Being a multi-passionate entrepreneur: technical and soft skills

Careers such as medicine, law, or engineering require you to follow a set path to become a licenced professional. For those of us who want more flexibility in our working life, learning to write, code, illustrate, market or translate can be the ticket to a life full of opportunities and being your own boss. The freedom to follow your passions and choose your projects is a benefit you need to be taking advantage of! And it's easier than you might think.

Regardless of your industry, you'll need two sets of skills to be a successful freelancer: technical skills and soft skills. Let's break those down.

Technical skills are more comprehensive – they are simply the skills you'll need to do the job!

To start freelancing, you need an in-demand skill which people will pay for, right? A photographer should be able to work with cameras and lenses, a developer must know how to program, a web designer needs to be familiar with hosting solutions, etc. This is what deters a lot of people from starting to freelance or branching out into new fields – they believe they lack the skills or experience to complete freelance projects.

Here's where the beauty lies: the skills you need can be learned! A university degree is no longer the gatekeeper to a career in your desired area. Professional courses led by industry leaders can be found online at platforms like Udemy, Skillshare, Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, for a reasonable price - some even offer an official certificate upon completion.

Knowledge needs to be complemented with experience. Don't have any? Experience comes from doing. Build a website, manage somebody's marketing, direct a short movie about nature in your local park. Volunteering is a great way to practice your craft and meet new contacts. As long as you're willing to invest some time and effort to practice, gaining technical skills is not a barrier.

The second ingredient that makes a good freelancer is soft skills.

Strong soft skills set successful freelancers apart from struggling ones. In fact, LinkedIn found that 92% of employers find soft skills important when hiring new talent.

As a freelancer, you'll need to take care of everything from finding clients and negotiating contacts, to making and following your schedule. This requires a great deal of adaptability, on top of strong communication skills, organisation and stress management. Knowing how to react to shifts in direction and technology has edged its way towards the top of the career-building skills - podcasts like Future-Proof Career will share strategies and advice, while Serious Soft Skills will highlight just how important those skills are to your career.

Need more help? Resources to improve your soft skills are abundant - anything from self-leadership and communication, to building a rapport and improving time management - it's at the tip of your fingers!

If you're stuck/looking for inspiration, The Multi-Hyphen Method collects the exciting stories of professionals - employed, running a business or freelancing - who effectively juggle several occupations, while the 4-Hour Work Week will show you there is always opportunities around you, as long as you know where to look.

Having a solid foundation of soft skills will make it easier for you to improve your knowledge and gain experiences, and expand the number of opportunities available to you. As with everything else in freelancing, you need to strike a balance. Your mix of skills and experiences makes you unique, and helps you stand out from the sea of other freelancers in your sector, so don't be afraid to experiment! And remember: technical skills are important to the client, but soft skills are important to the freelancer.