Photo by BotheredByBees.

Freelancing can be a rewarding career, with many benefits over being a salaried employee. But success in freelancing means there are a lot of things you shouldn’t do - things I’ve done over the past twenty years and learned from the hard way.

Some of these are relevant to web workers, others to those of us that still visit clients on-site.

Are you making your freelance career tougher than it needs to be?

1. Not defining success.
   What does success mean to you? Does it mean being able to work from home and escaping traffic jams or staying away from office politics? Or does it mean earning a lot more, after tax, than someone in a similar salaried position? We all have different reasons for wanting to freelance. Defining your reason makes it easier to believe that freelancing is the right thing for you.
2. Not budgeting.
   Budgeting is crucial when you work for yourself. Freelancing work is often feast or famine, and this can be the single biggest factor pushing you back into a salaried position.
3. Not distinguishing between need and want.
   It’s not easy sticking to a budget when you’re a one-person freelance business. It’s sometimes tough to separate personal and business funds. It’s even tougher to resist the temptation to indulge using business funds. However, the separation of funds is necessary if you’re going to stay sane through tax time.
4. Not organizing receipts and invoices.
   You really want to do this as soon as possible. File them using a system that you feel most comfortable with. I like using large manila envelopes with the month and year written on them, then putting a year’s worth in another envelope, a box, or a filing cabinet folder.
5. Not keeping a logbook or logfile.
   It’s not always easy to recall what a given receipt is for, and if you can’t catalogue it properly, you probably can’t claim it against taxes. If you don’t like scribbling in a day planner, try using a spreadsheet (desktop or web) to add notations for receipts. It makes filing taxes so much easier.
6. Not having multiple skills.
   If you learn just one skill, you’re harder to market. Focus on one main skill, but also build up other skills. Recession happens, but you still need to work, especially if you’re bad at budgeting. If you can’t find work for your main skill, you have something to fall back on.
7. Not saving.
   Saving goes beyond budgeting. A freelancer should make saving a key “skill”. The old rule of thumb is to save up 3-6 months of operating expenses - rent, debt payments, food, insurance payments, and other typical monthly operating costs. If you have a family to support, you should consider saving more than six months of operating costs. The reason for this? According to a survey of 3700 freelancers, 43% made less money and worked more since becoming freelancers. On the flip side, if you’re working from home, your day-to-day expenses should be lower, so earning less isn’t necessarily a bad thing - but not saving for the future is.
8. Not investing.
   Put the money you’ve saved into an easily accessible liquid investment with minimal penalties for early withdrawal and optimal interest rates. One option is an online savings account. Investing safely helps you build up that emergency fund sooner. However, you should invest beyond that, for vacations, retirement or even a possible career change later on.
9. Not reinvesting.
   Reinvest in your business, skills and knowledge. Reinvestment might include buying advertising, taking courses, or purchasing software and gear in order to offer new services.
10. Not being pragmatic.
    It’s easier to be pragmatic about finding new work when you have funds saved. When you don’t and you’re looking for work, you might come across desperate or needy to the client. The irony is that when you come across casual/ indifferent - without being rude - you’re more likely to win a contract.
11. Not seeking emotional support.
    If you’re already a top industry expert, you probably won’t want for work. But if you’re still building your skills and reputation, the downtimes might get you down. Don’t be afraid to seek a bit of emotional support and TLC.
12. Not taking a break.
    When you freelance, you work for yourself, and time takes on a special significance. It’s not hard to fall into a state of mind where you feel you need to work long hours. The fact is, you cannot be productive for hours on end. Forcing yourself to work doesn’t necessarily get things done faster, and you miss out on the important things in life, such as family, friends, and relaxation. If it makes you feel better, take X hours off as a form of payment for the work you’ve put in.
13. Charging too little.
    If you are working long hours, maybe it’s because you need to, or simply because you’re charging too little. Research your niche to determine what the rates are for various levels of skill, and set a new rate for your work. Charge new clients your new rate. If a former client comes back to you for more work, you can request the new rate as well.
14. Taking on too much work.
    If you’re charging to little, you might be tempted to take on too much work. This is more of a problem when you work at home, because it’s easy to feel you’ll find the necessary hours. Don’t fall into the trap of taking on too much work, or else you could damage your reputation if you don’t deliver.
15. Not tracking time spent.
    If you get paid by the hour, you have to track time. If you get paid by the project, you also have to track time - simply to make sure that you’re not earning less per hour, on average, than you think. If you’re screwing yourself over, you need to raise your rates.
16. Not asking for deposits on projects.
    If you charge by the project, unless you know the client well and they have good track record in paying their account on time, it’s a good idea to ask for a small deposit up front. It’s common to ask for 25-33% at each project milestone (including contract acceptance and work delivery). How much you ask depends on how many phases there are. If something goes wrong, at least you’ll have received some compensation…
17. Not building negotiating skills.
    It’s easier to raise rates for new clients, but occasionally you have to do it for existing clients - possibly the ones who’ve come back to you after an extended duration. Either way, it’s not easy asking for higher rates or for deposits. Negotiating skills also help landing contracts.
18. Having a negative vocabulary.
    Good negotiating skills require casual confidence. The first step towards gaining confidence is ditching any negative or wishy-washy words in your vocabulary.
19. Being too proud or too fussy.
    Work shouldn’t always be about the money. Consider taking a bit less pay for an interesting, stable, longer-term contract that you think you’ll enjoy. Just make sure to check your state/ federal laws about contract durations and the point at which you’re technically considered an employee.
20. Not asking for help or clarification.
    Even a well-read freelancer doesn’t always know everything about a topic. It’s better to ask for help/ clarification from a client or their employee than to fake knowledge and do work badly. (Just stay away from the employee who thinks you’ve taken the job that they wanted.)
21. Not remaining neutral.
    You’re a freelancer, not an employee. Be attentive in discussions, but don’t take sides in office politics.
22. Mistaking politeness for friendliness. Freelancing can be a lonely business, but don’t assume that your client’s employees are being anything more than polite.
23. Not applying the 80/20 rule.
    The 80/20 Rule (aka the 70/30 Rule) is also known as the Pareto Principle. It essentially says that 80% of results are due to 20% of causes/ efforts. The rule can be applied in many ways, especially for freelancers. Here are a couple:
    1. 20% of your clients will give you 80% of your revenues.
    2. 20% of your skills will earn you 80% of your revenues.

    You can probably come up with other applications. It doesn’t mean you should ignore the “20%” of something altogether. You never know when your clients or your skills will change their roles within the 80/20 rule.

24. Not asking for referrals or testimonials.
    Here’s how you can apply the last item: Since 20% of your clients will probably give you 80% of your revenues, it makes sense to ask your current clients for more work. Do they have any additional work that needs doing? Or maybe they know another business owner and would be willing to give you a referral? At the least, if they’re happy with your work, they might be willing to provide a testimonial for your website. You have to ask to receive.
25. No backups.
    While not having backups is usually a temporary issue, regularly ignoring the need could have damaging effects on your career. Some suggestions:
    1. Back up client project files regularly.
    2. Have a backup Internet connection, or access to one.
    3. Use a UPS (Universal Power Supply) box in case of power outages.
26. Not controlling road-rage.
    If you do on-site work, you might find yourself in traffic jams from time to time. When you factor in high gas prices, high insurance rates, and the frustration of being stuck in traffic daily, it’s easy to want to vent when some idiot cuts you off. It’s fine to vent if you’re doing it in the privacy of your car - just don’t be too aggressive about it, and especially not within 5 miles of your client’s office. You never know who that idiot might be. Trust me on that one!

Do you have some tips for protecting your freelance career?

Raj Dash

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