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A Freelance Battlefield.

5 things to be aware of when entering the freelance Market.

By T.S. CranstonPublished 3 years ago 10 min read
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A Freelance Battlefield.
Photo by Luke Peters on Unsplash

"I can do this. It's easy and there's nothing to stop me!"

That's one of the many phrases I must have told myself over the countless months of research, fast hit jobs, and small successes I had encountered within my first month of working as a freelance agent. I had the confidence to match my desire for success but I didn't have the proper tools or resources to really see me succeed. I learned quickly that the world of freelance work is riddled with loopholes and dodgy communications. It's a lot like when you were a kid with a LEGO set. The box shows this big and achievable end-game but as kids; we just tear into everything without taking a moment to read the instructions or rules that come with it and therefore being left frustrated and angry at the entire process.

With over thousands of online resources at our fingertips the ability to FIND work is not as difficult as it is to OBTAIN work. With Facebook markets and craigslist ads a plenty you can find the ability to start a job rather quickly but the clients you work with may end up taking advantage of you in the long run. It wasn't long before I found myself shaking my head in frustration, disgust, and eventually, returning to the stability of the 9 to 5 workforce. With health insurance, weekly paychecks, and tolerable work climates it seemed to be a good fit but as we have seen this year; not all that is good can last.

With the flood of fear and panic in response to Covid-19 we saw businesses and schools closing up and turning to remote work or even worse, letting go of loyal and dedicated employees. This now brings me to the current situation: The return to freelancing society.

Not much has changed; in fact, things are possibly worse than they had been before. However I've learned from my quiet dip back into their waters and I am hoping to share my secrets and experiences with those that are looking to either get into the field, are doing research about it, or have been long time veterans in the market. Listed below are the things I feel are most important within the industry of Freelance work.

Centralize your skill set - Freelance work is, in general, a broad term. It can associate to many skill sets such as Writing, Photography, Software Coding, Copywriting, and Graphic Design to name a few. If you're skilled in more than one task then it's best to focus your freelance career onto one or two particular skills rather than all of them.

I can already hear the question "Wouldn't it be better to market yourself fully rather than block yourself into one group?" and of course, yes, you can do that but you also need to consider what clients you are looking to pull in. I have a wide set of skills myself that can be applied in the markets but I focus my skills towards writing and photography services primarily. This is for two reasons.

1. It keeps my portfolio neat and precise for clients to view.

2. Managing both new and existing jobs is easier to work through when you're not shifting between job skill sets constantly.

Picture yourself working on a short article or story for a client and upon reaching the middle of the piece you remember you need to turn in the coding project in a few hours. You save the story, jump into the code, turn it in after a few hours and pick-up a spare graphic design project to fill the gap. You start a general framework and return to the article. Of course at this moment you have forgotten the point you were trying to make and are now faced with missing the deadline because you were taken out of the element you were in.

Focusing on my two main skills allows me to manage my time and clients effectively. Most of the photography work I do is weekend based and only lasts a few hours. While on the other end I can spend my week on the writing work I have and pick-up additional jobs as I finish others.

Be realistic of what you can offer - I've seen it hundreds of times. Freelance workers that are burnt out by the job they thought was going to be easy and instead have found themselves buried in notes and research that after hours of being stared at, is even less useful than when they found it.

In the beginning we are frantic to take jobs no matter what they are asking for. We see "Writing Job - Easy!" in the description and apply for it and after starting have discovered that they require more skills than you initially offered. A simple "article" turns into an SEO project that needs to have hand-drawn graphics.

This type of work is usually classified as "Copywriting" and generally includes SEO tasks that with time and practice you can eventually do but if you're over-eager to get started then this pitfall action will almost certainly tank your credibility. You won't meet the deadlines, clients will trash your services online, and potential future clients will shy away from your services. In short, it's freelance suicide.

To avoid this dismal fate, you should always read the full descriptions carefully when possible. If you're not sure about certain items or requests, reach out to the client and ask for more detail before signing into a contract to be sure you can properly meet their demands.

Research your potential clients - Early on I learned that freelance work is a great trap for young and unaware upstarts. As freelancers, we are clawing and kicking at one another to get a job. You submit proposal after proposal and often hear nothing. Which I would prefer rather than the dangers of the fraudulent accounts that are malicious and targeting us.

Sites like UpWork are an okay resource for a small chunk of change if you need it but the accounts are more likely fake than honest. Job postings like "Calling all writers!" and you see a description that seems right up your alley is often an attempt to gain personal information from you.

One instance saw me engaged with what I thought was a decent gig but felt like I was giving more than I was getting. "Rough draft" copies and "Boot Camp" tasks are displayed as a manner to test your skill and knowledge. I did one of these and the client asked for additional information that should be sent using my personal email rather than the business email I owned. Unknowing and desperate to get a good review, I did as asked. After that the client went dark. His account on the program had disappeared and I was left unpaid for services and work I had already given.

A week later I began to see "password reset" prompts and account freeze notices from websites that were linked to the email I had provided. I had been scammed and my trust and confidence took a hit in result. It was right around then that I stepped away from freelancing as it seemed more dangerous than I realized.

Today there are safeguards in place against these types of accounts but trust me when I say, they are still getting through! An honest account is willing to give a company name or some type of information that can be backed. If you have a random and unheard of name or can't find information of their "company" anywhere on the internet then they are likely a scam account and should be avoided.

Global is good, Local is better - Freelance work is found on the internet in abundance which means you are often fighting with upwards of 1 to 200 other freelancers for one job. Rarely are companies looking to hire multiple people for one task so you have to be patient when searching for jobs. One particular method to counter this is to outreach your skills into smaller, local markets.

Small or new businesses that open in your area are likely to be looking for ways to market themselves. Visit these new locations and see what they are all about! You might find that you have something to offer them that they aren't yet aware that they need. A well written ad or a company photo for their website is a great and affordable idea to reel in those young upstarts.

Offering these services will get your foot in the door and help your "brand" to spread in the world. You'll be easy to reach and with more and more people looking at local rather than foreign for their dealings; you'll be a great addition to their repertoire and will be kept in mind for future projects and events they may sponsor later!

Know your value! - One of the many issues in freelance work is that we are underselling ourselves in contrast to the competition. I see dozens of jobs asking for short stories or simple software code and offering a salary of $150.00 to $300.00 which at first glance sounds good but I wouldn't talk about it here if it wasn't so let's understand this correctly.

You read the description, talk with the client, and accept the job. The request sounds simple: A short story of roughly 35,000 to 40,000 words and they want it in a day. They give you the plot and any other tools or materials you may need to complete the task. After about five hours in you realize you aren't even half way through the word count as requested. You reach out to the client to see if an extension can be made and negotiations begin to lower the rate you agreed on originally.

If you're not aware of what just happened then you are lucky but most freelance writers have encountered this problem before. A cheap “publisher” has just asked you to write a literal novel and turn it into them before day's end which as anyone in the writing community can tell you: IS NOT POSSIBLE!!

Work like this exists in spades; the expectations of turning in a product that you literally sweat over because there is minimal room for error or delay. Just to find that the payout at the end is less than agreed because you undersold yourself in the first place and agreed to take the job for $100.00 and if you're unfortunate enough to use a third party site for the transaction you are only taking a percentage of the payout. That $100.00 can turn into $80.00 or even $65.00 depending on fees and legal issues by both the site and the clients satisfaction.

By Element5 Digital on Unsplash

I know some of this might frighten you away from the prospects provided by freelance work but that's not the intention here. Being a freelance agent offers opportunities and insights that are otherwise inaccessible in the 9 to 5 workplace of a typical business. To start, you're in control of your own schedule. If you want or need to handle something in life then you can do so without needing permission from a superior like you're in grade school again.

The interactions and clients you work with are in your hands. We've all experienced or have been that "difficult" customer at one point and while neither party (usually) enjoys it, it can at times be unavoidable. But then there are the "Karens" of the world. Those miserable people that no matter what you do they will never be pleased. As a freelancer, you don't need to have that in your life.

Then there is the happy comfort of being at home; the feeling of safety and warmth from the dangers of both society and the elements. I've done a lot of various jobs and most have never left me feeling comfortable in the environment I'm dumped into. Truck deliveries in blizzards and poor weather conditions; unsafe material and chemical handling procedures because it's "cheap and fast" are only a few of the issues I faced and when you have a family to worry about, you tend to keep quiet about things and just do as your told.

I hope these little bits of advice help you in your journey. I know they would have helped me if I had known of them earlier. I wish all of us good luck but most of all I ask we be kind to one another, not just as people but as potential co-workers in the freelance community.

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About the Creator

T.S. Cranston

A self-published Author who looks to expand outside of his craft. With experience writing short-stories and novels for Romance, Fiction, and Non-fiction I have crafted numerous tales over the years.

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