Freelancer Happy Hour and Workshop - Career Stalling? - you need a jump start!

First - Beam Suntory Premium Spirits will be providing an open bar happy hour featuring their Suntrory Whiskey. They will be serving several different craft cocktails for free!

Then...we will talk through career stalls and what to do when you hit them! The good news? Stalls can be healthy and make the business stronger!

We have also developed a 5 Day Goal system to help freelancers move those backburner items to the front burner. It will be a big night - so if you have never attended please join us and hope to see you back again if you have.

Here are some additional thoughts about the topic to wet your appetite.

For many freelancers, failure is the antithesis of what we do and why we do it. Yet, there is something not quite as tangible as a failure that may feel just as bad—stalling. A stalled freelance career is like a stalled car.

Just imagine purchasing the car of your dreams. You have done your research, negotiated a price, and you are ready to drive off of the dealership parking lot as a proud car owner. Everything is going well until one day, as you are driving, the car just stops or stalls on you.

The check engine light comes on. When you see this light, it may evoke a sense of panic or even some anxiety, but it does not signal that your car is irrevocably broken. But it is an indication that something just isn’t quite right.

Much like that stalled car, when a freelancer’s career stalls, it is an indication that it is time for a diagnostic or a check-up to figure out what’s going really going on.

What does being stalled look like?
Stalling could be the result of normal life changes (e.g. relocating, new family members, new responsibilities) or it could be the result of being displaced or outsourced in the market due to more competition, fewer opportunities, or an over-saturation of the goods and services that one offers. Or it could be something far less tangible, such as not being as passionate, driven or motivated.

Regardless of the reason why, it is important to know when your internal check engine light is on.

Unlike a car, we don’t have dashboards with fancy illuminated images that pop up when something is amiss. However, we do have personal benchmarks and professional indicators that our freelancing career has stalled. For simplicity’s sake, we can think of a stalled freelancing career as one that isn’t as productive, enjoyable, or as profitable as it once was.

Stalling tends to be a temporary period and its duration will vary from situation to situation. The most important thing is not to quit.

Paradoxically, stalling can be a good thing.

Stalling is actually advantageous because it is a warning of what might happen if immediate attention isn’t given to the underlying concern. One of the first things a certified mechanic will do is try to find the solution(s).

Similarly, because freelancing is often solutions-based, think about fixes for your predicament—both short and long-term. Changes ranging from increasing your marketing strategies and networking more often to investing in new equipment or downsizing your office space are all tangible things that can be done to unstall a freelancing career.

Yes, being successful is an amazing end goal. But embracing the trek, with its various detours and rest areas, is what makes freelancing such an amazing journey.