Exactly how did the tortoise beat the hare? It certainly wasn’t by being the fastest. The tortoise beat the hare by not making the mistakes the hare made. The important lesson here is that the tortoise didn’t win, the hare lost. So the tortoise won by NOT losing. We’ve built our success as freelances the same way.
We like to believe we’re good at what we do and how we do it. And we’re smart enough to know there are plenty of other great freelance medical writers out there. But we work hard at not losing. What exactly does that mean? It means that we’re careful and committed to doing everything right–from the services we provide to the way we provide them, and the way we conduct our business.
Not losing means having a clear vision about the type of medical communication services you want to provide, knowing what you bring to the table from your past experiences, and translating that into the kinds of deliverables you know how to–and want to–create. It means avoiding potentially fatal mistakes like exceeding agreed-upon estimates, blowing deadlines, or missing the mark on deliverables. It means making–not losing– money on the projects you take on. (In some cases, that may mean including a kill fee in your estimate.)
When it comes to succeeding in this business, winning is nice, but not losing is nice, too. Don’t you agree?