Laiba Shahzad
Every popular thing or trend has its repercussions and freelancing is no exception. Because of the great financial crisis in 2008 which was the worst economic disaster since the great depression of 1929, there were no jobs in the market. People began to opt for digital skills and have never turned back to a full-time job or made an effort to look for one. It is estimated that only 13% of people went back to a full-time job as they could not cement their place as a freelancer.
Freelancing gives you freedom. Being self-employed is an amazing experience as you do not have to get up early in the morning, drive your way to work through jam-packed traffic, and sit at your desk for eight continuous hours with very little space of doing things the way you want.
With freelancing, you choose your own work hours, decide your pace, and are in full control of how much freelance work you can do. More the work, the better the money.
Freelancing being the most popular earning opportunity today is highly demanding. If you can’t keep a perfect balance between your personal and professional life, you are asking for trouble. Multiple health issues and the mental stress of meeting deadlines are common issues among freelancers because they are focused on sitting at their desks to get more work and make more money.
Health is just the tip of the ice burg, there are many other problems freelancers face but most importantly, it’s about time the world begins to realize freelancing as a mainstream profession. Freelancers should be taken care of as they contribute to the economy.
Freelancers have contributed over $135 billion to their local economies and that alone is one solid reason to facilitate this industry, regularize it and take care of freelancers.
Speaking about problems, the following are 7 common problems freelancers face when they decide to be self-employed.
1- Communication
The biggest problem freelancers face is communication. Because they lack the skill of communicating with their clients, they lose work and money. I believe, the most important attribute of successful freelancing is communication. If you can’t understand a requirement or explain your strength, your competitor will win over you.
2- Skills
Everybody is impressed by freelancing opportunities but many are not willing to learn a skill. Without skill, you are a soul without heart. Learning a skill is very important. There are many websites offering free and paid online courses to learn a skill. Here are the most in-demand skills at Upwork in the first quarter of 2019.
3- Understanding client requirements
This is connected with the communication skill problem. If you are always in a hurry and agree to a project by briefly reading the initial requirements, you won’t be able to do justice to the job. Always read the project requirement, ask questions, and do not hesitate to ask them again.
Successful freelancer only begins the work when they understand how they will be able to do the project.
4- Defining work scope
Contract signing is often overlooked and results in disputes later on. A dispute means a client is asking for a refund and as a freelancer, it hurts a lot to pay back when you have done some work.
Defining the work scope before beginning a job is very important. A successful freelancer clearly defines every milestone, and payments due at the end of a milestone so there is no confusion between them and their client.
5- Managing time to get a job done
Sometimes, working from home could be distracting and you may find it hard to get disciplined. It is often seen that some freelancers find it hard to manage their time as compared to fixed office timing of 9 to 5.
For such freelancers, online project management tools are very important and should be used to manage time effectively and get their work done.
6- Unable to focus on client retention
If you look at short-term goals, you will win short-term only but a successful freelancer focuses on a long-term objective. Without client retention, you can not succeed in the long run. Always take care of your clients and pamper them enough so they keep coming back to you with more work.
7- Not thinking beyond freelancing
Freelancing is a perfect starting point but it should not be your destination. I started freelancing from a single desk but grew to form a company with many skilled people and have also grown my business from freelancing to blogging.
You are reading this article on my blog. Diversification is key and it helps in a long way to facilitate multiple income streams.
