The start of my freelancing journey was rocky to say the least. I made A TON of mistakes. But just how many? Let’s find out.
These are in no particular order.
- Forgetting that I’m a business owner - There are two sides to this. One, recognize that you’re responsible for everything. If you’re a writer, you’re not just going to be writing all day; you’re going to marketing, selling, doing admin, handling finances, yada yada. And the same goes for any profession.
Second, as a business owner, you’re top dog. While the ability and willingness to collaborate with your clients is an excellent thing to have, you’ve got to draw the line in the proper place. With few exceptions, clients should not dictate how you carry out your work. You are not an employee.
2. Trying to sell my skills and work product to clients - It’s much more effective to sell the solution to a client’s problems or their end goal. In other words, don’t sell the car; sell the convenience (AKA the benefits) of having one.
After all, your skillset and the kind of output you produce are probably not unique to you. There are other people who do what you do, have the same number of years of experience, specialize in the same things, and so on.
And, true, many can probably get the same good results for clients that you do. But, although it’s what good clients care about most, very few of them highlight those results in their marketing. So, if you do, you automatically stand out from the crowd.
3. Competing mainly on price, thinking that low rates are what’s most appealing - It’s better on so many fronts to go after clients who value quality over price. Just to list a handful of reasons, clients that are willing to pay for quality:
- Tend to have fewer freelancers going after them because the majority think that low rates are the only way to go
- Are less likely to be picky, unreasonable, and opportunistic
- Enable you to make more and work less, which means more time to knock their projects out of the park and better work-life balance
4. Viewing other freelancers solely as competition and not building a network - Yes, there’s some level of competition but there’s also a lot of value we can get from one another, including more work!
And, besides, the competition that does exist isn’t nearly as fierce as people think and claim that it is.
5. Niching down too far and too fast - The narrower the niche, the more you need to have your marketing and sales game on point. If you don’t, it’s bad news. Trust me. I should know.
At one point, I attempted to niche down and solely write website copy for small businesses. The problem? I didn’t consider that since most small businesses only need website copywriting help maybe once every couple of years and don’t have astronomical budgets, I’d have to reach out to thousands of businesses and close a good percentage of them monthly to make a living.
That’s not to say that what I was trying to do was impossible. But I just wasn’t in the position to sustain it. MAJOR fail.
Be sure to think your niche through before you pour a ton of time and resources into it like I did.
6. Not marketing until in need of projects - Market consistently to maintain a presence and reduce downtime between projects.
Yes, it can be hard to do and it may even seem unnecessary when you have enough work. But, chances are, you will not always have enough work. So do your best to stay visible to potential clients.
Don’t worry about having to many leads; that’s a good position to be in. If someone is a good fit but you can’t take them on right then, add ‘em to your wait list. If they’re not a good fit or just can’t wait until you have the needed availability, do a good deed and refer them to a fellow pro that can help them.
7. Not saving enough money - Just because it’s in your bank account doesn’t mean you should be spending it. Save enough for taxes, emergencies, slow months, etc.
8. Dipping below my rock bottom rates - When there’s no additional compensation of real value to you, time spent on projects that aren’t profitable are actually costing you money. Paying to work on projects is the exact opposite of what you’re trying to do as a freelancer.
9. Wasting time on irrelevant things - Understand what really matters and spend time on that.
10. Relying too much on one source of work - What happens when that source dries up, even temporarily? Avoid putting all your eggs in one basket. Diversify and find other methods of getting clients that are reliable, even if you prefer some over others under the best of circumstances.
11. Relying too heavily on freelance platforms - They can be great tools for finding work but those channels aren’t within your control. If, for any reason, you can no longer use them and you have no idea how to get work on your own, you‘ll be in for a tough time.
12. Keeping not-that-great clients for too long - If they’re shady, costing you money or otherwise not a good fit, fix the problem (if possible) or replace them ASAP.
13. Not having processes - While there’s room for flexibility as well (and it is encouraged), having processes and systems outlined can:
- Speed things up
- Keep your output consistent and ensure quality
- Give potential and existing clients greater confidence in your ability to deliver and get them the outcomes they want
14. Taking in too much advice - Taking in too much conflicting advice on freelancing or your profession specifically can be overwhelming. Ever felt paralyzed, not knowing where to start or what to do next to grow your businesses? So have I and, often when I look back, this was the culprit. Maybe that’s true of you too.
Additionally, applying too many different tactics can make it challenging to decipher what efforts are getting results. Even worse, they can keep you from getting results at all.
So do your best to avoid information overload and to pace yourself when it comes to trying out new recommendations for improving your freelance business.
15. Overestimating what I can do well in a day or week - For me, it’s best to underbook myself slightly. Usually, I end up right on target for the number of hours worked per work and the amount of pure brainpower I can devote to work without stressing out and burning out.
16. Leaving holes in a contract - Make sure you cover all the bases so that expectations are clear on both sides.
Thankfully, I haven’t messed up too bad with this one. I mean, no legal battles with nightmare clients but I did cheat myself out of a good chunk of money once. Ouch! The big and the small details all count.
17. Not calculating my rate - Rather than just picking a number, copying others or asking Reddit what you should charge, calculate what you need to charge (and ensure that you can justify that rate).
If you could use a hand with the calculations, here’s my quick guide, which covers pros and cons of various pricing types, how to come up with and validate your rate, and techniques and templates for raising your rates with zero risk.
18. Compromising work-life balance - Even if you enjoy what you do, don’t be consumed by it (especially in a way that sets unrealistic/unhealthy expectations in your clients' minds).
19. Venturing too far from my niches on ongoing projects - For one-offs, exploration is okay. But be careful about getting roped into ongoing projects that you’re not thrilled about and will despise in the long run.
20. Taking projects I had a bad gut feeling about beforehand - 99% of the time, it has turned out badly. Go with your gut.
21. Getting too emotional about business relationships - Don’t take feedback and business decisions too personally, even just internally.
22. Not tracking my time - Time tracking helps with accurate quoting, scheduling, and overall productivity management.
23. Not practicing self-care - Don’t skip meals and stay glued to your desk chair all day. Stay hydrated, eat, stretch, give your eyes a rest to prevent strain, get some sunshine, etc.
24. Selling too hard - It’s a hard habit to break but, often, just being genuine and helpful does more good than a sales pitch.
25. Trying to sell to high-quality clients with the same techniques that got me stuck with low-quality ones - Good and subpar clients are different so it’s only logical that your marketing has to match the group you’re targeting.
26. Not giving samples much thought - Whenever possible, retain rights to use your work in your portfolio.
Also, for online content, screenshot the live work so that you always have a polished version to show to potential clients. Why?
If a client’s website goes down or your work is modified at some point, you don’t want to be stuck referring potential clients to a Google Doc or, even worse, have nothing to show them at all. Having screenshots will allow future clients to see the finished product and to better envision the kind of work you could do for them.
27. Not asking for help - It took randomly winning a consultation with a successful agency owner for me to open up about my freelancing troubles and realize what I needed to change.
Ask questions today and save yourself a few years 😂 More people than you think will be willing to help you if you just reach out.
28. Forgetting to celebrate small wins - It’s easy to look at what goals you haven’t achieved yet. But small wins often add up to larger ones. Acknowledge them. They’ll keep you encouraged along the way.
Originally published 11/1/2020 on Reddit. Updated on 4/8/2021.
