Now, although freelancing is a great way of earning great income, as
with all things there are pitfalls you need to be mindful of.
These issues I’m about to bring up may sound like things you’ve encountered in your work-place before, but be warned that they can cause you untold problems and unnecessary stress.
Challenge #1 – The vague request. The customer tells you to write a couple of articles for him in a general topic, say stress. Now, there are tons of things you can write about, but thanks to the fact that he wasn’t very specific, you end up writing loads of stress-related articles for him, and he ends up throwing half of them away, saying it’s not what he wanted…
Wouldn’t it have been better if you made sure he was more specific about his requests first?
Tip: Always, always make sure you know exactly what the requirements are on any job posting you’ve accepted. If you are not totally clear, ask. Make sure you understand in totality what the employer is looking for. Ask if they have a certain angle they want you to follow or if they’re not sure, you can throw suggestions into the mix.
Challenge #2 – Payment. We all know that there are nice customers and there are customers from the pit of hell. Imagine not getting paid after loads of time and effort put into a project.
Tip: Try using an external e-commerce service. The gentleman’s agreement is nice but I wouldn’t recommend it. There are many so called “spammers” out there just lining up to take advantage of you. Just make sure if you are working on a “fixed” project that you ask for some kind of payment up-front. If the employer is legitimate, that shouldn’t be a problem.
Challenge #3 – Project workload. You may attempt to take on almost every project you can get your hands on, but that’s not the way to work. In fact, you’ll be hard pressed for time, delay other clients and everyone is extremely unhappy.
Tip: Create a sort of schedule system and be prepared to reject 1 or 2 projects. After all, your reputation is at stake and if you can’t finish your work or make a mess out of it, news will travel fast. I know the money you make is your livelihood. However, you can’t be so bogged down that deadlines are missed or your work starts to reflect less than what you know you can deliver.
At the end of the day, be streetwise in your dealings, because not every situation is gonna be a nice one. Handle them one at a time. Ask lots of questions and get feedback from your employer before you start any project.
After all, this is YOUR freelancing business. Treat it as such.
These issues I’m about to bring up may sound like things you’ve encountered in your work-place before, but be warned that they can cause you untold problems and unnecessary stress.
Challenge #1 – The vague request. The customer tells you to write a couple of articles for him in a general topic, say stress. Now, there are tons of things you can write about, but thanks to the fact that he wasn’t very specific, you end up writing loads of stress-related articles for him, and he ends up throwing half of them away, saying it’s not what he wanted…
Wouldn’t it have been better if you made sure he was more specific about his requests first?
Tip: Always, always make sure you know exactly what the requirements are on any job posting you’ve accepted. If you are not totally clear, ask. Make sure you understand in totality what the employer is looking for. Ask if they have a certain angle they want you to follow or if they’re not sure, you can throw suggestions into the mix.
Challenge #2 – Payment. We all know that there are nice customers and there are customers from the pit of hell. Imagine not getting paid after loads of time and effort put into a project.
Tip: Try using an external e-commerce service. The gentleman’s agreement is nice but I wouldn’t recommend it. There are many so called “spammers” out there just lining up to take advantage of you. Just make sure if you are working on a “fixed” project that you ask for some kind of payment up-front. If the employer is legitimate, that shouldn’t be a problem.
Challenge #3 – Project workload. You may attempt to take on almost every project you can get your hands on, but that’s not the way to work. In fact, you’ll be hard pressed for time, delay other clients and everyone is extremely unhappy.
Tip: Create a sort of schedule system and be prepared to reject 1 or 2 projects. After all, your reputation is at stake and if you can’t finish your work or make a mess out of it, news will travel fast. I know the money you make is your livelihood. However, you can’t be so bogged down that deadlines are missed or your work starts to reflect less than what you know you can deliver.
At the end of the day, be streetwise in your dealings, because not every situation is gonna be a nice one. Handle them one at a time. Ask lots of questions and get feedback from your employer before you start any project.
After all, this is YOUR freelancing business. Treat it as such.
No comments:
Post a Comment