Time is money, so if you not succeed to finish your freelance project on time, your client may lose money by your wrong time planning. If you want further work, spend more time on planning your working time.

2. Always saying ‘yes’

Many freelancer are confused and afraid to lose the freelance job that when they communicate with their clients they always

agree with them. If you want to work for free, you can continue saying always ‘yes’

3. Not sending detailed reports

Freelance work is not only coding. Usually, after finishing your work, you’ll have to send report about your work. If you

send your client a detailed report, you’ll show him/her that you take the work seriously.

4. Underestimate the Project

Never underestimate your project tasks. If they are too easy, finish them and after that take a rest. It’s a huge mistake to

read the tasks, decide that they are easy and to leave them for the last day. That could be a reason for a hard night coding

5. Working for only one client

If you work for only one client and something happen and you are not paid, you can get money problems. As they said don’t put all eggs at the same basket.

I hope you’ve found something useful in the tips above, soon I’ll post second part of the Common Freelance Mistakes.

1. Mr. ‘I want new Windows. 800 USD max’
It’s always funny to find such kind of buyers, but it won’t be so funny if you get the job, because he or she is a person that haven’t any idea about technology, but in meantime he/she thinks that the technology is not enough good for them. If you work for that kind of client you’ll have to spend many hours teaching him. Do you think he will be able to understand your working progress and to pay you correctly?

2. Mr. ‘I hate to pay’
You can see offers like: I’ll give the job to the coder that bid less. Such kind of offers can be written by a buyer that cares only to pay little. Reason for that can be that he underestimate freelance work and think it can be done by everybody. It also means that if you work for him, but in meantime he find other freelancer that could work for less money he’ll give the job to him.

3. Mr. ‘Whoever you are, I don’t trust you’
I’ve seen offers like: ‘I’ll pay for the job in micro-payments by $1 per day’.  If you use paypal, it takes $0,30 for every transaction. First, you’ll lose money. Second, you’ll have to spend time convincing your client that you are correct to him.

4. Mr. ‘I can cheat you’
If you find unclear or very short project requirements documentation, but in meantime the buyer spends hours chatting with you. I think, it’s possible after finishing the job, you’ll receive a message like ‘Job is not 100% finished. You need to finish 1), 2), … n) to be paid. 1), 2), … could be a new features.

5. Mr. ‘I’m better than you’
You can find offers about finishing project that other freelancer had been working on it and If you see requirements like: ‘Class methods must be alphabetical ordered‘ and ‘You’ll have to be 8 hours a day online‘. It could mean that the buyer is technical experts on his or her staff, but he will follow every line of code written by you. It’s not so bad, but it could be annoying.

I hope you’ve found something useful in the information above or at least to spend more time reading job offers, before bidding for project.

1. Always be Kind

I know it’s hard, especially after all day debugging some sh*t. But you should always be kind with your client, that will make the negotiation easier. If you are a professional, you should never show your negative emotions.

2. Know how to present your skills

If you want to get the job, you should impress your client with your skills, experience, etc. So, when you’re asked about your skills and last project, instead on thinking about links to your last project, you can just post your portfolio’s url. If you still don’t have a portfolio, you’d better create a website that will present your skills in best way.

3. Ask questions, too

When you negotiate about the freelance job, usually the client asks you many questions about you. If he/she don’t give you enough details, don’t hesitate to ask questions.

4. Be honest

You can only lose if you lie about something. Ex. if you say, you are guru in some technology, but your skills are poor. It’s very possible for you not to be able to finish the project in time. You’ll lose the money, client will lose time.

5. Learn about your client

It may saves a lot of troubles. You can search some info about your client, ex. if the client uses email john@somecompany.com, you can at least visit somecompany.com and see some information. You can compare the info that he says about his company and the details from the company website. You can search info about the company in forums and social networks, too.

6. Be a Realist

The truth is that your freelance job won’t make you a millionaire. You’re just paid for your work. So, when you’re asked how much you expect, your claims should be realistic.

7. Know Your Price

Let’s say the truth: when you make a conversation, you sell your time and skills for money. My advice is to know your price. If you are a good coder and you have a lot of experience, don’t be fraid to say how much money you’ll want to finish the job.

8. Time is Everything

Don’t forget about the time. If you have a daily job too, but the project requires full day work, you’d better cancel it or you can find some friend to helps you.

9. Learn to Say NO

If there’s some reason that you don’t want to work (little money, too much time, etc.) don’t be fraid to cancel the project. Life continues

10. Some humor won’t hurt

You are not a coding machine. I think it’s a good idea to add something not related with the project in the end of the conversation, ex. to ask some about his/her country, but never forget that you negotiate about job

I hope you’ve found something useful in the advices above. I don’t pretend to be a guru in the freelance work. I was working just 2 – 3 years as a freelancer.