Here on Steemit, it becomes painfully clear quickly who's here for a quick paycheck and who is here to grow alongside this platform and all of us. The difference I see is similar to that of an entrepreneur when compared to a freelancer.
Please allow me to explain.
Last year, I wrote an article for Entrepreneur Magazine about how to transition from a freelancer to an entrepreneur. As someone who has freelanced for over a decade, it's something I'm well experienced in. Before I get into why you should abandon the freelancer mindset, please allow me to quickly explain why it's important to think like an entrepreneur and not a freelancer.
Freelancer = "a person who works as a writer, designer, performer, or the like, selling work or services by the hour, day, job, etc., rather than working on a regular salary basis for one employer." (definition from dictionary.com)
Entrepreneur = "a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk." (definition from dictionary.com)
The Difference and Why It Matters
In today's digital world, we can all become freelancers in an instant. Actually, to some extent, we all start here on Steemit as freelancers. There are roughly 53 million freelancers in the United States alone, and combined, they earn $715 billion annually. That comes to $13,490.56/person, even with 40 percent of those freelancers claiming it’s their only source of income. Freelancing--"selling work or services by the hour, day, job, etc."--hasn’t created a country or world of entrepreneurs. Instead, it’s allowed very talented people create bad jobs for themselves.
An entrepreneur, on the other hand, "organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk." When working on my article for Entrepreneur, I asked Jon Godwin, CPA and founder of Godwin Start-Up School "What does it take to transition from a freelancer to an entrepreneur?"
Here's what he said:
“The secret to transitioning from freelancer to entrepreneur is in realizing that entrepreneurship involves more than technical knowledge of your craft.
A freelancer is a gun for hire, hopefully regarded as an expert in the chosen field, and a technician available to the one who needs your service. An entrepreneur, to be successful, understands that being a talented technician is only part of the puzzle.”
Approaching Steemit Like An Entrepreneur Instead of A Freelancer
A freelancer comes and goes as they please. There is no network or large following that's being developed around their work. They have clients, and they may do pretty well for themselves, but when they're not working, they aren't getting any value back from all of the work they put in.
An entrepreneur builds a following by providing value--real, consistent, long-term value.
I'm sure if you took a minute or two, you could think of Steemians who fit into both of these categories. I bet you could even think of a few whales who fit into both categories. But, if you were to name your five favorite Steem witnesses and Stemians you follow on Steemit, I'd be surprised if all five didn't approach all of their Steem/Steemit efforts like an entrepreneur instead of a freelancer.
Final Thoughts
We shouldn't think of each post, comment, or upvote as a payout. They are an investment in our future, and they are made to not only serve ourselves, but to provide value to others.
Don't look at yourself as a blogger or vlogger on Steemit who makes money for everything they post. Look at yourself as an extremely important piece of a community you care about that is ready to grow around you. The more value you pour into it, the better it becomes. If you're just trying to quickly get your paycheck and leave, not only are you not providing much value to everyone else here, you will be missing tremendously rewarding opportunities like the early whales who left Steemit when Steem was at .10 a coin because it was more about the short-term gains than long-term benefits.
I want you to fire yourself as a freelancer, and start a valuable entrepreneurial-like journey along with me here on Steemit.
Nice article. I appreciate the well thought out content.
Thank you for reading, voting, and for the comment. Let me know if you have any other thoughts, questions, or suggestions for future pieces.
Take care!
Awesome article @michaelluchies. I love the mindset behind it.
PS: I didn't know you were writing for Entrepreneur. You could add the link to the article in here :)
Thanks! I didn't want to be overly promotional. https://www.entrepreneur.com/author/michael-luchies
You should because your content breaths quality.
It might be interesting to see an article where you tell us how did you become an contributor for Entrepreneur. I would personally love to hear it.
Like my overall background or actual steps taken to become a contributor? I'm always hesitant to talk much about myself outside of sharing experiences/lessons learned etc.
Both would be great.
Don't be! People have a lot to learn from yourself!
Woah! Just saw that you write for Entrepreneur too, glad someone else pointed it out that you should share a link!
Don't be afraid of a little shameless self promotion! Here to support the community!
That's pretty cool! Doesn't look like you've written in a while, are you still a contributor?
Yes. With no payment or incentive program, it's hard to justify writing often when I'm flooded with work. It becomes an expensive investment when turning down paid work to write more for publications that don't pay.