| I've been a freelance designer for over 7 years. This is something that I struggled a lot with for the first few years and still do, sometimes. These are my bigger epiphanies: * Started asking myself "Why do I get so attached?" I started to see that I wasn't really all that confident in my abilities. I produced good work, but I wasn't skillful with working with clients and their problems, which is a very important aspect of being a freelancer. * As I became more skillful in my craft and maintaining relationships, my attitude shifted and I started building confidence in myself when it came to solving problems. I started being objective about the problems I was solving. * My creative process has been important, too. I figured out the more I focused on objectives, problems and pain, the more the client (and me) got behind my solutions. My solutions started to mean something because I could tie every decision to a pain point. * All I can do educate and advocate the best solutions. Ultimately, it is up to the client to decide what he wants to do. * Often times, people hadn't worked with a skilled consultant before. So, they didn't understand the complexities of the solutions I provided. This means they'll start requesting, what I often interpreted as, random shit. These requests, I learned, are mostly surface symptoms of deeper issues--dig down and figure out what the real problem is. I guess bottom line: Trust in yourself and your skill. Remain objective. Educate and advocate the best solutions to the client. Know you gave it 100%. |