A freelancer’s life can be both lucrative and challenging. Being your own boss is wonderful, but it also means that you have a lot of responsibilities in addition to the actual creative work that your clients pay you for. These responsibilities include marketing yourself and your services, networking, business administration, paying your taxes on time, and staying up to date on industry developments. Books are a fantastic way to learn a lot of specialized information quickly, making them ideal for time-pressed freelancers who may not have the opportunity to enroll in a specialized course.
How can you then acquire all the necessary skills to maintain your viability and growth through books?
It’s critical that you become knowledgeable about how to manage your business from the onset, whether you’re a freelancer or a solopreneur. There is a vast amount of information available, whether it be through books, blogs, or electronic books.
1. Choose Yourself! By James Altucher
You are chosen by someone and given particular duties when you are hired for a job. Someone will probably give you a promotion with new responsibility if you consistently perform well. Dislike your job? Nothing matters. You’re comfortable and prosperous. In terms of your career, there is no going back now.
James Altucher published this book as a reminder that you can deliberately pursue a different path since the world is more ready for this move than ever because our entire lives are constructed around the idea of being chosen by others and told what to do. It may sound cliché, but standing up for yourself will greatly increase your chances of finding true happiness. In terms of inspiration, Altucher’s writing style and original business philosophy are unmatched.
2. The Four-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss
“The 4-Hour Workweek,” written by New York Times best-selling author Timothy Ferris, is a highly instructional book with lots of helpful advice on how to build the life of your dreams by deftly outsourcing some of your tasks, figuring out the most crucial aspects of your job, and eliminating dead weight.
This book is undoubtedly for you if you frequently feel overwhelmed by the volume of work you must complete in your freelance career and wish you could work less and earn more.
3. The Freelancer’s Bible – Sara Horowitz
Sara Horowitz is the founder and executive director of the Freelancers Union and is well-versed in the world of freelancing. The Freelancer’s Bible is a book that freelancers frequently recommend, and with good reason as well.
It is the all-inclusive, one-stop resource for every practical consideration and difficulty involved in being a successful, adaptable, and nimble freelancer. A must-read for any freelancer who is just getting started and is still learning the ropes, as well as one who has experience. Oh, and in case you needed any more motivation, Forbes called it one of the “Best Books to Boost Your Career.”
4. Ego Is the Enemy By Ryan Holiday
Many entrepreneurs have enormous egos. It is simply a fact. You tend to believe that you are superior to people around you as your experience increases. When that occurs, you’ll harm your relationships, job, and cease developing. Narcissism is dangerous.
In a wealth of fascinating historical examples, Ryan Holiday explores how ego has destroyed successful business people and other well-known individuals who all had a clear route to success at one point. You must conduct your business honestly as a freelancer and recognize that having any degree of ego will ultimately impede success. Self-awareness is the most important quality for ongoing development in any circumstance.
5. Stop Thinking Like A Freelancer – Liam Veitch
In his book Stop Thinking Like A Freelancer, Liam Veitch of Freelance Lift is unafraid to share the hard truths and reality checks about freelancing that he learned from his early mistakes. However, his direct style is exactly what most freelancers need to read.
Planning for growth when you freelance is challenging, especially if your income is too erratic to even think about anything past the immediate future. Liam reminds you that, in order to thrive as a freelancer, you must start thinking like a business. This book is a must-read for anyone dissatisfied with their business success thus far and wanting to change things up because it contains honest and practical actionable recommendations.
6. Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming Obstacles Between Vision and Reality by Scott Belsky
If you’re seeking motivation to start your own freelance career or advance your job, this book is fantastic.
Inspired by Thomas Edison’s aphorism that genius is “1% inspiration, 99% perspiration,” Scott Belsky has gathered interviews from hundreds of the world’s most successful and creative individuals and groups, providing countless tips on how to turn your imaginative visions into profitable business realities.
7. My So-Called Freelance Life – Michelle Goodman
The Anti 9-to-5 Guide author Goodman addresses all of the peculiar queries that may come up for female freelancers exploring the world, making it a pertinent read for any freelancer who feels that other books just don’t understand the women’s plight in this uncertain (at least initially) career move.
My So-Called Freelance Life will show you how to turn your dream job into a reality and give you the feeling that you’re not alone in working on your own by offering guidance on everything from how to handle missed deadlines with grace to building a fantastic portfolio.
8. The Ultimate Guide to Running a Successful Freelance Business by Meg Mateo Ilasco and Joy Deangdeelert Cho
This classic book, which was first released in 2010, has emerged as a must-read for independent creatives. It offers insightful advice to all kinds of creatives, including graphic designers, illustrators, photographers, and more.
The book details how creatives can create a portfolio that stands out, attract clients, and successfully negotiate the challenging difficulties associated with launching and operating a firm.
9. What To Do When It’s Your Turn (And It’s Always Your Turn) By Seth Godin
To help us remember that great work eventually results from courage, curiosity, empathy, generosity, and love, Seth Godin has included a number of motivational stories, pictures, and quotes in this one-of-a-kind book. This book is for people who desire to produce work that matters and share it with the world, as Seth Godin puts it. It’s simple to take the easy way out, run from your anxiety, and criticize yourself, yet these actions will accomplish nothing.
Freelancing seems great because it gives you the freedom to pursue a different career. But this choice is terrifying because it implies that you might not succeed. Your company might not succeed. You may not succeed. Then again, as Godin explains: “Failure is almost never as bad as we fear it will be, but it’s our fear that we feel, not the failure.”
10. The Untethered Soul – Michael A. Singe
A soul-searching journey of self-discovery frequently goes into choosing the path of freelancing. The majority of freelancers talk about some degree of awakening occurring at various points of their thrilling but occasionally unpleasant journey, regardless of what age you decide to take this jump at. The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer is one book that discusses this. This book is a step-by-step manual for ego release. The book underlines the drawbacks of relying on the mind to generate ideas for our happiness with very simple examples.
