Many of those who get into business for themselves fail to take into consideration exactly what they are getting themselves into. All too often, the only person this really hurts is the person that is getting into business. Clients will come and go, workloads will change, but you will have to continue to live with the decisions you make each day that you operate your business. For good, bad or indifferent, they are your decisions and you will succeed or fail based on those decisions. For the purposes of this post I am going to address freelancing in particular, and mainly because many freelancers have a skewed idea of what they are doing – which is running a business.
If it walks like a duck
Remember the old saying “If it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck?” Here’s why I say that:
Businesses: sell services or products, are responsible for their own income levels, do their own marketing, are responsible for their own taxes, are responsible for their own insurance payments, are responsible for setting their prices and are responsible for whether their business succeeds or fails.
Do any of these sound familiar to you? I thought they might! Welcome to reality! I recently write a post called “The Freelance Marketplace Trap” which is applicable to this post. One of the reasons that I believe that a lot of people lose sight of the fact that they are self employed is due to the number of protections that many freelance sites offer. Please don’t get me wrong! I am an active freelancer at oDesk and I get a fair amount of my work there, however, I also am not looking to oDesk to protect me from “cheap buyers”, “non-paying fixed rate jobs”, “minimum rates” or a host of the other complaints that are often screamed about and whined about in forums such as the one found on oDesk.
You are responsible – you are responsible – you are responsible – you own a business – you own a business – you own a business
It is up to you to
Protect yourself from low rates – If a client posts a job on a freelance marketplace and you feel the rates they are offering are too low, then you have two choices (1) do not place a bid on the job or (2) place a bid at your “normal” rate and explain why that rate is more sensible. These are the only two avenues available to you. Whining and moaning and asking someone to make them stop is like running home from work and complaining to your partner that you didn’t get the raise you wanted. No one can do anything about it except you.
Protect yourself from scammers – Wake up and smell the coffee. Not everyone has high morals, not everyone is a person of integrity. Important note: this is for both buyers and freelancers. Do whatever it takes to make sure that you are not going to get taken for a ride. Read the story of Katherine who was foolish enough to be scammed not once, but twice!! Someone asking for free samples is likely to be asking for free work without asking you for free work. Protect yourself by having a great portfolio. Don’t be afraid to use Google to run someones name through. Chances are if they scammed someone once, they are going to do it again. If you are asked to do fixed rate jobs break the payment into four equal payments and get the first one up front. Get the 2nd one after you turn in the first quarter of the work and if you don’t get paid for the second quarter don’t start it!
Exercise some common sense – Most jobs are not fire drills. Do not fall for the trap of “I’m too busy to make a payment right now”, or “my credit card won’t be verified for a week”. If a buyer is working through a freelance site, do not start working until the payment method is verified. If the buyer hires you privately (without an introduction of a freelance site) make sure you do not do one minutes work without payment first. If after you are contracted to do the work things suddenly take a turn where the buyer is asking for work that wasn’t agreed to STOP WORKING. Do not fall into any of these common traps!
Summary
Whether you think so or not as a freelancer YOU are the master of your own destiny. Whether you have elected to write, program, do data entry whatever it is that you are specializing in, YOU are a business owner. No other person or entity can be responsible for your success or failure.
About Doreen Martel
Well-rounded freelance writer who contributes to various blogs, paid to write sites and revenue sharing sites. Doreen is legally blind and has worked at home for more than 10 years. She uses the lessons learned from this experience to enhance her writing and share information with others.
Contently Portfolio
Very neat blog article.Thanks Again. Much obliged.
A round of applause for your article.Thanks Again. Really Cool.
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