Open Thread: What Is Your Biggest Freelancing Struggle?

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Open Thread: What Is Your Biggest Freelancing Struggle?

Posted August 22, 2010 in Lifestyle, Open Thread

Freelancing is great lifestyle–you get to pick your hours, your clients, and your projects. You can work at home in your pajamas (or sweats) and you are constantly learning new things.

But, freelancing can also be challenging. Freelancers face many potential struggles–such as where to find your clients, how to manage your time, what to do when you get sick, and more.

Of course, part of the fun of freelancing is also getting to solve those freelancing struggles.

So, what about you?

What is your biggest freelancing struggle?

What freelancing challenges do you face? Have you solved them, or are they ongoing?

Share your freelancing struggles in the comments.

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About the author: Laura Spencer is a freelance writer from North Central Texas with over 20 years of professional business writing experience. If you liked this post, then you may also enjoy Laura’s blog about her freelance writing experiences, WritingThoughts. Laura is also on Google+.

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39 Comments

Marian Schembari
August 22nd, 2010 at 9:03 am

Great question! While there are butt-tons of struggles for me as a new freelancer, I think my biggest one involves charging people. Not in terms of “how much should I charge?” but “when should I start charging?”

I’m a consultant, meaning people are basically paying for my brain smarts. Since I have a blog I give a lot of those brain smarts away for free. Sometimes blog readers write and ask me questions. I answer them. Sometimes they ask me lots of questions. And I answer those, too. But after a certain point I start to get resentful. I think, “Hello?! This is what I do as a JOB. You need to fork up to get any more knowledge.”

Then of course I feel like I bitch for thinking that way. Obviously people trust my opinion enough to email. They’re loyal readers so I can’t really be a douche. So there lies my dilemma. When do I start requesting money so I can, you know, EAT? When do I remind people that this is what I do for a living?

For now, I let a lot of people walk all over me because many of these people – while not clients themselves – refer me to people who HAVE become clients.

Does anyone else I have this problem? What have you done to fix it??
Stephen Tiano
August 22nd, 2010 at 9:16 am

Same as it’s been from day 1: having enough steady work to satisfy myself. And I say this during the best and busiest year I’ve had in over 17 years of freelance book design and page comp work. As the years have gone by and I’ve grown my book design practice, my capacity and desire for more work has increased. I used to say that I like to have two books going at once, as it keeps me fresh. That seems so long ago.

The last six or eight months I’ve been juggling 3-4 books and loving it. Covering wildly disparate subjects, it’s a blast working at odd hours in sweats or shorts, with nothing more than “Do I feel like working right now?” running my schedule.
Laura Spencer
August 22nd, 2010 at 9:20 am

Hi Marian,

You’re not alone! People come to me for advice too. It can be frustrating when people come to you for “freebies.”

One key is to set a limit on what you’ll do for free. I think five to ten minutes is a good rule of thumb. If I can share something (often that just means finding a link for someone that might help) in that short amount of time AND it won’t impact the rest of my work, I gladly do it.

If someone needs more help than that (or, if they coming back with short requests), I think it’s perfectly acceptable to say something like, “I really don’t have time to fully get into it now. If you’d like, you can book a consulting appointment with me so that I can devote my full energies to this problem.”

Personally, my struggles have changed over the years. When I started, my biggest struggle as a newbie was how to find clients. However, now that I have a good customer/prospect base my biggest struggle is probably how to manage my time.
Ingrid Hardy
August 22nd, 2010 at 9:32 am

Struggles? What struggles…? Seriously, to me freelancing is both a treat and a torture. (been doing it for several years now) I find it a constant struggle from the point of view that I still don’t know what direction to take, where my next job will come from if one comes at all (and if I’ll actually get paid), and insecurities about how my work is evolving – will anyone want it and/or hire me? All that said, it’s precisely those things that make this line of work so invigorating – there is always another challenge. (excuse me while I go off in the corner to suck my thumb now…)
Laura Earley
August 22nd, 2010 at 10:04 am

My biggest struggle is finding quality clients. I’ve recently been positioning myself more toward agencies and design studios looking to outsource work to graphic designers. My newest client is a really nice guy who runs a small web development firm and has outsourced a few projects to me over the past week and so far it’s going well. The struggle here is his expectations on how long a project should take are a little unreasonable since he’s not a designer himself, but he accepts my input about matters like this.

I’ve only been doing this full-time for a year and it ebbs and flows, but I really love it. The challenges make the rewards so much sweeter.
Emma Santa
August 22nd, 2010 at 10:07 am

Balancing clients. Not the clients that I already have, but the new ones that show up all at once. Sometimes my work schedule is a feast and other times famine. I’d really love to learn a technique to keep the client pipeline flowing at a steady rate.
Sandro Salsi
August 22nd, 2010 at 10:50 am

I guess moving from servicing small businesses/individuals to corporation?
Simon Duck | Profit Duck
August 22nd, 2010 at 1:07 pm

My biggest problem is missing a few days when I don’t have any clients and just taking care of my own little businesses and then finding myself snowed under with things to do, luckily I don’t let it happen as much as I used to!
Nichole
August 22nd, 2010 at 1:29 pm

Two mini quandaries. One is my almost overwhelming desire to be in two particular American publications. The other is that I focus so much more on my journalistic writing, which pays, than my essayistic writing, which is where my creativity and other elements of my writing voice comes out. I always seem to neglect my essays, usually not finishing them. They are why I graduated magna cum laude from graduate school!
dan howard
August 22nd, 2010 at 1:40 pm

Mine has to be having enough work to keep busy! same as everyone else I suppose.

Also – finding apartments. The amount of landlords that say no because I’m self employed is unreal! I’ve had months where I’ve earnt enough to pay my entire years rent, and offered to do so, but still been turned away….doesn’t really make sense does it!
Amy
August 22nd, 2010 at 2:19 pm

Time! I feel that everything on my to-do list is very doable. But my to-do list grows exponentially faster than my got-done list! So many times, I have to completely dismiss a new idea because even though I know it might be advantageous, I know there’s too many priorities requiring attention first. Having said all of that.. is there a better business to be in? I truly enjoy and love what I get to do!
Anthony
August 22nd, 2010 at 2:35 pm

I’d say my biggest problems as a someone who is new to freelance web development are 1) Selling myself and my services confidently and concisely. 2) Keeping a regular stream of income each month.

I’m extremely honest and modest about what I can do and equally, what I think I can’t do, so ‘selling’ myself to potential clients is very difficult for me.

I always find my earnings differ quite significantly each month from being quite comfortable to being quite poverish.
Some months I feel I’m on the edge of having too much to do on my own and other months my inbox is comparable to a ghost town. However, I think this is at least partly to do with me worrying that if I advertise too much I run the risk of being overwhelmed with too much work to do on my own and my work and the services I provide will suffer as a result!
silvercover
August 22nd, 2010 at 5:34 pm

After 4 years of freelancing I believe my biggest struggle is to dealing with chronic exhaustion. this problem put me through lots of unwanted problems such as passing deadlines and breach of promises.

I think if an experienced Freelancer could not make some varieties or relief, he/she have to face with its consequences.
Melissa Breau
August 22nd, 2010 at 8:12 pm

as a relatively new freelancer (8 months!) who is still working full time and freelancing part time, my biggest struggle is finding balance – and I don’t just mean work-life balance (although that’s a dilemma too). I work with a number of small businesses, writing web copy, articles and marketing materials, but I also want to write articles for various magazines. However I’ve had trouble striking a balance between the two – if I have client work, I tend to have trouble finding the time to pitch story ideas; if I take time to pitch story ideas I tend to find I need to get myself back out there marketing-wise in order to maintain my client work. Any suggestions?
Melissa Breau
August 22nd, 2010 at 8:13 pm

Forgot to hit the notify button…
TLC
August 22nd, 2010 at 9:39 pm

So many great comments! Laura Spencer, I love your line about booking an appointment. It sets a very clear boundary.

My biggest freelancing struggle is not chickening out. Yesterday I celebrated the second anniversary of the start of my business. There have been so many times when the constant income, reasonable health insurance rates and camaraderie of a full-time job look really great. In fact, I had an offer earlier this year that I seriously considered.

But then my wonderful 15-year-old son looked at me and said, “Don’t do it, Mom. You’ve done so well with your business. You’re so much happier! I really don’t want to see you quit.”

I warned him that times might get tight. He said was OK with that. So with that blessing, I haven’t chickened out. But some days the grass looks pretty green over there!
Nicole Foster
August 22nd, 2010 at 10:03 pm

Two problems: Steady stream of clients and marketing.

It seems like I’m not alone with those two problems, but I wish I could get them solved soon. I’m starting to solve my marketing problems by reading a few freelancing books and blogs, but it’s a tough concept to learn because this my first business, so I didn’t understand everything related to business before this. The steady stream of clients is just because of my recent vacation and this busy month. Later in September, I’ll be looking for a steady stream of clients.
Laura Spencer
August 22nd, 2010 at 10:05 pm

Thanks to everyone for sharing their struggles and ideas! :-) This has been a good discussion (and it is always interesting to learn what people struggle with the most.

Keep the comments coming.
Jake Beckman
August 22nd, 2010 at 11:04 pm

Time management is my biggest issue. I have known since 2006 the best way to deal with this is to get a partner, but finding good partners are just as hard as finding good employees-I’ve had experience with both.

And since I am not independently wealthy I have not been able to give up my freelance day job either (tax accounting). This year I became “the man” and actually hired someone, which has been an educational experience-oh and only added to the list of things I must do.

Given that I am holding down 2 jobs and am the sole source of income for my family, I really dislike being asked to do things for free. Charities wanting me to donate my artwork, other nonprofits wanting my other skill sets pro bono etc. I do a certain amount of that to be sure, but I resent having to explain myself, sometimes multiple times, once I have said no to your worthy cause.

I would say more but everything else I wrote came off overly crabby.

I am curious what others say. Looking forward to the day when I can hire someone to do some of my jobs…
Mathew
August 22nd, 2010 at 11:40 pm

After 10 years of varying successes (overall pretty good), my biggest struggles have changed over the years. At first it was having enough clients to have a feeling of security. Later it was getting the admin (tax filings, expenses, bills) under control, which an accountant helped resolve. By around year 5 it was a challenge of defining my services and chasing down more of the work I wanted, while continuing to do some of the work that perhaps wasn’t thrilling me as much. Now at 10+ yrs, I find that I enjoy the steady work from my core clients, but I’m having a hard time figuring out next steps, focusing on and finding more rewarding work, and generally developing in a direction that is similar to how I might become more senior if I worked for a corporation.

On a daily basis, I miss some of the face to face interaction and social network I might have if I worked for a corp, even though I appreciate my time/freedom. I also struggle with exercising my freedom (eg taking a vacation) because ive grown so accustomed to self-discipline, it’s become difficult to just turn it all off, especially with projects underway. And that is where the balance challenge comes from.

In s nutshell, over time I seem to most be struggling with how to appreciate and leverage gnu unique freedom freelancing affords me.
Freelance
August 23rd, 2010 at 12:53 am

Still now I use to remember those old days of freelancing intiatives. When i start my carrer in freelancer. I have lot of constraints, struggles, Need of money to go through.
But one thing i have with me is my confidence. Before I jump into freelance network i am working as software developer in MS. I use to design lot of architect works, planning client networks, web based applications.

One day I read an article written by JohnFork about freelancing and the new way of growth startergy. I started exploring it. Lots of struggles before i quit Microsoft I use to try number of new events outside small freelance works. I have earn more than expected and sometime I was cheated more than I expected.
But one thing is my learning skill that never stop. My first client payed me 500$ but I was earning 5000$ a month in MS. But this 500$ make me more happy than the before. I know who am I working for and they need from me. According to me not every one who starts his carrer as freelancer wont succeed in his life.
All it need is your both technical and managerical skills. I learnt my techs in college and working environment but my all my managerical skills learnt through the struggling as freelancer.

Freelancing is of managing everything money, work , love, releation, etc. One month there wont be of 1$ to earn. But some months I use to earn more so its upto you to manage all your money.

One thing for sure Freelance is earning network until you have so much patience to learn and apply it.
Amy
August 23rd, 2010 at 2:43 am

I really wish the marketing aspects of online business were different. It’s becoming so that you have to spend all your time online to market well. But.. I admit that I don’t know how else it could be different, with so much competition out there.
Stephanie
August 23rd, 2010 at 4:32 am

For me, my current freelancing struggle is finding “long-term clients” who actually can keep their promises of giving me lots of work. I had to let go of a good client because she decided to put me an as-needed basis (which I didn’t approve of) and am now worried that the work I’m doing for another one will dry up soon.

Aside from this, it’s finding and building relationships with new clients. I haven’t tried doing marketing yet since I find work through freelancing websites but I’m hoping to give it a try soon when the time is right.
Web design portfolio
August 23rd, 2010 at 7:35 am

sourcing new clients from the ‘cold call’ approach.
Brian Whiting
August 23rd, 2010 at 3:24 pm

My biggest struggle is finding new clients to keep a steady flow of income each day
paul
August 24th, 2010 at 7:21 am

My biggest challenge is getting enough clients, and more importantly clients who have a reasonable budget.
Steven
August 30th, 2010 at 6:09 am

I rarely face a problem in getting new clients and lack of work has rarely been a problem either… while the biggest problem I face is project management to keep the projects withing scope. I have realized that client’s expectations keep on rising and it takes a lot of effort & project management to keep the project within scope while at the same time keeping the client satisfied. Do you guys also face the same problems? what do you do in such cases?
Mathew
August 30th, 2010 at 9:30 am

Steven, I know that challenge well, and for many of my clients I need to do fixed-cost proposals which makes it even harder. To address scope and costs, I first consider where scope is likely to creep given past experiences, and also considering what the client is likely to ask for as things progress. I discuss these areas with the client at the beginning and try to clarify that the project covers this, NOT that, and that extras entail extra cost. I then and always have assumptions of what the project is and isn’t, and one included element is that items outside of the itemized deliverables will increase costs.

I also recently started purposely inflating projects after considering how similar projects have gone. This gives a bit of an extra cushion for me, and often I can look at some of the scope creep and know that I sort of planned for it and therefore deliver it without asking for extra $$, since I already factored it in with the inflation of the quote.

I consider this inflation sort of a “difficulty factor”. If there’s a part of the project I know is complicated and will likely change during the course of the project, I use the difficulty factor ( say a 20% addition to the cost), whereas in simpler projects I may skip it and just eat the extra time.

The upside of working some inflation versus actual into initial quote is that you cover yourself, and avoid needing to ask for extra $$, thereby keeping the client happy.

For bigger projects I sometimes just label it as phase 1 with the understanding that x,y and z are not part of the phase. These then get addressed after 1.0 is delivered.
Stella Aghenie
September 12th, 2010 at 4:14 pm

Faith,Fear & Attitude, Our attitude can influence our faith. It’s up to us to influence our decisions today, to make a future we’re dreaming about. Our attitude can change everything. And we can get a lot of information based on the personal development from these blogs…

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