Keeping a Professional Attitude in Your Career

I am a full-time freelance writer, and I take my work very seriously. However, it took a while before I learned how important it is to remain professional, even though my "job" is quite informal.

Like many people dream of doing, I work from home. When I first started as a freelance writer, I was not very disciplined in my work. I was not used to being at home, and so I was a bit lazy. I would spend the day doing things around the house, or just relaxing, and writing sporadically.

After a few weeks, it became evident that I was not making as much money as I thought I would, and certainly not as much as I thought I should be making. Of course, I did not hold myself responsible at first. Rather, I complained about clients not paying me enough or about not finding enough assignments available.

Eventually, I came to my senses. I realized that I was not being professional. I was working from home, but not really working. I had to find a way to become more productive, even though I was working from home.

It would have helped immensely if I could have rented an office space, and worked from there. I could then go to "work" every morning, like most people, and I almost surely would have been much more productive. However, I did not have the money to rent an office space, so that was out of the question.

Over time, I forced myself to be a disciplined writer. I put myself on a set schedule. I started doing all of my writing in the upstairs portion of my house, which turned into my office. I would not allow myself to come down until my "workday" was over. Although that was extremely hard at times, it ended up helping me make this career work.

Becoming a true "professional" is what made my freelance writing career a success. Nevertheless, I have encountered many other situations where it became important to maintain a professional approach.

Several times, I have been faced with a client who either did not pay me for my work, or did not pay as much as they originally promised. Early in my career, I was timid, and let clients like this walk all over me. However, I quickly learned that my time was worth a lot of money, and I could not afford to spend time writing for a client who was not going to pay me.

I learned how to deal with that type of client by being polite and professional, but firm. I would tell them that I could not continue to work without pay, but I would always remember that I was a professional, and would never lose my temper.

In the same way, I always present myself to potential clients in a professional manner. I advertise myself through flyers and business cards, and I always have color printing done. To me, a black and white ad is not professional, and does not give customers confidence in the company on the ad. Therefore, I invest a bit more in attractive, color literature to promote my writing services.

Even if you work from home, you will not succeed unless you remain professional. Approach every situation in a professional manner, and you will quickly exceed your own expectations.

Kaye Z. Marks is an avid writer and follower of developments in commercial color printing industry and how these improvements can benefit small to medium-scale business.