The 7 Deadly Sins of Freelancing

Most people who fail as freelancers don’t fail because they are good at what they do. It isn’t that they’re horrible designers, or that they can’t write well. Most often, freelancers fail because they make bad choices about how they want to run their freelancing business.

They fall prey to one of the seven deadly sins of freelancing. This 7-part series will take a look at each of the freelancing sins and tell you how to resist their temptations.

Deadly Freelancing Sin #1: Underestimating the job

Why do I write about “violent truths” at Freelance Folder?

Because there are so many people out there who want you to believe you can make six figures in a year working two or three hours a day. Most often, those folks are trying to sell you their program that teaches you how to do so. The violent truths are, in part, a way to let folks know what they’re getting into.

The fact of the matter is that no freelancer makes that much with that little amount of work. Making it as a freelancer takes a special kind of person. You can’t be content to sit back and hope work comes in. You’ve got to be aggressive. You’ve got to find the good freelance jobs. You’ve got to be ready to face rejection. You’ve got to be prepared to deal with frustrating clients. On, and on, and on.

So, what are those areas folks almost always underestimate when they start freelancing? What factors do they miss that causes them to underestimate the job? I think there are at least a couple of areas:

Freelancers need business skills
Freelancers have to be excellent businesspeople. You have to be able to do some basic accounting. You have to learn sales and marketing. You have to know how to negotiate, and how to figure your income taxes, or at least be willing to hire someone who can.

These skills have nothing to do with writing or design but they’re essential to a successful freelancing career. Read some books, take a couple of courses at the community college if you need to, but get a handle on how a business has to operate. Don’t underestimate the amount of business knowledge you need, or you’ll wind up surprised at how little money you’re really making.

Freelancers need people skills
As a freelancer, you’ve got to be able to not only get clients but keep them. A good portion of your income relies on repeat business. Small clients become big ones, and big clients become bigger as long as you prove yourself. Part of this equation is just doing quality work; the other part of it is doing it on time and being nice about it.

One of the coolest things a client ever said to me was that she enjoyed working with me because it was always “nice” but also “professional.” It doesn’t mean you’ve got to be an expert at schmoozing, it just means you treat clients with respect and use some very basic people skills. Don’t underestimate the value of relationships with your clients, or you’ll miss out on all sorts of repeat business.

Freelancers need people
Some of the best friends I’ve ever had started out as folks I worked with when I was a network engineer. The only thing that got me through the day, some days, was my work friends. When you’re a freelancer, though, there’s usually not a cubicle to go to (thank God). But that also means there are no cubicle neighbors.

As a freelancer, you’ve got to develop some strong relationships with some of your colleagues, whether that is some of your longer-standing clients or whether it’s other freelancers. Don’t underestimate your need for other people, or your freelancing career can turn in on itself and become just another job.

Freelancing takes time
Like I said to start with, you can’t work two hours a day and expect to earn as much as if you’d worked for eight. That’s not how the universe is set up. Freelancing is not a ticket to a lazy life, but it can be a ticket to a freer life.

Writing or design is just a part of your job; you’ve got plenty of other things, from bookkeeping to sales, to keep you busy. Don’t underestimate the amount of time it takes to be a successful freelancer.

So, for those of you who are already making a living freelancing, what can you add? What did you underestimate when you first started out, and how did you get beyond it?

Want to know more - The Seven Deadly Sins of Freelancing is a 7-part Series on Freelance Folder.  You can learn more about the other sins here:
Part 1: Underestimating The Job
Part 2: Overestimating Your Abilities
Part 3: Failure To Plan Your Business
Part 4: Ignoring Marketing And Sales
Part 5: Accidental Branding
Part 6: Lack of Diversification
Part 7: Sacrificing Integrity

Posted July 7, 2008 on Freelance Folder by Bob Younce.

Bob Younce is a full-time Internet writer and writing mentor living in Linwood, Michigan. He is dedicated to helping Internet writers to achieve their dreams. Visit Bob at The Writing Journey or follow him on Twitter.