by Claudia Folgore-McLellan
It quite aptly feels like January and February are one long, drawn out month and I’m sure most of us are suffering latent fatigue from having had to push that much harder in the past year. As solopreneurs and freelancers, the demands on us are just that much greater, it’s literally a permanent no work, no pay situation. The ‘holidays’ also often feel like an extension of the year that casually morphs into a new one with the only change being the date. With Covid fatigue we’ve all felt the exhaustion from being hyper virus vigilant. The easy option is to simply give up (even just a bit to have a rest) – the better option, though, is to KEEP PUSHING!
Running a business in South Africa, during a global pandemic, battling with intermittent load shedding and failing wi-fi connections, during a double recession, is NOT for the feint hearted. Alas, we do it, we battle all odds to get the work done. If anything, our resilience is a force to be reckoned with.
Take a deep breath…
Plan a few days of reprieve and start next week with a solid plan of action. A plan that you haven’t tried yet or at least made an effort to jot down and follow. There is magic in trying new things, experimenting with what you know you’re capable of.
How inspiring is this thought?
“You are never too young to build an empire and never too old to start a new dream.” Keep that in the back of your mind while you recharge and allow it to motivate you to find your bearing.
Being a freelancer takes tenacity, considerable grit, and self-belief that very often needs to be inflated so as to not suffer the creeping lurgies of imposter syndrome and all those other complex insecurities. I recently read a tweet from York Zucchi that seemed perfectly accurate, he said, “Entrepreneurs are neither born nor made. Entrepreneurs are panel beaten.” – how true is that? I’m sure we all feel a bit battered and bruised after 2020, 2021 and making it to 2022. It’s now February 2022 and I’m feeling cautiously optimistic about the economy opening up and things normalising somewhat. I’ve already had two in-person meetings which is more than I’ve had in the past two years. Zoom is still a time-saving, safe commodity but I’ll be honest and admit I’ve missed visiting busy offices and enjoying coffee with a potential client over a casual introductory meeting – I’ve noticed I’ve become quite chatty and perhaps I’m making full use of my daily word quota.
It’s no time to give up, trust me. Put your ‘A’ into ‘G’ and start March 2022 with a clear mind and a healthy dose of positivity about your future.
Here’s a list I’ve compiled as a guide for you to use as a starting point:
Get over the ‘I can’t’ attitude, it takes up too much space in the mind and apply yourself to making a list of what you CAN do and WANT to do.
What’s your best offering? Build on it, price it right, and then package it.
Be consistent with how you describe your offering across all marketing channels ie: LinkedIn Profile, Website, Twitter Bio etc.
Define your Goals: An example of a goal is ‘to increase your client base’
(four goals is a good starting point and not too overwhelming)Work on your Objectives to reach those goals: detail ‘how’ you’re going to go about achieving them.
Start advertising yourself where you know your ideal customer will learn about you and start conversations.
I’ve included a valuable link to a FREE online course compliments of my associate York Zucchi (Founder of The StartUp Tribe) has put together to help get you on track https://www.thestartuptribe.org/courses/how-to-find-clients
If you are a solopreneur, entrepreneur or owner of a retail or corporate business and would like to know more about how you can leverage your brands’ potential, get in touch with me. Email me at hello@visual8.co.za and visit my website at www.visual8.co.za to know more.
Claudia Folgore-McLellan is the founder of visual 8 in South Africa, a business that offers more accessible, professional graphic design, advertising & marketing services to small businesses, entrepreneurs and corporate clients than larger agencies. Claudia has worked worked in the design and advertising space for a long time as a creative (graphic designer/art director) with vast experience in the fields of print media graphic design and advertising.She has been a solopreneur since 2006, freelancer and consultant with a love for all things creative. She believes she has a natural ability to encourage and inspire people from a leadership perspective and often finds herself coaching clients and mentoring as she works with them to build their brands from their first steps of becoming entrepreneurs.
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