Open Thread: What Do You Wish You Knew When You Started?
Posted January 20, 2008 in Open Thread 71 Comments »
“Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.”
- Vernon Law
The admissions office for the School of Hard Knocks is always open, and we’ve all taken our share of courses there. And while you wear your battle scars with pride, it’s always nicer to avoid the pain when possible.
If you could send a message back to yourself when you just started out on the freelancing / entrepreneurial path, what would it be?
Leave Your “Message In A Bottle”
Share your life lesson via the comments below and see what you can learn from the experience of others!
Dave
******
Like what you just read? Drop by Dave’s blog for more a$$-kicking productivity tips or sign up for his newsletter and get his free “More Time” report.
About the author: Dave Navarro is a business productivity coach who loves showing freelancers how to make more money and have more time for themselves. Get more of the good stuff at Rock Your Day or follow Dave on Twitter.
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71 Comments
Susan
January 20th, 2008 at 10:46 pmI’d say, “Look, you over-achieving narcissist, there are only but so many hours in the day. Choose your clients, choose them wisely because they will help shape your day.”
Jay F.H.
January 20th, 2008 at 10:55 pmDear Jay,
Dude. Here’s $100. I know you need it. Keep your head up, the future is filled with gold.
P.S. Don’t you love how I gave you no real advice.? Haha…sucker. I had to go through it and so do you. Life is the path; life is the journey, without it we’re just dying standing still.
cat
January 21st, 2008 at 4:26 amOne potentially expensive oversight is starting a business with a lack of business knowledge.
Yes, the boring stuff. All things book keeping …
Stacey
January 21st, 2008 at 6:15 amI would have said (and I still say now) “Things don’t have to be perfect. Do it and make improvements along the way.”
James Chartrand - Men with Pens
January 21st, 2008 at 6:51 amAlright, listen up really well. You need to be ready for isolation. You need to be ready for a lack of support or people who don’t understand what you do for a living. They won’t understand that you need to work just as much as anyone else in an office somewhere.
Be ready to push yourself out there to be taken seriously – because no one will. Oh, and have a huge sign made that says “WORKING – DO NOT ENTER” and turn on your answering machine, because people will assume that “freelance” equals “always available to drop everything and go have fun.”
Write this down on a piece of paper and post it to your wall for the tough times: “It’s this or work at McDonalds. You choose.” Trust me, you’ll need that inspiration from time to time.
Lane
January 21st, 2008 at 7:36 amA lot of people are making a lot of money on the Internet, but don’t bother trying. You’ll waste hundreds of dollars and months of time with little to show for it. Either get a real job or develop a real offline business.
WAH(web)Mommy
January 21st, 2008 at 8:10 amA few very important things – particularly if you offer services (specifically design, but this likely applies to other fields as well…)
1. Get a contract before starting any job – ALWAYS! It protects both you and the client, ensuring that neither of you gets the short end of the stick…
2. Make sure the contract specifies Exactly what they are getting. For example, if designing a web site – specify how many mock-ups they are getting for the price they paid.
I’ve been burned several times in the past, by not specifying this in a contract… In once case, for example, I ended up doing close to 10 mock-ups for a client.
I tend to on a flat-fee for site design (based on the ‘average’ time to complete a design, code the html, etc). In this particular instance, I had estimated far less than 1/2 the amount of time that I actually spent on this particular design. It wasn’t in the contract, though, so I couldn’t go back and charge more for the work.
My new contracts now state that you get X amount of mock-ups with X number of revisions each… beyond that will be billed hourly….
3. Get a deposit up front, and final payment before files delivered to client.
I generally work on terms of 50% up front and 50% after completion of project, but before transferring the files either directly to the client or to their FTP server.
Sometimes, depending on the particular project, I’ll work on a 50/25/25 basis. That happens on cases where you have to work on the client’s server (take a shopping cart, for example). In cases like that, I’ll require 50% up front, 25% after approval of the design and development of the initial html coding, and final payment after complete implementation into the shopping cart.
I haven’t personally been burned by this one (yet), but know far too many people who either don’t take a deposit, or they deliver the files before receiving final payment. You’d be surprised at how many times the client will up and disappear without paying for hours of work and a good product (service)!
—
LOL, I guess I have money on the brain today – or should I say lack of it… ;) – but these are definitely among some of the more important business lessons I’ve learned so far.
I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone else has to say on the topic – I know I can certainly use all the advice I can get! :)
WAH(web)Mommy
January 21st, 2008 at 8:12 amGoodness gracious! I swear I didn’t intend for that to be such a long comment! [blushing]
I should have turned that into it’s own post on my blog, lol.
Jon Phillips
January 21st, 2008 at 11:01 amHey some really good comments so far! For me it’s not really ‘what’ but more ‘who’ I wish I knew when I started :)
Adam Donkus
January 21st, 2008 at 12:02 pm“Hind site is always better than fore site”…
Not all connections you make are necessarily beneficial for your success.
Tanny
January 21st, 2008 at 12:06 pmI agree with Jon, I wish I knew the who’s more then the what’s.
Sean Hodge
January 21st, 2008 at 2:13 pmI’d send a message way back to high school and say drop metal shop and take that boring C++ course or whatever the programming class was called back in the early 90’s. Then when I was a freelancer I’d know how to really program. As I can’t possibly make the time for that now.
Alan Johnson
January 21st, 2008 at 2:39 pm“The time you spend searching for shortcuts can be put to better use by building the foundation for a long-term project”.
A lot of people spend a lot of time searching for the easy way out only to receive one reality check after another. At a certain point, they realize that there are no shortcuts and that’s when things start going uphill, but they had been better off not learning everything the hard way.
Alan Johnson
Mary McKitrick
January 21st, 2008 at 3:35 pmI wish that when I was starting out as a voice-over artist, I had hired an audio engineer to help me set up my recording studio. Instead I patched it together and made some expensive mistakes. For other businesses, I would say to make sure you have the infrastructure you need to do your job right. If you find that you’re inefficient because you don’t have the right equipment, move some mountains to fix that problem because you will. save. money.
Joshua Clanton - Design for the WEB
January 21st, 2008 at 4:05 pmThe importance of having good contacts, both online and in person. Being friends with people who are relevant to your business is an invaluable resource.
Chad | ProFreelancing
January 21st, 2008 at 4:17 pmWell – pretty much everything I would have said has already been said.
But I can add that I’m extremely glad I never “knew it” before I started, because the experience is what makes the knowledge so valuable.
Samuel Ryan
January 21st, 2008 at 5:14 pmI think I’m thankful for my ignorance and naivete starting out — I might have never gone solo without them :)
Stephanie
January 21st, 2008 at 7:02 pmI am so thankful to have found some good solid information to absorb while I work to start my online boutique. Contrary to societal motives, I am not out to make “billions of dollars on the internet” but I am out to do something I love, while giving consumers the opportunity to shop for and purchase a well deserved product that will make their lives a tad bit more beautiful. Everyone has the right to define and believe in their own definition of success.
Keep the advice pouring in…some of us out here are taking it very seriously!
Cheers!
nate
January 21st, 2008 at 7:49 pmI’m glad I Stumbled across a blog that linked to this site. I have a few business ideas I’m beginning to plot out. Some of the comments in this thread are encouraging and useful.
Zakman
January 21st, 2008 at 9:31 pm“Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.”
What an appropriate quote for “Message in a Bottle”… cuz you have to break the bottle to read the message!
ps: My hard learned lesson? 50-50 is a great idea. I’m not a ‘full-time freelancer’ (is there anything like that?), but I’ve been approached by people to set up their blog, write/design a brochure, or write a jingle, etc., and I spend some quality time researching only to see the client has lost their steam and has dropped/postponed the project.
Kimberly James
January 21st, 2008 at 9:34 pmAre you crazy? I don’t care if they are friends!!!! Make them sign the contract!!!
Zakman
January 22nd, 2008 at 12:12 am@Kimberly James
Was your comment directed at me? I wouldn’t be surprised if it were, maybe I AM a li’l krazyyyy… :)
Well, one of things that comes in the way of ‘making them sign the contract’ is that I’m never sure about how much I should charge them. I’m totally clueless about freelancing charges (Jon knows :), so I don’t quote, but keep working and in the end don’t get nuthin’.
Goal Setting College
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:58 amNothing. Everything I’ve become today is a result of my learnings yesterday. And I’m really grateful for that, however little it may seem in other people’s context.
Cheers,
Ellesse
fc
January 22nd, 2008 at 7:30 amContrary to most of the guys here.. I don’t have much to share.. in fact I am on the side to whom this would be hugely beneficial so a big thanks for that.. this is building up to be a great resource and I hope a lot more comments happen…
I particularly like Alan’s “The time you spend searching for shortcuts can be put to better use by building the foundation for a long-term project”.
pam
January 22nd, 2008 at 10:01 amDon’t cave on your rates. It is so rarely about the money.
Paul Burani
January 22nd, 2008 at 11:59 amWhen building a business, especially if you’re starting up on your own, there is a tendency for ambitious individuals to treat everyone as a lead. This in FINE. Treating everyone as a client is NOT FINE. You’ll end up spinning your wheels trying to force a square peg in a round hole. Have a few ideas of the warning signs that someone is less than ideal as a client…and then be on the lookout. Don’t be afraid to lower your tolerance for prospects outside your strike zone!
Alan Johnson
January 22nd, 2008 at 12:54 pmIndeed, sometimes being selective when it comes to your clients is a must. I’ve experienced this with my brick&mortar business and can tell you that in some cases, you are better off not working with certain people, as it simply ends up not being worth it down the road.
Alan Johnson
Kristen
January 22nd, 2008 at 5:58 pmI would tell myself to relax when glitches occur… and they WILL occur! But there is a tremendous amount of very helpful, very free information out there and persistence pays off!
Duke
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:45 amI wished I had not spent as much money online as many gems on online marketing could be found at James Brausch website. He has just shifted his blog… im sure you can google it up. His full name is James D. Brausch if cant find it.
Highly recommended if your a newbie to internet marketing. Wont cost you a dime to read :)
Cheerio
Duke
Alan Johnson
January 23rd, 2008 at 5:06 pmIndeed, most people make the mistake of not realizing exactly how much information they can gain at no cost. There are always more than a few great free resources worth following on a regular basis, no matter what niche we are talking about.
Alan Johnson
Lee
January 24th, 2008 at 8:24 amAs said by WAH(web)Mommy – get a deposit up-front and take payments throughout a project. Along with the fact you’re getting paid more regularly, the client makes more of an effort once they’ve departed with money :-)
Vanessa Van Petten
January 25th, 2008 at 8:27 pmEverything takes longer than expected.
Pete
May 30th, 2008 at 5:15 amAfter 2 fines from the tax man, I wish I would have fully understood the legalities regarding all taxation matters
chick-a-boo
May 31st, 2008 at 11:31 pmMaybe it’s just because I’ve had a rotten week, but my advice would be:
1) Back in my day, they didn’t teach business know-how in art school. Get yourself a mentor and do it early in your career.
THEN/OR
2) Marry someone rich. Never work again. ;-)
Did I mention the rotten week I had?
Angela Stringfellow
July 6th, 2008 at 6:20 pmThere is absolutely no shame in not being able to do it all yourself, and trying to anyway will only result in burnout! My most valuable lesson came when I realized how much time and how many headaches I could save by not trying to handle every little aspect of my business “all by myself”. I now outsource my back-office tasks (invoicing, collections, tax management) to a company called MBO Partners, and I get a W-2 at the end of the year. Much simpler!
Hittman
July 15th, 2008 at 10:43 amIf you have a lot of clients who are obnoxious, demanding, and who insist on you doing “just one more thing” for free, you’re probably doing something wrong, and need to rethink your business model.
If you just have one, get rid of them. You won’t make any money in the long run, and in the short run they’re more bother than they’re worth. Find a good excuse and fire them.
jimbomaxf
November 1st, 2008 at 11:55 pmHi people,
I am new to this forum freelancefolder.com and hope that anybody can
help me with the forex market – I am looking for an introduction
for noobs. I have already some knowledge about shares. (Hope this is the fitting category.)
I have the expectation that the recent turbulences in the forex market promise
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Jim
jimbomel
November 2nd, 2008 at 9:39 pmHi guys,
I recently registered to this forum freelancefolder.com and hope that somebody can
help me with the forex – I am looking for an introduction
for noobs. I have already a little knowledge about shares. (Hope this is the fitting category.)
Help is so much appreciated. Most important question: can a noob make money on the forex?
Thanks,
Jim
maxpiut
November 8th, 2008 at 7:26 pmHi guys,
just want to introduce myself on freelancefolder.com, hope this is the right category for that purpose.
Regards,
Max
williambit
December 13th, 2008 at 12:47 amHi, just registered today, can someone give me some suggestions on which ebooks or guides are good for newbies like me?
AnryMorano
December 29th, 2008 at 9:09 pmPresident Elect Barack Obama has been caught shirtless in Hawaii, causing quite a stir for all the right reasons.
The shot shows Obama with abs, or as one outlet called Obama’s body: “lean and chiseled.”
Obama works out regularly, and it was noted during the campaign that he kept his routine of morning workouts happening on the road. Reports say that this routine hasn’t changed in Hawaii, with Obama working out at the Semper Fit Center on Marine Corps Base at Hawaii’s Kaneohe Bay.
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JenniferAniston
December 30th, 2008 at 2:38 pmWOW World crisis is already there, now just waiting for aliens, monsters and kiborgs :
You might think twice about helping yourself to those goods on the shelves but a growing number of people aren’t. People who wouldn’t normally even think of shoplifting are finding themselves on the wrong side of the law as our economic worries get worse.
Read >
OdetteJohansson
January 4th, 2009 at 6:18 amWhat kind of name is “Pritikin”? Chinese? Irish? Italian? Or is it one of the nice people next door who always seem to do something to make people hate them…?
The producers of Valkyrie, Tom Cruise’s newest movie based on the plot during World War Two to kill Hitler may be sued for using a reproduction of the famous Hitler Globe.
The globes, produced in the 1930’s were given to high ranking officials in the Third Reich, with one Globe said to be kept at Berchtesgaden (The Eagles Nest), the Bavarian Country home of Hitler. Most were destroyed during the war, but the Berchtesgaden Globe was retrieved by American soldiers.
Read >>>
PeytMannings
January 5th, 2009 at 4:03 pmFacebook sucks. Blog posts that attempt to predict the future are generally 99.9999% wrong and simply link bait. Adding ‘killer’ to the title increases the posts shittyness. Why don’t we leave the post mortems until after a death has occurred. Oh wait I know why, because the intention wasn’t to write anything of value, it was to troll for responses and links.
Speculation that Facebook will kill Twitter is as old as Twitter itself. The latest round came from AllFacebook, not exactly an impartial source, who argued recently that Facebook API’s could be used to build a Twitter like service.
Read >>
PatyHingle
January 6th, 2009 at 11:12 pmSo … today was a big day for Apple and the first ever Philnote for the masses with announcements about DRM being removed from iTunes and a unibody MacBook Pro among some other stuff. While most of the blogosphere seems to be in a state of Yawn over it that has stop some enthusiastically proclaiming it as one of the best keynote.
READ >>
There’s plenty to bash in this year’s keynote, but Apple’s DRM stance isn’t one of them. The reason it took Apple this long to get rid of DRM on all their music was the labels, not Apple. It’s pretty common knowledge that the labels have been allowing Amazon and others to sell DRM-free music as a way to strong-arm Apple into allowing variable-priced music. Well, they finally won and now we’ll see what happens.
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VanessiaChenoweth
January 16th, 2009 at 6:08 pmIf you haven’t grabbed your free beta copy of Windows 7 yet, there’s good news: you’ve now got 2 weeks to do so.
Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc writes on the Windows 7 blog
I can’t actually believe you’re seriously suggesting Microsoft should make Windows free or open-source. Sure, let’s drop quite possibly the world’s largest and most sophisticated piece of computer software ever written into the hands of any old 12 year old with a compiler, and see what happens. Wake up ;-)
MitraPacitti
January 24th, 2009 at 5:56 amPresident Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama joined for the first post inauguration dance at the Neighborhood Ball at the Washington Convention Center this evening. The tune: The Etta James classic At Last, sung by Beyonce. Here’s … Read >
Beyonce is one of the few pop artists who can really sing. She sang the National Athem a few years ago in Texas and she really showcased her talent. I hope she gets rid of the pop stuff and graces us with that remarkable touch that she adds to ballads. Keep up the good work and you go girl!
JenniferPanettiere
January 27th, 2009 at 5:56 amCommenting 2.0 service Disqus has announced support for FriendFeed, allowing users to natively import FriendFeed comments into Disqus.
The integration between the two popular services has been the top of many users’ list for over a year, and while WordPress plugins, and more lately a hosted service promised some levels of integration, you can’t beat native support.
read>>>
Yeay!!!! I am using Disqus, but now I will never leave them
JessicaHalliwell
January 28th, 2009 at 10:26 pmAgape chief Nicholas Cosmo is accused of scamming $380 million out of thousands of Agape World clients with promises of high returns that couldn’t be met.
READ >>
He was arrested and taken in by the FBI yesterday…..
ElizabethCuthbert
January 31st, 2009 at 6:51 amIraq has announced that it will deny a license to controversial private army Blackwater Worldwide, preventing the company from providing protection to US interests in the country.
The Iraqi Government said that the decision was due to improper conduct and excessive use of force, in particular the 2007 killings of 17 Iraqi civilians by the company.
READ –>
or “viola” … I mean really, did you mean a violin-like instrument, or did you actually mean “voila” ??
as for the subject: good riddance, mercenaries by another name, etc.
BodenJokers
January 31st, 2009 at 7:49 amwaww…
The list of affected products in the FDA peanut recall 2009 is expanding yet again. Meanwhile, investigators are now moving toward a criminal probe into the Georgia plant believed to be responsible for a nationwide salmonella outbreak. FDA … Read >
FanniZellweger
February 1st, 2009 at 4:32 amJohanna Sigurdardottir, a former air hostess, is expected to be sworn in as Iceland’s Prime Minister by the end of the week, making her the first openly gay leader of any country in history. Unfortunately for Sigurdardottir, … Read >
OK USA, we can’t be outdone. It’s time to elect a black, gay, woman leader!
ElishaHalesa
February 2nd, 2009 at 9:06 amAs we reported earlier, Disqus released its new version today with support for local comment storage and a range of other features. Part of the upgrade was a brand new WordPress API plugin, the non javascript plugin that allows comments to be seen by search engines on the local site, and the main reason I started using Disqus back in May. READ >>>
Disqus is the revolution of commenting in web 2.0. A definite move up from the standard blog comment system, and one that is going to be around for a long time hopefully.
StiltsChickCallie
February 4th, 2009 at 3:33 amGotta love yahoo, fine site.
Will read up and hopefully have something good to say.
Have a good day.
StiltsChickCallie
forexguy
February 7th, 2009 at 2:21 amHello All,
I am new here and just wanted to introduc myself.
I have a few questions but I will first search for the answers before asking them just in case they have been asnwered.
THanks!
GinniferKilmer
February 7th, 2009 at 5:34 amPresident Barack Obama announced Wednesday that companies receiving Government assistance under the $700 billion bailout will be restricted to a $500,000 salary cap for top executives. “We all need to take responsibility” said the President, and that people … Read >
I think simple way for companies to avoid this “intrusion” – don’t take the handout.
KristenGoodwin
February 9th, 2009 at 11:43 amShepard Fairey, the “street artist” who shot to fame last year after creating the iconic Obama Hope posters, has been arrested in Boston on graffiti charges… READ—>
It’s like arresting Warhol at this point. Can’t see him minding much ;)
johnitunes
March 7th, 2009 at 3:12 amHey!
How is everyone doing?
Im new at freelancefolder.com and wanted to say HI
I hope I can become a valuable member!
Oh yeah… cuz the economy is so bad right now.. I cant afford music.. lol
Anyone know where I can get free itunes codes online?
Sorry if this is in wrong section admin.. wasnt sure of the right place.
Thank You!!
jachtenteeRen
March 30th, 2009 at 2:41 amI am new here and greetings to everyone on here.
jachtenteeRen
March 31st, 2009 at 4:29 pmHi am new here, greetings to all.
jachtenteeRen
April 1st, 2009 at 11:09 pmI am new here, just saying hello.
jachtenteeRen
April 2nd, 2009 at 2:22 pmGreeting to all on the forum. I am new here.
jachtenteeRen
April 2nd, 2009 at 11:05 pmNew to the forum, greetings.
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Sescillcync
September 30th, 2009 at 11:23 amHi everybody, I’m new here. Thanks for being a part of this community. Cheers.
altefelty
October 12th, 2009 at 12:02 pmHi
Ive been trading forex for quite a while now. Ive learned from many sources and have read about forex programs that could
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Sescillcync
October 18th, 2009 at 3:33 pmWelcome everybody, I’m new on this forum. Thankyou for being a part of so outstanding community. SeeYa. :)
Weiseeinveway
December 17th, 2009 at 10:14 pmHi ya’ll!
I might be the first to say this, but probably not the last: Seasons Greetings.
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