Becoming a freelancer seems fascinating. But you should maintain profitability. In fact, freelancing is your business not your job.
You make mistakes and ruin your work or your relationships with clients. But don’t worry, you are not the only one; almost every freelancer does the same mistakes!
A good freelancer learns from others’ mistakes and it is absolutely fine. A professional freelancer always plans well to rise above possible errors. And if you want to avoid such mistakes that can mess up your work and damage your reputation as a freelance seller, so take a look of this article
Ineffective Time Management:
Freelancers usually ignore time management. Client needs the work and assignments to be completed on time. A freelancer must have skills of time management. Deadlines for work are always for reason. Your client would become offensive if you do not deliver in time. Then you may lose chance for future work.
Make your schedule for work. For this purpose, allocate a room or space. Get your laptop and smart phone charged when you are doing your work. Try to maintain balance between work and personal life.
Committed freelancers are most reliable. And clients love such freelancers. If you get disciplined and follow the deadlines to deliver your work you’ll have a greater chance of getting hired again by the same clients.
Poor Communication:
Good Communication can set your project up for success. On the contrary, poor communication causes a lack of clarification. Therefore, you may fail to deliver the best. Remember, remote work mostly depends on your communication.
When you have a project, don’t assume anything. But wait for clear directives from your client. Read the instructions carefully and be sure of what your client needs. In case of any confusion, do a check and ask questions right away.
Having clear communication even if it takes time. It is far better than delivering the wrong service. Poor communication may cost time and effort. It will result in revisions. And revisiting your previous work can be annoying.
Choosing a Client:
It’s easy to fall into the trap of taking on new clients that aren’t good for you. There are many reasons why they aren’t right, including whether they pay on time or if they hold you back. If you choose the wrong clients, you’re always going to be unhappy, make less money and work longer hours.
To avoid such relationships, get smart at spotting potential nightmare clients. Figure out whether they’re worth your time. Remember, it’s a two-way process when you meet a prospect for the first time, i.e. it’s not just about them deciding whether you’re the right person for the job, it also works the other way around.
Over commitment of work:
Over-commitment is another common mistake that usually the beginners commit. Over-commitment means you have more work than you can efficiently handle in a reasonable amount of time. You might think, taking more and more work is a good idea. But it is not true unless you are capable of it.
Do not commit to any work that you can’t do. If you commit more work then you are probably wrong. Because clients will notice the lack of quality in your work in the first place. Hence, you won’t be able to deliver quality work.
When you compromise on quality of your work, you’ll fail to make a good impression on the client. Ultimately, the client won’t consider you for his next project. Keep in mind, be honest and be professional. So, you can get far in your freelancing.
Underpricing:
Newbies usually underprice their services. Until they get to know the worth of their skills or services. So, in beginning, there is chance that you might charge less due to lack of trending market price.
To avoid facing it, always perform the market research before selling your service. It should not be too high neither too low initially.
As you grow and get experience you can try new rates on new clients. You shouldn’t be overconfident for charging high. But never be too down to charge what you don’t deserve.
Take the money and run
You know the feeling – sometimes, you want to get a project done, get paid. And you move onto the next one as quickly as possible. But clients love to feel special and want you to care about their work.
Don’t give them an impression that you want to ‘take the money and run’. Care about the project and go above and beyond the client’s expectations.
Customer is always right
Remember the old saying ‘the customer is always right’, well they are… most of the time. Listen to their needs and respect their point of view. Come up with suggestions by all means – they are paying for your expertise after all. Just don’t always think you know better than your client, because sometimes you don’t.
No lift to your client
Sometimes you might not understand a project or the client you’re working with. You might’ve done zero research or not asked enough questions. Therefore messed up the work. Get to grips with any new brief by asking lots of questions. Remember, your questions must be relevant and specific.
If you don’t listen to your clients, you’ll miss important aspects of your job. If you don’t listen during the initial brief, you’ll set off down the wrong path. If you don’t listen to feedback on your work, the client will have to repeat his thoughts. Listen to what your client is saying at all times. Listening should be your greatest skill.
No growth
It’s so incredibly difficult to win new clients. But once you’ve got them and you keep them well-serviced, you’re on to a winner. So why make the mistake of stopping there? Why not grow the client and encourage them to hire you for other things? For this purpose diversify your skills. Hire new people with new skills.
For example, if you’re a web designer but you can also create brochures – make sure your client knows about it. It’s a huge missed opportunity if you don’t look at where you can organically grow the clients you already have. Also hire new persons, make your team.
Only few clients
The biggest mistake you can make is relying on one or two clients to help pay your bills. That’s because those clients could pull the plug at any time. It’s always better to have multiple revenue streams and avoid placing all your eggs in one basket. Get out there and win more work, attract new clients and approach different agencies. It’s up to you to lessen the risk.
Lacking integrity
Sometimes you can take on things that go against who you are and what you believe in. It’s only natural you’ll want to pay the bills, but if you’re doing something that goes against your principles or doesn’t fit with your style, then it will only lead you to feel bitter and resentful. Remember, you went freelance in the first place to focus on doing what you love, so try to turn down work that doesn’t make you happy.
Unprofessional behavior
Sometimes, we like the clients we work with, and we might mistake them for friends. They’re not, they’re clients, and this is business, so keep it professional and stay within safe boundaries. Keep things friendly but formal – not too formal. Just formal enough to keep things on the right footing.
A client doesn’t want to hear your weird and negative opinions on politics. They don’t want to hear the nightmare or a car journey you had to get to their meeting either. They want positivity. They want calm and friendly. So don’t make the mistake of showing any negative emotions or traits. Make yourself someone other people enjoy being around. Keep things light, fun and friendly without losing your professionalism.
Forgetting to be profitable
It’s easy to fall into the trap of doing free favours for friends, family and even clients. It’s also easy to take on work that isn’t going to make much money. Don’t forget that you’re running a business and need to make a profit.
You’re not a charity, and you shouldn’t feel guilty if you’re ruthless and ensure you spend most of your time earning hard cash. If this sounds familiar to you, reassess your working week and see where you can make yourself more profitable.
Preferring work over life
When you freelance, it’s tempting to talk about business day and night with friends and family, but this is the worst thing you can do. It’s also tempting to work every waking hour. Don’t let your freelancing take over your life and remember you still need to relax. If you think work has overtaken everything and it’s affecting your relationships, perhaps it’s time for a nice holiday, so you can change your work ethics and start fresh.
We all have days when we’re not feeling a hundred per cent. But slacking on projects and becoming lazy is the fastest way to miss deadlines, let clients down and lose out on any future work. Keep yourself focused by retaining a productive attitude and stay motivated by having a healthy work / life balance.
Conclusion
Freelancing is a business. It should be perceived as a business. However, there are certain mistakes a freelancer commit during his career. A simple formula to excel in freelancing is to polish your skills, to increase your clients, to diversify your team, to learn from your mistakes and to establish new passive income sources from your freelancing business.
