In this digital artwork environment one of the most used methods to work is by doing freelancing. Today i’m gonna show you 5 of the most common mistakes that you can do as an freelancer and hopefully you gonna learn from them and you’ll not gonna use them anymore. Those five mistakes are:
1. Underestimating the project’s price
2. Engrossing your time with just one project
3. Selling you and your services
4. Always “YES”
5. Feedback
1. Underestimating the project’s price
Sooner or later everyone of us made this mistake. Money chapter is always an ticklish subject for all of us. As time will pass by you’ll become increasingly better at talking about this subject but not matter what will happen this chapter is always an difficult subject and very hard to reach.
Each one of us is rightful to get the money that we deserve, taking in consideration the work that we’re doing for a project, the experience that we have our work domain and even more if we know that we are doing a high quality work and all of our customers are very happy by the results. How you’ll realise that you’re underestimating your work ? Very easy ! When you’re winning all the bids where you enroll and you don’t lose none of them.
Be carefull when you’re bidding to an hourly project. Making a project an hourly paid project you’re doing nothing else than to speed up yourself. Rushing the project sometimes can be a good thing but sometimes can be a bad thing; by rushing up the whole creation process you may affect the quality of your project and you may receive an bad feedback from your customers. Take in consideration the fact that some projects need more a longer time that others to make the research that you need for them and also you need an previous experience to realize properly this kind of project.
2. Engrossing your time with just one project
None of your clients has the right you take all your worktime just for your their project unless they are paying for it. When this is happening that client is not your client anymore; it’s your boss, and you’re no longer an freelancer you’re his employee. Engrossing your time with just one project is one of the biggest mistakes that you can do as an freelancer.
The ideal way for an freelancer would be to have 4-5 projects in the same time plus your free time, projects with which you can juggle within so that in the case in which you may lose one of them it doesn’t affect you very much.
3. Selling you and your services
After money chapter the most difficult chapter in freelancing is to sell you and your services. It’s known the fact that a lot of clients are in need of our help but a lot of them don’t know exactly what they really want from us.
When you’re selling you and your services you have to take in consideration the fact that you want to have a collaboration with the client not to make him to be bankrupt. if you think that you can help the customer and make the project on a high level but in the same time on a price that can be affordable by him do it, if you can’t find an nice “NO” answer for him. Try to make the discussion more about them, about their needs, what they really want to obtain from this project.
P.S. Let them talk more than you !
4. Always “YES!”
The biggest problem in freelancing is the fear. Fear can make you do a lot of stupid things. Until you have the courage to decline a project you need time, a lot of time. But after this period, sooner or later you’ll gonna be able to have “NO” for an answer to a proposal. Some of them will be easier to say than others. Projects in which you’ll be requested to work for free you’ll always find but as time goes by and your experience will increase considerably you’ll gonna refine yourself in declining a project that you think it’s not for you.
You have to understand that any project, no matter if it is a logo project, a badge or any kind of graphics project, basicaly anything thay a customer may ask can do more bad things to your reputation than declining a project. Be really to respect your rules and don’t deviate from them !
5. Feedback
Old happy customers are always the best source for new projects, here we take in consideration the new things that you can do for them but also the feedback and the recommendations that they can make on your behalf. Don’t be affraid to ask them for an feedback once you’ve finished the project. it will be an awesome thing if you can take from them a recommendation for further projects. It’s hurtless for them and for you it’s always a good thing!
Also, you can send them personalised postcards if you know when it’s their birthday or on holidays. You never kno where you may find a new project. Little things are always the things thay make the difference !
Do you have any other ideas to share with us ? Do you have some common situations that you had as an freelancer and you want to share with us ? Do you know any other mistakes that we can talk about ? Tell them into an comment, we’d like to hear them !