Contract Worker - Freelancing Experiences

What’s More Important than Creativity

by Rico on January 24th, 2007

Freelancers are usually brought in to provide new solutions to old problems. Which is why companies are willing to pay a lot for prodigiously creative talent. But there’s another reason why these contract workers are in great demand: their consistency.

Clients can depend on these Freelancing Gods not only for their inspired output, but that the job will get done. There’s no point in paying for the best talent when you’re not even sure he’ll deliver. It’s like choosing where to invest your money; you’ll only spend for sure returns. Creativity doesn’t ensure this, while consistency does.

One of my dad’s friends is a composer. He’s been hailed as a world-class talent, creating music that easily beats the best my country has to offer. So why is he virtually unknown? Thanks to his many missed deadlines and poor work ethic, he became known as unreliable. Film producers and other clients became hesitant to hire him. And without projects to showcase his craft, the composer never gained the recognition his creativity was begging for.

What’s the lesson? I’ve said this so many times, but the most important thing for a freelancer is to submit projects on time and to spec. Because clients and employers would rather hire someone who will get the job done, over someone who won’t. Creativity is plays second fiddle to consistency in this respect.

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POSTED IN: Great Advice