HOW TO : Keep Freelancing Business a Secret

For whatever reason, here's how to do it:

• Don't tell friends or family.
No one can know that you run a freelance business. It would be better for your friends and family to think you sit at home all day watching TV than for the secret to get out. Better yet, sit at home all day watching TV.

• Don't fill out your profiles on social media.
That default image that comes with new social media profiles is good enough for you. Never ever fill out your profile or refer to your social media business on social media in any way.

• Don't network in person.
No need to have an elevator pitch, but you'll have to watch what you say around people. You might accidentally let it slip that you freelance. Better yet, stay away from people. If you don't talk to anyone, you can't spill the beans.

• Don't blog.
Blogs are a lot of extra work-who needs them. The freshly updated content will just cause the search engines to crawl your website more frequently and might cause it to rank better in the search engines.

• Don't have a website.
A freelancing website is definitely a no no if you're trying to become a secret freelancer. Even if you exclude contact information and leave off an about page someone might trace the site back to you.

• Don't have a portfolio.
You want your freelancing business to be the best kept secret on the planet, right? Well, then skip creating a portfolio. Since you're a secret freelancer, you probably don't have much to put in a portfolio anyway.

• Don't apply for gigs.
This may seem obvious, but many would-be secret freelancers mess up right here. They apply for a gig and the word gets out that they are freelancer. Clients talk. If you apply for gigs, eventually someone will mention it.

• Don't use your own name.
Don't use your freelancing business name either. Those names might somehow be traced back to you. Try something generic like, hmmm, Ali or Abu Dollah. Or call yourself anonymous.

Why Would You Want to Do This ?
Why anyone would want to become a secret freelancer? But it must be the goal of a lot of freelancers refusing to promote their freelance business in any way. Assume that they want to keep their business a secret.