Even now, as an experienced freelance dental writer, there are things I’m not so good at. There, I’ve said it.
Moreover, I thought it would be a good idea (read stupid!) to document those weaknesses here in a blog post.
The reason?
I guess, to show everyone that you don’t need to be perfect to be a successful freelancer. It’s okay to have weaknesses.
But also, as kind of an experiment for myself, a kind of coming to terms with my faults, if you will.
Call it a form of metaphoric self-flagellation, call it cathartic – call it what you will, but anyway, (deep breath) here goes…
5 Things I Suck At As A Freelance Dental Writer.
#1 – Time management
You often hear about solopreneurs who get so much done during their working week. I mean, they’ve created a new product, they’ve planned their marketing strategy, they’ve responded to hundreds of emails, oh and they’ve done a heavy workout, all before breakfast.
Me?
I’m barely lucky to get my client-facing work done plus a couple of personal blogs by the end of the week!
Now, that’s not because I’m unmotivated, it’s because I haven’t grasped the concept of time management. Yes, I know, don’t laugh!
You see, I can easily get caught up in something relatively simple like responding to a client or finding a contact email for a letter of introduction and end up disappearing down a rabbit hole. Before I know it, I look up from my laptop, it’s lunchtime and I’ve achieved nothing.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that I suck at managing time.
Sure, I have better weeks than others, but rather than beat myself up about it, I’ve come to accept that I’m never going to be one of those people who get a million and one things done before lunch.
So what do I do about it?
I work around it.
Inevitably, I pair back my expectations and that way, I finish the week on a high.
Okay, so, it may be a flawed logic, but it works for me!
Here’s what I do…
- I write down what I must achieve by cease work on Friday. That includes stuff like client-facing work, a weekly blog for this site, etc.
- Then, I write down what I call a ‘wish list’. This is work that would be great to get done but isn’t a necessity.
Sometimes I get stuff on my wish list done and that’s okay, but most importantly, client-facing work is always done.
That way, clients don’t have to know that my time management sucks, unless, of course, they’re reading this post.
Okay, on to point number #2
#2 - Marketing
I know, I know…
For someone who bangs on about the importance of marketing, you might find it hard to believe that I genuinely suck at it. Well, ‘suck’ probably isn’t the right word. Instead it’s more of an intense loathing.
You see, I hate marketing, and frankly, I’d rather stick red hot pokers in my eyeballs than pitch to a potential client.
Consequently, for a long time, I relied on my dental writer’s website to bring in clients. And, up until the pandemic, that was working. However, when new enquiries started to stagnate it began to dawn on me that I needed to do the very thing I loathed.
So, I sucked it up, drew myself up a spreadsheet of contacts and started to pitch.
And guess what? It didn’t take long to garner some enquiries. Funny, that!
So how did I get around my pitching quandary?
Simple. I changed the concept of how I viewed the task.
Now, I don’t look at it as ‘pitching’ but more about introducing myself, and telling people what I do and how I can help them. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, but I’m okay with that.
Of course, pitching introducing yourself is a numbers game and that means sending out regular emails week in and week out, and that brings me to the third thing I suck at as a freelance dental writer…
#3 Consistency
Now, I’m not talking about consistency of client work because I always try to ensure it’s the best that it can be.
Instead, this is more about maintaining the consistency of mundane tasks like social media posting, marketing, blogging and even chasing up leads. I know they need to be done regularly, but I go through spells of doing them very regularly, and then, for some reason, I go missing in action.
As I’m writing this, it’s just dawning on me.
One of the reasons why I’m consistently inconsistent is probably because my time management sucks.
I’m guessing I could start holding myself accountable by making them part of my weekly ‘must-do’ tasks.
That would work, right?
But wait! That’s no good if my time management sucks – Catch-22 alert!
Instead, I think I need to commit more to better management of my working time.
Of course, one of the skills of good time management is ensuring you have enough hours in the day to get stuff done. But there’s a fly in the ointment right there as we talk about the fourth reason why I suck as a freelance dental writer….
#4 – I hate early mornings!
Don’t you just hate people who can get up at stupid o’clock in the morning and draft a 2000-word article before sunrise? You may be one of them and for that, I’m truly sorry.
You see, I don’t really hate you. Instead, I’m envious – envious of you for being that perfect!
I’d love to be able to do what you do but unfortunately, that just isn’t going to happen.
Instead, I stumble out of bed sometime after 8.30 and can’t function until I’ve had a coffee to snap myself out of my sleep-induced coma. Inevitably, by the time I’ve had breakfast and showered, it’s 10 am or later.
The fact that I’m not bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and in front of my laptop before 9 am used to bother me greatly, but over the years, I’ve talked to other freelancers and come to the conclusion that the whole point of escaping the 9-5 drudgery, is to not to be sat at my laptop at 9 am on the dot.
Again, this brings me back to being consistently inconsistent, but I’d rather start work later when I’m fully ‘compos mentis’ and at my best. Then, if I have to, I’ll work later into the day to get stuff done.
So whether I start work at 10, 10.30 or 11 am, then so be it. I’m fine with that and you should be too!
#5 Saying no!
The fifth and final reason why I suck as a freelance dental writer is because I hate saying no. Even after all these years, I just don’t feel all that comfortable with the word no when it comes to work-related stuff.
In the past, this has resulted in me taking on projects with same-day deadlines because the client had ‘asked’ me. Or taking on work far cheaper than was economically viable, all because I didn’t say no.
Now though, I’ve kind of learned my lesson the hard way and when the need arises, I’ll shut my eyes, take a deep breath and give a confident and self-assured “N-O”.
So there you have it, 5 reasons I suck as a freelance dental writer. I hope it’s been as educational for you as it’s been painful for me.
Maybe in the next blog, I’ll write about 5 things I’m good at as a freelance dental writer. That’ll make me feel better 😊
Joking aside, the point is that if I can build a full-time business despite my weaknesses, then you can too.
So, until next time, here’s to your success!
By the way… if you haven’t already downloaded my free guide about how to become a well-paid dental writer, what are you waiting for? Join me and many others and let’s build your business together.