Being a successful freelancer is not as easy as it may seem in the beginning. A key to being successful is a person’s motivation. Still everyone seems to be experiencing times when the job motivation is low – IT freelancers like everyone else. The complex and quickly changing IT industry is a special environment for freelancers and their clients. Especially clients have to keep in mind that money is not the most important motivating factor. But what are motivating factors for IT freelancers?

Money alone is not a factor to motivate IT freelancers permanently. It’s more about the significance of work and what the success of a project means to the freelancer and his/her colleagues. Appreciation for their competences has a much more powering effect than simply being payed for doing something irrelevant. As a matter of fact earning money is essential. Being able to e.g. go on holiday or take some time for the family, means freedom and independency. But nevertheless it’s then more a status symbol as a basic or survival need.

Things that have a motivating effect on IT freelancers:

• Being in charge of your career yourself can be powering in contrast to being under the control of e.g. claims of your project manager.
• Having the possibility to choose the working place is important for most freelancers e.g. to choose between the agency or home-office.
• Choosing the job definitions on their own e.g. how to go on a new project is another crucial factor.

These factors are in accordance with the highest level of the Maslow-needs-pyramid (Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a psychological theory, proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation.) These ideas of contentment relate to the self-fulfillment needs of Maslow’s pyramid. To be in demand as a specialist, means a high level of self-content as well as getting regular appreciation or having a powerful state.

source: wikipedia

Furthermore most IT freelancers don’t like power struggles. They want to reach their goals as well as further projects without battles between colleagues. To be able to solve difficult tasks and to be proud of recent succeses is more important than climbing the job ladder in a business quickly. Safety is not always guaranteed if one works as a freelancer. Needs like having periodical eating times or sleep on a regular basis are not in accordance with a freelance job very often. A feeling of safety outlasts only for the time of a project or assignment.

If someone wants to provide a motivating environment for IT freelancers, they should be able to listen as well as stay in a dialogue with the freelancer. Especially since the things that motivate oneself are mostly not equivalent to your counterparts motivation. Good working conditions – in particular those that are nonmonetary – lead to a high motivation and better success with the task or project.

What are motivating factors in your working environment? And which of those are crucial to your success?