Mistakes to avoid with your first client
- by Teamup.
- Jul 14, 2019
- 2 min read
Even the most experienced freelancer, with 5+ years in the industry, makes mistakes.
The important thing is to learn from these mistakes, and set expectations for yourself as a freelance/small business.
We'll help you with that right now, by pointing out a few mistakes some freelance businesses still make, for you to avoid:
Not considering multiple factors when pricing projects; like the quality of your work, the type of client, the scope and deadline…etc.
Not asking where the work will be seen; so you can work on the appropriate medium.
Not factoring in client’s existing resources; no need to start from scratch if you have a good foundation to build on.
Not having in-person meetings; communicating digitally is easy, but there’s value in meeting face-to-face to build a trust and collaboration.
Not an having exit strategy; the project isn’t finished until it can live without you, so plan for a proper handover talk after work is done.
Showing in-progress work; freelancers understand the process and can imagine the end result, but clients need to see mockups.
Forgetting your were hired for a reason; your expertise in the field is why the client wants to work with you. If you feel strongly about something, speak up.
Ignoring the working style that makes you most productive; whether you like to work in the comfort of your home, or in a busy cafe, make sure you have a plan of where you will work.
Not doing the boring bits of work; if you’re just starting out in your business, know that there will be some manual hard work that is not very exciting.
Disorganization; the only way to complete the project is to plan ahead, take the lead, do that work and communicate with your client as you go. Stick to a method.
Not testing; even if you’re using hiring another expert to help, never trust how something will look/work until you’ve tried it out yourself.
Going beyond the initial scope for free; you might need to go above-and-beyond to give excellent customer service, don’t do it for free.
Not asking for recognition; don’t be shy in crediting yourself in a way that feels right and fair to you.
Being possessive of the project; appreciate the work that you’ve done, but understand that it will live in an imperfect world and let go.
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