Why Do New Freelancers Fail?

Are you new to the wonderful world of freelancing? Are you concerned about the direction in which your career is heading?

It’s only natural to have some fears about what the future will bring. After all, you don’t want to find your freelancing career on life support. Fortunately, when you know why new freelancers fail, you can do your best to avoid the problems that have plagued many others before you. Here are several things you want to avoid at all costs:

Lack of Time Management

When you work a traditional job, there is always someone looking over your shoulder. For this reason, you know you need to get your work done. As a freelancer, this is never the case. Sure, you have clients, but they aren’t in the same office. Furthermore, they may not impose strict deadlines. If you lack time management skills, you may find it difficult to stay on the straight and narrow. As a result, your freelance business could suffer.

The best way to combat this is to set a schedule and stick with it. Note: there are a variety of apps that can help you better manage your time.

No Marketing Plan

What steps will you take to find your first batch of clients? What steps will you take to ensure that you always have fresh leads rolling into your business? Even if you’re a marketing genius, you need to create a plan on paper that you are comfortable following. With this in front of you, it’s much easier to stay on track and avoid a situation in which you aren’t getting your name in front of the right people.

You have many responsibilities as a freelancer, but none is as important as creating and implementing a sound marketing strategy.

No Confidence

As you begin your freelancing career, you will soon realize that everything falls on you. You are in charge of making every decision, both big and small. Along with this, your clients rely on you for professional advice. For this reason, you must have confidence in yourself. You must sell yourself to clients with the idea that you can provide them with exactly what they need. 

A lack of confidence will soon have you second guessing your career decision, and that’s not something you want to do. You have what it takes to succeed, you simply need to convince yourself of this.

Conclusion

Some freelancers hit the ground running and never look back. Others continue to struggle, never really knowing what they should and should not be doing. While you are sure to make some mistakes along the way, you never want to give up. When necessary, don’t hesitate to turn to others for help. Even if you don’t have a personal mentor, there are books and websites that can provide the type of assistance you require.

If you take the stance that failure is not an option, you will always find yourself making progress. As long as you continue to inch your career forward, it’s safe to say that you’ll eventually reach all your short and long term goals.

Are you a freelancer? Have you run into any of these challenges in the past? If so, share your thoughts and advice in the comment section below. You can help others avoid the same troubles!