Working as a freelancer definitely has its perks. You are your own boss. You don’t have to suffer long drives or hours to commute.
You can work anywhere you like as long as you have a stable internet connection. A freelancer’s life from the outside seems like a breeze.
However, the good always comes with challenges. There are some frustrations that only other freelancers really understand.
Being a freelancer doesn’t always mean sunshine and rainbows, here are some challenges that freelancers face and what you can do to conquer them.
1. Finding Clients
Finding clients is one of the biggest hurdles of course, AS a freelancer you usually don’t have that financial security that being in a corporate job brings.
And freelancing platforms are a pain in the neck most of the time as you have to compete with at least a thousand other freelancers out there.
Not just that, you also have to pay for some of these platforms so you can be matched with a legitimate client.
What You Can Do:
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Build Trust and Nurture Your Connections. The most effective marketing strategy is the word of mouth. Make sure that you do a great job so that when a project is over, your previous clients will refer you to their network.
- Market yourself and Get active on Social Media. Build an impressive portfolio and do not be afraid to put it out on your social media. Create content that will highlight your skillset.
2. Procrastination
Being a freelancer can have a lot of distractions. These distractions pull you away from actually getting some jobs done.
You’ll think that you have more time to do them later in the day, and this of course causes a bottleneck that leaves you cramming for your deadlines.
What You Can Do:
- Timetables. Make a timetable for each of your tasks for the day. Prioritize your tasks based on their urgency and deadlines.
3. Losing Work and Home Boundaries
Unlike working in an office, working from home can blur the boundaries. You can get stressed a lot faster and more often.
You might l find that relaxing at home can be hard after a day’s work when there is no difference between your work and your home setting.
What You Can Do:
- Work in a fixed space. If you don’t have any options but to work at home, be sure to work only in a fixed space. It will make it easier for you to relax when you leave that space.
- Coworking space. If you can go out, go to the nearest coworking space. It will give you that sense of having an office and make it easier to relax and wind down after a long day when you get home.
5. Scams
Finding a client is already hard as it is, and you are going to get fraudulent clients as well.
And there are no foolproof ways to actually know who’s a legitimate client or who’s not.
What You Can Do:
- Be aware of red flags. Red flags tell you that a client might be scamming you. Here are some red flags to be aware of.
– It sounds too good to be true. A client who offers a high pay rate for a minimal job or project is just trying to get your attention. Do research about the client or company. – Multiple ‘tests’. It is usual for a client to ask for your sample works. Either by asking for your portfolio or testing your capability by giving you a test run.
A blog or two hardly seems suspicious, but when they continue to ask you to do a series of blogs or test runs, they are probably trying to get it for free
– ‘Pay to Work’. This is the same as a client requiring you to pay and download a product or software for them before you can work.
- Do not Communicate outside the Platform’s channels. Only do that when you have established a strong working connection with your clients.
If you are not on any freelancer platform, avoid giving your personal email and numbers. Create separate accounts for freelancing.
5. Getting Paid (or Not)
This is the most frustrating that can happen to any freelancer. Working on a project that took a lot of your time and resources and not getting paid after delivery.
What You Can Do:
- Ask for a Contract. Indicate in the contract clearly the terms of which you agreed upon.
State the fees and the payment method in the contract and the duration of the project. Do not forget to include spaces for signature.
6. Managing Money For Collaborative Projects
Freelancers most of the time have multiple projects. And keeping track of every project, invoice and payment can be a tedious task.
Different clients may use different payment methods and these methods can be also hard to keep track of.
Add to that, is the charges on these platforms can be an absolute rip-off sometimes coupled with dealing with currency exchanges.
What You Can Do:
- Choose the right payment method. Put everything into consideration such as exchange rates, charging fees and whether it would be real-time or not. Take also into consideration how safe your money would be.
- Look for Collaborative Payment systems. There are a lot of fintech companies that offer a payment system where you can keep everything in one place.
And you don’t have to worry about funds missing, getting everything mixed up such as account numbers, exchange rates and high charging fees.
Velvet Platform is a collaborative payment platform that can take care of these worries for you.
You can keep track of your projects in one place, keep your money safe with a gold standard AML/KYC policy.
Velvet Platform can provide you with the convenience of no delays and no extra admin for all your projects.