The List: 10 Lessons every Freelancer HAS to learn

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FREELANCER TIPS

• The List 10 Lessons every Freelancer has to learn

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10 Lessons every Freelancer has to learn

• Freelancing can be great. Doing what you want,
  the way you want it, enjoying it and getting paid
  appropriately might sound like a dream, but it is
  the reality of many successful freelancers. Like
  most great things, it is not easy and there are
  many hurdles along the way. Foreseeing those
  hurdles can often save a freelancers career -
  prevention is better than cure. Here are the 10
  lessons that any freelancer will have to learn,
  one way or another.

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10 Lessons every Freelancer has to learn
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1) Let the world know youre there

• You cannot keep quiet about what youre doing. In
  freelancing, self-promotion is the key to
  success. Tell your old colleagues, friends, and
  relatives and start building a business network.
  You never know where the next job proposal can
  come from.

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2) Have a long-term financial plan

• Financial planning can make or break a business.
  Know what youre getting into and have a solid
  idea of what you expect to earn, even in the
  first months and years. A financial cushion is a
  must-have, especially at the start.

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3) Learn from your experience

• Tracking and recording everything you do is one
  of the best ways to make sure you grow as a
  freelancer. Know your strengths in detail - what
  helped you net your clients, how you negotiate
  best, what affects your productivity and any
  other relevant aspects. Nobody knows your
  business better than you, make use of that.

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4) Dont undersell yourself

• When pricing is concerned, you can always go down
  from your initial offer but almost never will you
  have the opportunity to go up. Start high and
  make sure you get your full worth. Of course,
  this doesnt mean blindly asking for
  unrealistically high rates. Be aware of how much
  the competition charges and how their services
  stack up to yours.

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5) Always work with a contract

• Having a contract might seem irrelevant at times.
  Youve worked with a client a couple of times or
  hes a close friend of a friend, legal boundaries
  just get in the way, right? What could go wrong?
  Never fall into that trap. Tolling away at
  something for weeks and then not getting a penny
  can be worst feeling as a freelancer. The
  security of a contract is never worth
  sacrificing.

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6) Diversify your income

• Dont put all your eggs into one basket, or even
  two. Try having multiple clients and multiple
  projects at a time. You dont want to be
  dependent on someone elses business. If you only
  have one big client you fall when they fall,
  whether you had anything to do with the failure
  or not.

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7) Nurture long-term business relationships

• With that in mind, you dont want to have a lot
  of one-off clients. Try ending every project with
  the satisfaction that you did a good job. Let
  clients know that you are available for future
  work and remind them of your existence every now
  and then.

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8) Run from the crazies

• You dont need to say yes to everybody. Some
  clients are just a mess to work with. They dont
  know what they want or how they want it done, but
  always end up blaming you in the end. If you feel
  like a business relationship is doing you more
  harm than good, dont be afraid to walk out of it.

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9) Follow your passion

• Bad clients are not the only reason to say no to
  a project. If you can afford it, you should take
  the work you enjoy most. Start doing things you
  dont like too often and freelancing will get
  very stressful and boring really quickly. Do what
  you want to, this is why you went into
  freelancing in the first place.

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10) Never stop learning

• Last but not least, never ever stop looking for
  ways to get better at what you do. Complacency
  can be the biggest enemy of success. Businesses
  can be dynamic and skillsets that are hot today
  may be completely irrelevant in a couple of
  years. Make sure you always expand you horizons.

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