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<aside> 💡 At Part & Sum, we love to learn about all the ways work gets done in the modern world. Getting familiar with different styles makes it easier to be more inclusive of a wider range of collaborators.

With clients like SelfMade and WorkMade, we wanted to get deeper into the mind of freelancers and bring folks together for a conversation where everyone could pick up tips & strategies from each other.

That’s why for our first Industry Night in a few years we decided to focus on freelancers, solopreneurs, anyone who’s ready to set off on their own, and everyone looking to partner with them, for a conversation that covered five essential questions.

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• Before diving in, let’s meet our panelists!

What are the common traits of successful entrepreneurs?

<aside> 🗣 There isn’t a one-size-fits-all way to freelance. Getting your own business going will mean assembling a range of skills. Some you may already be great at, others you’ll need to brush up on.

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River Fields: Deep passion allows for iteration and trial and error which in turn drives work ethic and gives you tenacity.

Tom Critchlow: Client management skills like closing a deal or sending invoices are important. The people that survive and thrive figure out how to have conversations with clients, keeping them happy and the account serviced. In an agency environment people do it for you, people who do it for the longest freelance have figured out how to build and maintain client relationships themselves.

Mallory Levy: My entrepreneur day-one toolkit includes:

• You need a good Internet connection, obviously.
• Good communication skills. You need to know how to write an email - make sure to install Grammarly if you don’t have a firm grasp of the language you’re working in.
• A great organization system is important too. Asana, ClickUp, Trello help working with teams and yourself. Because you’ll be wearing lots of hats for lots of projects you need a system.

Rusty Fields: An environment that’s open is helpful. Think: clear desk, clear space. This enables high performance work ethic.

Rafael Espinal: A bulletproof contract is paramount. 70% of freelancers reported that they have lost on average about $6,000 a year on uncollected invoices. Make sure that your contracts specify how much you’re being paid and at what point in the project you’re paid. There’s one you can check out on the Freelancers Union website.

What holds people back?

<aside> 🗣 It can be scary! Anyone who’s done it knows that’s the case. But identifying specifically what’s intimidating can be the big first step in conquering your fears.

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River Fields: A lack of community is big. The “epidemic of loneliness” is exacerbated in entrepreneur and freelance communities. We need to think about what the infrastructure is that helps us support freelancers and people working on their own projects.

Tom Critchlow: In the beginning you’re concerned with getting clients because you don’t have a pipeline, then you want work you like that pays well and is interesting. Then you start worrying about retaining work and recurring revenue streams. Just know that the the first two or three years of a freelancers life won’t have vacation days, there will be days you don’t work but not days that you willingly give yourself off.