Ultimately, we know deeply that the other side of every fear is a freedom. – Marilyn Ferguson
How true the quote it is…!! No, I am not posting just to improve the figures of speech. It is my experience. There are awesome pros of freelancing, yet it shares a fair challenges too. As I shared in my previous blog post, I was quite nervous to enter this entrepreneurship. But when I actually dived in, I learnt how to swim. I am not champion till but learning and developing myself each single day with the help of my fellow entrepreneurs. So, I decided to arrange a survey on Instagram keeping exact motto to gain current insights and meaningful discussion about what an aspiring freelancer suffering from and some trusted tricks and tips(hacks) experimented heretofore to overcome these challenges. So, use these hacks to kickstart your freelance career to do what you actually love.
A] FINANCIAL INSTABILITY
As per the survey, Financial instability is the biggest hurdle freelancers are suffering. It includes reasons like finding clients or sporadic work. And even if you find a project, you come across a client who didn’t pay in time or unfortunately you faced with clients that don’t pay up. Here, I am summarizing this con under 7 tips to avoid such situations.
1. Make A Portfolio
A portfolio is a holy grail for freelancing jobs. Presenting a finished body of work that you are proud of is an essential step in pushing your career forward as creative. A portfolio is a true reflection of you, and its purpose is to provide your recruiter or employer with concrete evidence of your previous work and your capability in delivering.
As simplicity equals good UX, just be certain to keep things on your website as simple as possible. Keeping a professionally printed portfolio is also best option to stand out among crowd.
2. Display testimonials
Take effort to design your website such that anyone who reaches to get a feeling for what working with you might be like. Always ask for client’s feedback. It will help build trust. For this purpose, you need to display testimonials together with real profile pictures of the people who wrote them and links to their social media profiles. Don’t forget that your testimonials should appear on all of your online networks.
3. Make A Professional Cover Letter
One of the senior fellow designer shares this valuable tip. Even though you have mentioned everything in your CV, you might have to produce a concise yet impressive cover letter. Cover Letter gives an overview of the person’s accomplishments and shows the skills, competencies, experience and qualifications that fulfill the recruiter’s criteria. An in-depth knowledge of your experiences and the degree of your skills can be the X factor that seals the deal.
To get an interpersonal understanding of all that you have to offer, be certain to finish your cover letter with a call to action- like ask for an interview or an online meeting,
4. Make contract
To have a contract in place is the best way to avoid chasing clients for payments. This is a must because without anything being legally confirmed, you have the weight of uncertainty on your shoulders. But if you move forward after you sign the contract, you can work without any worries regarding the payment or any new task being added to your workload, which was not a part of the initial agreement.
5. Ask for a Down Payment
This is simply because to avoid potential scam clients. Asking for a down payment is a smart way of evaluating the working relationship you can expect from your client. With a little explanation, your client should understand why you are asking for it.
Furthermore, when you receive partial payment for your project, it motivates you to work till completion with quality.
6. Build a Strong Network
Engaging with online communities is helpful for showcasing your portfolio and discovering new opportunities. Join your local freelance community, like minded groups, forums, and keep in touch with all your clients. Send them Christmas cards over the holiday season. Every link preserved is a new client earned.
Additionally, through these networks, you get to attend live sessions, webinars, workshops that will keep you up-to-date with the relevant niche and the new trends.
You can also use social media to inform friends and family about your services and ask them to spread. These simple common hacks also do their job well.
7. Learn how to say no
Friends and family might try to request your services for a lower rate, or even for free. Treat friends and family as clients. Ask them for a proper brief, as well as the price. Devaluing your work by offering it for free isn’t going to pay your bills.
B] DISTRACTIONS
When you work from home, your loved ones, kith & kin might start asking for all kinds of favors, like from a bowl of sugar for neighbor to caring the baby for a while, seek advice for any issue to just gossip for change of mood come your way. Another thing, if you don’t structure your work time, you end up aimlessly clicking around the web (the kind where one minute easily becomes sixty), going in circles from your inbox to multi-tasking on all the things at once. To overcome such procrastination, here are some hacks to give a try.
8. Pick a niche and stick to it
At the very beginning phase of mine, when I just landed on Instagram, I got so fascinated towards each artist and their skill. Automatically I was pressurized myself to pick up another skill keeping a thought that I can learn a few more and offer a wide range of services, all by myself. But as having too many irons in the fire is not a good idea for your success. I fully got distracted from my primary goals. So, don’t try to learn every skill you come across. Try to master one skill and learn similar skills around it. Master that skill. Afterall as well said, Jack of All Trades, Master of None.
9. Annual planning
First thing first. This is the main lesson our mentor Bonnie Christine teaches. Take time to plan ahead and write down the big goals you have to accomplish throughout the year. Once you put them on paper, your entire focus shifts and things start to happen. You can also divide them into long, mid- and short-term goals.
But there is one important part of process is following through. Here are some hacks to stay focused and motivated all year along.
- Stay accountable- Share your goal with your friend or family member and ask them to hold you accountable whenever you divert.
- Reward yourself- On accomplishments of every task, celebrate it. Give yourself a small reward. Share it publicly to boost your confidence.
- Track your progress- Do visit your notes frequently and track for your accomplishments whether they are happening as per your plan or not.
10. Daily tasks adherence– (one of the trusted hacks)
Start organizing your daily schedule to avoid overwhelm. Create a to-do list, and prioritize your tasks. Set a fixed number of working hours and make certain to adhere to them. My favorite method is to work in power blocks as like Bonnie. Once I finish a power block, I’ll reward myself with 15 minutes of checking important notifications , surfing through Pinterest, checking mails or simply snuggle with my kids. You might also use some apps to block distracting social media notifications and any other websites on your computer while you’re working.
11. Use of time management apps and other helpful tools
To make your progress easy, use tools such as
Spectoos testimonial widget – to Start attracting new clients to your business
todoist, focus booster, toggle Asana for time management,
AppBlock, e.ggtimer to avoid distracting notifications,
Zoho books (an accounting software) to handle expenses, taxes, and receipts.
Invoiced, freshbooks to generate online invoices.
Hope this summarized hacks may help you to overcome the challenges you are suffering from.
Till next time.
XOXO
