As a freelance business owner, you are in charge of everything. Finding clients, marketing your service, and chasing late payment. The list is still growing. It may sound scary to face all of the challenges by yourself. We hear your voice. This post will cover the common freelance struggle with a useful solution. After reading it, you will overcome the struggles and become a successful freelancer.
Chase late payment
Chasing the payment is the most common struggle. Most freelancers have to deal with this problem. The process is exhausting as you have to take care of other freelance projects while asking for the payment at the same time. Here are several things you can do to take your money:
- Check your contract and terms: Sometimes the clients may add some extra conditions like they only send the money at the regular time, they have special requirements for the invoice. Go back to your contract. Double-check any extra conditions for receiving your payment.
- Keep the process easy: Choose the easiest way for both sides to receive and send the payment. For example, bank transfer or online payment. Also, make sure that your bank receives international payments. Some banks require additional processes. Or they only accept payments in a particular currency. In the worst case, the bank will transfer the money back to your client while taking an extra transaction fee.
- Send one more invoice to them: An invoice is the legal proof of the cooperation with all of the essential information, such as the scope of service, date, when providing the service, and so on. You might send an invoice to them before. This time, add some extra information, such as the deadline for sending the payment along with the invoice.
Get used to the change all the time
As a freelancer, you work with the client on a project basis. Your work is an essential part of their project and business. Because of that, it is common the clients to ask for an extra revision, change the deadline, and even the scope of work. If the client asks for too many changes, you can
- Include details in your contract: At the beginning of cooperation, clearly set the frequency and extra fee for making the change. Add those details into the contract in advance and remind the clients of those details. This way, they will not feel surprised when they see the extra revision fee on the invoice later.
- Extend the additional change to other projects: You can even explain the reason why they cannot make those changes by creating the next project. Specify the reasons and extend them to the next projects. This way, you will have a new project, and the client will receive the result.
Finding clients
Finding new clients is an all-time task for many freelancers. You have to check the job offers on the different marketplaces, send the pitches, market your service, and talk to new clients. To reduce the time for meeting future clients, you can:
- Update your online portfolio regularly: Your freelance portfolio is your business card. The potential client will check your portfolio after reading the pitch. Update them regularly with the latest projects and outcomes. The website will show the latest update date, so the potential client knows that you are always on the way to delivering perfect work. Also, check if you leave all of the contact information for the potential client to reach you.
- Increase your referral chance: It is important to maintain a good relationship with current clients. They will refer you to more clients and leave positive reviews. You can do it by taking care of small details such as sending an invoice. So the client can claim the cooperation as an expense and transfer payment to you quickly.
- Marketing your services on social media: Social media is a good friend for freelancers to meet potential clients. You can market your business on LinkedIn, join LinkedIn groups to build connections, and join several Facebook groups.
Too many things to check when working with international clients
As a freelancer, you can work with anyone. Your clients may come from different locations in different industries. We want to say yes when the opportunity knocks on the door. But sometimes, there are more things to consider before accepting a new project.
- Payment terms: Payment terms are important to know in advance. How will the international client send the deposit and full payment to you? Taking a deposit before starting work is a good way to protect your rights. However, the client may be hesitant to pay the deposit because of the transaction fee. Also, you cannot go there in person to chase late payments.
- Work across different time zones: Your client may live in a different time zone. You have to consider this when asking for the material and arranging a meeting. Ask the essential questions and material early, so you do not need to stay up late for their answers.
The paperwork may last forever
Filling out the paperwork is endless work. For example, before you start working, you have to sign a contract. In the process, you have to wait for their response and modify the contract accordingly. This process is time-consuming. Also, for some projects, you have to sign a non-disclosure agreement and a copyright transfer agreement.
Understand everything by yourself
As an independent business owner, you can work in the way you want. You can choose who you want to work with. This means that you have to arrange everything and understand it by yourself. Your work covers a wider range than working in a full-time job. Sometimes, you have to be a marketer and market your service. Then, take care of the job contracts and finish accounting work by yourself. You can use ease those broaden with
- Automation tools: Automation tools can save time from extra work. Most successful freelancers use tools to save time and work effectively. For example, use the time tracking tool to track your work hours and arrange your working schedule. You can use tools such as Toggl or Harvest.
- Join the freelancing community: Other freelancers may face similar problems as you. You can ask them questions in the group, share knowledge together, and attend networking events.
Face the extra uncertainty when working with new clients
Every time you work with a new client. You have to guide them through the same process again. Provide the guidelines and client’s contact information, and check the deadline. Some methods are perfect for the previous client but may not be suitable for the new client. To reduce the time to check for extra details, you can show your workflow with a visualization tool. The new client does not know your working schedule. To avoid guessing and miscommunication, you can show your working process with tools like Asana, Trello, and ClickUp. This way, they can check the process without asking you.
Having your own business is amazing. You can arrange your working schedule and choose who you want to work with. You do not live with those freelance struggles with Useme. You can use our service in the following ways.
- Secure your work: Upload your finished work on our site. We will inform the client and deliver a tax invoice to them. They can only download your work after paying for it.
- Send a tax invoice: You can send a tax invoice to overseas clients by filling in an online form. We will take care of the paperwork and sign an online deal with us. We will send a tax invoice to your employer. They do not need to create an account to receive any documents from us.
- Extra protection when working with a new client: Once you get a new project, we will sign an online contract with you. Then, check the cooperation with the new client. They will receive the document from us after confirming the cooperation. Then you can start working. We will send the online acceptance form to you.
