E-M8 Entrepreneurial Management for Eternal Mission

We often talk about the need to be professional, but I wanted to consider what makes one a professional. After all if we are not sure, how can we assist someone in becoming one. This is by no means an exhaustive list, so feel free to contribute and I will update this post as the definition progresses.

Here are some basic thoughts. To be a successful freelance professional one must…

• Have a trade or skill that is sufficiently sought after
• Utilize at least one sales mechanism effectively (Generate leads, sell, close, maintain)
• Can assess situation and diagnose the problems quickly
• Be able to clearly identify, document and negotiate the requirements
• Be able to break down work in to manageable tasks
• Be able to follow the requirements consistently
• Do the work in a timely fashion, with sufficient level of customer input
• Test and polish the work, delivering it on time, on budget and to specifications
• Balance workload between multiple projects (for multiple customers)
• Communicate progress and negotiate adjustments
• Knows their value, able to ascertain and forecast the value/time commitment of their work
• Track, record, bill and collect payments
• Continue learning, developing and polishing the professional skill set
• Understand and manage project risks
• Be able to dress and utilize personal hygiene  that is in line with the professional expectations
• Be reachable
• Keep appointments
• Keep healthy; be able to offload the work if necessary
• Have access to people / resources that would aid with addressing issues in related fields of expertise
• Have own tools/ be able to quickly and easily access the tools
• Be able to function when everything goes wrong and when tools become unavailable
• Care about what they do
• Take responsibility for what happens

I look forward to hearing other requirements and ideas

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