As an Investor, I closely follow Warren Buffett. So here are 9 lessons I learned being a freelancer and blogger from the veteran
The life of Warren Buffett is a university. Not only traders and investors, but bloggers and freelancers can learn so much from him. I follow Warren Buffett very closely for investments, but there are blogging and freelancing lessons I learn from his life as well.
For those who aren’t into investing in the stock market and don’t know about Warren Buffett. Here is a brief introduction.
Who is Warren Buffett?
Warren Buffet is the most successful investor of all time. An American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist.
His company, Berkshire Hathaway, has a market cap of over $400 billion, which makes Warren Buffett one of the wealthiest people in the world. He has donated over $330 million in charity.
When he was six years old, he used to sell coca-cola bottles and chewing gum taken from his grandfather’s grocery store. When he was 11, he made his first investment in stocks.
In 1942, he worked as a paperboy and excelled in that business too. He made a lot of money in that business. Then, at 14, he started a pinball machine business. He and his friend bought a machine and put it in the barbershop and earned profits.
When he turned 17, he was not interested in further studies, but his father insisted, so he did. He achieved his degree in business administration at 19.
After then, he took the paper business seriously and became a circulation manager of Lincoln’s post.
One thing that Buffett loved throughout his life until today is reading books. He reads more than 1000 pages a day and spent his 80% time in reading books. Moreover, he believes that reading books is a crucial factor in his success today.
Opened many business ventures, and one of the successful companies he formed is Berkshire Hathaway. The company became so successful that the former president Obama gave a Presidential Medal of Freedom to Warren Buffett. He set an example of not only being the richest man in the world but also being the most respected businessmen.
Warren Buffett believes that money holds less value. Instead, helping others is the biggest game that he wants to play, and he has done it in the right way.
Freelancing Lessons I Learned From Warren Buffett
As a freelancer, I have learned many things from him, which I want to share with you. He is not only an investor but also a fantastic motivator and a story-teller.
1. Enjoy What You Do
Warren Buffett believes that life is short, so every human being on this earth should spend the energy and time on the things that they love doing.
So, if you don’t enjoy your work, you won’t be successful. Enjoying work means enjoying the process of work.
As an example, I work for clients as a developer not because I need to, but because I enjoy being a programmer.
Internet success stories are possible for the sole reason that they love what they are doing.
2. Have Patience
Don’t obsess over instant success. The more you become consistent in work, you can learn more lessons and achieve success. Being patient is the most crucial aspect of being successful.
I remember a quote from Bill Gates: Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.
Why Warren Buffett is successful today has one reason – patience. He gave ample time for his investments to flourish and create a wealth of over $400 billion.
Being a freelancer, sometimes it becomes tough getting new projects online, but that’s where your consistent performance spending the time between projects efficiently helps.
3. Provide Value In What You Do
Whatever services you provide as a blogger or freelancer, it should add value.
The client pays the hourly price in hiring you as a freelancer. So the price is a liability to the client. If you happen to provide value to them, you become an asset.
Do the work that adds value to clients. It will help build a strong personal brand to keep the clients and projects coming.
4. Protect Your Reputation at all Cost
This quote is significant for a freelancer. It should be something that a freelancer should live by. I see new freelancers are ready to loose on the reputation to make a little extra.
Being a freelance developer for more than a decade, and I am yet to miss a single deadline. I don’t have single negative feedback on my Upwork profile, however, because I believe that there should be no complaints attached to my work.
At times, I miss trying to understand what clients want initially. However, I try to resolve the client’s need, even if it means I lose money.
5. Be in a Good Company
You are an average of 5 people around you. We tend to do and think about what people around us believe. So, be very wise with what type of company you have because your growth depends on it.
Have people who have a growth mindset and are ready to think big. My move from Surat to Kolkata was a step towards it as well.
6. Don’t Say Yes To Everything
Warren Buffett is known for his well-informed decisions. He believes that whatever you do, study it thoroughly and then make decisions based on realistic logic.
Gather all information, look for it wisely, and then say yes. You cannot say yes to everything because you have to make a choice.
So, be sure of what you get into and be smart enough of your choices and learn to say NO.
7. Admit and Learn from Mistakes
Warren Buffett also makes mistakes just like we do. But you need to learn from the mistakes and never repeat them. Being an investor, he also made some dumb decisions.
Because he believes that ”Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.”
Know when to get away from loss and learn from experiences.
8. Use Analysis Instead Of Your Instincts
Very helpful in decision-making. Instinct is your gut feeling, which sometimes can mislead you. But analysis is always logical and on point.
Warren Buffett has said this in terms of investing. But it is applicable in every way.
Your choice is your future. So, if you won’t make your future bright, develop a habit of analysis the things instead of just going on your gut feeling.
9. Accept the New
Warren Buffett has openly admitted his missed investment opportunity in Google because of his lack of knowledge to understand the technology business. ,
Today two of his most significant investments are in IBM and Apple.
He learned the process of analyzing the new sector, embraced it, and started investing in it.
Final Words
I like to take inspiration to blog or freelance from various sources like Sachin Tendulkar, Bollywood Actors like Akshay Kumar and Aamir Khan, Amazon, Jack Ma or be it now Warren Buffett.
