14 lessons I wish every freelancer knew
Austin L. Church
Fractional CMO, Author of Free Money, Founder of Freelance Cake and Business Redesign → Raise your rates, delegate confidently, and free up 10 hrs / wk so you can have a record year while working less
Here are 14 lessons I wish every freelancer knew:
1. Freelancing is hard.
Anyone who tells you otherwise is ignorant, lying, or trying to sell you something.
2. Freelancing is a game with cash prizes.
Some rules you can’t break—for example, clients must receive equal or greater value than what they pay, or they won’t stay clients long.
Some strategies make the game easier to win and bring outsized rewards—for example, specialization + positioning cheat code + productized services + consistent marketing.
Find the best strategies, and play to win.
3. Quality has become table stakes.
Simply being good isn’t good enough now.
What else can you offer?
And what else? And?
4. Whether you like it or not, you’re in sales.
You must de-stigmatize sales for yourself.
For example, here’s the reframing that has helped me:
Selling is bringing clarity and serving.
Every freelancer can learn how to be above average at sales through better consultative technique, not natural pitch ability. Improve your technique proactively.
5. Better questions lead to bigger proposals.
The initial request may not be the real project or the most valuable outcome.
Keep peeling back the layers.
Look for pains and wants.
6. Clients will always tell you what they want to buy and how they want you to sell it to them.
Take careful notes during discovery calls.
Capture their word choice.
Concoct painkillers, not vitamins.
7. Whoever is doing the talking is doing the selling.
Ask the questions, then shut up.
Share new ideas and perspectives, then shut up.
Show exuberant enthusiasm, then shut up.
Active, artful listening builds authority.
8. Prospects can’t get excited if they’re confused.
Use industry jargon like salt and pepper—sparingly.
Too much spoils the dish.
Sell to them in their dialect, not yours.
9. Use a contract to squash ambiguity and protect both parties.
Define key terms (“revision” vs “edit”), what the client gets, what they don’t get, how much it costs, and when they pay.
领英推荐
Tie installment payments to dates, not project deliverables or milestones, because delays they introduce should cost not impact when you get paid.
Ambiguity is the enemy always, not the client.
10. Requiring a deposit keeps both parties honest.
Does the client work for free? No?
Then why should you?
Ignore this advice only when you can afford (literally) to get stiffed, feel confident that you won’t, and see long-term value in having that client’s logo in your portfolio.
11. The client’s budget isn’t your problem to solve.
They dial back the scope to match what they can pay, or they find someone else.
You don’t run a charity.
And you’re not a grocery store that accepts competitors’ coupons.
12. Charging hourly penalizes your skill, efficiency, and expertise.
Track your time obsessively.
Pivot to the flat fee model as soon as you can predict accurately how long certain projects take.
13. No pricing model is “bad,” including hourly.
Pricing models are tools for managing risk.
Pick the right tool, based on the job, your confidence, and your risk tolerance.
As your risk tolerance and confidence go up, you’ll raise your prices and charge based on value.
14. Freelance projects don’t have set prices.
If your prospects can’t pay what you want to make, raise the perceived value through positioning and messaging.
Or, go fish in a different pond. One niche will place a higher value on the same outcome than another.
Some clients in the niche will focus on price. Others will focus on value. Find the latter.
Alright, enough freelance preaching for now. Hope you found something in there worth your while.
How do you escape the charging hourly trap?
Start offering productized services.
The right ones help you stand out from other freelancers, increase the perceived value of your work, and earn more in less time.
About Austin L. Church
Hi, I'm Austin, a writer, brand consultant, and freelance coach.
I started freelancing after finishing my M.A. in Literature and getting laid off from a marketing agency. Freelancing led to mobile apps (Bright Newt), a tech startup (Closeup.fm), a children's book (Grabbling), and a branding studio (Balernum).?
I love teaching freelancers and consultants how to stack up specific advantages for more income, free time, and fun. My wife and I live with our wrecking balls and two cats in Knoxville, Tennessee, near the Great Smoky Mountains.
You can learn more at?FreelanceCake.com. You can also connect with me on?Twitter.
Modernizing Enterprise BI Software Applications
1 年Bill Helzing
Freelance Writer specializing in B2B/B2C SaaS & LinkedIn Content | Featured in The Inclusive AI, Techopedia, Women on Business, etc ?????? | Blog Post & Ghostwriter | Informational content tailored for YOUR AUDIENCE
1 年Austin L. Church Great post! Freelancing can be difficult, so it's important to understand the realities of it. The first lesson highlights the importance of recognizing that freelancing is difficult. It requires dedication, hard work, and perseverance to navigate the trials of the industry. The analogy of freelancing as a game with cash prizes is an interesting perspective. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the rules and strategies that can lead to success. Value, ethics, and effective strategies are essential for freelancers. Will read the other lessons too :)
ISB |Founder @ UVOKA ?? Increase your impressions by 100% in 30 days or get your money back. Personal Branding| Organic Marketing| Marketing Solutions Favikon Top 19%
1 年This very helpful Austin L. Church, it's realistic and extremely useful for beginners like me!
Award-Winning Freelance Medical Writer - Health and Biomedical Communication, Technical Writing, Plain-Language Writing
1 年"Pivot to the flat fee model as soon as you can predict accurately how long certain projects take." "Predicting accurately how long certain projects take" seems to presuppose that "projects" are standard units - if Project A to produce Document B for Client Y took X hours, then Project B to produce Document C for Client Z should also take X hours. However, in real freelancing life, I have rarely found this to be true. Projects that may appear at first glance appear to be similar often turn out not to be, and/or the project develops "scope creep," and/or one or more of the project reviewers demand multiple rounds of revisions that weren't factored into the project rate.... Over many years of giving talks about running a freelance business, I've heard too many stories from freelancers who prefer to be paid at an hourly rate after one or more bad experiences with flat-fee projects. When quoting a flat fee or project rate, you need to be very clear about what is and is not included in the scope of work and that all out-of-scope work will be billed separately (usually at an hourly rate). Conversely, if you're quoting an hourly rate, that rate needs to reflect the knowledge and experience that you bring to the project.
Freelance Medical Writer ? CME Specialist I Needs Assessments I Manuscripts I Slide Decks I Patient Cases I Strategy I Veterinarian I Outdoors Enthusiast ??
1 年Brilliant newsletter! You know, Austin, it’s surprising how well “whether you like it or not you’re in sales” translates to many industries, and it’s so crucial to get your head around this concept. In my previous life as a clinical veterinarian, selling was a dirty word. Yet, this is what we did constantly. You were “selling” an idea, a concept, a solution or approach far more than medications - especially in my area of production medicine, and this came down to relationships and communication.