Freelancing is the dream of many people, and it’s easy to see why. You can work from home, set your hours, and decide on the projects you want to pursue. If you’re looking to get started as a freelancer, this guide will help you choose which clients are right for your business.
| Takeaways |
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| 1. Understand Your Expertise: Recognize your strengths and passions as a creative freelancer. Focus on clients and projects that align with your skills and interests. |
| 2. Research Potential Clients: Conduct thorough research on potential clients before committing to projects. Evaluate their reputation, work culture, and communication style to ensure a good fit. |
| 3. Communicate Expectations: Establish clear expectations from the outset. Discuss project scope, timelines, and deliverables with clients to avoid misunderstandings later on. |
| 4. Value Your Worth: Set fair and competitive pricing for your creative services. Don’t undersell yourself; charge what you’re worth based on your expertise and the value you bring to clients. |
| 5. Prioritize Professionalism: Maintain a high level of professionalism in all interactions with clients. Be reliable, responsive, and transparent to build trust and long-term relationships. |
Know Yourself And Your Strengths
You should know yourself, your strengths and weaknesses. If you are good at design but not writing, don’t agree to write for a client who wants you to be their designer. You have to be honest with yourself about what kind of work you can do best.
My wife is a graphic designer and web developer by trade, but she also loves doing art projects on the side (she painted this awesome picture!). She knew that if she took on more client work than she could handle, it would lead to poor quality results because she wouldn’t have time for her creative hobbies.
Similarly, my weakness has always been in sales I’m better suited for customer support than cold calls or pitches! This is why I picked up sales support as part of my freelance business model: it’s something I was willing to do because it was easy enough (and paid well) while allowing me more time for other parts of my business that were more enjoyable or challenging like writing content or managing social media accounts.
Building a six-figure freelance career is a dream for many creative professionals. If you want to take your freelancing to the next level, our comprehensive guide on how to build a six-figure freelance career is a must-read. Learn valuable strategies and insights from successful freelancers who have achieved remarkable financial success in the creative industry.
Work Out What Your Ideal Client Looks Like
Before you can decide which clients to take on, you need to know what your ideal client looks like. For example, do they want a complete solution or just advice? Do they want someone with expertise in several different areas or are they looking for one person who can do everything? What kind of budget are they working with and how much time will they be able to give you?
If you’re still unsure about what makes a good client for your business, try listing all the characteristics of the kind of person that would be ideal to work with (and leave out any undesirable traits). Once this list is complete, consider each point individually: does it match up with an existing client? If not, why not? Would this type of customer like what I offer my services for their needs?
Create A Checklist Of What You Want From A Client
It’s important to have some guidelines in place for what you want from a client. Here are some things to consider:
Be clear about your pricing from the start. This can be hard if you’re just starting, but it will help you avoid misunderstandings and disappointment later on. You should also have an idea of what sort of projects they’ll need so you can prepare yourself accordingly.
Firmly state your policies and procedures for example, if they require rush completion or need changes made last minute, be upfront about how much this will cost them (even if it isn’t necessarily something that costs money). If there is anything else that may change during their project with you like an unexpected deadline let them know as soon as possible so they can plan accordingly.
Consider their social media presence: do they share any content regularly? Do they post pictures of themselves at parties? Are there any comments from friends/colleagues indicating that this person is difficult to work with? If so, consider passing on the project rather than risking having a bad experience working together down the line; it could hurt both parties’ reputations in the future!
Put It All In An Actionable Check-List
Before you can start freelancing, you need to have your business plan laid out. One of the first things that you should do is write down a checklist for yourself about the steps that you’ll take when starting a new project.
Write down each step in an easy-to-follow format. It should also be specific enough so that it’s clear what needs to be done at each step and why, but not so detailed that it becomes too difficult to follow. The idea here is that this checklist will help keep your projects organized and on track as they progress through all of their stages. As long as these steps are clear and actionable, then they’re perfect!
It’s important to make sure this list is easy enough for anyone who might be following along on any given project with or without instructions from someone else who knows what they’re doing (like yourself). So don’t just write things down because they sound good to make sure anything included would work if someone were using this list by themselves without any guidance from anyone else involved in creating content together with them…
Be Clear About Your Pricing From The Start
You should be clear about your pricing from the start. This means that you need to make sure you’re charging what you’re worth and not overcharging, but it also means that you shouldn’t undercharge either.
Be careful of undercharging because some clients might feel like they can get away with paying less than what they’ve agreed upon. They may also ask for more work than is necessary or wanted because it’s not worth their time to argue about something as small as an extra hour or two of work for them (even though those hours could have been spent doing something else).
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Be Firm With Your Policies And Procedures
Policies, procedures, and deadlines are an integral part of every successful creative freelancer’s business. The more clear you are about them from the beginning, the better chance you have of preserving a good working relationship with your clients. It’s important to be clear about:
- Your pricing policies
- Your payment terms (when will they pay? how much?)
- How long does it takes you to complete assignments (and if they need to include time for revisions)
- Deadlines (including when they’re due)
Look At Their Social Media Presence
When you’re trying to decide whether or not a potential client is legitimate, take the time to look at their social media presence. This includes looking at their web presence, blog, reviews, and portfolio.
The more of these things you can find about them, the better your chances of making an educated decision about working with them. The same goes for when you decide which companies in your area are worth reaching out to look through their websites and previous work first so that you can get a feel for what kind of quality they produce.
Ask Around If They’ve Worked With Anyone Else Before
There are a few ways you can go about this. One way is to ask for references. This is a great way to get in contact with previous clients of the company and find out what their experience was like working with them.
Another option is referrals, where you ask your clients for other people they’ve worked within the past that could be potential leads for you in the future.
Another option is testimonials, which can come from both clients and non-clients alike if they’ve had positive experiences working with that company or individual before (though it’s best if they’re just coming from former customers).
And finally, there are case studies/success stories/testimonials whatever you want to call them where someone else who has no stake in your business writes about how awesome it was working with someone else!
Ask How They Found You
This is one of the most important questions to ask your client because it can tell you a lot about their thought process and preferences for hiring freelancers. Ask whether they searched for a specific type of freelancer (e.g., graphic designer or video editor), or if they narrowed their search by geographic location or skill set (e.g., “I’m looking for an editor in Los Angeles”).
This will help you tailor your pitch to clients who may be looking for someone like you specifically, which makes it easier to stand out from other freelancers while also reducing competition from others who might offer similar services but not have as much experience with your industry or niche expertise.
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Ask To See Some Of Their Previous Creative Or Marketing Work
If you’re looking for a client, there are a few things you can do to make sure they’re the right fit. One of the most important things is to ask them if they have any examples of their previous work. This will give you an idea of how creative and experienced they are, as well as what kind of style they use. If someone has no idea what “creative” or “marketing” means, this might not be the best match for your services.
If someone does have experience but doesn’t seem interested in showing off their work, keep on talking with them anyway! Ask if there’s anything else that could help convince you that this person is capable and trustworthy enough for you both to work together successfully (e-mail address maybe?).
Don’t Sign Unless You Can Trust Them
Trust is the foundation of any relationship. The same is true for creative freelancers, who are in a constant state of negotiation with their clients. Without trust, you and your client will have difficulty completing projects together smoothly or successfully meeting deadlines and if either party doesn’t trust the other, it can be grounds for termination.
As an independent contractor, you decide which clients to work with based on their reputation within your field and whether or not they’ve earned your respect in some way. If a potential client seems like they won’t pay what they owe or treat you well as a professional then it’s probably best that you don’t do business with them (assuming there aren’t mitigating circumstances).
It may seem harsh at first glance but remember: trust should be reciprocal in every way possible between two parties involved in any kind of transaction and this includes working together as creatives!
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Watch Out For Micro-Management, Over-Management, And Under-Management
Micro-management: This is when your client is too specific about every detail, whether you’re writing a blog post or designing a website. It’s important to be open to feedback, but if your client wants to dictate every font size and color choice, it can be frustrating.
Over-management: When your clients are too controlling of their projects, they may not give you enough freedom to do your job well. You might want to take on more responsibility than they’re willing to give you (for example, being responsible for marketing or sales), which could lead them down the road toward under-management in the future.
Under-management: When this happens too often as a freelancer with an online business, it can have serious consequences for both parties involved you’ll have less money coming in regularly because of lower sales numbers and fewer work opportunities being offered by potential clients who see how poorly managed your business appears at first glance;
Finally, even worse than all this combined would be if there were not enough cash flow coming in from new clientele because nobody knows what kind of services they offer; this leads us back again into an unfortunate state where there isn’t enough cash flow coming IN from new customers because nobody knows what kind of services they offer!”
Don’t Be Afraid To Say ‘no’ If You Need To
You are not obligated to take on a project that doesn’t fit your expertise or a client who doesn’t fit your expertise. You don’t have to take on anything that doesn’t feel right for you.
I’m not saying this because I think it’s ok for people in the creative world to be rude and say no to potential clients, but because it’s important to know that if someone asks you to do something that doesn’t make sense for your business model, then their feelings will not be hurt if you politely decline.
It can feel difficult at first as a freelancer starting especially when things are slow but once you get into the rhythm of things, this will become second nature and save you time spent doing work you aren’t passionate about!
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Final Thoughts
So, you’ve read this far. Now you know everything there is to know about choosing clients and projects. But what are the next steps?
Take a break! This can be a lot of information to digest at once. If you need time away from it all, that’s okay just be sure not to forget the points here should they come up during conversations with other freelancers or potential clients in the future.
Use what you learned from this article as a guideline for when to say yes or no when pitching new projects (and don’t forget about our handy-dandy checklist).
Further Reading
How to Choose Good Clients: A comprehensive guide on the process of selecting the right clients for your freelancing business. Learn how to identify and work with clients who align with your values and contribute to your professional growth.
How to Get Clients: A Complete Guide: This guide offers valuable insights and actionable tips for freelancers and business owners seeking to attract and retain clients. Discover effective marketing strategies and client acquisition techniques.
A Guide to Finding Clients as a Freelancer: Uncover the secrets to finding and securing clients in the creative industry. This guide provides freelancers with practical advice and resources to build a strong client base.
People Also Ask
What Do You Do If You’re Not Getting Any Work?
I’m constantly getting asked this question. The answer is simple: just keep hustling! Some so many people are willing to work for free or are underpaid, and if nobody is hiring you then it’s because your value hasn’t been validated by your clients yet.
Keep pushing forward until someone pays out to raise the bar on what they expect from freelancers like yourself. Remember: there are always other clients out there waiting to find someone like yourself who can meet their needs at a price point they can afford.
What Do You Do If You’re Not Getting Paid?
If this happens, don’t panic! It’s probably just a simple misunderstanding over payment terms or perhaps the client simply isn’t aware that invoices need to be paid within 30 days of receipt (depending on where in the world he/she is located). If this happens more than once with different clients then it might be time for some serious reflection on whether or not this industry is right for your personality type.
What If They Have A Bad Reputation?
Don’t worry about this. Whether it’s an established company or a small startup, you’re not going to be working with them directly. You’ll be working on your own as an independent contractor, so it doesn’t matter where the client comes from (or who they are) as long as they pay on time and treat you with respect. If they don’t do these things, don’t work for them again! It’s that simple.
What Kind Of Freelance Work Is Best Suited To Me?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer here. The type of job you do will depend largely on your skills, interests, and personality. If you love writing but hate coding (or vice versa), then it’s probably not a great fit for you.
And if all the thought of marketing yourself makes your skin crawl (or if it doesn’t), freelancing in that area may not be for you either. Take some time to consider what kinds of projects would be most appealing and see if there are any gaps or holes in your skillset that could use filling before deciding which direction(s) to go with this new venture!
How Do I Find The Right Clients?
It’s important to remember that every client is different, and there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Before you start looking for clients, think about your skillset and how much time you can devote to each project. You need to choose projects that align with the work you’re capable of doing, as well as ones that fit into your schedule without creating too much stress on your end or making it impossible for you to take on other projects.
How Much Should I Charge?
You might be tempted to charge as much as possible to earn more money (and who wouldn’t want more money?), but don’t forget that if a client pays more than they’d like because they feel pressured by their budget constraints, they’ll resent it and may even try not paying the invoice at all!
And while undercharging might seem like an easy way out (especially if it’s your first gig), it can also hurt in the long run: if a client realizes after working with them for several months that they could have paid someone else less but still gotten good results, then chances are those customers will be gone for good when it comes time again next year or so down line.
Worse yet is when word gets around among other potential customers/clients about how easy it was getting things done using lower quality services from another business owner..
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.
