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It goes without saying that in the process of doing business, mistakes will be made — especially in the beginning. Small mistakes and stumbles happen, but there are a few that beginners make that can put a freelance career on the rocks before it has even started.

Although the items on this list may seem like common sense behaviors to avoid, they’re all things that people have done. Don’t do them!

Insulting or criticizing the potential client

Alright — this should be really obvious but let me relate a little story that demonstrates how common sense isn’t so common:

I actually got an e-mail a few months ago from a web designer who’d stumbled across my portfolio site. He introduced himself, then proceeded to mock the template used for the site before suggesting improvements.

Aside from mocking generally being a bad way to introduce oneself, there was a pretty big problem with his message. There was no template used to be mocked. My site was designed by a friend who thinks Dreamweaver is for sissies and does all her work in Notepad.

A more tactful approach would have been to merely offer some suggestions for improvements without the insults. Although I probably would’ve just forwarded those to the designer I already work with, this gentleman also killed any shot at referral business.

(’How NOT to Get Monk Work’ — Ed.)

Introducing yourself to clients without having anything to offer

While still in school, I frequently had the opportunity to pick the brains of magazine and newspaper editors about what they looked for in writers. The main thing they all said was “People who pitch good ideas.”

One told me his biggest frustration was the daily phone call he’d get that usually went something like: “Hi, I’m a freelance writer, do you have any stories that need writing?”

His standard response to that question would not be appropriate to print here…

The people who get assignments, he told me, are the ones who can come up with ideas he wouldn’t have thought of.

Similarly, if you were approaching a potential client about redesigning their web site, though they’re likely to dictate the changes they want, at least have some of your own ideas.

Not doing your homework

Always find out as much as possible about a potential client before approaching them for work. This saves the embarrassment of, say, pitching a national story idea to a magazine that only covers a small region.

Doing things like this shows that you’re lazy and that you don’t take the time to do a proper job (especially since finding a local angle to the story probably would’ve taken only a little more time.)

Clients are generally impressed with people who show how much they know about their business. Just make sure not to take it so far that you sound like you’ve been stalking them or come off as a condescending know-it-all (see my first point about not insulting the client.)

You only get one first impression

The first impression can make or break a working relationship. While it’s next to impossible to impress everyone, at the very least you can avoid behaviours like those listed above — all guaranteed to make a potential client think “What an idiot… NEXT!”