What Freelancing Is Really Like
By: Helen Jackson
Tags: Freelancing, Working From Home, Freelancers, Freelance, Freelance Writing

Advice for New Freelancers

When you become a freelancer, it’s easy to get so absorbed in your new work-life that your continued development goes out the window. All you seem to do is chase your current clients for payments and chase new clients for new business. Before you know it, it’s late evening, and you’ve barely eaten all day.

I’ve just started my second round of freelancing — mainly because my first time I said ‘yes’ to all jobs from any client, even when I got bad vibes from them (I’m still owed money two years on). I felt I had to in order to earn money. Chandler from “ Friends” was right — the fear gets to you once you’ve quit your full-time job.

I was miserable, stressed, I had slowly come to resent some of my clients, and the work I was doing wasn’t fulfilling in the slightest.

Here are my top tips for new freelancers.

Think about your decision properly

You need to really weigh up the pros and cons of working for yourself. Are you someone who can work by themselves — sometimes going a full day or multiple days not talking to anyone? I was warned it could get lonely, but I don’t actually feel lonely. I’m a chatty person — anyone who has unfortunately sat next to me in any office space can attest to this. I still talk to people, and so far, I’ve not missed the office chit-chat.

I talk with people online and in cafes I work at. I also make sure to break some days up by meeting friends for lunch. Whatever gets you out of the house and working in a new environment — even if it’s just one day a week — do it.

Pick your favourite cafe with free WiFi and buy a drink. Sit and work for a few hours, and when you go back home, you’ll feel refreshed.

Save money

This was something I didn’t do a lot of my first time around. This time, I’ve got a cushion behind me. Having money saved means you don’t make rash decisions when accepting work. I took shit from clients left, right, and centre last time, and I’m sure as hell not doing that again! If you struggle with saving money, I’ve been using an app called Plum. It’s free, and I read all about it on Money Saving Expert, so it was trustworthy. Check it out.

Nail down your client persona

If you don’t know who you want to work with, how will you market yourself properly? I work with business owners, mainly in the B2B sector. I know their pain points and exactly how I can alleviate the issues they’re having. You need to outline something similar so you can focus your offering.

Don’t compromise on price, clients, or contracts

First of all, you need to work out what you’re going to charge. Look and see what other freelancers are charging for similar services. Write into your terms and conditions that you have the right to change your pricing without prior notice. Then, if after a few months you think your pricing is too low or too high, you can adjust accordingly.

If a client tries to ask you to complete work for a price you’re not comfortable with, just stay firm with your pricing. If they want to pay, they’ll hire you. If not, they’ll find someone else, and they weren’t for you anyway. As soon as someone repeatedly questions my pricing, it’s a red flag that they might not pay. So stay away from them and politely decline.

A contract or at least an email chain is a must when working with a client. I use PandaDoc for sending professional proposals and contracts. This software enables me to track when a client has opened and read the document. I can also put an expiry date on the proposal, and it comes with e-sign signature built-in.

You need to protect yourself and your earnings when freelancing. This means not holding back when it comes to chasing invoice payments and insuring your business. I’m insured with Policy Bee — not only does insurance help keep you protected, but it’s also a sign to a client that you’re not a risk.