Comments on: The Seven Deadly Sins of Freelancing Part 2 – Overestimating Your Abilities

By: The Agile Badger

The Agile Badger — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:20:27 +0000

Oops! The link above is broken. It should read:

http://theagilebadger.blogspot.com/2008/06/craft-and-commerce_4027.html

Sorry…

By: The Agile Badger

The Agile Badger — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:51:37 +0000

Nice post!

I agree that overestimation of one’s ability is dangerous, I just don’t agree that it’s necessarily a deadly sin; it can be inspiration for achieving higher goals than you expected. I wrote a bit about this topic on my blog not long ago.

http://www.theagilebadger.com/2008/06/craft-and-commerce_4027.html

If you’re interested, please let me know your opinion.

Thanks again!

By: alex awesome

alex awesome — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:50:33 +0000

I have the opposite problem. Granted, starting out it makes sense to charge way lower than ideal until you have a good client base up and running (though that’s debatable). The truth is, I really should be charging three times what I do, and competitive rates are even higher. Still gotta get it through my head that it’s reasonable to ask for money for my work.

By: Dean

Dean — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:25:27 +0000

I have been doing web development/design for the past year. My work ethic gets me far more work than my “experience.” That said, I have taken projects that definitely needed a more experienced hand. I learned from them, but I can’t say I gave the client good work.

Also, it’s a fine line to walk between confidence and cockiness.

By: Ed Gandia at The Wealthy Freelancer

Ed Gandia at The Wealthy Freelancer — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:33:30 +0000

Excellent article!

Re: not taking your work for granted, right on! The most successful freelancers I know are level-headed folks who know how to strike a balance between gratitude and confidence. They are confident in their abilities to produce high-quality work for their clients…and they’re grateful for opportunity to do so.

By: Bob Younce at the Writing Journey

Bob Younce at the Writing Journey — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:56:45 +0000

@ Lois – Glad to know I wasn’t alone on the two space thing!

@ Nathalie – Heh heh. Let’s hope that, from time to time, you have someone looking over your shoulder telling you what you’re doing right, too, OK?

@ Alex – You make a good point. I personally am more likely to over-estimate, though.

@ Jaq – Yep. Writing someone’s boring SEO articles really puts things into perspective for me. Don’t get me wrong, I still like that I’m providing value, but it becomes especially tedious.

@ Tei – Excellent point. Now, the footnote to that is that some clients expect a finished product and won’t send it back for revisions – they just move on. I like what you say about gaining a new ability, though. I’ve had that very thing happen recently with a client.

@ Melek – Is it wrong of me to laugh at your client’s comment? I’m glad that one worked out for you, though.

@ Muvar – You’re welcome.

@ Angela – For me, I’m less likely to admit a mistake to a client than I am to outsource the work (with the client’s permission, of course). I might just break even on the project, but it saves my reputation and keeps them happy.

By: Angela Stringfellow

Angela Stringfellow — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:31:25 +0000

I’m sure we’ve all made that mistake at one time of overestimating our own abilities, gotten into a project, and thought, whoa, what did I get myself into? The bottom line, I beleive, is this: If you want to uphold your reputation, you pull out all the stops and do whatever it takes to get the job done to the absolute best of your abilities. Sometimes, though, if it’s really too much, you might be better off admitting your mistake to your client and helping them find someone else who can do the project justice. They’ll have more respect for you in the long run if you take that approach than if you completely botch their job because you were too proud to admit you screwed up.

Jaq – Loved your point about the client being your boss! It’s so true, and we need to remember it, as much as we hate to admit it sometimes.

By: muvar

muvar — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:06:17 +0000

Thanks for the reminders! Very informative.
rgds
muvar

By: Melek

Melek — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:50:19 +0000

have i ever been knocked down a notch or two by a client? of course! luckily, not too often. one came back with this comment after i submitted a design:

“if i’d know this was what you were going to give us, i would have had my cousin do the design”

yikes!! that was years ago, and i’ve very much honed my design skills since then, but man, did it knock me out of my stupor. i came back to them with a much better design that they loved. and, about 6 years later, they’re still using it.

By: Tei - Rogue Ink

Tei - Rogue Ink — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:53:07 +0000

What’s nice is that even if you over-estimate your abilities, you tend to get another shot. First drafts are first drafts – if you screw up majorly by over-estimating, you can redeem yourself by busting tail to solve the problem. Bonus: you have a new ability now, since you just spent all that time learning how to do what the client needs you to do.

Great post, Bob.