5 Tips for Freelancers

As someone who's been earning a living (or so they say) from freelance video, audio and writing work over the past 2 years, I thought I'd share 5 freelancing tips for new or existing freelancers, with one caveat: most of my lessons have been learned by NOT DOING what I know I SHOULD do.

Thus, please allow my failures to pave the way for your success -- and my own.

1. Insist on Half Payment in Advance

Freelancing means never having enough money in the bank. It also means you're frequently working for people who DO have money in the bank, and who realize it's in their best interests to keep that money there as long as possible.

Because a traditional billing cycle means you won't receive the full amount due for your work until a month after the job has been approved -- or later -- it's best to insist that the client pay half the total fee for the job up front. This provides you with much-needed operating cash, so you don't starve to death while waiting for an impossible-to-reach senior VP to sign off on your work for the next month.

(You can also offer a discount on the total price if the pay the ENTIRE sum up front, but this has one undesired effect -- it makes the ENTIRE job feel like a distraction because you've already cashed the check and are mentally prepared for searching out NEW work, not finishing an "old" job.)

2. Charge What You're Worth, Not What the Market Will Bear

It's not your fault if you live in a small market, and you may have to price according to the market norms in your field. But, by and large, if you feel you deliver quality work on time, you're worth AT LEAST the market average -- and often more.

This is not a license to price gouge. This is merely a much-needed reminder that people who work for themselves need not price themselves into the poorhouse simply because they feel awkward, guilty or shameful for charging someone what they actually feel (or know) they're worth. Good work is hard to find. Allow your pricing to reflect your confidence that you can deliver above and beyond the norm -- if you can.

3. Deliver Early and Extra

This presupposes two things: that you know what the deadline is (there should always be a deadline), and you know what the minimum expectations of the job are. Then, do everything in your power to deliver maximum quality ahead of schedule.

Sometimes this means providing multiple "looks" on a design, or editing something multiple ways, or throwing in an extra webpage that you know should be there, even if the client didn't think she could afford it. And, yes, sometimes this means pulling an all-nighter (or two). But the dividends your reputation will reap are worth it.

Realistically, you won't be able to accomplish this for every client, especially if you're working multiple jobs that are pushing your resources to the limit. But if you can achieve one of the two (either early or extra) on every job, you're doing two things: you're providing more than the client expected, and you're giving them a reason to not only work with you again, but to recommend you to their friends as well.

4. If You're Working, You're Losing Money

Freelance isn't about getting one or two clients whose checks will pay the bills next month. Freelance is about getting 10 or 20 clients whose checks will put your kids through college. Thus, if you're working on an assignment, you're losing money -- because you're not getting NEW work.

There are only two times when you can pat yourself on the back as a freelancer: when you sign a new contract and when you cash a new check. Everything in-between -- the communication, the work, the finished product -- is all simply part of the job. These are all things you should (nay, must) do well, but they must also be done as quickly as possible.

Because once that advance check has been deposited, the only thing that matters is getting the next check to pay next month's rent. What stands between you and that check is the work -- so plow through it, because you have phone calls to make, emails to send and new clients to meet.

5. MANY Clients or GOOD Clients, but Never Few Clients

How you build a client base is determined by your desired lifestyle.

If you have many clients, you'll always have some work to do. Most likely, you'll have LOTS of small, low-paying jobs that churn up much of your available time.

The upside? You're forever guaranteed a steady trickle of payments, which should enable you to reliably budget your income while you build your base.

The downside? You're forever angling for the next job... and then the next...

If you have a smaller number of GOOD clients, you'll be able to work on high-paying, high-profile jobs -- with higher expectations and less room to exceed them.

The upside? Your paychecks will be bigger, as will your profile, enabling you to garner work with other, larger clients.

The downside? Your paychecks may be few and far between, since your client base will be smaller -- but, when those checks DO arrive, they'll turn your days from famine to feast.

As you can see, what DOESN'T work in this equation is having a few small clients who provide intermittent work and inconsistent payments. Because the nature of freelance means you must forever have one eye on the next job, the next check and the next bill to be paid, you must protect yourself behind either a thick wall of steady work or a high wall of choice assignments. Anything less and the payments won't arrive fast enough to fill in the gaps.

These are five of my own observations after two years of freelancing. Do you have anything to add?