Talk to your current clients and connections within your network and try to get a sense of whether the time is right to shift to full-time. Do you already have a strong client base? Will you be able to apply your expertise and skills full-time? These are all important things to ask yourself and consider.
Make sure that your finances are stable enough to make the leap and never depend on one single client. Instead, make sure you have a client base that is wide enough in case one of them falls through with projects or tasks. Have a plan and don’t just hope for work to come your way.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many freelancers have experienced hardships and setbacks. Given that there are close to 59 million freelancers in the U.S. alone and about 1.1 billion in the world, the competition for work, especially during the current crisis, is extremely high.
Unfortunately, not all freelance incomes are equal and depending on the field you specialize in, you may want to reconsider learning new skills that pay more. For example, if you currently freelance in the areas of hospitality or events, you are probably finding it tough to earn income as the pandemic caused these areas to mostly shut down.
Consider making the transition to another area of work, one that can offer a more attractive salary. Freelance work in areas such as consulting, web development, coding, and graphic design are all in very high demand for 2021.
Think about additional ways to create more opportunity by rethinking how you’ve defined your area of expertise. Instead of searching for short-term gigs, try looking for long-term gigs which will eventually leave you more financially satisfied. For example, if you’re a HR consultant, consider the possibility of regular part-time work.
There is a plethora of freelance platforms out there, some are focused on specific areas like software development, and some target a more general audience of freelancers. Are you on the platforms that offer broader gigs or on the ones that focus solely on your niche?
Don’t underestimate your freelance network. It can be a great source for new opportunities. Reach out to existing clients, join groups on social media and connect with fellow freelancers who may be able to connect you with clients seeking your skills and do the same for them. You’ll be surprised at how much your own generosity can help you in the long term.
Use your downtime to enhance your current skills or learn new ones. Don’t just focus on what you already know how to do. Instead, focus on new areas that can offer you even more opportunities. Add new skills to your resume that could potentially attract more clients and a higher salary.
Whether or not you like it, difficult clients are everywhere, and you’ll want to do anything to avoid them. It can be extremely disappointing when a client becomes hard to please after hiring you for your skills and expertise and yet, nothing appears to meet their approval.
Always try and prevent a situation in which you are arguing with your client about getting paid. Before taking on any project, always make sure that you and your client are 100% aligned on the contract and expectations. Never start working on a task/project and be writing up the contract at the same time.
Clear communication between you and your client is the key to a successful and professional relationship. Talk to them and discuss what you both believe is a successful and efficient working relationship. Often, difficult behavior derives from miscommunication or a missed expectation between the two of you.
From time to time, ask your client how you’ve been doing and if they feel that you’ve met their expectations so far. This type of open communication will lead to more trust between both parties, creating a win-win situation.
When it comes to challenging scenarios between you and your client (e.g. disagreement on final outcome, expectations, etc.) find a way to work together and develop a solution. Talk things out and share your thoughts on how things are going as well as the best way to move forward that is fair for both parties.
Before jumping to a conclusion or acting, try to speak with your fellow freelancers or colleagues and ask them what they believe would be the best way to go about handling these types of clients.
If you still can’t seem to please your client, then unfortunately you’ll have to consider letting them go. Yes, it’s going to be tough and can even impact your freelance income, but your work conditions matter. If you feel that you are constantly stuck and no longer know what to do, then it’s time to walk away.
Working with clients in different time zones can offer many benefits. For example, when you’re a few hours ahead, you’ll get to enjoy “quiet time” when no one else has clocked in yet, meaning, you can get a lot more done. On the other hand, it can also be pretty challenging!
Set consistent times to follow up with your client and don’t keep changing the time to get together with them for a chat. Try to make their lives easier by setting up a reliable schedule that can be helpful for both you and your client. Always look to create a win-win situation!
Reassure them of your commitment to the project and the importance of getting it done and discuss the progress that has already been made. Also, remind them of where you stand with the current budget along with making changes that were previously discussed. Address the topics, if any, that are important to discuss and let them know when the next scheduled call should be and where your progress should stand by then. Finally, be clear on when you’ll be available and when you won’t and explain why.
Hire a HackerBe aware of your client’s cultural characteristics and you’ll avoid making any embarrassing remarks. Remember, the rules may not always be the same in both your country and your client’s. You should also take into consideration holidays they may be observing and don’t mistakenly set up a meeting during a holiday that they may have taken time off for.
Showcase your skills and expertise on social media because that’s where clients are looking as well. Build a presence on platforms like LinkedIn where many organizations and those who have the budget to pay more are seeking top talent like yourself.
Make yourself visible on platforms that are specific to your work. For example, if you’re a freelance software engineer you should be offering your services on platforms that focus on this area and where potential clients are seeking freelancers within this field.
Are you sharing your expertise, knowledge, and skills to a large enough audience? Share what you know via podcasts, webinars and even E-learning platforms where you have the opportunity to teach those who are interested in your field and possibly earn passive income from an additional channel.
Do you work in an area that doesn’t offer much pay? Consider switching over to a field that can offer you a higher income. Research what the most in-demand skills are and see if any of those areas interest you.
You are more likely to receive better paying gigs when you and others collaborate to generate larger opportunities and look for clients together. Instead of thinking about the hourly pay, think about the size of the project and the opportunities that may come about from that.
Raising your freelance rate is an important part of growing as a freelancer, however, if you already have a well-established client base, it can be a bit tricky. Before you go ahead and have the conversation with your clients, make sure that you do your homework.
Being straightforward is extremely important when working with clients and it’s also the best approach to take when raising your rates. No need to send them a long email or text message about the fact that you want to charge more. Instead, set up a call and speak to them directly.
While you’re about to charge more for the same services, your client will want to understand what they’ll gain from this increase. Be clear about what you’ll be offering them in exchange for your new price and explain to your clients how the increase will benefit them.
Explain to your clients that you’re bringing up your rate due to what’s fair and that it’s totally acceptable for someone with your background, experience, and expertise. It’s up to you to make them fully understand your position and what you’re worth.
Be picky with which clients you want to raise rates with. Meaning, for more marginal clients, who are typically the more loyal, you may want to increase your rates only slightly, or not even increase them at all. For other clients that typically seek your unique skills, you’ll for sure want to increase your rates.
If some of your clients are struggling to accept the full increase, do your best to be flexible and even offer them more time until you make the change. For example, if they are not ready to pay you more, at least give them more time. This way you don’t harm the relationship and lose them. Don’t ever make your client feel rushed.
Artificial intelligence is slowly becoming more mainstream and sooner or later, you’ll find that it will be replacing customer support work that’s done by freelancers as well as customer success. In fact, a recent survey found that 70% of large organizations require workers to have both automation and AI skills.
As businesses worldwide were forced to shut down their stores as a result of COVID-19, many shifted to operating their business solely online. With digital businesses on the rise, you should take advantage of this and learn how to build and develop a professional site.
Cloud computing is another technical/hard skill that many companies are seeking workers for. Having cloud technology expertise has quickly become very essential for larger organizations so if you’re thinking of growing your skill set, then this is one that many are looking for.
Software development skills have been on the list for the most in-demand tech skills for quite some time now. Demand is also growing faster than across most areas of IT due to the increasing number of apps on the market.