20/80 rule or the Pareto principle

Such is the underlying message of the Pareto principle, named after the Italian economist (among other professions) Vilfredo Pareto who, in 1896, noticed that 80% of the land in Italy belonged to 20% of the population. With time, such disproportions were examined, confirmed and popularised in other areas, especially in business (for example, 20% of your clients bring in 80% of the revenue; 80% of complaints originate from 20% of your customers, etc.).

What does this mean for you, as a freelancer, if this is true? If 80% of all the hard work you're putting in brings you only 20% of results? While fifteen minutes that it took you to send three emails with your latest work got you an exciting paying gig? Or take a three-month "how to make more money with my craft" course vs one hour of getting inspired by a museum visit that shifts you to write or photograph in a slightly new way that gets the appreciators of finesse lining up eager to become your next client?

List all the work-related activities that you carried out last month. Pretty much most of what you did aiming at professional growth will belong to one of these categories:

• gathered knowledge (reading, watching, taking courses);
• applied such knowledge and transforming them into your skills (writing, drawing, photographing);
• worked on the presentation of your craft (website, portfolio, Instagram);
• showcased your work to existing or potential clients;
• reminded of yourself to past clients;
• attended industry events where you actually had human contact.

Let me give you an example: when I moved from Sydney and temporarily resided in Paris, I had a small lux wedding photography brand that brought in decent income and joy and was a safety pillow when I moved continents. Having great wedding shots in handcrafted leather albums, I decided to make a similar booklet that I would leave as a coffee table book with potential partners in Europe. Since I didn't have any work in Europe in the beginning, I decided not to spend 1500 - 2000 euros on Parisian designers and do it myself because:

a) I enjoyed the process;
b) I wasn't yet clear with what exactly I wanted and could experiment with the design while I stumble upon something I loved and
c) it was a genuine cost-reduction.

And that took me about three weeks! Only later did I realise that this was one of those "80% effort - 20% results" activities that I worked so hard to get done. Applying signore Pareto's principle though, I could've instead invested only a portion of this time in getting just one wedding booked (a 3000 - 4000 euro package at that time), hired a chic Parisian designer to create a much better booklet that I would ever be capable of and spent the two freed-up weeks either getting acquainted with the never-ending cheese varieties or meeting potential clients and partners.

Instead, I was "working hard" at home designing this darn beautiful booklet. And while I am at home - the French didn't have a chance to know that a decent Russian-Australian wedding photographer was now on the scene ready to capture the day that would change their lives forever.