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We all know how many responsibilities a freelancer has and how many different hats we have to wear (client work, invoicing and finances, marketing, customer service, etc.). It can be easy to forget that we all have strengths and weaknesses because we spend so much time trying to be good at everything.

In order to do our best work and to maximize efficiency and productivity, we need to recognize what we do well (and what we don’t) and avoid trying to be all things to all people.

From what I see, our weaknesses can be broken down into two categories: 1) specific types of projects, and 2) the various tasks of freelancing. On this first point, most of us have a particular type of service that we specialize in. A designer/developer may be best at designing high-end flash-based sites, and may not be so skilled at designing an attractive website with a minimalist approach, or vice versa. Freelance writers will typically have certain topics or types of writing that they are more experienced with, and so on.

On the second point, we all have certain aspects of freelancing that we excel at, and others that are more of a struggle. For example, you may have a hard time with keeping your invoices and finances organized, but you may excel at dealing directly with clients.

Regardless of what our strengths and weaknesses are, we need to recognize them and realize when we’re not able to do an effective job on a particular project or a specific aspect of freelancing. Continue Reading

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As a freelancer you are obviously offering a service to clients, whether it be designing, programming, writing, photography, etc., but what else are you selling?

You should be able to improve your overall effectiveness and your conversions of leads to clients by emphasizing and selling these aspects of your work as well:

Customer Service

Besides being great at the work that you do, you have an opportunity to separate yourself from the others and win clients over by providing exceptional customer service. Some clients will prefer to work with freelancers because of the one-to-one contact that they may not get with a large firm. Clients like to know who is going to answer the phone when they call and they like to have someone who is there to work closely with them. Continue Reading

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Many freelancers struggle with seeing the true value of their own time and respecting it for what it is worth. In order to have a truly successful career we all need to understand that our time is what allows us to make a living, and the more efficiently we use it, the more profitable our work will be.

As a freelancer, if you don’t respect your own time, no one else will. Personally, I have to say that I have struggled with all of these issues at one time or another.

Here are 8 ways that freelancers tend to disrespect their own time:

1 – Underpricing

Pricing is a difficult decision for many freelancers, especially those who are not yet established. It’s always tempting to underprice your services thinking that it will lead to more work. However, there are real consequences to underpricing. First, you’ll have to work more to make what you could make with higher rates. Plus, customers may view your prices as a sign of your skill level and experience. Continue Reading

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As a freelance designer, your income will be dependent upon the ability to find potential clients and secure the opportunity to do the work they need. There are plenty of different ways to find potential clients, and in this article we’ll take a look at 12 things you can do to increase the number of leads you receive.

Methods for Increasing Your Leads:

1. Maximize Your Portfolio

An extraordinary portfolio is a designer’s best friend, and for obvious reasons. Potential clients will be able to gauge your skill level and quality of work from your portfolio. In order to maximize the benefits from your portfolio, put only your best work in the spotlight. Think about how your portfolio is organized and make sure that your best pieces of work are sure to be seen by potential clients. If your work has improved over time, keep your best and most recent designs in the portfolio and consider removing older ones.

Also, don’t simply keep your portfolio on your own site. You can showcase your portfolio at plenty of CSS galleries. If you’ve done work for a well-known client there may also be a justification to submit a press release about a re-design or some other significant change to the site. Continue Reading

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As freelancers we all have the need to dedicate time towards providing the services that produce our income, whether it is writing, designing, programming, etc. Of course, we also have the need to find that work in one way or another. Freelancers can market their services in any number of different ways, but passive marketing is capable of bring in new clients without taking up a considerable amount of time to find those clients.

In addition to the services that produce income, there are so many business-related activities that can consume our time, and of course marketing and promotion can be included here. While things like bookkeeping, invoicing, marketing, networking (and many more) are all necessary to run a business, they don’t directly produce income. Obviously, marketing is necessary for most freelancers, but if we’re able to generate leads and new business with less time investment, we’ll have more time for providing the services that make money.

There are a few ways that we can passively market ourselves and our services. If these methods are able to produce all of the business that we need, marketing and promotion will require a very minimal amount of time. Continue Reading

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Most freelancers are working on a variety of different projects at any given time and are constantly facing a decision between different options, and choosing which projects to take and which ones to pass up can be a daunting challenge.

Most of us typically make these decisions based on factors like the amount of money that can be made, the time the job will require, and our current availability. Obviously, these decisions aren’t always easy.

While the factors of money, time and availability will be major influences on any decision that you make, they don’t always tell the whole story. If you were to pass on a particular job, what would you be able to do with your time, and how would it affect your overall situation? Opportunity cost allows us to see the complete picture. Continue Reading

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One of the biggest challenges involved in freelance work is reaching and maintaining a steady workload. For many freelancers finding new clients can be a time-consuming process, which leaves less time for income-producing work. What if this effort could be reduced or eliminated? You could more completely dedicate your focus to earning money and doing a great job.

Increasing the amount of referral business you receive can be one of the most effective ways to reduce the amount of time that is spent on no-income producing activities. Actively working to increase referrals from clients, friends, and family is often not a priority, as many freelancers feel that is not in their control. Instead, they just wait — and hope — that someone sends them a referral. Continue Reading

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This post is part 5 of 5 in our four-author series on perfect pricing and rates.

Most freelancers hate dealing with pricing. We would rather focus on what we do best, and as a result, pricing sometimes doesn’t get enough thought and attention.

Pricing obviously has a huge impact on how much money we make, but what about its affect on potential clients?

Ways that Pricing Impacts Clients

While these items are not absolutes, they certainly should be examined and taken into consideration as you are developing a pricing structure for your services.

1. Their Level of Expectation

When clients see a high price tag they’re going to expect a high quality of work. Of course, it’s possible that the client will not have an accurate idea of what price is high and what is not, but most will also look at the prices of some other freelancers and compare.

If clients expect a higher level of quality with a high price, is it safe to assume that they will expect a lower quality of work with services that are lower priced? Not always. Continue Reading