this “positive” trait has a hidden dark side

Hey {NAME},  For most of our lives, we’re rewarded for following orders.  We’re rewarded in school for doing things by the book.  And we’re rewarded as employees for towing the company line.  But you can’t build a successful freelance business by following orders.  You have to be proactive about creating opportunities and advocating for yourself.  And you have to be proactive about making things happen for yourself and your clients.  Which is why most freelancers need to focus on developing a proactive mindset after decades of being “programmed” to follow orders.  But there’s also a hidden dark side to being proactive.  And you need to watch out for it when working with your clients.  Especially at the beginning of your relationship.  Because if you’re not careful, the hidden dark side of being proactive can cause your clients to terminate a project early. (Which also means they will likely never hire you again.)  And I wanted to bring this up because I’m actually experiencing this hidden dark side of being proactive myself.  See, my wife and I just hired a property manager to help us keep up with all the maintenance for our house.  (It’s half a century old. Plus all of the recent owners before us were only here for a few years. Which means they didn’t have an incentive to invest in meaningful repairs. So they cut a lot of corners. And now we’re the ones left to deal with the consequences of those slapdash repairs.)  Now during the interview, we were attracted to the way our new property manager described his proactive mindset.  In fact, it was one of the reasons we hired him.  Yet now that he’s been here for his first few appointments, we are running into the hidden dark side of being proactive.  To his credit, he’s trying to rapidly take tasks off of our plate and showcase how useful his services will be.  The problem is, my wife and I feel like we have no idea what’s going on anymore.  Or even worse, we’ll notice issues with some of his decisions after the fact.  And if you’re not careful, you could be making your own freelance clients feel the same way.  Especially if it’s at the beginning of your relationship.  Since if you move too fast without keeping your client in the loop, they may have the same “out-of-control” feeling my wife and I have with our property manager.  So you want to make sure your clients feel comfortable and like they understand what you’re doing. Especially in the beginning.  But you also want to do it in a way that doesn’t take up too much of their time, either.  And finding this balance is hard.  Since different clients will have different preferences.  For example, I’m sure a lot of our property manager’s other clients are thrilled by how quickly he gets things done. Even if it means correcting minor issues along the way.  But for my wife and I, we’d prefer that he move a little slower and stop to ask us more questions about how we typically do things. Or if we have any preferences. Even if it means we have to spend more time onboarding him in the beginning.  So it’s up to you to figure out what works best for each of your clients. Then tailor your services to match the way they like to work best.  That way, you blow them away with your work. And they will hire you over and over again in the future.  Until next week,  -Brian [Unsubscribe]( | [Edit your details]( Freelance Like A Pro PO Box 281 Bloomingdale New Jersey 07403 United States [Powered By Kartra] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -