Freelancing is inviting as it never demands a Morning routine, Well-dressing, and Boss commands. It is true to some extent, but if you’ve been freelancing or wanted to start freelance. You will have to come up with a few common problems that every other Freelancer faces.
5 Biggest Problems Faced by Freelancers as a beginner
Freelancers in this profession get used to it, while a beginner faces the most challenges in the few starting weeks or months.
Below, we’ve listed 5 Basic Problems Faced by Freelancers as a beginner. Let’s dive into them and their solutions without any further ado.
1. Doubting Your Target Niche
Doubting the target niche is a very common problem seen by many beginner freelancers. It happens when you come into the real freelance world and see professionals of other niches earning a very good enough amount with less effort. You take your niche as non-profitable without giving it the required time and get demotivated.
You come up to a niche after well-research, but your not-giving-enough-time attitude makes it look like a saturated niche with a low pay rate. You look more into other niches instead of upskilling yourself in your niche and keep failing.
The Solution:
When you decide on a niche to take your career with, remember that you’ll have to give it at least 6-7 months to see some progress. You will have to ignore what others are doing in their particular niche and focus on yourself.
Start practicing in your niche by Upskilling every day by watching and taking free or paid courses. Produce at least one content piece to make it experimental and get your hand in the flow with it. It’ll also help you in producing your samples for your portfolio.
2. Not Building Your Professional Portfolio
Not having a Portfolio is one of the 5 basic problems faced by freelancers as a beginner. A portfolio is a website or a social proof of your expertise. You need it if you’re an expert in your niche or even just starting. It helps you stand out in the client’s eye. But it has been seen that most freelancers ignore this aspect and keep looking for clients without any social evidence.
It’s just like selling your customer your best dress but not showing them the samples and feedback of your earlier customers.
How will they believe that you’re good at it if you haven’t shown them your work examples or proof of social existence? If you haven’t shown them what others have to say about you, how will they trust you?
If you’re not investing in your portfolio, you’re lagging and hurting your growth.
The Solution:
Create a portfolio website just after you’ve published your work on some free platform or have provided your service to someone, even free of cost.
You can build a portfolio on a WordPress site with a purchased domain and hosting or go for a Free one.
It is recommended to invest a few dollars in purchasing a domain and hosting and building your professional portfolio. But if you’re looking for a freebie, you can still go for it.
You can build your portfolio on the following:
3. Running away from Marketing
Do you think that only becoming a freelancer will get you clients? If yes!!!
You have been deceiving yourself for so long. Freelancing is a business that can’t be run without knowing marketing strategies. You can only find or make a deal when you start learning marketing. It sounds so weird, but it’s the truth.
This may feel like not to worry issue, but it’s the most impactful of the 5 basic problems faced by freelancers as a beginner. Freelancing is all about marketing. The better the marketing you do, the better the Freelancer you are. If you keep running from convincing and finding clients, you’ll only end up with the despairing memories of your freelance career.
The Solution:
The marketing issue can only be solved by educating yourself. Start educating and upskilling yourself on how to negotiate and convince a person. How to make a persona conscious about their business?
You can learn these tricks and hacks by reading blogs or watching courses on HubSpot or CopyBlogger. This technique is also sometimes called content marketing.
Make your Marketing strategy strong by practicing it daily. Send proposals to at least ten prospects a day. You’ll start knowing what strategy worked well for you and what needs improvement. Set goals for a day and develop them to track your progress.
4. Maintaining a Balance with your Clients
Maintaining balance with your clients is the most basic problem faced by freelancers in the beginning. It comes up with a lot of by-product problems. When you start in this freelance world, you come across people from different regions. Their time zone would have a lot of gaps from yours. Their nature and their style of working would be different. All these factors vary with each client. You have to adapt to every other behavior to make a long-term relationship.
Many freelancers, in the beginning, can’t make a deal with their clients due to a lack of patience and understanding. You don’t have to be impatient or intolerant in this freelance world. It never will lead you to a good position. You must understand every detail and pain point of your prospect to become good at his thoughts.
The Solution:
Regarding time zone, there can’t be any suggestions, As you have to manage it by setting your routine or schedule. If you work with clients in the US and Asia, you’d probably arrange a meeting at night. This can only be solved by maintaining and figuring out a perfect schedule.
But when it comes to behavior, you must master psychology to come up with this issue. Learn a client’s pain points and behavior when you hop on a call with them. Try to know their problems and how you can help them.
But never try to be over-smart or say bad about their present business condition. Talk to them in a very precise and constructive way that doesn’t hurt their ego and makes the work done. The only solution is to start learning psychology games, and that will no longer be a problem.
5. The Bruce Lee: Time Management
Time management is a factor that makes a great difference in your progress. If you’ve mastered time management, you’ll be the market champion in no time. But it’s not easy to do; that’s why it’s an issue.
As a freelancer, you will be dealing with multiple things simultaneously. You would have to maintain your social media presence and your client’s happiness. You would have to come up with your deadlines and provide quality content no matter what it takes from you.
And if you’re a student and not a full-time freelancer, things get more complicated. Time management is a real stress, and you have to overcome it.
The Solution:
You can only get over it by creating a to-do list and a scheduled day plan. Always start your day with the priority tasks.
You can do it this way:
- Write your priority tasks at the top of your to-do list and make a box beside it.
- Then write the second important task of the day and make a box beside it again.
- In the end, write that task that can be done the next day and won’t affect your work.
- Once you have done your task, make tick your box.
Doing this will tell your brain that you have done much work and you are prepared for the next task. It’ll help in productiveness and let you get done with your priority tasks.
It has helped a lot of beginners as well as professional Freelancers. You must develop this habit, not let yourself burn out, to make your freelance life stress-free and enjoyable.
FAQs:
What are some common challenges faced by beginners in freelancing?
Some common challenges include finding clients, setting competitive rates, managing time effectively, handling administrative tasks, dealing with irregular income, and maintaining a work-life balance.
How can I find my first clients as a new freelancer?
You can start by tapping into your personal network, creating profiles on freelancing platforms such as Upwork or Fiverr, attending networking events, and promoting your services on social media. Also, ensure that your portfolio showcases your skills effectively.
How should I set my rates as a beginner freelancer?
It’s important to research the market rates for your services. Avoid setting your rates too low as it might undervalue your work. You can start with a moderate rate and increase it as you gain experience and build your portfolio.
How can I manage my time effectively as a freelancer?
Use time management tools like calendars and to-do lists. Set clear goals for each day, allocate time for different tasks, and avoid overloading yourself with too many assignments. Remember to also set aside time for breaks and personal activities.
What should I do to handle the irregular income that comes with freelancing?
It’s essential to have a financial plan. Save money during high-earning months to cover expenses during slower periods. You might also want to diversify your income sources and consider having an emergency fund.
Wrapping Up
Once you’ve come into the freelance world, you’ll face many problems. The problems won’t be too heavy not to be lightened. You only have to figure out how to get it off your shoulders. Over time, you’ll master this quality, and your life will become easier.
Above, we’ve discussed 5 Basic Problems Faced by Freelancers as Beginners and have given solutions to them. If your problem is not listed above, let us know in the comments. We’ll love to solve it for you.
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