6 Costly Mistakes To Avoid As A Freelancer

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Yi Ming Lai

Are you making these mistakes as a freelancer? Learn how these mistakes are costing you both money and time here!
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Freelancing is one of the best ways to forge a career and life  you love. Looking back, there are a few important things I wished I'd done differently as a freelancer. Hell, I wish I could turn back time and yell at my past self for these freelancing mistakes that actually costed me a lot of money.  So, today I'd like to talk about the 6 costly mistakes you should avoid making as a freelancer!

5 Benefits of Being A Freelancer

Contents

 

This might seem a little shocking to you but I never planned to be a freelancer. 

My entire life, I have wanted to start my own business. A piano teaching business and empire which I would be so proud of. But life is what happens when you're busy making plans. After only 5 years in the music teaching industry, I began to grow very tired of the lifestyle: being underpaid, emotionally drained all year round AND the toxic work environment I was in.

Although I was luckier than most as I was actually doing some I loved, my career was actually going nowhere. I did not own a piano teaching business and so I was at the mercy of my somewhat annoying boss( who knew nothing about music or teaching).

About a year ago from today, I discovered the wonderful world of freelancing, virtual assisting and working from home. That's when I realised, to have the kind of insane freedom( personal and financial), being a freelancer is the answer!

Want to be a better freelancer or virtual assistant? Learn all about the 6 costly mistakes you should avoid if you want to be successful!

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The Perks of Being A Freelancer

#1 End of Office Politics- And Dealing With Idiots

According to this article, the top benefit of being a freelancer is the end of office politics. Personally, I did not experience much of office politics but I do know how toxic it can become.

Being able to CHOOSE who I want to spend time with( my family and friends ) without the obligation of talking to people I don't like is the best thing ever! I find myself enjoying my own solitude as well as being more engaged when I'm with my loved ones. 

#2 You are in charge of your time, finances and plans for the day

I cannot tell you enough how much I love working for myself. 

Gone are the days when I would wake up just to dread the day ahead of me. Since I used to work in the evenings, I would spend the first half of the day enjoying working on my business while dreading leaving my home for my evening job. 

Being in charge of your own time and finances is the coolest perk as a freelancer. I also find that being in charge also increased my sense of responsibility.

As a freelancer, you're both THE boss and THE employee.  Not earning enough money? You've only got yourself to blame.

Not doing work you love? Again, there's no boss here to blame. You're the boss..

#3 You're free to work anywhere

One of my favorite things about being a freelancer and virtual assistant is the fact that I get to work anywhere!

A friend of mine who also owns her own business has to drive around various places all week to teach students. In our conversations last week, she mentioned the fact that all this commuting is tiring her out more than the work itself.

She was indeed quite jealous of my freedom to choose where I work. In her own words, “you get to get s**t done even when you're lying around at home”.

True dat. I believe most people are quite jealous of me because of this freedom I get to enjoy daily.

“The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.” – Arnold J. Toynbee

#4 You choose the projects and clients!

Back then when I was a contractor, I used to think that I was luckier than a mere employee. However, I was still working for someone else(namely a boss who I despised). Therefore, I do not have 100% say in who I want to teach and whom I feel like firing.

Last month, I finally experienced the best perk of being a freelancer. I was working with a highly demanding client who was micro-managing me for two months. 

Everyday, I would wake up with a highly strung and stressed mind. Knowing that she will pick on every single thing I do was detrimental to my mental health. 

Plus, she was not even paying me the amount I deserved.

And so, I fired her.

The first time I ever fired anybody…. Which felt not only empowering, but also motivating. 

This experience taught me that knowing your self-worth as a freelancer( or as an adult in general) is so important. 

This brings us to the 6 costly mistakes I made as a freelancer that I really wish you could avoid( if you're a rookie or aspiring freelancer).

#5 No more annoying commutes!

To be fair, this is quote a great perk.

Although this perk never really was my main motivation to quit my job and start a virtual assisting and freelancing business. I used to commute at off peak times so I escaped the morning peak hour for years.

However, there were times when I started late in my evening jobs during school holidays. Those times were quite awful, as when I was on the train, school kids were on them in packs and herds.

Want to be a freelancer?

 

Being a freelancer has given me huge amounts of freedom. I can choose what time I leave the house, as well as the option of just staying home all day!

6 Costly Mistakes To Avoid Making As A Freelancer( You'll Definitely Regret no.2)

 

 

1. Undercharging/ Working For Peanuts

 

Another reason I think many freelancers( including myself ) undercharge is the lack of business knowledge. Undercharging in the very beginning actually costs you money in the long run!! That's because your pricing DOES reflect your value.

Giving clients such a low starting point to start with will allow them to try to undercut you or even take advantage of you as a freelancer. 

Before starting my Pinterest VA business, I knew little to nothing about the freelancing industry as well as how to market myself effectively. After taking the Become A Pinterest VA course, I thought I knew everything about business.

As with any rookie or beginner in anything, it is a common myth that undercharging is the BEST way to attract clients. However, that is not the case at all. Starting with a very low price will set your business for failure.

Firstly, you're going to attract the clients who will not value your work. Secondly, it's harder to up-sell yourself as a new freelancer than negotiating a slightly lower price from your higher starting price to get a new client.

Three months down the road and I wished my old self did NOT undercharge. OH IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME…

“Freelance doesn't mean free.”

Anonymous

2. Promising too much and under-delivering

 

The biggest pitfall for a freelancer is over-promising! Yes, this is the biggest mistake that I made. I regret doing this until this day.

Luckily, making this mistakes also caused me enough pain to stop me from every doing this again. 

The better way of doing this is to manage expectations from the beginning. 

This might sound like a huge diversion but I've always loved how Dr. Dubrow and Dr. Nasif from Botched manage their patients' expectations. Apart from being highly skilled as plastic surgeons, I particularly admire the way they clearly communicate expectations from the get-go.

Never promise your clients perfection! If all you're promising sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't a great idea. 

Communicate clearly from the beginning about what results you can realistically achieve with your clients.

Believe me, this would not only make your life easier, but will also build your reputation as a freelancer quickly.

That's because instead of feeling like you wake up everyday just to put out fires when you cannot achieve a certain result, you're always under-promising and over achieving. 

“Motivation gets you going, but discipline keeps you growing.”

John Maxwell
Looking for a reliable and good Pinterest VA? You're in the right place. I have plenty of Pinterest VA services to offer you.

 

3. Doing too much of everything!

 

One of the biggest takeaway from Proofread Anywhere‘s Caitlyn Pyle is her constant reminder that: generalists are broke. Earlier on in the course, Caitlyn has always encouraged her students to niche down. Being highly skilled in your field will ensure your success because you have a specialised set of skills!

Trying to do everything and BEING everything for all your clients just isn't realistic.

I can understand why this trap is the easiest to fall into. From my personal experience, I believe that the underlying reason for this could be our low sense of self-worth.

Instead of trying to do our best work within our best skills, as freelancers it can be easy to be pushed into believing that less isn't more. 

Remember to NICHE down early on. 

That doesn't mean you cannot be good at more than one thing. However, in the beginning it's very important to focus on one niche at a time. 

I'm glad that earlier on I already started off as a niche virtual assistant. As a Pinterest virtual assistant, I'm confident that I'll be successful as there is a huge demand for specialised Pinterest skills nowadays!

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4. Being disorganised

 

In my two months as a full time Pinterest virtual assistant, I made the mistake of believing that I can manage everything without getting organised.

Until one day, one of my clients kicked me in the butt and forced me to get organised.

Suddenly, my productivity increased by ten folds!

Contrary to popular belief, being your own boss is actually a double-edged sword. Because there is nobody holding you accountable for your work, it's super important to have systems in place for yourself to make sense of your own work schedule.

My kind of work does not really have immediate deadlines. Because there was no impending due date for most of my work, it's very easy for me to become lazy and complacent if I'm not careful.

“For every minute spent in organising, an hour is earned.”

Benjamin Franklin

5. Being overconfident and not taking instructions seriously

 

Remember the client I fired?

Although our working relationship did not last, I kept working with her in the beginning because she taught me many important lessons about being a freelancer. As a blogger herself and looking after a young toddler full-time, being organised and super picky over everything does have its merits.

This high standard for work has taught me that it's very important not to be overconfident as either a freelancer or virtual assistant/business owner.

At first when she confronted me about my disorganisation and lack of quality in my work, I got all defensive and retaliated.

However, she was right! 

I did not follow her instructions carefully. 

But I do know that I never want to do mediocre work. This important lesson has taught me to always be detailed with my work, as well as constantly improving on my skills.

When my client confronted me about my weaknesses, I bit my tongue and admitted my mistakes. The best thing you can do as a freelancer or virtual assistant is to be honest about your weaknesses without discounting your strengths.

Humility is not denying your strengths, humility is about being honest about your weaknesses.

Rick Warren

6. Spreading yourself too thin

 

This might seem like a repeat of no.2. Allow me to explain.

As an ambitious person, I wanted to scale my business and grow my income quickly. It doesn't help that it just so happens that I'm an impatient millennial. 

Speed is almost like a virtue in itself nowadays.

When things are just going its course, we tend to think that we're not doing well or just plain stupid.

So what did I do?

I made the horrible mistake of spreading myself too thin! Not only did I produce low quality work, I was also causing myself a lot of unnecessary stress.

So stop chasing the dollar bills and getting too many clients. Focus on building a good reputation and you'll never have to worry that work will run dry.

“A good reputation is more valuable than money.”

Pubilious Syrus

 

Are you a freelancer or an aspiring one? Ask me any question here and I will do my best to answer you!