What Type of Persons Will Become a Successful Freelancer?

What type of persons will become a successful freelancer?

I am not trying to claim that I'm an expert here; after all, I have hardly been working as a freelancer for a wet day yet. This is a subject that does interest me though, and it is something I researched a lot prior to going full-time. Here is what I've found about the characteristics of those who become a successful freelancer;

- You have to be optimistic. Nobody in their right mind would become a freelancer if they didn't think there was a good chance of it being a successful move. A pessimist wouldn't even consider such foolhardiness and likely find it difficult enough to just believe that they are going to hold onto their current job until the end of the week.

- You have to be risk taker. There is no doubt that anyone becoming a freelancer is a risk taker. The people who become a successful freelancer realise that to get anything good in life you have to take risks.

- You are really hard working. Becoming a freelancer does not mean that you can work stay in bed all day and work in your pajamas. There is no sick pay and not boss to send you home if you look under the weather. If you don't work then you don't get paid. In the beginning a freelancer will need to work a lot more than you would in a normal job. At the moment I work at least fourteen hours a day, seven days a week.

- You have to be determined. If you want to become a successful freelancer there are going to be many obstacles along the way. Some days can be really hard and would be enough to make most people lose hope. No matter how bad things get and how hopeless it seems you need to keep pushing forward.

- You need to have a lot of faith in yourself. In the beginning and probably throughout a freelancer's career there will be a lot of negative feedback. Not everyone will have as much faith in your ability to become a freelancer as you do.

- You need to be self-motivating. There is no boss to tell you what to do or to give you a pep talk. Your future is in your own hands, and if you don't put the work in you will fail.

- You need to be a bit fanatical about freelancing. If you don't have enough passion then you are unlikely to put enough work into it, and you will give up before reaching the goal.

There are just some of the characteristics that seem to help people become a successful freelancer. I am sure there is more to it, and I would be interested in hearing what other people think.