10 Mistakes I Made Freelancing As A Designer And How You Can Avoid Them

Before we dive into the mistakes, let’s talk about what a freelance designer is and what you can expect when you’re working for yourself.

A freelancer is someone who works for themselves, rather than an employer. Some freelancers are self-employed (meaning they have their workplace) and some work remotely from home or in coffee shops. Freelancing is great because it gives you the freedom to choose what projects you want to take on, but it also means that there are no set hours or deadlines, so working as a freelancer can be quite stressful at times!

From the information above, Have you recently decided to freelance as a designer? You’re in the right place. In this guide, we will be talking about 10 mistakes I made freelancing as a designer and how you can avoid them. By the end, you should have a good idea of what needs to be done, who to reach out to, and where to begin.

5 Freelance Design Business Mistakes + How to Avoid Them

Takeaways
1. Define clear project scopes to avoid scope creep and ensure project success.
2. Properly assess and charge for your services to reflect the value you provide.
3. Establish detailed contracts to protect yourself and set clear expectations.
4. Invest time in self-promotion to attract clients and grow your freelance business.
5. Communicate effectively with clients to avoid misunderstandings and ensure satisfaction.
6. Avoid overcommitting and set realistic deadlines to manage your workload efficiently.
7. Continuously upgrade your skills to stay competitive in the evolving design industry.
8. Prioritize work-life balance and set boundaries to prevent burnout.
9. Seek support and networking opportunities within the freelance community.
10. Learn from your mistakes and use them as opportunities for growth and improvement.

Table of Contents

1. I Failed To Know My Worth

To make sure you get paid what you are worth, you must be willing to walk away from a job if it isn’t paying you the right amount. You also need to be willing to negotiate with your client on rates. If they want a lower rate than they offered initially, then they will likely not want to work with you again in the future. This is why it’s important that when negotiating your rate, all parties understand that there will be no additional work created without a pay increase.

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2. I Failed To Set Clear Boundaries

I’m not talking about setting boundaries with clients or coworkers I’m talking about setting boundaries for yourself. As freelancers, we need to know our limits so that we can take care of ourselves and our personal lives.

This means knowing what you can and cannot do, who you want to work with, and how much time you’re willing to put into something before it becomes too much of a burden on your mental health. If you don’t know where these lines are drawn yet (and if they’re not already very clear), here are some ways I recommend getting started:

Know what kinds of jobs interest you most, and be honest about whether or not they’re worth taking on at this point in your career (or ever). If nothing else, have fun!
Don’t feel bad if someone asks for more from you than what was initially agreed upon it happens all the time!

And it’s okay if sometimes saying no is necessary for self-preservation; people will understand when their expectations exceed reality which is why it’s important to establish them upfront.

Always remember: no matter how stressed out/overwhelmed/underpaid/etc., there will always be better opportunities available somewhere else.

3. I Didn’t Take Time To Rest And Reflect

This is not to say you should never take a break from your work, but it’s important to know when it’s time to stop. Taking breaks can help prevent burnout, which can lead to exhaustion and frustration. It also gives you the space necessary for self-reflection and learning new skills.

If you’re working as a freelancer or in any kind of freelance capacity (like me!), then taking some time off every once in a while is crucial for maintaining your business’ health. If I had taken better care of myself during those first few years, I would have been able to continue building my firm into something sustainable while staying sane!

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4. I Didn’t Make Myself An Priority

When you’re a freelancer, it can often feel like you’re the only one responsible for getting things done. You don’t have an office manager to remind you to take lunch or schedule vacation time; if something goes wrong, it’s on your head.

While this is true to some degree, the other side of that coin is that as a freelancer, you have more power and control over what happens with your career than most people do. As long as your clients are happy (and they will be), then go ahead and treat yourself well!

I’m not saying that every day should be spent at Disneyland or a spa of course not! That would get boring pretty quickly. But maybe now and then we should remember how important it is for us to take care of ourselves mentally and physically so we can continue working hard in our field for years to come.

5. I Let Fear Dictate My Life

“Fear can be a great motivator for some people, but for me, it has always been a negative force in my life. It makes you want to stay in your comfort zone and not take any chances by moving out of that space.”

“If you keep doing what is familiar and comfortable, fear will never leave your side.”

When I started freelancing as a designer, I had to overcome my fear of failure. I feared rejection from potential clients because I didn’t feel like my portfolio was good enough. However, once I overcame those fears and started sending emails to potential clients (and getting rejected), I was able to make connections with people who believed in me and wanted to work with me on their projects.

6. I Gave Up Way Too Fast

You need to be persistent. Don’t give up when you get a rejection, because it will happen, and often. If someone doesn’t respond to your message, or the project is canceled at the last minute due to budget concerns or something else entirely it happens! It sucks and can be heartbreaking, but at least they gave you feedback so that next time you know where things went wrong.

Don’t let anyone else’s opinion of who you are as a designer (or person) be more important than your own belief in yourself. If someone says something unkind about how great of a designer you are (or aren’t), don’t let it affect how much pride and confidence in yourself that comes from being able to do what makes your heart sing every day.

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7. I Didn’t Have A Backup Plan

If you find yourself without a client, it’s important to have a backup plan. If your client doesn’t pay on time or at all, or if they don’t give you enough work to keep you afloat, having a backup plan can be the difference between having enough money for rent and being homeless in a few weeks.

A good backup plan should include:

A side hustle (e.g., freelance illustration)
An emergency fund (at least $1k)
An exit strategy (e.g., going back to school or looking into more stable jobs)

8. I Didn’t Take Rejection Personally

One of the most important things I’ve learned about freelancing is that rejection is a normal part of the job. It will happen, and it’s nothing to take personally. It’s something you should expect.

When you’re starting as a designer or illustrator, you’ll find that there are many factors outside of your control when getting hired (such as whether or not someone thinks they need your services).

You can only do so much in terms of marketing yourself and making sure people know what you do but at the end of the day, if someone doesn’t want your work for any reason at all (and this includes budget issues), then they don’t want it. And that’s okay.

They may be more open to hiring someone else down the road when their needs change or maybe not. Either way: no hard feelings here!

9. I Failed To Have A Network Of Supportive People In My Corner

You don’t have to be alone in your journey as a designer or freelancer. If you’re going to be spending so much time with your clients, you must have other people in your life who are excited about what you’re doing and will help support you along the way.

A supportive network is made up of people who believe in what you do, even when things aren’t going well. They’ll celebrate with you when good things happen, but they won’t judge or criticize when things go wrong (which can happen).

They’ll also help keep things real by pointing out the blind spots that only someone who isn’t invested has the freedom to see and giving advice on how to avoid them next time around!

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10. I Felt Ashamed For Not Being Perfect

When I was first starting, I felt like I had to be perfect. After all, if my clients saw how much work and effort went into each project, they would think that it wasn’t worth their money and would never hire me again.

But here’s the thing: no one is perfect and that includes you! Trying to be perfect will only lead to more mistakes and frustration because there is always something new to learn.

So instead of worrying about what other people think about your work (you can’t control it anyway), focus on how you’re going to handle your mistakes instead of what went wrong in the first place. You have a choice when it comes down to responding with shame or asking for help; choose wisely so that your next project will go smoother than ever before!

How You Can Avoid These Mistakes As A Freelancing Designer

You’re probably here because you want to know how to avoid making mistakes as a freelancer. I get that, and I want to help you avoid mistakes so that you can be successful.

Set Your Goals As A Freelancer

As a freelancer, you are in charge of your destiny. This means that you need to set goals and make sure they are achievable. You need to determine what kind of work you want to be doing, how much money you want to make when you want to retire, where your priorities lie, and how much time and energy will be required for them all.

If not done correctly, this can become overwhelming quickly. That’s why I always recommend working with other people who have already gone through the process themselves or someone who has been around them during their journey as a freelancer.

Start Working On A Portfolio

A portfolio is an important part of any freelancing designer’s career. It can be a great way to showcase your work, show off your skills and get new clients. But how do you go about building one?

There are many different ways to build your portfolio. You can use a service like Behance or Dribbble, which both have plenty of features that make it easy for people to share their portfolios with others.

Alternatively, you could set up your website where people can see all of your work in one place (just make sure it’s secure). If none of these options sound appealing to you, don’t worry there are plenty more places out there where freelancers like yourself can host their portfolios!

Create A Professional Website With Your Portfolio

One of the most important tools in your arsenal as a freelance designer is your website. It’s where you’ll be displaying your portfolio and portfolio pieces to clients, and it’s also where they can learn more about who you are. If you’re just starting as a freelancer, this might seem like an intimidating task but it doesn’t have to be.

When designing your website or blog (which we highly recommend), keep these tips in mind:

Make sure that both content and design align with each other so as not to distract from one another. No one wants their eyes pulled from the meat of what they’re reading because there’s too much going on visually on-screen or vice versa!

Find a balance between them both by using complementary fonts for headers/paragraphs etc.; don’t go overboard with colors either since having too many different hues could look overwhelming too quickly.

Keep everything simple by making use of white space; this means leaving plenty of room around images instead of trying to cram everything into small sections at once…

Set Your Schedule And Stick To It

There’s no magical schedule for freelancing. You have to find the one that works for you and stick to it. If you enjoy working in the morning, great. Make sure to get up early and get some work done before 9 AM when most people are still sleeping. If evenings are your thing, then make sure to schedule all of your meetings during the day so that you can work on projects at night.

One benefit of freelancing is never having to clock in or out of a job you set your hours and decide when and how long they should be (within reason). With this freedom comes responsibility: if you want to make money off your design skills, then it’s up to you (and not some boss) whether or not those skills are put into action each day.

It might sound harsh but if there’s money being made or lost every minute of every day by doing nothing else than what needs doing right now then it makes sense that time management becomes even more important than ever before!

Know-How Much You Should Charge

What’s the best way to determine your rate? You’ll have to consider several factors.

First and foremost, do you have a budget or cost of living? The more you can charge, the less money you’ll need to make each month.

Also, ask yourself if clients are willing to pay that price; if they aren’t, then it’s unlikely they’d work with someone who charges more than their current freelancer the new design would need more experience and probably wouldn’t be able to offer better value than someone who has been working in the industry for years.

Finally, think about what type of clientele you want as well as how much experience other designers in your field earn (and keep in mind that there’s nothing wrong with charging less).

If it seems like everyone else is charging $40/hr while yours is $25/hr or higher, then chances are people won’t take them seriously enough when seeking out potential projects from them because there could be some underlying problem here such as poor quality work being done by such professionals.

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Know-How To Protect Yourself

As a freelancer, you have to be aware of your rights and responsibilities. You must also be aware that you can be the target of fraud. This can come in many forms: an employer who doesn’t pay for the work done by someone else, a client who hires you for one project when she needs another type of design (and then refuses to pay), or even identity theft.

Protect yourself against fraud by using contracts and making sure they are signed by both parties before any payment is made. Also always ask for proof that payments have been received by your client, such as bank statements showing transfers into their account or receipts from third parties (like PayPal).

If possible require some form of identification from them before starting work on their project to prevent any legal issues down the road due to not knowing who exactly hired you in the first place!

As scary as it might seem never open attachments or links sent via email unless certain about where they come from because these could contain viruses designed specifically for freelancers like yourself who often use computers at home rather than businesses with sophisticated IT security systems protecting them 24/7.”

Final Thoughts

The point of sharing these mistakes is not to discourage you, but to encourage you. I’ve seen many people quit after making a mistake and I want to help them avoid doing the same. The truth is that it’s going to happen and sometimes we need these mistakes to grow.

A few years ago, I would have given up on freelancing if I had made any of these mistakes–but now, they’ve helped me learn how to do business better. Now it’s your turn: what are some things you learned from making mistakes while freelancing?. Feel free to share your ideas in a comment session below.