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So you’ve lived in Shanghai for a while and gotten pretty comfortable here? Or maybe you’re fresh off the boat and ready to take this city by storm? Either way, learning Mandarin Chinese is absolutely essential for surviving and thriving in this booming metropolis.News flash: We live in China! Now, although it is not even close to your native tongue and you can certainly get by without speaking Mandarin Chinese here, learning the national lingo will pay off in many ways.

1. Break down Cultural BarriersChances are that you don’t speak Chinese with your friends here, especially when you share a common or native language like English. But what about making Chinese friends? It truly makes my day when I go get a mani/pedi and I can talk to the manicurist about where she is from and what color is in style (liu xin). When you can speak with street vendors or stylists, living in Shanghai seems less foreign and friendlier in general. On the flip side, when you cannot communicate with taxi drivers or bank tellers, it can be extremely frustrating.

I wrote this entry primarily off the back of my experience with freelance copywriting and editing. It may translate across all industries. It may not.

1. Strip away the romance

Before you go into freelancing, think about what it is. Freelancing is a lot of things. But it is not:

-   The easy option for people who don’t have the discipline for a 9 – 5 -   A lifestyle choice so you can to go on vacation at the drop of a hat -   For people who have yet to “find” themselves -   Easy money

Freelancing is hard work. A lot of the time you will have to work against the misconception that being a freelancer, particularly if you’re a writer, you are just indulging a hobby until you decide to get a “proper” job. This is something you have to battle against. By “battle” I mean to dispel that misconception by being ultra professional. From something as pernickety as sending out only thoroughly spellchecked emails (with appropriate subjects lines!), to turning up looking crisp and sharp to client meetings (which should really be regarded as job interviews because you are only ever as a good as the last project you delivered).

So, get a proper sense of what freelancing is. Say goodbye to weekends and holidays (in the beginning at least) and be prepared to be on the go for a lot of the time as you build up your portfolio and customer base.