Freelancing is glorious. Where else can you have complete freedom to do what you love on your own terms? Sure there’s a lot of hard aspects, but what job doesn’t have a few sharp turns to unpleasantville.  We have the power to dictate our schedules, to choose the environment we create in, we get to be mobile in a world where our coffee break is our work.

Having freedom to live life within the confines is a gift, that’s why I love freelance. My life, is my work. Recently I heard someone mention that artists need to be professional and dependable.

Freelancing has wonderful benefits, and because we have so much freedom, that freedom becomes our enemy. As a freelance creative, you are in essence, the face of your company. How you live and interact with clients becomes what your work and company reflects. It’s so important to remember that with great creative freedom, comes great responsibility. Unlike Spider Man however, you can’t hide behind a mask. People who work with you won’t just see you as you, they will associate you with what you do, your work, and most importantly HOW you choose to work. You will become the face of your company and whatever they choose to associate you + character = face of your company.

The question this forces us to is, what are you choosing to be remember for? What kind of character are we presenting to those we have the privilege of working for? In our purist creative mindset to express ourselves, and not be under someone else’s constraint dictating what and where I go, I can lose sight of who and how I’m viewed through the lens of a client who has hired me. I’m not telling you to suck up to clients, or be someone you’re not, rather a healthy reminder that as freelancers we must not sacrifice the need to be professional, responsible, and faithful to what we commit ourselves to.

Lets leave a legacy in the creative industry as being creatives whose character speaks louder than our work. After all, your actions not only affect you, but everyone’s view of freelance artists. Your work and talent is too valuable and great to be lost behind bad habits and poor character. May we set a new standard for what it means to be creatives in the freelance world, and in turn become the face of what a creative force can do.