If you want to start working remotely, freelancing is one of the most popular ways to do that.
You’ve probably read a lot about freelancing and you managed to take small pieces from what you liked and applied them for yourself.
There are huge benefits to freelancing, like:
- Working on different projects, with a variety of clients — this way you will always feel challenged
- Charging a premium
- Working anywhere you want, even if it is in your garden or on a wonderful beach in Crete
- Keeping your personal life and your work-life balanced
This is indeed very appealing because being a self-employed freelancer means owning your own business. As appealing at it sounds, there are some mistakes freelancers make which are not productive at all for their career.
The good news is that we want to help you to find out what these mistakes are and how you can avoid them.
Lack of confidence in selling
Most freelancers are experts in a certain area and they have a very strong skill set in that field.
However, when you shift from a 9 to 5 job to being a freelancer, besides the skills you are mastering, you are a salesperson too.
Actually, you are your own boss, marketing person, project manager, and accountant. Your technical skills are not the only piece of the puzzle. There are a lot of new pieces you need to position in order to succeed. Not being confident about selling yourself and your services and not understanding the process can be the biggest barrier that prevents you from succeeding and that means -> lack of confidence = no sales = no success = no business.
In this case, you need to…
- Reframe what sales mean to you
- Get clear on what you offer and who you offer it to
- Let the ideal customers see the value in the solution you bring
- Believe in what you’re offering
- Develop your self-marketing skills
- Practice confidence
Wrong mindset: Once I have (…), then I will do (…), then I will be CONFIDENT.
The right mindset: I will be CONFIDENT, then I will do (…), then I will have
Lack of clarity
As mentioned, you need to be clear on what you offer and who you offer it to in order to see positive results as a freelancer. This is another mistake that freelancers do: struggling to succeed because of the lack of clarity.
If you don’t have clarity, you will be busy but not productive. There is nothing more frustrating than working a lot and not seeing any results. It’s overwhelming. When you will manage to have clarity, you will see results.
In this case, you need to…
- Clarify what you offer and to whom
- Clarify what you want… Your “Why?”
- Prioritize. By this, you’ve evaluated all possible tasks and can feel confident you are working on that one that will actually help you to move forward.
Wrong mindset: Investing your energy in 100 million directions
The right mindset: Everyday write down the most important tasks for the day and become intentional with your time.
Poor management for your projects
This is characterized by a lack of communication and setting wrong expectations/lack of setting expectations.
As mentioned before, as a freelancer you are your own:
- Marketing person
- Finance person
- Sales person
- Project manager
You are the one who is responsible for managing clients: setting expectations, keeping them up to date with your progress, following up with them. If there are “grey” areas for clients once they hired you as a freelancer, things are not going in the right direction.
Communication is key in this situation and it’s your responsibility to follow up with your clients as many times as it takes.
Trying to serve “everybody”
Maybe we should have started with this because this has to be one of the biggest mistakes you can make as a freelancer.
In the beginning, everyone who is changing a 9 to 5 job for a freelancing position is so eager to work remotely that they are open to accepting any client willing to pay. This is what “trying to serve everybody” means. The problem with this is that you can’t fully address to your ideal customers. If you want to do this, you need to know that that way is the way to failure, undoubtedly.
You have to discover and pick your niche. Be able to choose what is good for you, try to speak the same “language” as your customers, reduce the learning curve tome and let them know you understand their needs — by this, you will instill confidence in your ability
In this case, you need to…
- Ask yourself:
- What type of client do I want to work for?
- What industry are they in?
- What services do your clients offer?
- Will this client bring in, consistent work or referrals?
Once you have the answers — here’s how you’d find your niche!
Trying to offering everything as a service
Last but not least, this is clearly one of the biggest mistakes most freelancers struggle with. Becoming desperate and available for any task, even if it’s not in their area of expertise is a big problem and that’s when the gaps start to show up.
Clients should clearly know your area of expertise. It will instill more confidence with your clients.
In this case, you need to…
- Make a list of all your possible services
- Pick the strongest ones
- Highlight the value you provide and its importance
Freelancing can be a great opportunity to start living an independent lifestyle, but you need to understand how to approach it. Of course, you will learn through your own mistakes, but you can also learn from these tips learned from one’s own experience. It’s less time-consuming!
