag and in the pockets of all your coats and jackets; don't underestimate small jobs as sometimes they open the doors to bigger ones; approach even the shiest person at the following networking event, they might become your next client.

Photo credit: Behind the scenes photography by Stef Mic

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Are We The Biggest Hypocrites?

After the tragic killings of so many unarmed black people by the police forces in the US sparked the "Black Lives Matter" movement, a lot of members of the Fashion Industry have come together to support the cause. It makes you feel like people in our community genuinely believe in equality and diversity when you see all those posts with the cause's slogan on social media or all those people attending the protests held in different cities throughout the world. So why is it that when you take a look at the campaigns of brands and magazines or browse through the portfolios or published editorials of most people in the industry, you struggle to find non-white models. Could it be that the Fashion Industry is the biggest hypocrite in the world?

Discrimination and hatred are not stopped in social media. Discrimination and hatred are stopped at home, when you teach your children that we are all equal no matter our skin tone, our believes or who we love; discrimination and hatred are stopped at work, when you cast your models because of their talent and not their race; discrimination and hatred are stopped when your client tells you that they want to use only white models because they sell more and you remind them that if only white people bought their products they would go broke.

We have the power to do some great change but nothing will happen if we continue to rely on hashtags and memes to solve this issue. Real change happens in every day actions. Cast more non-white models in your shoots, support inclusive brands and publications, embrace diversity and spread the message of equality in your work. This is a beautiful industry but there is still a lot of work to be done to make it more diverse and more inclusive.

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The Marketing Power Of A Blog

If I ever had a doubt of what writing a blog could do for my self-promotion, Google Analytics just proved me wrong. 47% of my website's traffic comes through my blog. Isn't that something? That makes it my most powerful marketing tool at the moment! My posts are attracting more visitors than my mailings, my social media daily posts and my facebook ads combined!

But writing the post is only part of the trick. Every Wednesday after putting my thoughts on the blank page and after hitting publish I proceed to announce to the world that I just said something:

- I send an email to all my subscribed followers with a link to the new post and a link to related old posts that might also interest them.

- Then I create a post on my Facebook page, my personal Facebook and Linkedin with a link to the blog entry.

- After that I go to Hootsuite and create a scheduled post on Twitter and Google+ linking to the blog entry as well.

- And finally I create a post on Instagram uploading the blog post's photo and part of the text that I just wrote.

Writing a blog is hard work, it requires consistency and determination, but it pays off. So if you are hesitating about writing your own, but you are working hard on your marketing strategy, I think you are missing out on a very important marketing tool if you don't start one.

Photo credit: Behind the scenes photography by Stef Mic

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I've Never Doubted Myself And I Will Never Do It Again...

I've never doubted myself and I will never do it again... this oxymoron reflects the true struggle of the creative: our lack of self-confidence. One day we love what we do and the next day it's all rubbish. Paraphrasing Yeats in The Second Coming, why is it that the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity?

We creatives have an amazing power in our hands: we decide and create the life that we want to live. We don't just accept reality and follow the pack. We build our world from scratch with our own hands and imagination. We translate what we see in our minds into images, tangible things or experiences for the rest of the world to enjoy. From the void, from the nothingness, we fill this planet with beauty, with questions, with answers... So why is it that the thing that makes us so powerful also makes us so weak? Why is it so hard to value and respect ourselves and our work? Why is it that we are always considering other people's grass better even when they are spraypainted green while ours is taking the right amount of time to grow and get to its appropiate shade?

You are great, your work is great, and you want to know why?  Because in creativity there are no right or wrongs, there is only taste. And like Jonathan Gillete said: “when you don't create things, you become defined by your tastes rather than ability. Your tastes only narrow & exclude people. So create.”

Never doubt yourself again.

Photo credit: Behind the scenes photography by Stef Mic

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Sometimes I Smile For No Reason

With the tragic events all over the planet of the last few weeks one cannot help but feel thankful for being alive. No matter how hard the challenges that life presents us with are at least we are lucky to be able to work them through. Times like these make me feel really grateful for the love of my family and friends and for the opportunity that I have to be good to others and try to make this world a better place. You only live once, and when my time comes I want people to remember me as someone who cared for others and never gave up on his dreams. I guess that, after all, I have a lot of reasons to smile.

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How Silver Are Your Linings?

"Every cloud has a silver lining", attributed to John Milton, and "What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger", now popularized by Kelly Clarkson, are phrases commonly said to encourage you to see a positive side to every not so positive situation in your life. But when half of your crew cancels on you a few hours before the shoot, the first person who says either of them or any similar one makes you wish you had laser eyes. These are the times when Plan B is so much more than just a morning pill.

Whenever we are planning for anything in our lives we usually put all of our efforts in the best case scenario, but we tend to forget that things can go wrong. And if you ask Edward A. Murphy, they will always go wrong. So to avoid getting an ulcer, I always try to aim for a perfect fail-proof plan but then I make my just-in-case-contingency plan. It sounds like twice the effort, but it saves you a lot of headaches when things don't go as you expected.

And even with all the planning in the world, sometimes life puts your patience to the test. That's when you must understand that there is only so much that you can control. You must be flexible enough to come up with creative alternatives that save the day and you must always try to remain calm and don't let anything affect your mood. You owe it to the people who showed up.

Photo credit: Behind the scenes photography by Stef Mic

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Wisdom Comes Slowly... White Hair Too Quickly

My friend told me this phrase while we were discussing hair colouring for men: "Wisdom Comes Slowly... White Hair Too Quickly." And even though the topic of our conversation was very superficial, his phrase made me think about how much pressure we put in ourselves to do or learn as many things as possible before we are too old. But the question is: what is too old?

My millennial cousins think that because I'm 41 that means that I am old, but when we hang out together, they admit that to them I don't seem like I'm in my 40's. On the other hand, a friend of mine who is 26 recently told me that he is depressed because he is getting old and he hasn't accomplished anything in his life... Which goes to prove that age is just a number, and the concept of old is a mental state. Still, not a lot of people are looking forward to ageing.

But one thing to look forward to with ageing is acquiring wisdom because that only comes with time and experience. As you grow older, you start to see things from a different perspective, you worry less about useless matters and start making better-informed decisions. Somehow things that are happening in the world begin to make sense, and you start appreciating life as it unravels in front of you.

So to all my millennial friends who are trying to rush life before it is too late, I say: "relax!" Enjoy and appreciate every step of your life. Some things only happen with time, no matter how much you rush them.

Photo credit: portrait by Ferran Vergés.

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Nothing Beats Human Interaction

When I started my career in the creative industry I sometimes wondered where did people go to meet like-minded creatives. I would spend tons of hours online trying to get a hold of people that I could offer my services to or to collaborate with or simply people to exchange ideas with, but I soon realized that even though the internet does an amazing job at connecting people, the real connections are still made in person. It wasn't until I discovered networking events that I started to build a real network. Nothing beats human interaction.

Last night I attended the Creative Industry Hub's networking event "Strictly Go Networking For Fashion Professionals", suggested to me by shoe designer Aksha Fernandez. I have to say that I was impressed as I hadn't attended a networking event like this in more than a year, with so many people from within the fashion industry and with interesting talks from established fashion professionals.

Last night's speakers were Lorelei Marfil from WWD and Kathleen Mitchell from Stella&Dot. Lorelei Marfil is the General Assignment Editor for Women’s Wear Daily and she spoke about the importance for fashion journalists to do responsible journalism by checking facts and contacting sources rather than reposting what is found in other media outlets. Kathleen Mitchell, leads the international business for Stella & Dot and she spoke about how their brand helps to solve the modern creative’s dilemma: achieving success and balance through a career you love.

Both talks were really inspiring but the best part of the event was the actual networking. I met so many interesting people who were really keen on making connections and on this day and age when everything is virtual and online it was really refreshing to find people who were enjoying a face to face in person chat.

Photo credit: Photo of stylist Maria Bello (center) and I having a chat with a designer during the event taken by midnightpulse.co.uk

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"Today Everything Exists To End In A Photograph"

The title of this post is a quote from the 70's from Susan Sontag's collection of essays entitled On Photography. "Today everything exists to end in a photograph", she wrote. And 40 years later, this is truer than ever. But sadly, we live in a world so saturated with imagery that it seems like we don't stop to pay attention to photos anymore. We are numbed by images and sometimes we just take them for granted. Has photography lost its power as a visual language?

Last weekend I went to the Vogue Festival 2016 and had the opportunity to attend Vogue America's Creative Director Jamie Perlman's talk on fashion photography today. During the talk she addressed the sameness that we see in fashion photography nowadays where everyone seems to get inspired by each other (or copy each other) resulting on imagery that has lost its edge and its appeal.

According to her, and this is something that I strongly agree with, the challenge in fashion photography today is breaking away from the feeling of perfection and cleanliness that has dominated the medium these last few years and going back to more raw and natural looking images. She praised photographers who have gone back to film because of it's distinctive and less polished aesthetics.

It feels like today more than ever we as creatives working in the fashion industry should focus on developing our own style rather than trying to copy someone else's just because they are getting all the work and we are not. There is a clear shift in the industry and only those who produce work that stands out from the rest will stay in business.

Photo credit: Matt Dowling from The Freelancer Club (left) and I having a chat during one of the club's masterclasses.

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Sometimes A Rose Is Not A Rose

In her poem Sacred Emily, Gertrude Stein wrote: "Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose," implying that things are what they are. But sometimes a rose it's not just a rose. This is especially true in photography, where a photograph of a rose and the actual rose are two very distinct things. Not only because one is bound to perish and the other one is immortal, but because only one of them is shown to us through the eyes of another person.

When we look at the world around us our brain is interpreting everything that we see based on what we know and our own experiences from the past. But, when we look at a photograph we are looking only at what the person who took the photograph wants us to see. It doesn't matter if the person who takes the photo is a selfies snapper or an established artist, the reality of the subject is distorted by the message that is being conveyed. Quoting photographer Gary Winogrand: "photography is not about the thing photographed. It's about how that thing looks photographed."

Appreciating photography is like receiving an invitation to experience the world walking in someone else's shoes. The photographer is basically telling you: "here, take my eyes and see through them and understand why I chose this subject in this light at this location to visually explain this story." And to me that creates a deep connection between the photographer and whomever is looking at their photos.

So the next time that you are looking at a photo, try to ask yourself: "what am I really looking at? what am I being told?". You might end up discovering what is hiding beyond the rose.

Photo of people looking at my photos exhibited at the AOP Awards 2015 ceremony taken by Shaun Bayliss.

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The Real F-Word

We have all been there. It's the night before a job and you are about to go to bed after spending the whole day making the final arrangements for the next day. All of the sudden, you feel a ticklish sensation on your throat. You try to ignore it, but as the minutes pass it is getting worse. You start to get the shivers and snug yourself into a sweater even though it's 30ºC. "Maybe it's just a draught", but there are no windows open. Before you know it, you are tugged under the blankets and your head is about to explode. You have got the flu.

So, what do you do? You rush to the medicine cabinet and knock yourself out with whatever you can find. "I can sleep through this and tomorrow I will be better." But now it's 5am in the morning and you haven't been able to sleep from the fever when you finally realize that no matter what you do there is no possible way that you can get up to work at 8am. "I'll have to call-in sick... Wait! No, I can't! I'm a freelancer!" So now you have three hours to gather all the energy left in your body to find someone to replace you on the job and to call the client and the rest of the team and explain the situation hoping that the worst that happens is that you loose money but at least you get to keep the client.

When you start freelancing nobody warns you about it. Apparently, our work environment and our laws don't take into consideration that freelancers are humans and as such we are allowed to get sick, or have accidents or have something happen to us that forbids us to get the job done. So we have to take matters into our own hands and prepare ourselves for when the worst happens:

  • Get protection. Have an emergency fund and a disability coverage from the beginning of your freelancing career.
  • Build contacts. Have a network of people that you trust who can take over your clients in moments like this. Offer to do the same for them.
  • Stay safe. Don't put your health at risk by trying to do the job even if you are ill. It's better to loose a job than to loose your whole career. As a freelancer, you are your most important asset. Besides, if you have something contagious, it would be extremely irresponsible of you to go to a job spreading germs around.
  • Be transparent in your communications. If you will not be able to do the job at all, say so from the beginning. Managing your client's expectations in moments like this is crucial.
  • Do what your mom says. Or the doctor... or your spouse... stay in bed, take your medicines and let yourself be taken care of. No matter how badly you want to recover there is nothing you can do to make the healing process faster.

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Assumption Is The Mother Of All Mistakes

The Cambridge English Dictionary defines the word 'assumption' as something that you accept as true without question or proof. Which basically means that when we assume something we are lying to ourselves. And sometimes assuming can be helpful, like when we research our target or when we handle statistics: it is impossible to have the 100% of the facts. But other times, specially when we are dealing with people, assumptions can lead to terrible mistakes.

This is particularly true with clients. A couple of weeks ago I was a bit dissappointed because I have been trying to work with a potential client for a while to no avail. And to be perfectly honest, I am not getting any feedback at all. So I decided to stop reaching out because I assumed that if they hadn't answered any of my emails it was because they didn't want to work with me. And then I read this post on the Marketing Mentor blog and I realized that my assumption was making me self-boycott my business.

You see, my assumption made me believe that I had the power to get into other people's mind and know what they were thinking. I was convinced that the only reason why this potential client was not replying to my contact attempts was because they didn't want to work with me. I am not good enough, my work is crap, nobody knows who I am, I don't have enough following on social media... All the ghosts in my head materialized and made me formulate my assumption. And it's not that these might not be valid reasons, but my insecurities blinded me from seeing all the other reasons why they were not getting back to me: wrong timing, too much workload, forgetfulness...

My friend whom I go jogging with every morning also pointed out that they haven't said yes but they haven't said no either. So she adviced me to keep on trying. And the truth is that some people need some insisting before they make up their mind about something. So I will keep on trying until they tell me 'no'... because until that happens, there is always the possibility for a 'yes'.

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What I Do When Nothing Happens

Anyone who has ever done freelancing knows that there are times of the year when you are swamped with work and there are other times when it feels like the world has stopped turning. If you have planned for these down times properly, you might have some money saved on the side to cover you through the slow season. But for me, even if I am financially covered, having too much spare time can be my worst nightmare. Am I the only one?

You can call me workaholic, but I like to consider myself a productivity addict. I am one of those persons who is always calculating the least amount of time possible for any given task and how many tasks can be done at the same time to maximise productivity. So you can imagine that when I have spare time in my hands I quickly fill it up with things to do so that I don't waste a single valuable minute of my diary. But, don't get me wrong. I do enjoy off time: I reserve at least one day a week to relax and spend with my family and friends and I like to plan a few trips every year to go abroad and see some world. The thing is, you mustn't confuse the slow season with taking time off for yourself: the former is unpredictable and unwanted; the latter must be planned for and it is pretty much needed.

Anyways, if you are not like me and you take advantage of those slow times to sleep until late or to stay on the couch doing some Netflix and chill, this post is not for you. The rest of you may keep on reading. When you are going through a slow season the first thing that comes to your mind is if there is something that you should be doing to avoid this down time. But more often than not there is nothing that you can do to avoid these low work periods of time. They just happen and it is part of the freelancer's life. Below you will find a few of the things that I do to avoid feeling useless during the slow season:

  • Get inspired: go out and visit a museum or a gallery, or a crafts market, or a crowded plaza or go for a walk in the park and get in touch with nature. Whatever helps you break away from what you are used to doing and gets your creative juices flowing.
  • Take on a personal project: I am firm believer that working on personal projects and experimenting with new themes and techniques helps you fall even more in love with your craft. Take this time to collaborate with other creatives and to update your portfolio.
  • Learn something new: acquiring a new skill on something that is completely unrelated to what you do is a good way of resetting the brain.
  • Take care of personal matters: if like me your spouse holds the full-time job these slow seasons are perfect for tending to all those pending personal matters on your to-do list.

No freelancer likes to go through periods of time with no paid jobs, but if they come they don't necessarily have to become wasted time. Take the opportunity to invest this time on yourself and your future you will appreciate it.

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The "Why Not?" Way Of Life

When I propose someone to do something and I hear them say "yeah, why not?" it always makes me wonder if the other person really wants to do it or if it's just me forcing an idea into them. I perceive that reply as a lack of passion; the other is just letting themselves go with the flow. Sometimes, it could be out of complete politeness: they don't want to disappoint me. But other times, it's just because they don't have anything better to do. Either way, the message I'm getting is "I will do this with you but I won't put my 100% into it."

It happens to all of us that we sometimes do things "just because." But when it comes to our careers, if there is no passion there is no sustainability. Your business is doomed if you or your team are not passionate about what you do. Because when money is good that might be good enough reason to keep on going but when money starts flowing slower you need a stronger reason to keep the business alive.

Maria Mann, the director for international relations for the European Pressphoto Agency, said in an interview that we have turned into a "Why Not?" society, instead of "Why?". It sometimes feels like we are doing things just because, without a reason, without a purpose. Maybe because everyone else is doing them or maybe because it just came easy to us. But from all the things that I have achieved in my life, the ones that I value the most are the ones that I worked hard for, the ones that I had a reason and a purpose to pursue. And that feeling, my dear reader, is one of the best feelings in the world.

So maybe this is a good time to stop what you are doing for a few seconds and ask yourself "Why?" and see where the answer takes you. Oh, and the next time that you find yourself about to reply "yeah, why not?" think again and consider if what you really want to say is "no." Life is too short to do things without passion.

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This Is An Ethical Post... Or Is It?

A brand's ethos is one of its best selling points. Clients who relate to it will more than likely stick to a brand even when other brands offer a better option or price. But this is particularly tricky for freelancers as our brands are ourselves. I like to think of myself as an open and accepting human being. I value diversity, treat others sometimes better than I wish I were treated and I firmly believe that love conquers all. I do have my flaws, obviously. The self-declared ones could fill pages and pages of posts; the ones attributed to me might include that I don't like children nor pets or that I don't drink enough water. But flaws apart, I still feel that I always try to be a good person with a strong ethos and a strict set of values. But am I?

The doubt was planted in my head a few days ago when I faced a conundrum: can I accept a teaching that comes from a person who's a homophobe, a racist, a mysoginist and extremely right minded? My first impulse was to answer: "Yes! Knowledge is above all that!". But then, after a second consideration, I realised that I wouldn't accept as valid anything said by someone like Trump, Putin or Mugabe. "How interesting and contradictory of me...", I thought. Am I open and accepting until the point where the other person starts thinking completely different to me? Of course, if they were praising their own hatred agenda I would reject everything they said automatically. But what if they were proposing a cure for cancer? Would I say no to the chance of saving millions of lives just because it was praised by any of them?

This thought triggered another question in my head: how strong are my ethical values? Can I have any sort of relationship with someone with a set of values completely opposite to mine? At a sentimental level, unlikely; at a friendship leveI, I try to surround myself with diverse-minded people; at a professional level, I always say that I don't have to like someone to be able to work with them. And, as a client, I am guilty of sometimes using products or services from companies that don't share my ethos but then at the same time I have been known for not giving my business to companies who go against what I strongly believe in. Even worse, as a supplier, I am open and accepting of anyone's money. So, after putting all these thoughts in writing I realised that I might not be as open, as accepting or as good of a person all the time as I think I am.

Can bad brands do good things? Can good brands do bad things? Yes and yes. I think we draw the line on things that we are willing to accept or reject depending on the situation. Companies that produce soft drinks sell products for athletes that promote a healthy lifestyle but at the same time they sell sugary drinks that do anything but keeping you healthy.  And the list could go on... Will these brands go out of business? Not in the near future.

There is not such thing as a good or a bad ethos. There can be good and bad PR, but there will always be clients who will relate to your values and clients who will completely disagree with them. We can't please everyone. What is important is that you and your brand stay true to what you believe in... but be open to the possibility of believing something else in the future and then staying true to that.

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You Are Not You

You are not just you. You are the sum of every place where you have been, everyone that you have met and every single experience that you have had. And because of this you are unique. No one can see life the way that you do. No one can create the work that you do. And even if someone else tries to copy you or you try to copy someone else, in the end your true self will always come out. No one can be like you.

It is often said in the creative arts that you must find your signature style. You are supposed to figure out what makes you different from the rest because that is what will make you recognisable, that is what will sell. But figuring out a style is probably the longest and hardest of all the journeys of the artist and in some cases, if you work long enough, you will have many styles throughout your life.

I believe that you don't find your style, your style finds you. You don't develop a style by working on your art for one day, one month or one year. You develop a style after years of devoting yourself to your craft. And when you finally do, I bet that you will be the last one to notice. You will feel like you are just being yourself. Miles Davis allegedly said on this regard: "sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself."

So don't force yourself to have a certain style or to try to figure out if you already have one because that will put your creative process at risk. Instead, embrace the fact that life has brought you right here, to this moment and to this place where you are working on your art and just be yourself. No one else can.

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I Want To Make 10,000 Mistakes

We all fear mistakes. I blame our parents for putting so much effort into forcing us to make the right choices all the time. "To err is human", and we as humans have come a long way by learning from our own mistakes. So, if by erring we are improving ourselves, is it smart to keep avoiding making mistakes like the plague?

Back in the 90's I used to have a boss who will always praise me because she said that while everyone else in the company took ages to make decisions I would just have things done. And it's not that I am impulsive (ok, maybe just a bit) but when faced with a decision I always consider the worst-case scenario and if it's not that bad then I just jump and do what I have to do. She would tell me that she didn't care if I made mistakes or not, for her it was far more important to have decisive people in her team who weren't afraid to err.

In 'A Farewell To Arms', Ernest Hemingway wrote: "The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places", meaning that we are stronger in the places where we have been broken. Only by making mistakes are we able to learn and grow. It doesn't matter how many business books you read, how many marketing blogs you follow or how many tutorials you watch online. You won't learn from them until you start practicing what you have been taught and start making mistakes.

Thomas Edison allegedly said: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” How many ways that won't work have you found so far?

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Let Yourself Be Surprised Again

Being a freelancer is not easy, specially if you left the security of a steady job in order to become self-employed. When you work for others, everything is done for you: you just need to show up and do what is expected of you and you will get compensated for it. But when you are a freelancer, you are the boss, you are the employee, you are the sales team and you are even Janice in Accounting (hello John Oliver!). It takes a very special type of person to be able to run a succesful freelance business, because on top of all that you also need to be committed, be good at your craft and be self-motivated.

There is a lot of perks in being a freelancer, don't get me wrong, like the feeling of freedom that you have by having control over your life and your business decisions. Quoting Isaac Mizrahi: “Even when it sucks, it's worth it”. But I feel like you have to work twice as much because you are wearing so many hats and you are basically on your own. Besides, you usually don't have the support system that you have in an office job to keep you motivated. So even when things are going great, when clients keep on coming and when money keeps flowing in, you still need a strong will to not fall victim to monotony.

The Merriam-Webster defines monotony as "a lack of change that makes something boring", but I have an uncle who has his personal definition and I feel like I like his better: "monotony is the loss of the capacity to be surprised". Because when you go to bed at night after an uneventful day that seems to be repeating itself like the groundhog day for you-don't-remember-how-long, you start to question yourself about the reasons you had when you decided to become a freelancer.

Back in the day when you quit your day job to go full-time freelancer you visualized yourself shooting covers for magazines all the time, doing hair for celebrities, applying makeup on runway shows or styling and designing for the crème-de-la-crème of the fashion world. But a few years later you realize that all that is fun and games but it doesn't pay much and you need to keep your business running. So now you see yourself shooting products against a white background 300 times each day, doing hair for your personal clients in your living room, applying makeup in a counter at your local department store or becoming a personal shopper or designing clothing for someone else's brand.

And there is no shame on any of the above, we all have bills to pay. These sort of jobs are our bread and butter and at least you are still able to do the craft that you love. Sadly, there are so many freelancers, specially in the creative fields, that can't take this for too long and decide to quit and to go back to working for somebody else. So before you give up and take an extreme decision, there are many things that you can do to put your freelance career back on track:

  • Decide who you want to work with. The awesome thing about being a freelancer is that you can decide who you want to have as a client and who you don't. Figure out who your ideal client is, make a list of some companies that fit that profile and target them on your marketing strategy. By targetting your ideal clients sooner than later you will start doing the types of jobs that you want.
  • Don't give up on your bread and butter clients. We still need those jobs as a steady income source, but don't allow them to take more than 20% of your active clients list. That way you can still work with your ideal clients 80% of the time.
  • Get involved in interesting projects, even if they pay little or don't pay at all. The creative side of your brain will thank you for it and you will get to do stuff that will push your skills forward.
  • Do personal projects to keep the creative juices flowing. Do a photodocumentary on the eldest people of your community, do hair tutorials on youtube, apply makeup in hospitals to cheer up patients, write a blog on styling, teach people how to make new clothes from old ones if they can't afford to buy more...

These are only a few ideas of things that you can do to get your motivation back and to fall in love with your job again. Having a freelance career is like being in a relationship: if the other party stops being appealing to you, the relationship wont last much longer.

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One Today Is Worth Two Tomorrows

More than 250 years ago, Benjamin Franklin wrote in his book The Way To Wealth: “One today is worth two tomorrows”, and whether you praise his accomplishments or despise his ethically dubious behavior, you can't deny that the phrase is one of the best advices ever given. And even if the words aren't his and he just happened to put them on print does not make them any less valuable, because today is a sure thing but tomorrow might not happen. Stop what you are doing right now and take a few seconds to think about how long your to-do list is getting... how many pending matters can you attend to today?

It's no secret that I follow Ilise Benum's advices down to the last comma. She taught me, among other things, to divide my to-do's in doable tasks and to go at them a little each day by setting up reminders in my calendar to avoid forgetting about them. If you open my calendar you can see that I have events that repeat every week reminding me of the the things that I have to do. For instance, I have setup an alert that reminds me every morning to keep the receipts when I make business purchases, and another one that reminds me every Tuesday that on Wednesday I have to write on my blog. And as improbable as it may sound that I would forget to write on my blog, there are weeks that my diary is so full that if I don't have that reminder it might just happen.

But this technique not only works on simple tasks but also on more complex matters, like my self-promotion. Ilise also taught me how to divide my marketing strategy in daily actions and to setup reminders in my calendar to force me to do them: Mondays are for researching new clients, Tuesdays for approaching them, Thursdays for follow up, and so on.

It doesn't matter what system you use to remind yourself of doing the things that you must, the important thing is to actually do them. So why don't you setup a reminder on your calendar for every pending item on your to-do list this week and see how many things you can accomplish. You might be pleasently surprised.

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