Freelance work is a liberating and empowering condition of working. Being a freelancer, you are in control of your work because you work with your own terms. You get to choose who you want to work with, where do you want to work, or even when do you want to work.
I (and many other professionals) love the idea of freelance work because we realize there are times we are the most optimized at work and being a freelancer gets us the work life balance we always dream of!
Whatever field of freelancer you are thinking of, these tips apply for each and everyone of you and you will be thankful you got to know these.
As a freelancer and working professionals for years, I think I have a fair share of what I experienced in freelance world. The mistakes, the good thing, and the bad thing. So if you are into being a freelancer, take a look at these useful tips and have a pleasant/smooth freelancing work.
Tip #1: Don't ask "What's the market rate for (insert position name here)"
When I was beginning to be a freelancer, I often google what's the usual market rate for design work and I ended up either not getting any answer or getting a very wrong answer. I feel like this should be told to all freelancers out there whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or an expert: don't ask whats the market rate for your freelance work.
I mean it, don't even ask your friends. When somebody ask how much you charge to do this job, let them know how much you want. There is no market rate for services. The price can be dirt cheap and sky high. For example, let's take a look at the other service work we know of. Example number 1: makeup artists are often freelancing. So how much is their rate can depend on how talented they are and the makeup artists are the one decide how much they want to be paid. The client can reject or accept it. You can get makeup artist for super cheap price (~$10) or at a very high price (millions of dollars).
Let's take a look at example number 2: doctors. Doctors are a very service oriented occupation. Have you ever wonder there are cheap doctors and there are super expensive ones? When I was looking for dentist to work on aligning my teeth, I seen a really cheap one and super expensive one. Sure they are usually hired by the clinic/hospital but usually the price is determined by them. Especially the ones that opens their own clinic, they definitely determine their own price.
So what these examples tell you? That there are really no market price for freelancers.
The price can range so widely, it's hard to tell what's the market price.
Sometimes people came to me asking for quotation and ended up saying I'm too expensive and that I don't know market price. And you might, too, encounter this.
This is actually a normal thing to encounter because people come from different perspective and budget. Some people don't know how much talent it takes to be a designer/artist/animator/or any other service-based occupation and they would think the occupation doesn't deserve a high price.
Tip #2: How the pricing works is determined by you.
How should I charge my client? Is it per page (for web designer), per word (for translator), per image (for photographer) or should I be charged on hourly basis?
You might ask that questions when determining how should you charge your client.
The real answer? Up to you.
Yes, for real. It is up to you. For example, some translator freelancers would charge per word, some will charge per A4 page, some will charge based on the hour they work, and some doesn't even rely on any of these factors at all. They varied so much that it doesn't make sense to say "method A is the best way to determine pricing". If you want to charge per word, go right ahead. If you want to charge per A4 page, suit yourself.
Ask yourself, what is the most fair way to charge?
Do you feel like you should be paid based on the amount of hours you put in? Or do you think that there are more complicated factor that plays into it that hours/page/word count doesn't even matter?
For example, i don't charge by any of those. I would discuss with my client and get to know what they need and determine the price based on the complexity of the work. Based on my experience, I am pretty good at determining how complex a project is and that's why I make pricing this way. But this is not a guideline by any means, and therefore it is really up to you.
Tip #3: Don't follow most of the freelancers.
Do you often wonder okay how does the other freelancer do their work? What did they provide their client?
Sometimes you might want to know this so you can get ahead of the competitors.
But let me tell you this, don't care about how or what they do. Don't try to "win" the competition because there is no competition here.
Freelance work or any other service-based work are usually agreed upon the match between the service provider and client. Sometimes the client doesn't want to engage with you maybe because your style is different from what they're looking for and so they will go with other freelancer.
The beauty of freelancing is that professionals are free to offer a huge variety of work style/quality and client can choose from that huge variety. So don't try to be someone else or be like what people usually be. Because by just being you, you will do just fine.
Tip #4: Always ask for down payment or a deposit before starting the work.
No matter how you feel like you trust this person or that you have had a long relationship with this person, always ask for a down payment or a deposit. It's unfair that people do not get paid yet expected to provide the service first, so don't do this to yourself.
I always think of this matter like this: you don't take an item at a store and say to the cashier "I will pay you after I finish using this item" or "I take this item first and will pay you next month". You would take the item, go to the cashier, pay up, then only you can use the item.
Although we usually can't compare service and item, in this case, it's pretty much the same. You must ask for down payment or deposit before starting the work. If they feel like it's important, they will pay up, trust me. And if they refused to do so, then let them go. They might not be a suitable client for you anyway.
I had my fair share of not being paid at all because I agreed to start the work without any payment. And truly, I regret that a lot and I wish more freelancers ask for down payment so they don't end up having my bad experience.
Tip #5: If your fee is a very small amount, ask for full payment.
Sometimes some freelancers will ask for a very small amount for the project for any reason. Maybe they are still studying and feel like not a professional so they ask for small fee just to cover the basic needs (transportation/tools/etc.). They might also just want to collect portfolios therefore they are fine with very small fee for their work.
But if you do want to charge a very small fee, ask for the full payment instead. Let's say you are charging your service for $10, it doesn't make sense to ask for $5 down payment, do the work, and then wait for the rest $5 later on.
There are many times where the clients who look for cheap freelance service to have bad intentions or just not appreciating the work at all and therefore they might refuse to pay the rest $5 later on. It's pretty weird to think of it, but this is what usually happens in my previous experience back when I was just still studying and I just look for client to improve my skills on. The people I met are attracted to the cheap service and would go the great length to save every cent.
It might be because they aren't serious in the first place or just have no appreciation for your work at all so even a $5 is too much for them.
So this is my advice to you out there, if your fee is super low, ask for full payment before starting the work.
Tip #6: Think creatively when market yourself.
Usually people would go to famous sites to look for freelance work such as freelance.com, or Upwork, or any other sites that I might not know of. While there is no harm trying these sites, I would suggest that you think out of the box to market yourself instead of just putting up your ads in these famous sites.
The reason? These sites are so popular almost all freelancers in the world are in it.
Therefore you are "competing" with way too many people. And from a client perspective, these sites are not really a good way to find a freelancers anyway because of just how crowded it is. But hey, that's just from my perspective.
Some freelancers are putting up ads on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Google, and even post frequently on LinkedIn to promote their services. That's an example of being creative at marketing themselves.
You can find other methods of promoting yourself, maybe you can even make a TikTok that became viral that so many people are trying to book your service! Or how about a landing page with very exciting deal and promotion that makes your customer leave their email and then you can send them email marketing to promote your service?
The possibilities are endless, so don't just try one or two famous freelancer sites to promote yourself. If you really want to get your profile out there, you really have to be creative to just spread the word out.
Tip #7: Document your work process.
Don't just do the work, document the process while you're at it!
Although your client didn't ask for it and you don't even plan to give it to them, documenting your work process is important. It's beneficial in the long run, and you can potentially earn more money from it.
Sometimes, I am the client looking for these services and most of the time I am very interested to the service providers that documents their work progress. Maybe a before and after photos, or some sketches, research compilation, or some failed attempts before the final version. When they published those documentations, it assured me that they are the real deal. It's like, they don't just take an image from Google and say "that's my work". It lets me know that they really are the person behind all these amazing work and additionally I get to know more about how they work and approach problems.
And as a service provider myself, sometimes I do get clients asking if I can show them work progress documentation. Sadly, there are times when I didn't keep any documentations and I regret that. So after getting to know the huge benefit of progress documentation, I started to keep that to show my clients.
Tip #8: Provide a great customer service.
Your client is not just some monetary source. They are real people, too.
Since you are selling services, you should also take a good care of the whole experience working with you. That includes communicating well, having a good work behavior, or maybe add a little bonus service that might delight your customers.
Have you ever notice how in some places like a salon or clinics they would offer you drinks while you wait?
You didn't go there to drink tea or anything like that, you just want to get your hair done.
But the fact that they serve you drinks while you wait makes the whole experience just so delightful and chances are, you will have a positive remark on that place and will come again next time. You might even tell your friends about that place and then your friends will soon become a customer, too.
Did you know that Zoom, the video conference software, invested so much in making their product and service delightful that they don't have to spend so much on marketing? Their success is mostly due to word of mouth. People love their products and services and they tell other people about it.
And there is also something interesting I learn from hairstylist and makeup artist too. It's the fact that many of their customers would hire them again not necessarily because they are super talented but instead because they are simply fun to talk to. They make great conversations while doing the hair or makeup and having their makeup/hair done by them are just simply a delightful experience.
No matter what your profession is, try to find a way to make the whole work process fun, engaging, and delighful for your customer so working with you leaves a great positive memory on them and they will remember you next time they need the same service.
Tip #9: Catch up on your client.
Maybe the work is done and it's passed long time ago and it might mean your business with them is done.
But it's a really great idea to just ask them how are they doing and if everything is fine with the work you gave last time. For example, maybe a client paid you to design a great proposal for their investor pitch. So you might ask a follow-up question like, "how was the investor pitch?". Maybe it's none of your business but it doesn't hurt to just ask how is it going. If the client refuses to answer, it's fine.
Asking this kind of follow-up question shows that you truly care about your customer and not doing it just to get money. There was one time I get client that is shy and doesn't want to tell me when there is a problem with the printing. Thankfully I asked a follow-up question and she told me how some printing companies are asking way too many minimum quantity to print her wedding invitation and since I know some printing companies that accepts low minimum order quantity, her problem got fixed really fast.
Tip #10: Don't be afraid to stand up for yourself.
I used to have this problem where I was just too afraid to stand up to myself. I would get treated badly by some clients and I just took it and not say anything. For example, sometimes the client would refuse to pay the rest of the payment because they claimed they didn't get the result and therefore it's my fault. Last time I can't help but to feel that it's all my fault and that I deserved it. Don't let this kind of guilt-trip fool you. Companies or clients may sometimes find tricks to evade their responsibility.
For example, your client said "the investor pitch was bad and we didn't get their investment so we don't want to pay".
But this is not your fault. The work is done, and by agreement, client supposed to pay the rest after the work is done.
So you have to stand up for yourself and say, "look, that's not how it works, so you still have to pay"
There might be some other scenarios the client refused to pay. Let's be real, not all clients are good people.
But the point here is to not be easily swayed by client who don't want to pay and know your rights as a service provider.
Standing up for yourself is not rude, it's respecting yourself. And if you don't respect yourself, who will?
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So these are the 10 pro tips for freelancers out there. I hope these tips smoothens out all your freelance work bumps and enjoy life of freelancers more!
I used to experience bad situations that made me actually gave up freelancing because I thought freelancing is bad, but apparently it's just because I do not know the general knowledge of what I should do to protect myself. I wish these tips I share helps you to also experience that freelancing when done right is a great way of working!
Happy freelancing!
-Leni
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