Freelance Apple

In the world of freelancing there are several things which you can do which will ruin your freelancing career. Below are listed just nine of the many no-no’s which a freelancer should never do.

You need to change your approach to freelancing if:

1. Your portfolio stinks

It is likely that the first thing that a client will look at is your portfolio, this is because it has samples of your work. There are certain things which you can do to make this experience unnecessarily discomforting.

You must put up samples of your best work on your portfolio. Do not make the error of thinking that it may be ‘dishonest’ to do this. You should rest assured that a client will be expecting you to put up your best work, so if you have sampled your average work it will be perceived as your best work.

Other errors on your portfolio can be spelling errors, cockiness, usability issues, not clearly indicating ‘contact info’ etc.

2. You mess with your rep

Your reputation is one of the many wheels your business runs on. If you spoil this by doing simple and avoidable mistakes you are definitely walking the ‘green mile’. Examples of spoiling your reputation are using foul language on forums or getting into pointless arguments.

We all feel strongly about many issues with regard to freelancing, however, this does not mean you should forget courtesy when speaking to fellow freelancers or anyone. Using foul language and derogatory terms can show you up and a client may see this and feel uneasy. This is because the client may think that if you are rude when speaking to fellow freelancers you will be rude when speaking to them.

3. If your marketing strategy is frail

Marketing is vital as a freelancer. It is what makes you stand above your competition. Without it, how can somebody tell the difference between you and another freelancer when there are so many freelancers around.

You must clearly have a marketing strategy in mind and if you do not, I would strongly urge you to speak to someone who is good at marketing or do some research on the issue.

4. You choose any client

This perhaps applies mostly to budding freelancers, as they can feel desperate for work and therefore will ride along with any client. This is a bad move. There are some signs you need to watch out for, and if you see them, walk the other way (figuratively speaking, I mean, don’t get up from your computer and walk off!)

These signs include a client who asks for too much of a discount, a client who wants free work initially by promising ‘paid work in the future’, a client who moans, a client who does not want to give a deposit, a client who refuses terms and conditions and basically any client who is behaving peculiar.

5. You charge like a desperate whore

Pricing is vital. Charging too little can head you for destruction as this will not only underrate your work but also harm your reputation. It may cause you to be seen as a cheap freelancer and this could cause you to get all the wrong clients. It also kills our industry, as you will take all of us down with you.

This also includes wrongly pricing your services. Not forecasting all costs such as overheads and taking into consideration your personal costs along with other costs (which are inevitable) will cause you to misquote. Do your research thoroughly.

6. You do not have a contract

I think this speaks for itself. If you do not have a contract then nothing is legit. If the client does not pay or any other disputes arise then you are pretty much buggered.

This also includes not fully scoping your work. If you do not define  specifically which work is included in your quote then the client may expect you to do extra little jobs for free. Try writing down clearly what they have been charged for. This will help when they say “Can you do this as well?” or “I forgot to mention this” so you can update your statement and send it to them with the updated quote as opposed to dreading how to approach them with a new quote.

7. You become unprofessional

Many things are included here. Some clients can be irritating, but that does not mean that you let your anger out, or argue intensively with them. This is unprofessional and could harm your reputation and cause you to lose a job for no real reason.

Non-professionalism can include speaking to them like a friend or asking questions which are personal. This can not only offend the client but also harm you when a dispute arises. The client may allow you to become a friend and therefore use and abuse you with regard to extra work.

8. You procrastinate

It is fine and dandy as a freelancer to take a day off when you are really not feeling good or generally are having an ‘off’ day. This does not mean, however, that you make a habit of it.

It is possible that you could be sitting in front of your computer all day and be socially networking or playing games instead of working. This is what you need to cut out. Try cutting procrastination by only sitting at your computer when you are doing your work and working only in small one hour periods.

If you miss a deadline, you are dead. This will hurt your reputation, your client relationship, future leads, and it could generally get unpleasant. So DO NOT procrastinate!

9. You place all your eggs in one basket

As a freelancer if you have one income stream you are hardly a freelancer. If you are dependent on one or two clients you are definitely heading for a KO. Once that one client drops out you will have difficulties keeping up with mortgage payments and you may have to suffer drastic consequences.

Always work hard in order to establish several income streams from a variety of clients, so that when the basket falls, some eggs are okay.

Conclusion

These are just several of the many mistakes one can make. What mistakes have you made or think are mistake heading you for freelance suicide? Agree or disagree? Please express yourself below because we can all learn from one another.

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