"It worked before" is dangerous. The pitfalls of freelancing.

Hello, this is Iguchi.

As a sole proprietor, I explore WEB marketing and sales promotion methods that can be practiced even with small capital, while repeating hypotheses and verifications every day.

In this note, I focus on marketing terms that you might have heard of, but are often used vaguely. Based on my own research and real-life experience, I have summarized them in the simplest language possible.

I would be happy if even those who are not good with technical terms could read this and think, "I see, that's what that means."

By the way, when you suddenly look back on the past, don't you have moments where you think, "Those were the good old days"?

Student days, days as a company employee, or perhaps when you first went independent.
It must have been tough back then, but when you remember it, it feels warm somehow.

It's like a slightly faded photograph that has become "nice."

I also recently had a moment where I thought, "My previous workplace wasn't actually that bad," and was startled.

When I think about it carefully, I must have been struggling every day, chased by busyness (lol).

This phenomenon of "the past looking sparkling" actually has a proper name in psychology.

It is "Rosy Retrospection".

If left unchecked, by "conveniently" remembering the past, it can dull your current judgment or make it harder to see current issues and opportunities.

This time, I would like to think together about how this "Rosy Retrospection" relates to the work and decisions of us sole proprietors and freelancers.

By the time you finish reading, your way of dealing with the past might change just a little.

When I looked it up, this is what it was!

First, I looked up how this "Rosy Retrospection" is generally explained.

Simply put, it is a psychological phenomenon where "people tend to remember past events as better than they actually were."A "bias" means a "slant" or "preconception."

In other words, it means that we unconsciously view past events through a "positive filter" when remembering them.
Ah, I see!

It's true that when you look back now on the painful entrance exam studies of your student days or the interpersonal relationship troubles at your previous company, you might think, "I worked hard back then" or "Maybe there were some fun parts?"
To think that was the work of "Rosy Retrospection"!

That's quite interesting.

Analogy: The law of moving and photo albums

If I were to compare this "Rosy Retrospection" to something familiar, I thought it was similar to "a room after moving and a travel album."

For example, when you move to a new house, don't you quickly forget the inconveniences or things you hated about the previous house (far from the station, noisy neighbors, etc.), and only good memories remain, like "That house had good sunlight" or "There were many delicious restaurants in that area"?

Or, a travel album.
Usually, it's lined with photos of smiles and beautiful scenery, right?

In reality, you must have gotten lost, been made to wait at restaurants, or had arguments... but the album is full of "the best memories."

It's as if the negative parts were neatly trimmed away.

Our memories are the same; the unpleasant or troublesome parts fade away unconsciously, and only the sparkling parts remain... that's the image.

How does it relate to us sole proprietors and freelancers?

Now, how does this "Rosy Retrospection" affect our activities as sole proprietors and freelancers?

I imagined a few concrete situations.

1. Beautifying the memory of the beginning of independence:

Before becoming independent, many people became freelancers thinking, "My time as a company employee was painful, I want to work more freely!"

But once you become a freelancer, a mountain of difficulties that didn't exist when you were a company employee, such as sales activities, accounting, and finding projects, appear, right?

At such times, don't you ever think, "Huh? Maybe my time as a company employee was stable, had good benefits, and was actually good..." and only remember the good parts of being a company employee?

Only the excitement and ideals of the beginning of independence remain in your memory, and the difficult aspects tend to fade.

Because of this, you might overlook current issues or hesitate to take on new challenges.

2. Obsession with past success experiences:

If you have experience with a project that went well or a high-unit-price job in the past, you tend to think, "It worked when I did it this way back then, so it should be fine if I do the same thing this time!"

However, the times and client needs are constantly changing.

If you are too obsessed with past success experiences, you might miss the chance to incorporate new technologies or trends, or become unable to respond to market changes.

I myself sometimes hesitate to challenge new expressions because the reputation of an article I wrote a long time ago was good, and I get obsessed with a similar taste.

3. Choosing clients and partners:

Suppose you had a client you worked with before, and although there were various things, it worked out in the end.

Then, the bad impression fades, and you beautify it, thinking, "I had good chemistry with that client," and you might accept work under similar conditions again, only to face the same problem again.

Your past memories overwrite the "Huh?" feeling you felt when you first met.

Summary: The past is the past, the future is the future!

Learning about "Rosy Retrospection" this time, what I felt most was "past memories are just a reference, and it is important not to take them too literally."Of course, there is a lot to learn from past experiences.

Success experiences become confidence, and failure experiences become food for the next step.
But by knowing that memory is surprisingly vague and can be rewritten conveniently, I feel like I can look at myself and my surroundings more objectively.

Especially for us sole proprietors and freelancers, we need to constantly judge and decide for ourselves.

If you beautify the past too much, you might turn your eyes away from current issues or hesitate to take on new challenges.

That is why it might be important for us to consciously stop and think, "Was it really like that back then?"

If you have any ideas, please try opening your own memory album gently once.

Why not use it as an opportunity to rethink what is most important to you at this very moment?

Thank you for reading until the end.

I would be happy if this article led to a small realization like "I see, that's what it was!" or a hint for your ideas.

Following me would be a great encouragement.
I will also follow you back ^^