Confidence is something ever freelance graphic designer needs. But what is it and how do you get more of it? Wouldn’t it be great if practical lessons in how to have confidence were part of our education?

 

Maybe you have friends who exude confidence. You really wish you could feel like that.

 

And now you’ve decided to become a freelance graphic designer, or brand designer, or web designer… the list of professions that allow creatives to be their own boss is mind-blowingly long right now! This is the season for freelancing and being a solopreneur!

 

Maybe you’ve left the 9-to-5 world behind. Or you’ve stopped the serving and driving side-gigs, so you can focus all of your energy on the work that you love.

 

 

Have you hit the “confidence barrier”? Do you suddenly have a deeper understanding of “imposter syndrome”? Do you wonder where to start, how to move forward, how to compete?

 

We have some great tips for you, today! Our business started as a one-woman solopreneur, too. We remember what it was like to wonder if we would ever make money as a freelance graphic designer. Would we be able to pay our bills? Would anyone hire us? Did we know what we were doing!?

 

We determined that, if we succeeded, we would help others to overcome those terrible feelings. And, guess what?! We did it!

 

Now, we have a thriving graphic design studio in Austin, Texas where we regularly sign $12k+ branding clients. We run an academy for freelancers who want to be their own bosses and grow their graphic design businesses.

 

We teach what we did right and warn about what we did wrong. Most of all, we encourage others that the dark clouds ahead are about to disappear, if you focus on the things that bring the dazzling sunshine of success through!

Start With the Most Important Confidence Booster

Before we jump into a Top Ten list (and, yes, we’ll do that, too!), let’s look at our #1 recommendation. This is the piece of confidence boosting advice we wish we’d had at the beginning and, more importantly, we wished we’d put into action every day:

 

#1. Do It for 20 Minutes

Whether you’re scared to pick up the phone, or dreading the rejection that your email could get, or thinking about how nervous you get before meeting new people at a networking event… these nail-biting events share something in common: You doubt yourself beforehand.

 

And once underway, it goes a lot better than you expected the majority of the time. So, how can we put the reality of the productive ending in front of those feelings of doubt?

 

The 20 Minute Determination Rule.

 

 

Yep, 20 minutes is all you need. Focus on the task for 20 minutes. Put your timer on. Let the timer ring. Once you’ve focus on a particular activity for 20 minutes, the rest will flow.

 

Don’t stop yourself. Just know that all you have to agree to doing is the first 20 minutes. That’s enough. Nine times out of ten, you’ll finish what you were intending to do and the fears you had will fade into the distant background.

 

You’ll feel good because you’ll have accomplished something that you intended to do. You’ll feel good because you figured out how to conquer procrastination.

 

And you’ll have something to show for it at the end of your 20 minutes. (Even if it turns out to be more difficult than you expected, you will have learned more by engaging in it and will be further along for next time!)

 

When you’re doubting, stalling, fearing, or thinking negatively, try out this freelance confidence tip with a timer running. (And, when the timer goes off, shut it off, and keep going with the momentum 20 minutes intrinsically just gave you!)

 

 

The key is that successful action builds confidence. It’s not all a mind game (we’ll talk about that more in a minute, as there are some great mind-tricks to try out as well).

 

Life is an action game. You can worry about the big, scary lions wanting to eat you, or you can run for 20 minutes and discover just how amazing the landscape you’re running through is!

 

Hey, speaking of procrastination, have you taken a fresh air break today? How about testing out the idea and going for a walk or a run, in fact?! Start with 20 minutes and a timer running. We bet you’ll run (or walk) longer and feel ready to show up fully as a money-making freelance designer!

9 More Confidence Tips for Freelance Designers

Let’s dive into the other great ideas we’ve learned over the years. When we doubt we can do it, or wonder why we’re in the room with amazing people around us, or think that the design we just created can’t be good…. this is our “go to” tool chest of confidence builders:

 

#2. Use Self-Affirmation Statements

Find a couple of sentences that sum up what you felt like when you graduated or were complimented by someone you admired. What were they thinking about you? What did they say?

 

Write those words of truth down and begin to repeat them to yourself daily. This isn’t woo-woo, but it IS powerful, and it will be the base of your freelance mindset!

 

#3. Participate in Networking Events

Socialization is like water for our confidence. Drink it lots. Focus on being places where you’ll have opportunities to talk about what you do, to soft-sell your services.

 

Networking is great practice and will bring you clients via word of mouth — but you need to show up first! Participate in industry events, community events, online events, offline events, one-on-one meetups over coffee…

 

You can also build mutually beneficial connections to freelancers with different specialities so you can refer clients back and forth to each other.

 

 

#4. Focus on the Things You Do Well

“Pick the low-hanging fruit first.” To feel great, you need to have some solid wins. That’s hard to accomplish if you’ve trained well but only tried out for the Olympics!

 

Use the great skills you have and focus them on opportunities that are easily accessible to you. It’s great to have ambitious goals but start out by focusing on your talents and using them every day!

 

#5. Determine to Always Learn Something

If you choose to see every day as a day to learn more, you’ll have a winning attitude from day one. You can learn from everything and everyone and there are so many resources for freelancers that can help you.

 

Choose to be a student of life — be constantly interested, so you’ll also be interesting to others!

#6. Face It – Rejection Will Happen!

Speaking of learning opportunities…. rejection is where it’s at! Make a mental shift and decide that you’re going to view rejection as a learning opportunity, every single time.

 

The rejection shock will still sting, but once you’ve mentally adjusted, you’ll be able to quickly take the high road and ask questions so you’ll find the lesson you can learn. Next time, you’ll do it differently, better, or, at the very least, with more wisdom.

 

#7. Take Pride in Your Professionalism

Make sure that your words and actions live up to your profession. Dress the part. Have your business cards in your bag with you. Talk about what you do.

 

Get excited about your clients and projects. Perfect your website and portfolio. Assume everyone you meet is a potential client who would benefit from your services, and this mentality will help you make money online with graphic design.

 

#8. Break Down Your Big Goals

First of all, have goals! And, if they are big goals, break them down into bite-size pieces. This will help you feel successful, even as you’re working your way up a mountain of an idea. Know where the rest-stops are… those places when you can take a breather, look back, and marvel at how far you’ve come. You’ll be excited to start off again tomorrow!

 

#9. Locate Your Community & Nourish Yourself

We can’t feel good about something that expects constant suffering. What do you need? What feeds you? Your business is only part of you, even if it’s a big part (especially when you’re starting out!).

 

What are the other areas of life that make you thrive? Be there. Have energy for that. Prioritize it. Diarize it. Do it. (Try the 20 Minute Determination Rule, even to make sure you do some of these pleasant things, too!)

#10. Have a Niche

We have a whole blog article on this topic, because we think it’s so important: Does Your Freelance Business Need a Niche? Having a niche is the single biggest income generation decision you can implement as a freelancer.

 

We can show you how, but let’s sum up the benefits first: you’ll become an expert in a particular industry or sub-market. This is a huge boost to your confidence because your clients will start seeing you as the industry (niche) expert you are!

 

You can work in a space that feels great because you have the confidence of growing experience, a track record, client testimonials, and portfolio projects. Having a niche matters — in a really big way. If you aren’t sure how to niche down, we walk you through exactly how to find your profitable niche in our signature 12-week Profitable Designer Program!

Bringing it All Together to Boost Your Confidence

If you count them up, we’ve given you 10 of our very best hints for building your confidence at the beginning of your freelance experience. We didn’t know about them all when we started out, unfortunately. We learned them the hard way.

 

There is no doubt that our success trajectory would have been significantly shorter if we had known to practice these 10 things every day!

 

Once you learn these secret tips, you will use them for the rest of your career.

 

There’s never a day when our agency doesn’t affirm ourselves, network constantly, do what we do well, learn more, glean lessons from rejection, are proud of what we’ve become, working on today’s goals for tomorrow’s victory, encouraging each other, and serving our skincare industry niche!

These tips have become part of our lifeblood. We breathe, we eat, we juggle the balls everyday…. and we use these confidence tricks, not because we need tricks, but because they are what made us successful and full of confidence!

 

Do you know how you’ll know if you have enough confidence? People will ask you one question. It’s a question we get all the time now. It’s also the reason we created this blog and our academy’s workshops and courses.

 

“How did you do it?” Kind of a simple question, right? But it speaks the world, to us. It says, “You did it!” and “You’re so amazing that I wish I knew how you got there!” and “Will you share the secrets you clearly know?”

To us, it means, “You belong here, this space is yours. Thrive. Enjoy it. Share it. You’re in a great place and on your way to even greater places.

 

Be confident. Feel confident. Share your confidence freely, because there’s lots more where it came from!” If this all seems “too much,” maybe too much to remember. Or, too easy to forget. Okay, breathe deep. That’s where you’re at. That’s your starting point.

 

But you’re running a freelance business now, so you WILL be starting. Something. Sometime. Breathe deep. 20 Minutes. The Determination Rule.

 

Pick a thing you love and are good at, the first time you try it. For 20 minutes. Then pick something else. Maybe something you know you need to do and have been putting off. For 20 minutes. Now, pick another thing. And another. Go from strength to strength. Build your confidence.

If it works, come back for some more. We have lots of business, freelancing, graphic design, and inspirational tips for dynamic creatives who are investing in their future, for the lifestyle and income they’ve dreamed of having.

 

Join our community. Take a money making course. Learn some more. Build your freelance profitability with our straight-forward, easy-to-implement steps!

 

Don’t forget about getting some fresh air today! Take a break, go for a jog or walk. All it takes to get it done is 20 minutes. Set the timer and slip out the door. Your confidence will grow!