Cultivating a Freelance Mindset
A Balanced Approach to Pursuing Autonomy and Creative Fulfillment
I recently stumbled on a book by Joy Batra called ‘The Freelance Mindset: Unleashing Your Side Hustles for Better Work, Play, and Life.’ What caught my attention was particularly the word mindset, a concept I’ve been exploring for the past year.
Not long ago, I have undergone a shift in my mindset regarding my goals for the next few months. As such, I have made the decision to rebrand myself, explore new opportunities, and determine my long-term pursuits.
The book title seemed appealing - yes, I judged it by its cover, - so I immediately bought the audio version and finished listening to it in two days. The book deeply resonated with me. It articulated a wide range of emotions, ideas, and perspectives I was experiencing since I ventured into the unknown world of freelancing three years ago.
I reached out to Joy and asked her if she’d be interested in discussing her book further on my Marketplace Discussions podcast and she agreed. You can find the link to the episode at the end of this article.
Batra shares her personal journey as a freelancer and draws on the experiences of 50 other freelancers to lay out the essential components of the freelance mindset.
In one of her interviews, she spoke with David Dimitri, a well-known Swiss circus performer who transitioned to the freelance lifestyle by creating his one-man circus show.
Despite having an extensive performance history worldwide and having worked with distinguished organizations such as the Metropolitan Opera and the Big Apple Circus, Dimitri decided to pursue freelancing to gain complete autonomy and creative fulfillment over his show.
With a critical eye, Batra evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of pursuing a freelancing career against the traditional route.
Additionally, she provides actionable tips to follow for those considering freelancing and emphasizes the importance of cultivating a freelance mindset to be resilient in the face of setbacks one may encounter in a traditional career.
For example, even if a 9-5 job is something that you enjoy doing, it is important to cultivate a freelance mindset in order to safeguard the risk of potentially losing your job at any point in time, which is a distinct possibility.
Full-time jobs might indeed be a secure source of salary and health insurance, but you might find yourself jobless at any point in time, and without prior notice, for many reasons that are external to you.
That is precisely why it is crucial to pursue ongoing personal and professional growth through the acquisition of new skills, as well as, if feasible, to establish multiple sources of income that would serve as a buffer in the event of job loss.
One illustration that comes to mind, which is not featured in the book, is Hassan Osman’s experience. Despite enjoying his day job, Hassan wasn’t willing to leave his career to chance. So he managed to build up several hustles on the side that became his hallmark branding: writer, author, course developer, and podcaster ON THE SIDE.
Going back to the book, what I loved the most about it, in addition to all the provided examples, anecdotes, and tips, was the balanced approach that Batra adopted.
It’s as though the book follows Aristotle’s virtue ethics approach, which advocates for the pursuit of the middle-ground, or mean, between two extremes, namely excess on one side, and deficiency on the other.
The Freelance Mindset is not your typical how-to guide. It prompts us to engage in introspection to discern our career goals, how we define success and the kind of lifestyle that we aspire to attain.
When faced with a decision at a crossroads, it's crucial to consider three key factors that may influence our choices: our internal self, our immediate circle, and the external world.
How do we define success? Are we interested in climbing up the corporate ladder? Or are we trying to create a lifestyle that isn’t necessarily tethered to our career identity?
Asking the right and important questions is essential for us to anchor ourselves in reality, and act accordingly. But irrespective of the decision we might end up taking for ourselves, there’s always some risk that is associated with it.
Taking a risk isn’t always easy, especially when the path you're on is comfortable and well-trodden. But sometimes, taking risks can lead to great things, things that you never even knew existed.
For Joy Batra, taking a risk meant leaving behind her safe and traditional career path, leaving behind the security of a potentially steady paycheck, and venturing out into the unknown. But it also meant following her passion, pursuing her creative side, and finding a mix of analytical and creative work that made her excited to wake up every day.
Her journey began in investment banking in New York, then continued through law school and business school at Harvard University, where she realized that starting a traditional corporate life would mean letting go of her creative side, namely acting and dancing.
In search of a way to combine her analytical and creative sides, Joy took a leap of faith and went to India, where she took an acting class and ended up accepting an acting contract with a production house. This decision was a life-changing one that opened the doors to a new world of possibilities for her.
If you find yourself torn between two paths, take a moment to consider the concrete and irrational fears, and find a mix of work that makes you excited to wake up every day. Who knows where it may lead you? Will you take the risk?
After all, many emphasize the importance of diversifying our investment portfolio. Yet, they end up putting their career income stream in one basket. Experience taught me that having multiple income streams is as important.
If you are looking to transition into a freelance career, or simply want to improve your existing freelance business, "The Freelance Mindset" by Joy Batra can offer valuable insights and strategies. Whether you are seeking financial independence, creative fulfillment, flexibility, or the ability to take control of your professional life, this book can be an excellent resource.
Audio
You can find me on Twitter @decafquest.
Personal website.