As a freelancer, incorporating collaborative project management into your business allows you to meet other digital nomads and entrepreneurs while focusing on the aspects of your work that you love.
In the words of Pele (who decidedly knows a thing or two about winning – at least when it comes to soccer), “no individual can win a game by himself,” and the same can be said about business!
The more you can learn from others in your field, the greater the opportunity is to discover beneficial systems and skills for your freelance company.
Whether you’re already a pro at collaborating (regardless if it’s via remote collaboration or in-person opportunities) or if you’re just starting out as a freelancer, it’s important to remain inspired and excited about the work you’ll be doing.
But, I know this can be a challenge when you’re knee-deep in your work on a daily basis.
To help you remain encouraged, I’ve outlined 10 of my favorite quotes related to collaboration, entrepreneurship and creating a business that you love.
Yvon Chouinard, Founder of Patagonia
“If you want to understand the entrepreneur, study the juvenile delinquent.
The delinquent is saying with his actions, “This sucks. I’m going to do my own thing.”
― Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman
Takeaway: Be sure to consistently remind yourself why you started your freelance gig.
It might be that you didn’t want to settle for the typical 9-5, cubicle-filled work environment. Or maybe you prefer remote collaboration with other marketers while working solo from the comfort of your own home. Perhaps it was to gain the freedom to travel more on your own terms (not just within the 2 weeks of vacation time a “regular” job offers annually).
Whatever it is that drives you to break free from the mainstream workforce, go back to that incentive for weekly motivation.
Donna Carpenter, CEO of Burton Snowboards
“Be a lifelong, agile learner. Most successful people are not uniquely talented;
Instead, they progress by being open to new ways of thinking and to continuously learning new skills.”
Takeaway: Never stop learning your craft.
Collaborative project management tools allow you to work seamlessly with others online through video conferencing apps, online messaging systems and so many others. This is a great way to learn new skills and see a project or task in a new light.
Bill Gates, Founder of Microsoft
“It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.”
Takeaway: Start to look at the failures you’ve experienced in your business as a positive rather than a negative.
I love the term “failing forward” because it reminds me that, with every failure comes the opportunity to learn from my mistakes and do something better the next time around. The only true failure in business is no longer trying.
Amy Poehler, Actress
“As you navigate through the rest of your life, be open to collaboration.
Other people and other people’s ideas are often better than your own.
Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you,
spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.”
Takeaway: Collaborative project management tips like this one are my favorite. Finding a tribe to call your own – whether that’s through remote collaboration online, or in your hometown at a local meet up – is key to bringing fresh ideas to your freelance work.
Jack Welch, Former CEO of General Electric
“Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision,
passionately own the vision,
and relentlessly drive it to completion.”
Takeaway: This collaborative project management tip hits the nail on the head. As a freelancer, you are the visionary, the head of HR, the receptionist and the head of sales. Don’t let the responsibility of being both the “planner” and the “doer” become overwhelming.
Instead, take pride in owning each role within your business and completing it to its fullest extent.
Steve Jobs, Co-founder of Apple and Found of NeXT
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and
the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.
And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.
If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.
As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”
Takeaway: This is a fabulous reminder to just keep going when times get tough. Freelancing isn’t always easy, but it’s incredibly rewarding and absolutely worth the challenges that occasionally arise.
Plus, great collaborative project management tools can help you connect with other entrepreneurs, which makes the journey a bit less lonely.
Rand Fishkin, Co-Founder of MOZ
“Nothing worth having comes easy. Relationships (of all kinds) take work.
Customers take work.
Building a team takes work.
If it’s easy, it’s often not worth having and almost never a competitive advantage.”
Takeaway: Being a business owner is an incredible feat, as is building relationships with your clients, co-workers and collaborators.
Reassure yourself that even the most seasoned business owners and marketers can sometimes find this balancing act to be challenging. Arm yourself with collaborative project management elements to make your processes easier, like Google Docs that allow you and your co-collaborators to work simultaneously or Gantt Charts that let you easily track your project progress.
Chris Guillebeau, Digital Nomad and Author
“A good plan allows for plenty of spontaneity and room for change – but without a plan at all,
it’s difficult to work toward something significant over time.”
―The Happiness of Pursuit: Finding the Quest That Will Bring Purpose to Your Life
Takeaway: The key to successful entrepreneurship is properly planning, and then consistently executing.
Set your business up for success by creating a weekly, monthly and quarterly schedule to follow. It’s hard to know where your business is going without giving it a proper roadmap.
Gary Vaynerchuk, Founder of VaynerMedia
“Live your passion. What does that mean, anyway?
It means that when you get up for work every morning, every single morning,
you are pumped because you get to talk about or work with or do the thing that
interests you the most in the world.
You don’t live for vacations because you don’t need a break from what you’re doing—
working, playing, and relaxing are one and the same.
You don’t even pay attention to how many hours you’re working because to you, it’s not really work.
You’re making money, but you’d do whatever it is you’re doing for free.”
Takeaway: Create a business that you love and work will no longer be something you dread.
This is exactly what the freedom economy is all about. Looking to make your business a little more seamless? Begin to implement tools in your company to become more efficient (think project organization systems, schedulers, etc).
Rolf Potts, Author
“Thus, the question of how and when to start vagabonding is not really a question at all.
Vagabonding starts now.
Even if the practical reality of travel is still months or years away,
vagabonding begins the moment you stop making excuses, start saving money,
and begin to look at maps with the narcotic tingle of possibility.
From here, the reality of vagabonding comes into sharper focus as you adjust your worldview
and begin to embrace the exhilarating uncertainty that true travel promises.”
― Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel
Takeaway: Start before you’re ready! If you wait to begin freelancing when the timing is perfect, you’ll never begin. There is no better time than now to take charge and simply begin.
Find Inspiration for your Freelance Business with Collaborative Project Management Insights from Industry Leaders
Finding various sources of inspiration for your business can help you feel more motivated to succeed, less alone and encourage you to stay the course in your freelance gig.
Whether you’re a solopreneur handling your clients by yourself, or you’re an expert at remote collaboration with other online freelancers, remind yourself that owning your business is a huge accomplishment and should be celebrated.
But being a great business owner, team member and leader is only one piece of the puzzle when it comes to entrepreneurship. Having the right tools is the other; learn more about our collaborative project management tools today.
Whether you’re looking to start the next Fortune 500 team or remain a team of one, we have comprehensive business solutions for both teams and independents.
Looking for even more inspiration in your business? Explore insights from the best of the best (like Tony Hsieh, Lewis Howes and Marie Forleo) when it comes to entrepreneurship, being a digital nomad and finding inspiration each day.