After A Mid-Year Assessment...What Now?

You are now ready to take on the rest of 2014 with more confidence due to a better understanding of what worked and didn't work for you as a freelancer during the first six months of 2014.

Here are several suggestions for further tapping into your skills and potential:

Get personal --

• with potential clients. Building a business is all about fostering relationships, and freelancing is no different. You're in the business of selling your services and making people see that you're worth their while.
• by listening intently to your client's most pressing needs. Or even better, if he's representing a company, take time to understand their mission/vision statement.
• by customizing your invoice, letterhead, business cards, and even right down to the labels that you use for CDs. This applies to your marketing materials, too. 
• by making yourself stand out. Emphasize what makes you unique from other freelancers.
• by establishing a platform. Aside from maintaining your own website, publish a blog, or offer to be a guest blogger. You can also write and sell ebooks or get yourself a number of subscribers and periodically send them newsletters.

Get rid --

• of habits that keep you from being productive, like allowing yourself to be distracted by the TV or social media.
• of the mindset that you should keep your rates somewhere at the low end of the payment spectrum in order to get more clients. In the long run, you will only feel undervalued, or worse, burnt out. It's very much possible to justify charging competitive rates by beefing up your credentials and gaining as much experience as possible.
• of clients who don't value your time and worth as a freelancing professional. If they're habitually tardy in returning your follow-up calls or paying you on or before the deadline, it may be time to drop them and seek better clients.

Get inspired --

• by reading books and articles related to your craft.
• by keeping tab on blogs maintained by other freelancing professionals.
• by joining or forming your own network, where each member can contribute in drafting guidelines that will benefit everyone in the group.
• and be an inspiration to others. Give a talk, or team up with other freelancers in your network and facilitate a series of workshops or seminars.