Freelancing rules were made to be broken, part 1: Always dress professionally
Many years ago, I was a new freelancer. As a new freelancer, I took in all the business advice and insights I could. I got loads of rules from seasoned professionals who happily shared their secrets of success. Some of those rules I followed, some I did not. The “Freelancer rules were made to be broken” series goes into some of the rules I’ve broken and why.
“Always, always, always get yourself up in the morning, shower, and put on professional clothes for your work day. That gives you the professional mindset that sets you up for success.”
I can’t tell you how many times I heard that piece of advice from long-time freelancers, coaches, and other well-meaning advice givers (many of whom hadn’t ever run their own business or worked from home). It’s shared as a rule, a commandment even, like starting sentences with a capital letter or having subjects and verbs agree with each other.
I get where that advice comes from, and I can appreciate that there are people who absolutely benefit from putting on professional clothing to sit at their computer in their home office all day.
I am not one of those people.
In fact, I tried following that rule once and it lasted for about a week before I gave up on it.
My work clothing typically consists of pyjama pants or sweatpants and a comfy sweater. Occasionally I’ll work in my housecoat. I have done so for all 17 years I’ve freelanced and will likely do so well into the future.
Why?
Honestly, being able to wear whatever I want is one of the main benefits of working from home. I don’t have to dress uncomfortably, so why should I? I don’t need to spend a lot of money on “professional” clothing to wear every day that would be seen by literally no one but me, so why would I? Plus, why add all that extra clothing to my laundry pile? Why waste the brain power on deciding what to wear day after day?
It was never clear to me what a “professional mindset” is when it comes to freelancing, especially as it relates to clothing.
Is a professional mindset the ability to sit at my computer and work for 8 hours a day? I’m more likely to do so if I’m in comfortable clothes.
Is a professional mindset the ability to write and edit effectively and efficiently? I’ve never noticed that dress pants or a blouse in any way affected my editing ability.
Is a professional mindset the ability to work without distraction? Again, distractions are less about the clothes I’m wearing and more about what’s on tv that afternoon (I don’t work with the tv on, in case you’re wondering).
I have never felt that the clothing I wore made me feel more or less competent, professional, or able to carry out my work duties, at least not since I’ve been working from home.
If you’re someone who likes getting dressed for work and finds it a good way to separate your work time from your personal time, go for it. But this “always dress in professional clothes” mantra is often shared as a rule when it’s really more of a suggestion. It works well for some, less so for others.
I’ve heard the phrase “dress for the job you want,” but that typically involves people who are going into a workplace, where those responsible for hiring, setting salaries, and offering promotions see you, day after day. They’ll notice what you’re wearing because they’re around you as you do your job, which means the clothes you wear become an important part of your career identity.
When you freelance, you don’t have that regular contact with anyone who is in control of your career, besides you.
And while the ability to get dressed for work might highlight a certain discipline, I don’t actually think it says anything about anyone’s professionalism, in much the same way I don’t think tattoos or hair colour say anything about professionalism.
If I’m being totally honest, I had a month where I earned more than $20,000 and I did so almost entirely in pyjamas and sweatpants. My goal is to do that again.
**To be clear, I do have some professional clothing and I do dress for virtual meetings—no one needs to see me in my casual clothes. For meetings, I have a couple of blouses or shirts with a nice sweater that I pop on so I don’t look like I just rolled out of bed.