~ What is the best and worst practice as a freelancer?
I have been freelancing for 6 years. For since last 3-4 years has become like working as an agency. I have seen both the rosy and poking sides of freelancing. And therefore I write about all these in my blog Insight Caja.
Freelancing is amazing! I prefer working with Companies, SMEs, Startups over individuals, but I like both types of work. Because I help companies with growth consulting, therefore my projects are a very long time. And these are not small gigs.
Well, be it working for long run projects or gig-based projects, you definitely need to have some best practices as a freelancer. And no doubt, you have to kick out the worst practices.
~ What is the best and worst practice as a freelancer?
Let’s discuss, some of the best and worst practices as a freelancer, where I would share my experience.
~ What is the best and worst practice as a freelancer?
What is the best and worst practice as a freelancer?
~ What is the best and worst practice as a freelancer?
Best Practices of a Freelancer:
~ What is the best and worst practice as a freelancer?
- Building a quality Portfolio
- Have a Selective Desirable Niche to Work
- Build Competitive Pricing by doing Research and Study
- Know Your Competitors
- Establish a Qualitative Online Presence
- Use Social Media – like LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook
- Maintain the ORM or Online Reputation Management
- Be Available and Reply Your Clients
- Don’t Forget to Ask for Feedback
- Always Take the Testimonials
- Display The Positive Testimonials
- Adhere the Deadlines
- Be Punctual in Meetings
- Be Realistic About Scheduling and Deadlines
- Make Proper Invoice
- Do Networking
- Stay in Touch with the Right Networks
- Keep MOUs or Memorandum of Understanding
- Contracts with Companies / MOUs Work Well
- Identify The Best Platforms to Work
- Identify How to Build Your Outbound Marketing Funnel
- Identify The Outbound Pitching Channels
- Identify The Right Tools for Outbound Marketing
- Set Criteria And Filters Beforehand
- Select The Right Payment Process as Per the Client
- Be Mobile for Client Meetings
- Be Visible to Your Clients – Do Not Shy Away to Show Your Face in Meeting Calls
- Align on Communication Preference
- Don’t Let The Price Bargaining Be The Only Criteria to Close the Project
- Don’t Start Working Without Having Perfectly Clear Expectations From Each Other
- Always Ask for Referrals after Work Done – Remember Connections are the Key
- Do Not Miss out on the Savings Part as a Freelancer
- Do Not Miss out to Up-skill Yourself
- Be Flexible
- Love Your Laptop Life
- Do Not Shy Away to hit the Cafe’s and Mingle with People when you feel lonely
- Try Doing Projects with the Global Market
- Have a Dedicated Workspace – Build Your Own WFH Workspace
- Get Your Insurance Settled
- Set clear Expectations and Goals
- Do not let your Client dictate all the terms
- Do not dominate your decisions to your clients
- Do not compromise your charges to a significant level
- Do not compromise your peace
- Take a break if needed
- Stay Organized
Worst Practices of a Freelancer:
~ What is the best and worst practice as a freelancer?
- Bad Pricing Strategy
- Compromising on Charges to Close a Project Quickly
- Delivering Poor Quality on a Rush
- Constant irritation and self-doubts
- Low Confidence to Fade Away in the Competition
- Assuming Clients know how to work with freelancers
- Assuming Clients know everything about the process of the project
- Not taking in-charge as a Consultant
- Not managing for a fluctuating income
- Pricing the services and packages like an employee
- Neglecting your physical (and mental) health
- Stressing out to rush on a deadline
- Promising unrealistic Deadlines
- Trying to over please the Client
- Lacking Communication Skills
- Not Acknowledging the dead-air
- Only planning for short term
- Ignoring scalable business practices
- Ignoring team work practices
- Avoiding Up-skilling
- Avoiding Specializations
- Thinking solo-preneurship is a one-person game
- Trading deep work for busywork
- Always Working on the Bed
- Relying on inspiration for productivity
- Paying to get a gig
- Not Managing the Taxes Properly
- Slowing Down – Taking to mush of leaves as you are your own boss – Lethargy
- Not Leveraging enough
- Lack of Tracking the Calendar
- Spending too much of time and not taking actions
- Spending too much money on things that do not matter
- Not treating the Freelancing as a Job
- Using a Bad Quality Computer
- Not Using the Correct Tools
- Bidding Unrealistically
- Bidding on Projects without doing a fair share of research and study
- Betting on the first Draft
- Micromanaging Clients
- Unreliable Clients
- Poor Communication
- Low Payment
- Late Payment – Avoiding Milestone Payments and Support the significant delay on payments
Check out the Dos to Work with Freelancers
~ What is the best and worst practice as a freelancer?
Check Out this Small List of Pros and Cons of Freelancing
~ What is the best and worst practice as a freelancer?
To know more about freelancing, and to start freelancing, you can read the complete guide of freelancing by Insight Caja.
I am Soumendra, an Online Marketing professional and Content Pro, helping businesses to grow online with digital marketing. To let you know, I train people on Online Marketing, Digital Advertising, Content Creation, Digital Marketing Analytics courses, SEO and the entire arena of Digital Marketing.
To know more or to learn freelancing or digital marketing in detail you can always connect with me here at www.soumendranathsome.com
Thanks for reading.
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