Freelance Character Types and How to Play Each Role Well

Freelancers come in different personalities. This is because each one is a unique person and has a unique personality. When it comes to doing your job as a freelance designer, you can carry these traits and can affect on how well your career will run. But no matter what kind of character you have, it can always be used well if you know how to play your role well. Look at yourself as a star in a movie or in a play, in order to effectively relay your role to the audience, you have to love the part and handle it well. If not, your role playing will fail. That is also the case in freelancing, you have to master your roles and look into how you can effectively use it.

Wondering what these freelance characters are? We have listed here ten freelance characters. We have pinpointed the upside which we named the Hero Side and the downside which we called the Villain Side. There are always two sides of a person since no one is created perfectly. But these two sides can work well together if you can play your role well. Look into this and in the end, choose which freelance character you are.

1. Einstien.

When we speak of geniuses, Albert Einstein would be the first person that would come to mind. He is known for being brilliant especially in the field of theoretical physics. But it is not about Einstein’s brilliance that we will be talking about here. It’s about your brilliance. As a freelancer designer, one can be like him – intelligent and equipped with skills that makes work a lot easier. The Einstein Freelancer can excellently work by himself and is still more productive than those who work together. This is because you have good project management skills aside from your technical skills. You also know how to properly manage time while making sure that you works are of high quality. Einstiens are not only smart and good workers but they are also good in logic and problem solving. This makes it easy for you to deal with any situation. You can also stand for your work no matter what criticisms are being thrown to you. In the end, your idea would still prevail. Einstien Freelancers are bound to succeed.

Hero Side: Being this type of freelancer will surely make you stand out from the rest of the freelancers. Since you can work well alone and you will have good outputs, clients will be hunting for you since they want you to do jobs for them. So, that saves you from running after clients and applying for jobs. Clients will knock on your door and will even be willing to wait if you still have other projects in line. The advantage of being an Einstein Freelancer is that you will have projects all the time which is of course good especially if we speak of fattening your bank account.

Villain Side: An Einstein Freelancer is a brainy-know-it-all. This means that he seems to know everything. But, no matter how smart he is, he really does not know everything because no one has that kind of knowledge. The downside is that he might no longer listen to what you will say since he thinks that what he knows is right even if it isn’t. He could also be insistent if it comes to his own ideas. He will also find it hard to accept failures since he got used to success. Some people might also misunderstand you especially that you look at things differently- that is more intelligently than most people do.

How to Play the Role Well: So, if you are an Einstein Freelancer, you have to make good use of your intelligence and skills. You can do this by maintaining a humble attitude while working. Recognize the ideas of other people and accept your mistakes. Listen to what your clients will say and see to it that you work based on what they need and not on what you want. A big brain is useless if your attitude is no good at all. Also, do not be affected with criticisms, instead of feeling down, you need to stand firm. But if you have seen that you actually wrong, learn to accept it.

2. Santa Claus.

Everyone knows who Santa Claus is. He is that big fat man with white beard and white hair. He wears red and brings with him gifts for everyone who had been nice all year round. He is known for being generous by giving gifts to children and for making them happy every Christmas Time. The Santa Freelancer is a kind and generous person. He really makes the client happy for his constant give-aways and freebies. There are really freelancers who spoil their clients by doing this. Some also give discounts to clients. Of course, clients will be so pleased about it. Well, with good design skills plus generosity, clients will return. There will also be a great chance that other clients will also flock to you upon knowing this. People love freebies and discounts so much!

Hero Side: The good side of being a Santa Freelancer is having good impression and relationship with clients. You will please them and make them feel happy with every generous action you show. You will also get the benefits of having a good reputation if we speak of discounts. But you also have to make sure that you give good outputs along with that. And you should see to it that your earnings are still intact. A good strategy is to give the best price and then give a discount while making sure that there are no deductions to your earnings. You call that smart generosity.

Villain Side: If you keep on doing this and you are known to be like this, all clients will expect to get freebies and discounts all the time. If you won’t give them, they will feel bad. It’s like you will be obliged to be giving away freebies and discounts all the time. Also, being too generous is sometimes abused by others.

How to Play the Role Well:Being generous is not bad but you have to see to it that you have good basis for your generosity. If you are working on a big project, you can give something for free as a way of saying thank you that they gave you to opportunity to work on a big project. But if the project is too small, you can skip giving them discounts. You have to see to it that you are reasonable with the freebies you add and the discounts you give. This is a manner of protecting yourself as a designer.

3. Superman.

The man of steel is not only smart but is also strong. He can remove big blocks of rocks away from your path and can even carry your house if your town is all flooded. He saves anyone who are in trouble and anyone who badly needs help. A Super Freelancer is that person who is like Superman. He can do anything and would always extend his effort to help what his clients need even if it is no longer his scope. There are really freelancers who are just so kind that they are willing to do more beyond what they are tasked to do. For instance, you were given a project to design a logo and then the client will need someone to do printing for t-shirts and other stuff. A Super Freelancer will either do that job himself or look for someone to do that for his client. If you are like this, it could either be you are just willing to help or you want to earn more. With the right capabilities and with enough time, nothing is wrong but if you lack both, then you are on the down side.

Hero Side: Being able to do a lot of things is a gift and talent. What more if you are able to develop some skills to make your work even better. This can help you to be productive with good results. You will also please clients for being their hero when it comes to problems that they encounter even if you are no longer connected to it. Combining a sharp mind, excellent skills and good client relationship will help you achieve success.

Villain Side: But the bad side is you might lack time to work on all the tasks that you have accepted. Let us say that you really have good skills but you must also bear in mind that you cannot take hold of time. Also, you need to make sure that all those projects you accepted will be done on or before the due date. Another thing, if you always do other stuff in helping clients even if it is no longer your scope, you will be spending your time without pay which might compromise your other more important tasks.

How to Play the Role Well: You can be a hero or a Super Freelancer in different ways. But it doesn’t mean that you have to do a lot of stuff for a client. Nothing is wrong with extending help but if it already eats up most of your time, then that is already a different story. Make sure that as you play a hero for everyone else, you are also considering your own good. If not, you will still look a loser no matter how much you have done for others.

4. Fairy.

Fairies are indeed beautiful and are loved by many especially by kids. Well, we are talking of the good fairies here. Aside from that beauty, they are capable of flying and making great wonders through their special powers. Fairy Freelancers have good reputations online which makes them look beautiful and pleasing for everyone. Because of that, they are known online with good branding and good social media standing.

Hero Side: Like a fairy flying from one area to another, a Fairy Freelancer has also touched many people and has established a good online network. This is of course a great advantage since a bigger network gives more chances of having more clients. You will also get to know more friends who can even help you whenever you have online needs and problems. With good online presence, you will be able to have many clients online. You are also very good when it comes to online marketing.

Villain Side: Since you are occupied with your social media stuff, you might lack time to do other more vital stuff. For sure, you are very active on your social media status and events. Although this is important, but it can also consume a big percentage of your time especially if you have so many accounts. You have to bear in mind that aside from online marketing and networking, having a good design is much more important. You need to give time in developing your skills, practice designing and most of all, working on projects. Using social media very often becomes a form of distraction when you are unable to discipline yourself.

How to Play the Role Well: Allocate time for social media. You can do that early in the morning when you wake up and before you work on your tasks. Create a good daily schedule of your to –do-list so you will be disciplined to work on all the tasks and do away with opening your social media accounts. Also, if possible, unplug your computer from the internet if you can work offline. If not, close all social media sites and open only those that you need. Make sure that you will finish all your tasks first before you log in again. If you are not a social fairy, then you can check on Tips to Help Designers Improve Their Social Network Standing.

5. Politicians.

People who govern our local cities and towns are those who have the heart to serve the people. They are the pillars of the government who ensures peace, security and all the other good things for the people. They have good public relations and are also good in socializing. But there are some politicians (we are not generalizing) who are only nice during campaigns and elections. These are politicians who keep on uttering so many good things during campaigns but upon winning, would forget about those promises. A Politician Freelancer has good PR skills and could get jobs easily with small talk. He is good in getting clients and would offer so many good things to the client. Unfortunately, he is unable to do everything he said.

Hero Side: Of course, having good PR skills is the good side apart from being smart and articulate. This good side can perfectly aid you in getting clients and projects. You are also well known both for online and offline designer groups because you can easily befriend people. You also know the real meaning of win-win situations and give-and-take-relationship. With that, you extend help to other freelancers which could mean that they can also help you back when you need them.

Villain Side: As what we have mentioned, Politician freelancers are fond of giving great offers to clients which oftentimes end up false. They would do this in purpose just to get a project but when the project is there, he would tend to forget about his promises and would give so many excuses for not being able to do it. This is not good for your reputation as a freelancer.

How to Play the Role Well: Not all freelancers are people persons. Having this quality is an advantage on your part for it is easier for you to get projects and talk to clients. Make use of that well but do not commit on something if you know you will not be able to do it. Assess yourself if you can work on a task or not. Check if you can provide what you will be offering a client. If you could, then go with the offer and be sure to give it. If not, then do not say it at all.

6. Pirate.

Pirates are gold getters. They sail in their huge ships to look for treasures in different places. They aim to get rich and that is the only thing that matters to them. They even steal what other people possess and make it their own. Their happiness and contentment depends on money, gold and treasure. A Pirate Freelancer aims to get rich and nothing else. He only eyes for the money. Every task entails a price no matter how small it is. His favourite line is “if the price is right” or “you have to pay me additional fees”. Some freelancers are really like this. What is included in other freelance designer’s package is an extra fee for him.

Hero Side: Well, you get a fat bank account if you are like this. You will be able to have enough savings and enough money to spend for your needs. If you speak of financial management, you are good at it for you make sure that you will spend your money wisely. For you, everything is hard earned money.

Villain Side: Clients will get upset if you speak of money all the time. They will feel that you do not look into the value of the project but you only consider the value of your earnings. There is also a great chance to become a workaholic since you are always aiming for a high pay which means you need to work doubly hard. You might even focus only at what you will earn and not on the quality of work.

How to Play the Role Well: Being a goal oriented person is good. Looking at your earnings as a reward for your job is also a good thing for it can help you work better. But you have to make sure that you are charging rightly. To avoid upset clients, let them know your charges on the first meeting and if you agree on that, have a contract signed. Let them know also of your conditions for additional charges so that there will be no misunderstanding. You can also read Dealing with Client Complaints without Hurting your Design Job

7. Count Dracula.

He is a vampire who starred the novel Dracula back in 1897. Yeah, he is well known before Bella and the Cullens took over the top rank of famous vampires. For now, let us forget about the romantic sides of the Twilight series and look at the vampire the way we used to look at them. Vampires are immortals who posses supernatural powers like how Dracula turned himself into a dog. They were once humans but were turned into creatures that grow fangs and suck bloods. They feed on humans although some of them were said to suck only animal blood (the vampire version of vegetarians). Well, a Dracula Freelancer wants to get all the good things. He makes sure that no matter what happens, he will still be on the safe and good side. When problem arises for a project, he sees to it that everything is settled on his part like payments and won’t mind if the client has problems with the output. He is also good in seemingly making it appear that he is the hero in everything when in fact he have not done anything (maybe this is how he make use of his super powers). A Dracula Freelancer can also be draining for those around him due to his thought that the people around him are created for his convenience.

Hero Side: A Dracula Freelancer is an excellent worker. He comes up with good outputs and can finish them on time. This is because of his skills and intelligence which can bring him a long way when we speak of work performance.

Villain Side: But attitude would bring him down because he always wants to get the best for himself and would not consider others. A Dracula Freelancer could fit the definition of Emotional Vampire from a book by Albert J. Bernstein who is fond of draining people dry due to their attitudes.

How to Play the Role Well: Since you are already good when we speak of design skills, then you only need to work on your attitude. It’s simple. Start by being considerate to others and stop being greedy by thinking of your own sake all the time. Bear in mind that life is a fair share. You need to give what others deserve to have. Do not be so self-centered.

8. Clown.

We all know that clowns are people who make others happy. They can do anything just to make you laugh. They will even wear those fancy colorful costumes with a big nose a multi-colored hair. Kids love clowns especially if the clown does some acts that are fun and interesting. But what kids are unaware of is that these clowns are not really clowns in real life. They are regular people who also have worries and problems. Kids think that clowns are the happiest people on Earth. A Clown Freelancer is someone who is happy and jolly. He works well especially that he has unique skills which are good for his branding. When a client ask him to do something, he would say yes to it even if he can no longer do it or have the little time to do it. He always makes sure that he pleases all his clients even if it means he would sacrifice like extending his work hours and others. A Clown Freelancer aims to see a happy customer. Seeing them happy and contented is like a bonus fee for him.

Hero Side: Clients are always satisfied with you work and will be happy with the results. This will give you more clients in the future and possible returning clients, too. Other freelancers and friends will also be happy to be around you since you give off a positive energy due to your lively personality. It’s like life is stress-free no matter how stressing it really is. A Clown Freelancer is good in hiding worries and is always glorious in getting over them due to his positive mindset.

Villain Side: The sad thing about his type of freelancer is that you won’t be able to express yourself honestly. You would live in pretentions that life and work is okay even if it isn’t. You will find it hard to tell clients that something is wrong and you will also be afraid to say no to them. This will cause workloads for you and might even compromise your skills and time. Some clients will abuse your kindness which is not good for you and your business.

How to Play the Role Well: It is important that you will think of yourself, too. Observe balance when it comes to work and do not aim to please everyone because the truth is, you really can’t please everyone! It is not your role to please them and make them feel happy all the time by granting their demands. Clients will appreciate it more if you are honest with your thoughts and emotions. After all, you are a human being like them.

9. Glorious King.

Kings who are glorious are those who have good rulings in their kingdom and are loved by his constituents. He is smart, have good decision making skills, deals with challenges well, had good public relations and a good leader. He has a strong personality, lives with integrity, decisive, provides order, protects his people, and influential. He also sees to it that he leaves a legacy before his reigning ends. Well, of course, if you are a Glorious King Freelancer, it means that you are good on those aspects that we have mentioned. This makes you productive and excellent in your work as a designer. You also have good relationships with your clients and you can deal with problems well even with clients who seem to give you trouble. Like kings, you create inspirations and inspire others through your creations which are then left to your clients as your legacy. You also make sure that they are happy with the results and that you have satisfied their needs.

Hero Side: With your good ability to lead, you are equipped with the capability to handle situations well. You can even twist situations to make it better when they look wobbly. You can always see the positive side of things with the ability to turn weaknesses into strengths. You will have a good design process since you are organized and you are excellent in project management. Your freelance design career will have a smooth flow because of this.

Villain Side: But no matter how glorious a king is, there will always be a downside. Due to being decisive and influential, kings are bound to believe only on their ideas and decisions. You will think that everything you do is right and you might find it difficult to listen to what others will say. You might also be insistent of what you want especially if it comes to your own freelance principles and processes. You will find it hard to bend down for your clients.

How to Play the Role Well: Equipped with exceptional skills, intelligence and other skills, you will surely be able to succeed in your field but it is important to stay humble all the time. Having knowledge that is apart from what others have is a gift and is something that you should use well. So, instead of being arrogant about it, listen to what others will say, respect other’s ideas, acknowledge suggestions and accept mistakes. Doing this will make you even better not just in the field of design and freelancing but also as a person. The people around you will love you even more. So, create a freelance kingdom that is fair, just, free, positive and happy. That is the best legacy you can give.

10. Magician.

Magicians are known to have magical powers. They turn things into other stuff like a rabbit into a handkerchief or cards into a dove. They have fast hands and fast minds for they are able to trick the eyes of the viewers. Most magicians do optical illusion and techniques in order to fool the viewer’s eyes. They are also experimental and have a strong will to do something no matter how risky it is. With that strong will and determination coupled with positive thinking, they are able to succeed in what they do. A big applause from the audience is like being paid for all the efforts he has done. He is pleased to see the audience widen their eyes in amazement. Some magicians are not only good in making things disappear but they can even transfer themselves from one place to another called teleportation or they can even vanish in thin air. Magician Freelancers are strong willed and experimental. If you are like this, you are fond of creating your own techniques and styles in your design. You could even be good in hiding errors in your work by adding a little magic on how you do it. You can even let yourself disappear especially if you do not like the job anymore. Magician Freelancers are sometimes AWOL from their projects and would not be giving updates to clients regarding the progress of a project.

Hero Side: You are good when it comes to design tricks and you can create an identity to your designs because of it. When you opt to disappear into thin air and leave a project which is already stressing on your part, you have free yourself from stress from that particular project.

Villain Side: The truth is your life is stressful since you will be hiding from clients every time you disappear from a project. Your cellular phone is always off or you always change your number and you don’t even check emails for you are certain that irate clients will be contacting you there. Clients who have worked with you will no longer return.

How to Play the Role Well: You should be able to deal with projects and clients whatever they may be. Instead of running away and not finishing projects, face them. Talk to the clients about what went wrong with the project. If you think you can no longer handle it, then let the client know. It is better to tell them that than just suddenly vanishing. Read on How to Tell Your Clients Their Mistakes.You will have a peace mind if you will do it that way. Use your skills well and do not waste them.

Now, these are the different freelance design characters. They may look and sound fun at first but when you looked into the two sides of it, you will realize that there are really upsides and downsides of every character. The important thing is that you know how to play your role well whatever is your character. Some can play multiple roles and be like two or three of the aforementioned types. That is still okay as long you know how to perfectly handle every part and apply them responsibly and smartly. Being able to handle a role well can help you Achieve a Stable Freelancer Credibility.

Which Freelance Character are You?

After reading each character, have you pinpointed some similar characteristics you have? Which one seems to fit your personality? So, are you a Glorious King? Or a Dracula? Or maybe a Magician? Or are you a combination of the three? Let us know which character you are and tell us how you handle that role in order to succeed in your freelance career. You can also Meet the 10 Types of Clients and How a Freelancer Can Handle Them.