4 Ways to Manage Your Freelancing Expectations

"Manage your expectations." Many listings of second-hand items carry this all-around piece of advice, and from one freelancer to another, I'm all for it too.

I'm on to the final leg of one of the most difficult writing projects I have ever handled. I really feel like I could drop dead anytime. I can hardly wait to get the task off my chest. It's high time I get my perky little self back!

While a non-disclosure agreement prohibits me from discussing the nature of the work further, suffice it to say that the project took a toll on my health and sensibilities. I'm not whining. All I'm saying is that I learned 4 valuable lessons from my ordeal. As you can guess, they all relate to how you can manage your expectations as a freelancer:

1. Prepare for the worst. Balance your optimism with a proper dose of Murphy's Law: "If anything can go wrong, it will." Keeping this kind of mind set will help you stay on track. It will help you plot a work flow chart -- complete with back-up plans and all -- for problems that you anticipate with your client, with the work flow, with the skills needed to execute the project and with payment.
   
   
2. Know yourself fully. Affirmation is important. However, do not let other people impose their beliefs on you. Deep inside, you know fully well what you can and cannot accomplish. To work on your weaknesses is all fluffy and nice, yet it does not always apply to real-world freelancing. You'll end up messing the schedule, compromising the quality, and short-changing the client if you accept jobs that you find too difficult to handle.
   
   
3. Think of yourself as a human being, not a machine. You're not always at your peak. Real people get tired over the long run. As such, allow a few days or a few weeks of leeway on your quoted delivery date. If you feel that you can finish something in 3 days' time, tell your client you'll have the product ready in a week. There are no rules penalizing early submissions. Missed deadlines are a different matter.
   
   
4. When all else fails, accept the reality that crap does happen. Out of 10 attempts, only 6 or 7 are hits; the rest are misses. This is how life works. Regardless of how much you strive for perfection, there simply is no fail-safe way that you can avoid freelancing mistakes. Be careful, and yet be ready to take blows as they come. More importantly, make the most out of your mistakes. Learn from them. Grow from them. Be a better freelancer on your next project down the line. 

Freelancing should be done with zest... If it's beginning to sound like a chore, it means you're close to the burnout meter. *

30 Ways to Succeed at Freelancing - Part III

Face it. You are at your most productive age at 20 to 45, but what do you plan to do when you're already past your prime? 

Are you working smart to secure your future or have you gotten too comfortable in your cocoon?

The second batch of tips yesterday focused on developing a healthy working relationship with your boss. Today's final batch is all about making your freelancing career work for your long-term goals. 

Here they are... your final 10!

1. Have multiple income streams. Do not think that you will be working for the same bosses forever or that you will get all of your clients from the same bidding site. Your best bet would be to diversify. Many full-time freelancers have ventured into online selling, while others have integrated some sense of normalcy into their lives by putting up their own business or taking on a regular part-time job.  
   
   
2. Know when to say, "No" with a smile. Overbooking yourself at the expense of your sanity and physical health is simply not worth the big bucks. The greater your work load, the higher your chances of compromising the quality or missing the deadlines. You might want to refer the interested client to a friend instead.
   
   
3. Keep on learning and make it a habit to improve your skill set. Theory and application do not always jibe, so think of your freelancing work as a gigantic classroom where you will be taking nothing else but hands-on examinations. Respond to mistakes proactively. If a job requires SEO skills and some HTML coding, go take advantage of online resources to teach yourself.

30 Ways to Succeed at Freelancing - Part II

Are online bosses difficult to work with? That the relationship between freelancers and their clients is one of love and hate is not necessarily true. 

Most dealings are purely business, but transactions that span a long time cultivate familiarity and friendship. Today's freelancing tips are geared towards developing a healthy working relationship with your boss.

By putting yourself in the employer's shoes, you will get an idea of how to be the ideal freelancer.

1. As much as possible, insist on a contract. Written agreements iron out potential disagreements and help protect you and your client's interests. The typical contract sets out the job scope, compensation, time frame and non-disclosure agreement.
   
   
2. Observe a reasonable margin in estimating how soon you can complete the job. If you feel like you can complete the project in 3 days' time, say the finished file will be ready within 7 days. The extra days give you some leeway in case unavoidable emergencies arise.
   
   
3. Meet the deadline. The value of time is underrated in the post Working Hard vs. Working Smart but for the employer, time is really a precious commodity. Unlike freelancing where you own your time, businesses have to stick to a deadline. Your role is to deliver quality output that will help the client stay on track and on target.

30 Ways to Succeed at Freelancing - Part I

Everyone can use a bit of luck in finding the ideal client or discovering a well-paying freelancing opportunity. 

What happens after that is up to you. Are you ready to carve your own success story? 

There are 30 tips to help you by. The first 10 are presented in this series. The rest will be published in the coming days. Enjoy and feel free to add to the list.

1. Open your mind. Be aware of the cold truth to hot online jobs. Like many other industries, the world of freelancing is home to both the legit players and the con artists.
    
   
2. Learn as much as you can about freelancing and being a freelancer. Blogs, e-books and forums contain first-hand information and helpful tips to prepare you for the world you're about to enter. 
   
   
3. Do ample research about your potential clients' reputation. Online visibility is a good indication that the company won't vanish into thin air when it's time to collect your dues.