Tag: freelancing

Getting Too Comfortable? 5 biggest mistakes new freelancers make


Hey Newbies! Are you working hard to successfully set up your career in the field of freelancing? Then you have come to the right place!

You have probably heard, maybe from your friends, that you should sell your ideas or your skills. Suppose you have a talent, we find  9 out of 10 people telling us ‘hey why don’t you make a living out of it’. Who doesn’t want to be a millionaire? Right!

As good as that sounds, we end up making silly mistakes just for the sake of it. Often it leads newbie freelancers to success but sometimes, straight into the pitfall. There is no denying the fact that mistakes are a part of the learning curve and it makes you enjoy your success even more! You look back and realize that you have come a long way and it feels good, undoubtedly.  

As fancy as ‘freelancing’ may sound, but it is not an easy job, it’s not just about cashing your skills but polishing them as you grow! We have seen many freelancers making a career out of it, but some are not getting the desired results, even when they are working their head off!

Are you one of them? If yes. Learn about the biggest mistakes new freelancers make and how to avoid them. So, let’s get started.

Thinking that Freelancing is ‘Chill’. Uh, No?

The notion is flawed. Freelancing is not ‘chill’. We usually think about it in terms of ‘working from home’. Yes. It is basically that but it doesn’t make it any easier. You have to establish it like any new business by putting in a lot of effort, so taking it lightly means failure. Full-time job or not, you are still responsible for your work more than ever and also, delivering it on time.

Many a time, freelance was considered something you do on the side to make some extra cash. But things don’t work like that anymore. For some, it’s just extra cash but for the rest, freelancing is a career, a 24/7 job. So, it’s not ‘doing nothing’, it’s doing the work you love from anywhere you want.

Charging Random rates, because it feels right?

The dreaded money talks. No one likes it! We get it. But picking a random number because you think it feels right is a no-no. At the beginning of your career, it may be tempting to take what you can get and it may also help you land some gigs but in reality, you are undervaluing your talents.

So, rather than just setting random rates, high or low, have a proper pricing strategy and a structured approach. Now the question is, How much should you charge?  Do some research, ask your peers who are already working in this field, or why don’t you just simply google it.

A piece of advice: charge ethically!

Women thinking about money

Work will not find you, you find work!

Now, this is one of the most common mistakes, we see new freelancers making often. After landing a few projects and some money in our bank accounts. We tend to take it easy and assume that work will find us since we have built a good reputation. But, no it doesn’t always work that way.

You have to establish your own online presence. It’s crucial that you take some time out and set aside a few hours to actively market yourself in order to secure some clients.

Being too greedy to say ‘NO’

We see money, we go crazy. In short, money drives people insane! But as a new freelancer, you should learn to say, NO and try not to pile up your plate with accepting more than you can handle. You want to challenge yourself, fair enough! But be realistic in your approach and maintain a manageable workload.

In order to save yourself from losing valuable clients, only take projects you think you can do, deliver high-quality work and on-time. Say No, if you can not deliver the expectations, no matter how good it may sound. It will save your potential client sometime. Do less but better and try not to be too greedy about it.

 ‘I got carried away and overspent’

It seems really fancy when you start a new job and get paid for the first time! You have a complete list of things you might wanna buy or do. Maybe it’s a movie you have been planning to go see for some time or want to buy a cardigan you like so much, followed by a long list. It’s easier to get carried away and exceed your usual budget. And it does make sense since you have worked hard for it!

We won’t stop you from doing that, but before you do that. Just have a retirement plan and save a small chunk every month. Freelancing comes with uncertainties. You can never be sure how much you’ll make every month or how many projects will you get. So be sure to have some savings to get you through rainy days.

The bottom line is…

There are many mistakes you will make when you’ll kick start your freelancing career and that’s normal. But you learn from your mistakes, once you do that, you will be off to a good start and more! Good luck.

How Time Tracking makes Work from Home easier?

Work from Home was previously unthinkable. But today, it has been made possible because of the many amazing tools that we have available today. These tools help us connect with colleagues and bosses.

They help us organize our data on cloud computing platforms. They let us collaborate with our team members so that we can work on projects collectively while in the comfort of our homes!

All these types of tools have helped us grow the new trend of Telecommuting. And they deserve an undivided discussion. So in this post, we will discuss how time tracking software has made Work from Home easy for telecommuters and freelancers.

How Time Tracking makes Work from Home easier?

It makes employees more Organized

We all are guilty of wasting time. And we all accept that if we become a tad bit diligent about our time and become a little organized about the way we get things done, we can increase our efficiency level to a great extent.

People who use Time monitoring tools and techniques while working claim that they get a lot more out of one day as compared to the time when they did not use it.

These tools let you know how much time you spend on getting a task done and how often you get distracted during your work routine.

This information can help an efficient person get more organized as he would be able to work without being distracted.

It builds trust

One of the major reasons why employers were previously skeptical about hiring remote workers was that they didn’t trust the faraway professionals.

They felt that they cannot truly rely on them for delivering the desired quality work on time. This was a major hurdle for freelancers and the freelance world.

Time Tracking Software is a bridge between the employer and employee no matter how far apart they are. It helps tremendously in trust-building.

It makes the payment system fair

Paying the employee fairly is something that is really tricky in the world of distributed teams. Most remote workers charge by the hour and this is exactly where it gets tricky.

Did my employees actually work during those hours? Is the padding the hours or it actually took this long to get the task done? Is the person I hired really behind all the work or is he getting it done from someone else?

All these questions loom in the mind of an employer, especially when he is looking at the invoices and making payments to the remote employees.

The software delivers correct statistics related to the work done. Some smart software even goes as far as remote employee monitoring and lets the employer capture the screen activity of the employees.

This way the evidence of work done is acquired and the payments are made accordingly. Therefore, transparency is maintained.

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU: INFOGRAPHIC: GUILTY OF WASTING TIME AT WORK? WE ALL ARE!

It keeps the employers informed

When the employee is not right in front of the employer, it becomes hard to be well informed about all the aspects of the project.

This is where Time Tracking Software comes in handy. Most software has elaborate reports that shed the light on how the time was spent and how much work has been done.

The breakdown of time and activities delivers useful insights to the employers and the managers about the progress on the project so When people are empowered with the right kind of information, they can make strong and useful decisions to forward their business.

And when the businessmen and employers are satisfied with the performance and input of the employee, it ensures a smooth flow of work for the people who work from home.

It helps the employees stay focused

Time Tracking Software is brutally honest. They let the user know how they have been spending their time. The detailed breakdown of activities shows how much time we have spent on work and how much of it was wasted.

The total time taken to get a task done tells the user if he has been managing time properly or if he is getting distracted time and again.

Clever users have been able to weed out activities and distractions that slow down the work process. People who work from home have especially found it very useful.

There are a lot of distractions at home like family and personal activities. But the software that tracks time has the power of making people more focused towards work!

Conclusion

Among all the wonderful tools that have made remote work reality of the modern corporate world, Time monitoring Software wins the race as it helps the employers and the employees on a deeper level. It builds trust between the two and trust is the most important component of a relationship!

Read More: How Artificial Intelligence is changing the World