10 Essential Steps to Avoid Freelance Headaches
By Leo Babauta
I don’t know about you, but I always assumed that working as a freelancer would be the dream job — no boss, no lazy co-workers, no headaches.
Well, I still love being a freelancer, but the no headaches part was certainly wrong.
At least, it was until I learned a few essential steps that don’t take long to complete but that can save you tons of time and some pretty major headaches as you go about your work — and without the headaches, being a freelancer really is a dream job.
1. Find great clients. Every freelancer has had clients that are a major pain in the … neck. They are negative and critical, they are never happy, they are rude, they want things right away and to specific yet unknown specifications … they are major headaches. The problem comes when you continue to work with them. Ditch them, and find better clients. Your life will be so much better. Look for positive people who are genuinely fun to work with — and be sure that they’re professionals. Cyan and Collis from FreelanceSwitch.com are excellent examples of great clients — they’re fun, extremely competent, professional, and enthusiastic. Find people like them to work with.
2. Be clear about terms. When you’re entering into a freelance relationship with someone, it’s best to spell out, right away, what the terms are. Email them with a list of questions — rate, scope, payment terms, any specifications, format for submission, deadlines, etc. If you get this stuff clear up front, you won’t have headaches about it later. It’s good to come up with a list of this stuff so you can ask each new client the same questions.
3. Set deadlines. Work with deadlines, or things could sprawl out much longer than necessary. It’s best to overestimate how long it’ll take you to complete the entire project by at least half, but to set a sub-deadline for the next step in the project that you’ll need to complete. Submit each step along the way, setting deadlines as you go for each step.
4. Agree on desired outcome. You and your client should know exactly how the project should look when completed. Of course, I mean “look” in a figurative sense — obviously I’m not talking about the look of the words you’re going to submit as a writer, and if you’re a designer, you don’t know how it’s going to look until you’re done. But what I mean is that you have a shared vision for the project — with as many details worked out as possible. If you know exactly what the client wants up front, you’ll be able to deliver it. Otherwise, you’re shooting at a target with a blindfold on, and you’re going to run into innumerable hassles along the way.
5. Communicate clearly. Keep constant communication between yourself and the client from the beginning to the end, and all throughout the project. If you have problems or delays, communicate them. Ask for feedback along the way, so the client can correct your direction midway through the project, rather than just at the end. If you’re not sure about anything, be sure to clarify. Most headaches are caused by lack of communication.
6. Set aside designated time. Freelancers don’t work 9 to 5 (unless they want to). They can work early in the morning or late at night, and often all the times in between. If you work on your own, you will likely find that your work expands to fill all your available hours. Instead of working around the clock, designate time for your freelance work. During this time (and it can be several periods throughout the day), you can’t do stuff from your day job (if you have one), you can’t do family stuff, you can’t do email or RSS feeds — you can only do freelance work. It’s important to set and keep these boundaries, or you will never get anything done, and you’ll work endlessly and exhaustively.
7. Clear distractions. Another important step to getting your work done in the time you designate as your freelance time is clearing away anything that might interrupt the work. Yes, this means cell phones and IM and email notification and Twitter and anything else. Remove clutter from your desktop and walls. If others are in the area, tell them you’re “in your zone” and can’t be interrupted. Interruptions are one of the worst sources of frustrations and stress.
8. Follow up. When you submit an assignment or project to a client, be sure to communicate afterward to ensure that they’re happy with the outcome. Ask for feedback about what could be improved, or what they liked. This will help you deliver a better product in the future, avoid repeat problems, and keep your client happy.
9. Keep track. It’s a difficult thing to do if you’re not very organized, but it’s important to keep track of your hours, the work you’ve done, and your invoices. Keep a simple spreadsheet to log this stuff in, and just make it a habit to log your work as soon as you finish working. If you don’t keep track, you’ll have major confusion, stress and headaches later on.
10. Automate. If there are things you can make automatic, such as billing or logging or reminders or even parts of your work, take the little extra time it takes to set up the automated tasks. It’s well worth the investment in time. The more you can automate your freelance life, the fewer headaches you’ll have down the road.
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10. Don’t always say Yes
The automate suggestion is right on. That has saved me so much time in the past. I suggest learning how to use the rules in outlook to automate things. Makes life much easier.
@HH … actually, that’s an excellent point that I meant to include! Taking on too much work is a sure way to headaches. I have learned the hard way to cut back on the work I accept … and to only take the most interesting, satisfying, and best-paying jobs.
@HH: I totally agree. That should probably be #1: Don’t always say yes and select great clients.
I also think it is important to continually market yourself, even in the times when you are fat and happy. A friendly reminder here, a pleasant phone call there to your clients. Keep the good ones happy and you keep them longer.
Really great list, I thoroughly enjoy this site.
Thank you very much for this post
Great list! I would add just one more thing – never work without a contract (Under the “terms” bullet on your list). Sometimes it’s okay to work with a “contract” that is merely an emailed agreement between you and the client. However, if the terms were spelled out over the phone or if the terms are a bit dodgy, ask for a contract. I just dropped a client because he was unwilling to back up his vague terms with a contract that spelled them out in more detail. The aggravation is not worth it, in my opinion.
Excellent advice. I especially agree with choosing your clients carefully.
Good clients will make you feel good about yourself and as a result your product will be better. They will also bring you into contact with other good clients.
Bad clients will just give you headaches and lead to other bad clients.
Great post – thankyou.
Another great article with useful tips!
Great article. Small advice, to turn down some projects, don’t say “no” either. Just increase the price so the client goes to someone else for that specific project.
This way, they might come back to you later on.
Great article! I was going to write about something similar, but I feeling trackback-friendly instead.
The great thing about these tips is that they apply to more than freelancers. Entrepreneurs of all kinds can learn a thing or two about managing their day-to-day (and avoid the headaches) by following this guide. Thanks!
Excellent advice – as we have found out as well from the freelancers using our site http://www.peopleperhour.com
@Verne – I fully agree that it applies to both freelancers and entrepreneurs alike; it’s so easy to get side-tracked..
#4 and #10 are my biggies. Ensuring that your client knows what to expect will avoid many headaches and you can deal with any misunderstanding *before* you begin.
As far as automation, it can take a lot of time to set up but when you actually have to run the same task, you will be glad you did it.
I love this site. Great work guys
…sip…
One thing that I had to learn after a year of freelancing was to make sure to invoice, even if it felt that I had “just one more task” to accomplish for the client. Sometimes that can never end and you don’t get around to invoicing until you are crunched for cash. The client will not bite your head off for invoicing for work that has already been done or even if it’s a lot of time spent on work that has yet to be completed.
Yet another useful article…. why didn’t I find your site sooner!!
Ditching bad clients is always tricky when you need the work. Do you do the nightmare work knowing you will get paid, or reduce the stress of the client but increase the stress of finding more work to fill the gap?
During this time (and it can be several periods throughout the day), you can’t do stuff from your day job (if you have one), you can’t do family stuff, you can’t do email or RSS feeds — you can only do freelance work.
I’m not a freelancer, I’m a student but I really need to take this advice seriously. At the end of the day it seems I’m always asking myself “where did the time go”. In fact I need to be studying right now. This internet is my “siren song” and I’m going to be crashing on the rocks of low grades if I can’t learn to stay logged off!
I think an essential step is to not refer to yourself as a “freelancer” – potential clients take you more seriously if you don’t.
Thanks for this Article … Don’t always say yes and find only good customers.
Good post. From the client’s perspective, I would like to add one point that reduces your own headache. That’s Avoid Negative Surprises.
Deliver bad news as fast as possible – even if its a warning, even if your client is going to be temporarily unhappy about it. But if its good news, confirm it before you tell the client.
On negative surprises, especially on something that’s going to increase the billing or is going to delay the project make sure you tell the client BEFORE you spend your resources on it.
There’s another post called “Freelancer Essentials” that you may be interested in. Check it out. ( http://www.p2w2.com/blog/index.php/index.php/2008/05/05/you-inc-freelancer-essentials/ )
Nice Post … Thank you very much
Very useful information. Thanks for this great post.
Seo Beratung
To be a freelancer is really a good thing, I can decide when and where I work. But it´s true it´s more stress for us.
Great article! Seems to be right on. I have been freelancing for a year now and as great as it can be, there are definitely headaches that go along with it. Most importantly, I found myself working ALL the time instead of setting specific hours (whenever that may be) to work. As great as it is to be able to work all of the time at an hourly rate, I found my health and happiness not liking it as much. I have recently been very strict with my time clock and I make sure I work my specified hours per day and then turn my computer off (sorta) and go do something else. I have found that this helps clear my head more than anything, helping me to be more creative and clever (if that is possible).
Good advices, thanks
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