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Today, I am going to talk about the 5 myths of successful freelancing. These things are the main reasons why a freelancer will never succeed as a business owner. If you can to avoid these 5 myths, you will be able to go from a freelancer to a business owner running a 6 – figure business.
1 - Freelancers tend to be hard working. That is a huge disadvantage for them. Sometimes, clients can call in the middle of the night with a task that has no correlation with what the freelancer is good at.
Even though the freelancer has a different expertise, he is willing to accept the project. That is a very bad strategy. You cannot grow as a freelancer and as a business owner like that. Instead of trying to figure out how to deliver, you should focus almost your entire time on getting new leads.
There is a difference between an employee and a freelancer. The employee must do everything that the boss says. On the other hand, the freelancer has the right to say that he wants to focus only on what he is good at. If the client wants a different service, you can refer him to your friend.
That way you can keep offering what you are best at and the client can receive a professional service at the same time. A smart freelancer knows that he will need too much time to earn this extra money and that will be a distraction.
2 – You don’t need contracts. However, if you are going to work with a client you have never been working with, they can make all kinds of disputes and you will not be able to get the money. That happens very often, especially if you do not charge enough money for the service.
3 & 4 – You should never let the client negotiate about the price. Moreover, you should never let them pay after the project is done.
The less the client pays, the less they tend to value what they get. The negotiation will always be of client’s benefit.
If the client has not paid you, he has a lot of power on the negotiation part. The less likely it will be for you to be listened as a professional. You will be treated as an employee.
All in all, all you have to do is charge all the money upfront and make clients pay the fee as well. You should never negotiate the price. The less you negotiate, the happier the client is.
Nowadays, many people believe that you meet the client in person before you start the contract. Then, schedule a second meeting. The reality is that you don’t need any of that.
The most successful freelancers and business owners don’t meet up with the client unless the project is for $50 000 or more. They just have a video Skype conversation. You just need to do one single phone call and receive the payment.
That way you do not waste each other’s time. You spend less time in traffic and more time delivering good results.
