Are you operating with a freelancer mindset or a CEO mindset in your business? Do you even know how to tell?

 

You may think it doesn’t really matter all that much, but for most professional photographers it will matter quite a lot, sooner or later. Even if you’re advertising yourself as a freelance photographer, you may find as your client base grows that keeping a freelancer mindset could hold you back from business growth. Maybe a lot.

 

Most of us start out in a freelancer mindset and eventually grow into a CEO one {I know I did!}, but what’s the difference between the two? And how do you know when it’s time to make the switch?

 

That’s exactly what we’re going to cover today! So grab a pen and paper and let’s get started.

 

What is a “freelancer mindset”?

 

I know what you’re thinking right now.

 

“Okay, Fanette,” you say. “Since when is freelancing a bad thing?”

 

Despite how it may seem in this blog post, I don’t believe that freelancing is bad. In fact, it’s one of the easiest ways to start working for yourself! Many professional photographers who own successful studios started out freelancing. Many who still identify as freelancers are turning over a high volume of clients {and making big bucks} each month.

 

But despite identifying as freelancers, most of these very successful photographers moved on from a freelancer mindset a long time ago. Here are some hallmarks of a freelancer mindset:

 

The way you think of money

 

Do you think of money as your reward for doing a good job? Does most or all of the money you’re paid go directly to you as compensation for your time and skills? This is very much a freelance way of thinking. You work, you get money.

 

The way money flows in your business

 

If you stop working, what happens? In a freelancer mindset, the money dries right up, and fast. Because you’re focusing primarily on finding clients, doing the work, and getting paid in order to support yourself, there’s not really a cushion there.

 

The type of tasks you take on

 

Here’s the most exhausting part of a freelancer mindset. The whole operation — from pitching new clients right down to taking out the trash — is on your shoulders. You are the bookkeeper, the secretary, the marketing team, the customer service hotline, the equipment specialist, the designer, and the janitor. Oh, and when you have time, you’re also the photographer.

 

There’s a certain pride in that kind of self-sufficiency, but there are three big problems:

 

1. You’re eventually going to burn out.
2. This laundry list doesn’t leave a lot of time for professional growth.
3. Because you are a professional photographer, not a professional everything else, you may not be able to do all those other jobs to the standard your business deserves.

 

The way you measure success

 

When you’re operating in a mindset where you are the only thing keeping your business moving forward and without you that business will collapse, you begin to see it in a very personal light. The success of your business is closely tied to your personal performance and identity.

 

It’s okay to take pride in your work {and you definitely should}! But when you’re thinking at every turn about personal concerns, it’s hard to focus on the actual business. It can hinder long-term progress. There needs to be a little separation there.

 

What’s different about a CEO mindset?

 

A CEO business mindset is one of big pictures and ideas, not so much about the day-to-day grind. Here are some key differences between this mindset and the one we just covered:

 

“Your” earnings belong primarily to the business

 

As a CEO, money earned in your business isn’t automatically yours. It belongs to your business and is fuel for continued and future success. While you ideally will be paying yourself from the earnings, you also engage in business spending that is growth- and future-focused.

 

You’re planning for punches instead of rolling with them

 

A CEO mindset means you have systems and processes in place so that you’re not living and breathing your business every waking second. If you get sick or have a family emergency, your business doesn’t grind to a screeching halt just because you’re not checking your email every hour on the hour. The right mindset is crucial to a sustainable business, especially during a crisis.

 

Every part of your business is the best it can be

 

Or at least, that’s the goal you’re working toward. You’re not writing your own contracts and designing your own web page, because you’re a photographer and photographers don’t typically know much about those things. You’re working with hand-picked professionals in those sectors who do great work instead of trying to figure it all out yourself.

 

As a result, not only does your web page make a lot more sense to potential clients, but YOU have time and mental energy to spend on becoming an even better photographer. Woohoo!

 

Success is measured differently

 

Success doesn’t mean turning in a job on time anymore. It’s not just about you, personally. In a CEO mindset, the success of your business is closely tied to its progress and growth as a whole. If you have a lackluster shoot day but you’re still on track to meet your goals for the quarter…success!!!

 

Doesn’t that seem like the biggest relief, that your business growth and success don’t hinge on you being at your very best every hour of the day? Because let’s face it, none of us do 100% perfect work, every single day of the year.

 

When should I shift my business mindset?

 

In the beginning, a freelancer mindset is a good thing. It allows you to ease into working for yourself full time. You also learn a lot about what it takes to run a successful operation and the challenges of all the different tasks involved.

 

As you gain more clients and responsibilities, however, a freelancer mindset becomes not only a stressor but ultimately a hindrance. You spend most of your time simply trying to stay afloat, and although you’re investing a LOT of your time and energy into making this thing work, you always seem to be short on resources to take it to the next step.

 

Here are some signs it might be time to start thinking like a CEO instead of a freelancer:

 

• You’re spending so much time on admin and client communications that you don’t feel like you’re doing the best job possible when it comes to the most important thing: your photography.
• You are becoming more and more dependant on your photography income to support yourself, but don’t know what you would do if you got sick {for example} and that income temporarily went away.
• If you didn’t do any part of the work to keep your business running, it just wouldn’t happen because it’s all on you.
• You’re living in a cycle of burnout, where you can’t do a great job because you’re stretched so thin, then you’re stressed and frustrated because you know your work could be better.

 

Here’s what you can take away from this

 

Even if you continue to call yourself a freelancer, start to think like a CEO: long-term. Look for systems and processes that lift the burden of daily admin tasks and allow you to grow your skills as a photographer. Broaden your idea of money from something that goes directly to your personal bank account to something that can make your business bloom into something stable and strong.

 

If this is a completely new concept to you, I’d suggest looking into my goal setting blog series. It will get you thinking more like a CEO and help you identify what success looks like for your business on a larger scale.

 

And of course, I hope you will reach out to me personally by commenting on this blog post, reaching out on Instagram, or sending me a quick email so we can talk photographer to photographer about your business growth. Until next time!