When I first started freelancing, I had no idea what I was doing.
Now that I’ve been doing it for a while, I can see some of the mistakes I made. I’ve been able to turn scattered freelancing gigs into a full-fledged business that allows me to travel the world and work with incredible entrepreneurs thanks to years of trial and error, reading a ton of content, getting advice from mentors, and other freelancers, and a handful of great courses.
Some of the mistakes I made cost me valuable time, money, and early-stage business growth possibilities. Hopefully, you’ll be able to learn from my mistakes.
I didn’t buy any tools
I didn’t want to spend money on tools when I first started out. I couldn’t justify spending $10 per month on an invoicing system. It took me around three months to discover that the time I spent manually calculating my hours and preparing invoices might have been spent making money. I eventually teamed up with Paymo and haven’t looked back since! Monthly invoicing now takes me less than 5 minutes.
I didn’t create any processes
Onboarding clients; getting feedback; getting referrals; scheduling social media. I didn’t have processes for ANY of these. I was wasting a lot of time talking to potential clients who I would never work with because we were a bad fit. I never asked for testimonials to use on my website. I’d go weeks without posting anything on my social media channels. When I learned I could be ready for all of these things, I established processes and started running my business much simpler by myself.
I didn’t promote myself properly
I got lucky with finding good gigs on Fiverr to get me started. I met good clients on the site with whom I could create long-term connections, allowing me to leave my 9-5 job in just a few months. Apart from that, I didn’t do any marketing. I didn’t have a website, a blog, or a Twitter account. I was seriously limiting my ability to expand my business and position myself as a professional. As a result, I took low-paying jobs for far too long before deciding to branch out – I had to start from zero.
Build your brand, your online presence, and your audience. It’s the only way to truly grow as a freelancer.
