By Bette Frick | Fellow
Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a test that you could take that would identify whether you are suited to start an independent business and succeed? I don’t believe there is such a test available, and I’m not sure that I would trust it anyway. Succeeding as an independent requires many intricate, interactive personality traits—and only you can determine if you have those traits and if you really want to succeed as an independent.
(Just a note: In this article, I use the terms "independent," "freelancer," "self-employed," and "solo" interchangeably. I am addressing self-employment in non-retail, non-manufacturing, non-service businesses.)
Before we talk about success traits, let me share how I stumbled into freelancing. After two layoffs as a project manager in educational software in 1990, I wasn’t thrilled about finding another job and facing more of the same—the hassle of daily commuting, difficult bosses, office politics, and layoff risks. So, with a little severance pay in my hand, I printed a business card and went solo.
If I had interviewed experienced freelancers before my plunge, they would have told me that there’s good news and bad news on both sides. You probably know about the benefits of employment: steady pay, camaraderie with fellow employees, benefits packages, a desk and computer and software. You probably know the bad news as well, whether it is a difficult work group, a maniacal boss with unrealistic expectations, or work that you don’t really like and the nagging feeling that you don’t have any job security.
It is all so appealing, the freelance life. Flexibility of schedule, clients who respect you, a fair amount of autonomy and control over the work, better pay per hour, diversification to balance the risk, a home office with a window, and the CEO title after your name! What could possibly go wrong? (Think: paying 12.4% FICA, health insurance, the costs of your own office, all in the face of potential extended time without paid work. And then, after a long dry spell, you get five projects to work on! And some of these you accept not because you want to but because you must so that you can feed yourself, your family, and the lovely cat that graces your office.)
And yet, many STC independents have chosen self-employment for much or most of their career. Some want the flexibility to raise their families outside corporate time frames; some chose freelancing because they may not fit into a job title or job description in most organizations. Still others prefer to work early or late hours that don’t mesh with corporate work schedules. And there’s always the introvert who can easily interface with one client at a time but does not thrive in a group environment.
I think I fit into almost all of the categories in the prior paragraph. As a medical editor and corporate trainer who specializes in teaching technical writing, I found that most companies, even large ones, needed me only as a vendor, not as an employee. I relished the flexibility to volunteer in my kids’ classrooms or stay home with a sick child and work at 4:00 AM to make up my time. (I still cherish that flexibility as I volunteer in my grandchildren’s classrooms.) And although I am extroverted in my own classroom, I am intensely introverted when I work. A therapist once told me, "You have a great need for autonomy"; perhaps that’s why I thrive when given a task, specifications, and a few directions and can go off to sit in my sunlit office and bang out the work product.
If you have the luxury of continuing in your job while you assess your own success traits for freelancing, perhaps the questions in this article may help you think deeply about your future as an independent. I haven’t run these questions through any kind of rigorous testing (I wouldn’t even know how to), and I haven’t provided any kind of rating scale for you. Instead, I invite you to journal your answers and perhaps share what you find with your loved ones, a trusted colleague, a therapist, or business counselor; please also send me an email to let me know how the questions worked for you.
Or you might just leap, as I did, and experience the exhilaration and terror of surviving as an independent—kind of like riding the rollercoaster without having to pay to enter the amusement park!
Questionnaire: Is the Independent Life for You?
Environmental Assessment (Do You Fit in a Corporate or Organizational Environment?)
- Do you have a work pattern that doesn’t fit into a normal workday in a modern corporation?
- Is the work that you love more of a discipline or a passion for you than a job title or job description?
- Is your chosen work in a field that often gets cut first in corporate downsizing (such as marketing or training)?
- Do you try to stay away from the drama of office politics?
Self-Awareness
- Are you thinking of freelancing as a commitment, not just an experiment?
- Did you or do you have a family member who was/is successfully self-employed?
- Do you naturally think strategically? What are some examples of your strategic thinking that have ended successfully for you?
- Are you comfortable promoting yourself constantly?
- Are you able to withstand periods of uncertainty caused by lack of work?
- Are you extroverted enough that you get really bored working by yourself?
- Are you primarily self-directed (do you prefer autonomy)?
- Do you have a financial cushion or a source of income that can help you during your start-up phase?
- Are you primarily an optimist, a positive thinker?
- Are you able to diagnose your own mistakes and failures and learn from them?
Structuring Your Life as a Freelancer
- Do you have family responsibilities that might require you to have a more flexible work schedule of an independent rather than a 9-to-5 day (plus commute) can offer?
- Are you willing to work some intense days with bizarre hours as a trade off for the more flexible schedule identified in the question above?
- Do you like to work alone? Do you prefer to work alone?
Other Tactics That Could Help You Decide If You Should Become a Freelancer
- Are you willing to interview people who are already freelancing in the line of work that you want to do, then sit down with a business advisor to create a business plan, and then—and this is absolutely essential—put this plan aside until you have complete clarity that going independent is the right path for you?
- Are you willing to share your plan with your spouse, significant other, or any other individual for whom you are responsible or to whom you are responsible?
- Are you willing to take some personality tests such as Strengths Finder or Myers-Briggs and have a business counselor or therapist help you interpret the results with regard to going independent?
After answering these questions, you might have expected a rating scale—like "1 to 6 ‘yes’ answers, you may be suited to freelance life." So sorry: I could not presume to define such a scale for you—you are the only person most qualified to compute your readiness after working through the questions.
That being said, if you had more "yes" answers than "no" answers—does that tell you anything? And if you had one emphatic, definite, non-negotiable, drop-dead "NO" answer (even, "Hell, NO!"), that may tell you more about your suitability for freelance endeavors than any scale could.
Best wishes as you explore your potential future as an independent! gi
Dr. Elizabeth (Bette) Frick (efrick@textdoctor.com) of the Text Doctor LLC teaches writing and communication to employees of corporations and governments. Bette holds a PhD in English from the University of Minnesota and served as president of the Twin Cities chapter of STC from 2003–2004. She is a Fellow of STC and serves on the STC Intercom Advisory Panel.
Hi Bette,
Great article! I think your questionnaire addresses many things people don’t think about. Some of us thrive in the wee hours of the night or we’re needed more as “vendors.” I hadn’t seen the vendor vs. employee terminology before but it really makes sense. I became an independent contractor and business owner in 2012 and I couldn’t be happier.
Jill P. Viers
Thank you, Jill. I think I may recognize the vendor part of the equation more than others because my niche as a trainer of writing is so specific and small. I also deliver medical editing, which I recognize may be vendor-enabled for the smaller medical companies that I target for marketing. Large companies seem to employ medical editors rather than use vendors, but that is not always the case. With regard to the “employee versus vendor” decision, every potential independent will have to assess their market to understand the potential for their talents.
And yes, life is good over here in independent-ville!
The media message is that running a small business is the American holy grail and life purpose. That’s in line with how corporations are changing our workforce, for health care and other reasons. There are fewer employees and more vendors every day, especially over 40. Retail exemplifies this as it devolves into a predominantly part-time workforce.
Reading Branson and other LinkedIn “thought leaders,” for whom entrepreneurship is the essential thrill coursing through one’s veins, can be inspirational. But is that the “right stuff” everyone needs to succeed independently? I wonder how others feel. I would think it depends on your goal. If you want to build something larger than yourself, absolutely. If you mainly wish to sustain yourself, as long as you set achievable goals and are willing to keep swinging – hopefully not; because in the near future, going it alone may be less of a choice than a necessity. We’re not all gifted and/or lucky enough to be Bransons either. If there’s good news, neither were generations before us.
Hello Bette,
Thank you for writing this. I think that your questions are right on for anyone considering becoming an independent. I have been an independent now for almost 10 years.
Kim Kahat