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Freelancing

How to respond when client says “You are too expensive”

I will portray a common scenario from our everyday life which will throw light on the “You are too expensive!” situation and will let you easily digest what I am about to say.

Imagine This –

You visit an open vegetable market. There you witness hundreds of hawkers selling their vegetables. Now as there is huge competition in the market, you will try to get the best value for your money in terms of fresh healthy vegetables. So you will now bargain with the vendors due to the prevailing fact that you can always buy vegetables from other available options in your hand. Now the basic tactic of bargaining will start by saying – “Hey! You are too expensive. Others are offering the same product at a lower cost.”

Now there are three options available to you:

1) Give him the product or service at or near the cost he is expecting.

2) Directly say No! and lose the customer forever.

3) Use your presence of mind and explain why your product is best in the market and offers the best value for money.

Option 1 will surely increase your customer growth rate and sales but it will put you in a suffocating rat race with the other vegetable sellers.

Option 2 will make your conversion rate or customer growth rate decline.

Option 3 will make you better profits, provide the right value of your product and in the long run it will help you establish your own parallel personal brand in spite of the competitiveness of the market.

 

So today’s tip straight from Spider’s mouth is

Treat yourself as a Brand from the first Day.

Follow this and in the long run, your achievements will soon become grand. (That sounded so poetic :p)

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A regular client chat goes on like this:

You will find a potential client and start webbing them around your net by answering their questions and convincingly working through their fears around the question “What if things don’t work around as you said”.

All goes great every time but the dishes fall when they ask you the price and

You quote a rate.

They hear the rate.

They take a moment and reply  “Oh my gosh! You are too expensive!”

 

Most of us can sell our services or products to anyone with ultimate dedication until someone ask about the price. This moment makes even the most experienced person commit some common mistakes which drive the potential client away from you.

 

Common mistakes which most of us commit on hearing

“You are too expensive.”

Mistake #1 – You lower your price immediately

Never ever do this. Doing this will let your client believe that they can negotiate the price even lower than they started out with. Also, this makes your client think that you are desperate enough to get the project.

Mistake #2 – You let them go

You just say No, I can’t help you in that price and stop responding them. This act doesn’t justify your behavior towards the client because both you and client invested the same amount of time to find and convince each other to crack a deal.  So you must respect that and at least give them a proper justification why you can’t accept the deal made by them.

Mistake #3 – You refer them to someone else

You already did 80% of the work by converting your lead into a potential customer. Just by referring your client to someone else you have wasted your time and energy and you also lost all the referrals you might have got from the client in the future.

Mistake #4 – You get angry

You need to understand everyone wants a great value for their money so being negotiable is not at all criminal. It’s your job to understand why your client thinks that you are expensive.

 

So here are the tips on “What to say when client says “You are too expensive.”

Note: You can just copy paste the templates which I provide and tweak for the type of client you are dealing with.

Ask them just one single question:

“Really! Is it too Expensive, compared to what?”

That’s it. Asking this one single question can shift the gravity of the negotiation in your favour.

Why? Because the client has to give a justification of the statement ‘why you are too expensive?’
And as you were already near to making the sale when the issue of the price arrived, you now just need to overcome four possible mental barriers stopping you to make the sale.

1. The client is trying to justify the purchase to themselves.

2. The client isn’t aware of the cost genuinely as they are new to this.

3. The client is comparing you to someone else.

4. The client isn’t interested in buying and is using “You are too expensive” statement

as an excuse to buy time.

From their reply to your question, you can easily judge under which category do they fall and then overcome the hurdles by following the strategies given below:

Justification of the purchase:

When the reply hints that they are trying to justify the sale to themselves, then let them continue and once they are halfway through, remind them why they contacted you in the first place and the value you can provide through your product or service. You just have to stress on the pain point after they are halfway through their justification.

Unaware of the cost:

Pin point the emotional problems you solve through your product and service. You can also provide a fair comparison that they can relate to, for example, a 500 dollar yearly subscription can be reframed as costing less than their daily cappuccino at The Starbucks. Compare it to a common thing in which they must be in a habit of paying so that they see it in context.

Comparing You to a Cheaper Option:

Know why you are awesome and pinpoint it in your justification and the pain your service will alleviate. For example, if Xyz provides the service 200$ less than you, then remind them why Xyz won’t be able to solve all their problems and what part will they be missing out. They will ponder and soon realize the value you will be provided.

Not Ready to Buy:

If their reply hints that they are not interested to buy now then come up with now or never offer or discount which they will lose if they don’t buy your service now. You can also remind them how will they feel after their problem is solved, for example, if you provide digital marketing services, tell them “Our average customers gain 3000+ leads from us in a month so you can imagine how much customers you can gain by the end of the month if you start today.”

That’s it.

This statement will shift the sale from a seller-trying-to-convince-buyer to buyer-trying-to-convince-themselves situation.

Even if they didn’t buy from you now (which is less probable if you use the above tactics smartly), they will surely come back later on because they have subconsciously convinced themselves that you are the right seller to buy from.
Who says negotiating is tough to crack?

Bonus Materials

Some common phrases used in between conversation to shift the gravity towards your side:

you are too expensive bonus materials weboftwo

Email Scripts You can use to reply to your clients:

Option One – Tell them why you are awesome

Hey ____!

I understand that this is a large investment to make, but I assure you that you will receive a top notch service which you won’t be provided by any low-cost alternative. My clients have been satisfied with the results I provide such as _____ and ____ because I provide with a service perfectly designed to work for your service and brand. My service doesn’t end with just the delivery of the product but my service will help you achieve your goals.

If lack of funds is the problem right now, I understand. Please keep me on your books for the future. If you are willing to invest at this moment, let me know and I will guide you through the next steps.

Thanks!

-NAME

Why this script works –

You acknowledge your cost, but you explain that you are skilled and qualified enough to ask for the quoted price by giving references of your past clients. You give them a option to walk away, but you stand firm on your price, shifting the gravity towards you.

Option Two – Offer a Little Less

Hey ____!

I understand that this is a large investment to make altogether, so working with your budget I have come up with a feasible option. You will still get a fantastic output, I will just remove some add-ons for now, so that we can stay on the budget. Right now we will stick to the main goals of your service to create something that meets your goals. In this case, I have removed_______ so we can include_______ which is what will drive to meet the end goals. If you want to add those extra add-ons down the road, we can assist you in another project to do just that!

-NAME

Why this script works-

You acknowledge the quoted price, but don’t back down on your cost, instead, you offer the same great results in a lower price with less amount of features, which provides the near about value the client needs. For example, if your client wants custom made theme for his own website but you can provide the same with a pre-made template in a lower price which will deliver the same look and functionality the client needs.

Bonus Tip:

You are too cheap if you never heard your client say that “You are too expensive!”

I would like to add on an important analogy. If you observe that you hear the phrase “You are too expensive!” too often then it’s time you ask yourselves these questions.

  • Is your marketing justify how expensive your services are?
  • Is your marketing targeting the right people?
  • Is your service really worth the price?

Keep Reading
Read About: Why I chose Freelancing?
Read About: Complete Guide to Freelancing and getting your First Client.
Read About: What’s stopping you to start a successful startup venture now? Startup Motivation.
Read About: Guide to Resolutions this New Year

Want to start Freelancing? Register and start getting Clients on Freelancer or Fiverr.

Freelancing

17 Things You Should Never Say at Work

All of us are tied up during their working hours, so amidst the busy atmosphere, some phrases come out prominently and effortlessly from our mouth, during communication with our Boss or client, which unintentionally leaves a very bad impression over our personality and the organization we work for.

“Words are like arrows, you can’t take them back once you let them go, so speak wisely”

Today I will list 17 things you should never say at work. Read till the last and tell us by commenting which one you realized saying at work was not appropriate.

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1) “That’s not my problem” or “It’s not my job” or “I am not getting paid enough” –

We all have been there where our boss or our client assigns unrealistic tasks within a stipulated time frame to be completed.

Firstly you need to understand that if the task wasn’t important for them, they wouldn’t have asked you to do it.

When we are juggling in between a pile of tasks, we tend to say these phrases to easily dismiss the tasks which are “not your problem”.

Trust me saying above phrases will not make your situation any better, instead it will make things go even worse.

It will make you appear as self-serving person and not a team player. This limits career advancement and put a negative remark over client satisfaction. A good team player works toward the success of the team members before their own.

So instead of saying “Sorry, It’s not my problem, I am not getting paid enough for this” try saying this “I will love to help you out. Given my current to do list, tasks X, Y and Z are pending. Which one shall I keep on hold to work on the new task?”

Saying this will make your Boss/Client aware of the current workload over you and make them set realistic goals and sensible tasks for you in future.

2)”But I have always done it that way” –

17 things you should never say at work weboftwo

General work population is scared of change. Having blessed with technological advancements in our age, one should not turn their back with innovation, creativity and out of the box thinking. Change is always an invaluable experience.

Saying these words make you appear inflexible, closed minded, and a person who is stuck in the past.

You should embrace new problem solving skills and instead of saying those words say “Wow, that’s a different approach towards solving the problem, Lets discuss why it’s better than the usual one”.

3) “It’s impossible for me” or “There’s nothing I can do” –

Sometime it really feels like there is no solution to a certain set of problem, when we exhaust all possible ways to solve it.

Saying these negative words will make you look like a pessimist with a hopeless attitude. A can do attitude will help you run a longer run in your career instead of admitting defeat easily.

One should be optimistic and try to discuss and contribute anything which might help with the situation.

Instead of those phrases  say these –

“I will be glad to give another shot at it again.”

“Let’s discuss what are the current possibilities.”

“In the current situation what I can do is this …”

“I’m in a fix, can you help me find any other possibilities”

4) “This will only take a minute” or “That’s very easy for me” –

For getting clients to assign us projects we usually say that the project will only take a minute to do, or it’s very easy for you to do.

As a freelancer you need the client to value your skills and there is no value in getting things rushed.

So always say – “I will get back to you in a timeframe” or “I have the required skills to complete the task, so you can trust me to complete the task on time”.

5) “That makes no sense” –

Sometimes we jump to conclusions hastily, and ignore the other person’s perspective completely.

It marks us negatively and a closed minded person who doesn’t even try to understand.

Try this instead “I am not sure about this idea, can you please explain why you think that way?”

It will surely help to strike a healthy discussion which will benefit both the sides.

6) “You are wrong” –

If you disagree with a colleague or a client’s idea or thought, you should not directly say that “You are wrong”.

It will make you appear as a Bully, which may strike up a heated conversation.

You should try a more diplomatic approach like this “I disagree with your idea and here’s why ….”

7) “I am sorry but” –

We don’t realize but we often use the word sorry like an excuse. It lowers the influence we have on the person we say sorry too often, and hand the steering wheel over to them for dominating our path.

If you did something wrong say “I am sorry about that, next time I will make sure to complete the task on time”. Don’t try and make up an excuse which may sound fake.

Or you can entirely skip the apology part in some cases. For example you are late to a meeting you can say “Thanks for waiting.” instead of “I am sorry I was late”.

8) “I just assumed that” –

Due to lack of communication, sometimes you might just assume certain points of the work according to you and start doing the work. Most of the time you would regret later on when things would get clearer.

So the situation here would demand you to  say “Can you please clarify what are your expectations from me“.

So it’s always better to express what your assumptions are from the beginning only and never start the work before you are 100% sure about the client’s expectations. Till then try to get you and your client on the same page.

9) “I did my best” –

We all try our best from the beginning, but things always don’t turn out how we expected them to be.

So instead of saying “I did my best but…” and using it as an excuse to escape from the situation, you should learn from your mistakes and say “What could I do better next time?“.

10) “You should have” or “You could have”

Pointing out mistakes when you’re furious or frustrated is the common practice which you might commit which isn’t the best approach according to me.

You yourself won’t like it if someone said: “You should have informed me earlier” or “You could have created a backup yourself”. These are finger pointing words which triggers guilt on the person you are trying to blame.

Workplace is a collaboration of teamwork and equal treatment to all the persons who are involved. So a more productive and non-judgemental approach will be to say –

“In future, I recommend ..” or “From the next time, please bring issues like this to my attention immediately, to ensure proper planning and workflow“.

11) “I may be wrong, but” or “This may be a silly idea” –

These phrases lessen the impact of what you will be saying after it. Your spoken words shows how much confident you are on yourself and how much value you place on yourself.

You words shouldn’t lessen the importance of what you are about to contribute.

Stop discouraging yourself and discuss your idea fearlessly.

For example instead of saying “This may be a silly idea, but I think that we can do an online meeting on skype to save time” start like this “Here’s an idea, let’s do a meeting online on skype to save travel cost and time“.

12) “I haven’t had time” or “I am too busy ” or “I don’t have time for this right now” –

No matter if this statement is true or not, you should always avoid saying this.

No one likes to feel less important to anyone.

To maintain healthy relationship and convey empathy with your clients and colleagues you should be polite and say “I would be happy to help you after I finish my task at hand. Shall we discuss this issue after lunch ?”

13) “Don’t you think?” or “Okay?” –

These words are used when you are seeking validation from the client or your boss.

If you truly want their approval you can use this but if you want to send a commanding message confidently or you need them to perform an action, you should prevent using these words.

Imagine a Doctor saying “This medicine will work best for you, don’t you think? I will write this down on your prescription if that’s okay with you.” This would send instantly lower down the Doctor’s observation and decision making skill.

Instead you would like to hear something like this “This medicine will work best for you. I am writing it down on your prescription.”

14) “You guys.” –

This phrase should be limited to our friendly conversations and should not be used professionally.

It will appear inaccurate if a women is present in the group who might feel offended which can lower down the level of your professionalism.

“Your organization” or “Your team” or simply “You” are the best possible options available.

15) “I think…” –

17 things you should never say at work weboftwoWhich of these two type of statements sounds easier to buy? “I think my company can provide you with the best services possible” Or “I believe that our company… ” Or ” I am confident that our company will provide the best services possible”.

Though only slightly different, you can notice the difference between the confidence and energy conveyed in these two different lines.

You need to stop sounding weak and insecure and sound more assertive and certain and passionate about yourself and your company.

16) “No problem.” –

“You are welcome” is the most courteous reply you can give when someone says “Thank you”.

It implies that it was a pleasure for you helping them out and their appreciation was gladly received and recognized.

You don’t want to be misjudged from the help seeker that their work was a problem for you. You should sound well-mannered while and after helping them out.

“No problem” is a laid back reply which doesn’t sound pleasing at all.

17) “I’ll try.” –

Nobody wants a half-hearted answer to their assignment of task or request for help.

For example if your client ask you to complete the work at max by 27th of august, and you reply with “I will try”. The client will sense a possibility of failure which may result in slipping of project from your hand.

Instead of this phrase try adding the intention of “will” to increase the client’s confidence on you. Try saying “I will do my best to complete the task by 27th of August.”

So these were

17 things you should never say at work

which I thought we all need to eradicate while we work. I am laying down few tips which might help you reach your goal.

Record yourself. Take a minute and install a call recorder and try recording all your professional conversations. At the end of the day listen to these and make a list which phrases you used were wrong or needed to be changed. Write down their alternatives and keep them handy by your desk or computer. Review them daily to keep getting better.

Take the help of your buddy. Ask your co-worker or your colleague to listen to you when you speak at meetings or phone conversations to a client. Take them out for lunch or a treat, keep your ego aside and listen out to their suggestions and feedback and try improving upon those. Ask them to remind if things go the other side.

Always ask yourself, “How could I have structured my idea in a better way?” Or, “What phrase would have communicated my idea or intention more positively?”

Remember

“The words you speak, Becomes the house you live in”

I hope you all got what I wanted to express. The suggestion I gave come from my personal experiences while doing freelancing and client management. Comment and let us know your reviews on it.

P.S. Bookmark things you should never say at work to keep your career in check.

Keep Reading
Read About: Why I chose Freelancing?
Read About: Complete Guide to Freelancing and getting your First Client.
Read About: What’s stopping you to start a successful startup venture now? Startup Motivation.
Read About: Guide to Resolutions this New Year

Want to start Freelancing? Register and start getting Clients on Freelancer or Upwork.

Freelancing

17 Protocols for Freelancing Professionally

Stress and hassle are inevitable if you don’t follow certain protocols for freelancing. Freelancing is doing what you love and make money out of it. But you may soon end up crying about your decision if you don’t follow these protocols while practicing it.

Your ability to define your own path can be a model to others.

– Gary Swart (CEO of UpWork)

Freelancing is a boon to people like us, and in freelancing Time is Money and you can’t afford to lose time in dealing with unnecessary conflicts with clients.

So let’s get started with protocols to follow if you are a professional Freelancer. Read and comment below those protocols which you already follow and which one you think you needed to know before you started freelancing.

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Protocols for Freelancing

  1.   Always get your Advance Deposit –

Yes, we all have been there where we worked our ass off to complete the project and due to one reason or the other the client decided not to pay you.

People who make cakes or build small treehouse always ask for advance before they start their work as there is resource involved in starting the project.

Similarly for us Time is the resource involved and you don’t need me telling you that in freelancing Investing is directly proportional to amount of money earned (Well in most of the cases).

So don’t hesitate asking for advance, let your client know that you value your time and you don’t work for charity (no offence intended). Getting advance deposit always serves as an excellent motivation to kick start the project leading to faster and better work completion for the client.

Advance deposit is a risk for client too, as it means the freelancer can cut off contact after receiving money. So you will need to assure your client to give the deposit.

  1.     Get 100% sure what the client want –

Never start the work unless you are 100% sure what your client exactly wants.

If you skip this part, you will frequently find yourself wasting several hours of work for nothing as client will render it wrong when he will view it.

So it’s wise for both to discuss the whole detail of project before starting the work.

Get a full written document (Known as SRS technically) describing the complete points to be completed and the deadline.

  1.   Decide whether you want to get paid on hourly or on project basis –

It’s smart to charge project basis for small projects and hourly basis for big projects.

Hourly basis is beneficial, as it allows you to deliver the best you got. It covers the time required to do research, which is not feasible when you charge on project basis.

And if the client wants to redo some parts or want to modify sections of your project, you can freely work more as long you are paid on an hourly basis.

  1.    Have a fixed mode of communication –

Declare or agree on mode of communication with your client. I personally prefer chat to be more effective and stress free than phone calls. I receive more than 30 calls a day related to work which affects my productivity a lot.

Using chat service has its own advantages and disadvantages, where advantages are having a record of conversation, it doesn’t disturb your nap, and you can manage multiple clients at the same time using chat service. While disadvantages are urgent messages can get ignored or client may not be able to express what he/she wants perfectly.

Inform your client at what time you will be available to discuss about project or help them out with their issues. (You can’t always be available).

You can always choose phone call hours, to efficiently manage your project and clients.

  1.   Set a Deadline –

It’s crucial both for yourself and your client to set a date of completion of the project or a part of the project. Clients are usually keen to see what progress you have made on an interval of time. So you need to make sure that you give them a completion date in which you can complete the project or a milestone of a project. It will also help you to organize your tasks at hand and your free time easily.

  1.   Get paid in steps –

My recommendation is to have an agreement with client to get paid in steps rather than waiting for a big chunk of payment in the last.

Freelancer.com has a feature in which you can set milestones of a project and get paid as soon as you complete a milestone. Freelancer.com is a great platform to get started as a professional freelancer.

This part is important as by choosing this mode of payment, interests of both the sides remains preserved while boosting Freelancer’s motivation for work.

  1.   Don’t settle for pay lower than your value –

You need to set your value of time invested in projects as this will only pay your bills. Never settle for less pay no matter how attractive it may seem.

Clients always ask for cheap budget promising more projects, referrals, or less work. But no one knows what lies on the other side. Current money always have more value than the future. 100$ today have more value than 100$ tomorrow, so always charge the clients the true value of your time and skill.

  1.   Always charge extra for extra work –

Points other than discussed should always be charged. For clients it’s always 2-3 subpages or informative pages. But for you it’s more 2-3 hours of work. So make it clear to them that the service is chargeable rather than complementary.

Overtime or Urgency should be charged as agreed.

Agree on free bug fixation service for a fixed period of time, after that it should be chargeable.

  1.   Never ask for referrals –

Don’t ask your clients to refer you to their friends and clients, which will make you sound desperate.

Instead work so good that it happens without asking. If you work well, naturally you will get referred. Let your work travel places where you could not.

  1.   Always update your clients –

Make it a habit to update your clients on a regular basis. They pay your bills so they must know how much you have progressed with their work.

Let your client know if you are going to take a day off beforehand, so that they can discuss important points prior to your holiday.

  1.  Let your client know if your extra services cost you as well –

If you give extra services to them like hosting, Bulk SMS service or a digital product license, then always remind your client about it so that they include it in your final pay.

  1.   Always Be Honest-

Don’t give false excuses or come up with a story for a delay in completion of your project. Don’t charge them unnecessarily because “You always get what you sow” and a good client relationship is always based on trust. Trust towards the client that he/she will compensate for your time and the trust towards the freelancer that he/she will give his best to complete the project on time and provide the best value for money.

  1.   Always keep your business and friendship separate –

Keep a strict protocol that you will never work with your friends or relatives no matter how tempting it may seem.

Most of time friends and relatives expect us to work for free, which is most of the time not possible due to obvious reasons.

Money issues always pour out venom in between strong relations, so prevention is better than cure.

  1.   Be flexible –

Freelancers and flexibility go together so you need to be flexible with your timings and work.

If your client didn’t show up for a Skype meeting or something, you need to reschedule it patiently while managing your other tasks efficiently.

  1.   Have good client management skill –

Try to remember your client name and about their bio. Make small conversations with your clients on a personal level, like sport or hobbies etc. and at the same time don’t sound too creepy. This all will break the ice and the client will know you are interested in them and make them comfortable in employing you for the project or future work.

You don’t want clients to get an impression that you are so busy person that you don’t have any time for a normal conversation. Always ask your clients for feedback and try to improve on those fronts.

  1.   Learn how to say no-

    Protocols for Freelancing Professionally

When freelancing is in the picture, you can imagine yourself multitasking with multiple projects piling up at the same time. So you need to say no to unnecessary outings or task which will eat your precious time. You need to stay professional while dealing with your projects at hand. Always set priority level for each task to manage all situations efficiently.

  1.   Always provide a world class service –

No matter who your client is, service provided must always be of world class. To make yourself stand out from the stack, you must be ready to go that extra mile for your projects. For example, If you just wrote a post for your client, you can go a step ahead and say you know what I can make or find a featured image for you, for free and not extra expenses. The client will leave you amazed and will definitely come back asking for more.

There goes a saying that “Customer is always right”, it’s true to an extent with exceptions. Sometimes they can be wrong, so you need to deal with such fussy clients on a professional level while showing your maturity.

I hope you all got what I wanted to express. These protocols come from my personal experience while doing freelancing and client management. Comment and let us know your reviews on it.

P.S. Bookmark Protocols for Freelancing Professionally to keep your Freelancing career in check.

Keep Reading
Read About: Why I chose Freelancing? 
Read About: Complete Guide to Freelancing and getting your First Client.
Read About: What’s stopping you to start a successful startup venture now? Startup Motivation.
Read About: Guide to Resolutions this New Year

Want to start Freelancing? Register and start getting Clients on Freelancer or Upwork.

 

Freelancing

A complete guide to start Freelancing and getting your First Client

Wondering whether to start freelancing?

Freelancing in your free time is a great way to make a little extra money or pursue a hobby. But for some passionate creatives and artists and entrepreneurial enthusiasts there comes a time when they consider if they should shift freelancing from just a hobby to full-time.

Deciding to quit your fixed income job and freelance full-time is scary. I know the feeling because I did the same before my placement opportunity, I decided not to sit for any job offers and took freelancing as a full-time job.I knew that the benefit of being able to work for myself on projects that I love would be worth the risk.

You can do it, too. With the right amount of preparation, information and courage, you will be confident enough and ready to quit your day job and commit to a full-time freelancing career.

8 Reasons Why We Prefer WP Engine
If you are ready to launch your career as a Freelance Developer, Let’s Gear Up!

Surviving as a new Freelancer isn’t all peaches and cream. There will be a whole lot of challenges to overcome and skills to acquire. Some of the most important tasks will be:

  • Building your Potential Client List
  • Choosing your Clients
  • Operating yourself as a business

Before I dive into helping you conquer these challenges, let’s first look over some basic expectations of a freelance career.

Realities of Life as a Freelance Developer

Since you are ready to explore a new born life of a freelancer, I will assume that you are already aware about it or done some research of pros and cons of being a freelancer, If not let’s go over some crucial ones now.

Not So Great

How to freelancing disadvantages

  • No Fixed income: This a harsh reality we all have to accept that no matter how hard we try, the amount of money earned will always be variable.
  • Provide your own equipment: We don’t have access to the already bought equipments required to serve the clients, we have to invest on them to get started.
  • No health insurance/retirement: No employee perks which a fixed job will provide to you.
  • No paid training: Learn while you earn is the only possible and feasible option.
  • No paid vacation: Personally this gives me a sense of Independence because there are No Strings Attached To Me.
  • Self-accountability: You account for your work and actions, nobody else will bet on your profile. This means you have to give your 100% every time.

So Great

How to freelancing benefits and freelancing meaning

  • Schedule flexibility: You can schedule your own timings of work, as you are your Own Boss.
  • Creative freedom: Generally clients assign us the work and how we do it is our lookout so here is where Creativity steps in.
  • No office politics: Tired of back bitching and pleasing your Boss to get your way up a Promotion? Freelancing puts a full stop to it.
  • Unlimited earning potential: When you step your foot onto Freelancing, Sky is the Limit, The more you work and more effort you put in to sparkle creativity , the more you will earn.

Read here about Why I chose Freelancing.

If you are evolving or transforming from a full-time salaried position, to a freelancer, you will have to deal with risk and uncertainty (at least initially) that you are not used to.
Depending on your success in finding clients, your income may fluctuate month-to-month and you will need to hunt down your projects instead of having them land on your desk. There will be no one to remind you for deadlines and you will have to be self-motivated and efficiently manage your clients. You will reap what you will sow.

   “With great risk comes great reward.”
Dave Sullivan (CodementorX Developer)

As a freelancer, you are FREE.
Free to work the hours you want.
Free to choose desirable clients.
Free to grab interesting projects that quench your creative thirst.
Free to set your rate as you see fit and to work from home or from practically anywhere.

Prerequisites of becoming a Freelancer

Have a vision :

You need to overcome the mental obstacle that’s telling you, “You cannot and you will not try to do it.”

Start the process by establishing a business name and creating a vision for your own company brand.

Ask yourself “Why am I starting this organization? Why should someone pay me for a job?”

This will help you create a mental picture about what your business will be like and if you can vision it without any hesitation, achieving it is just a matter of time.

Believe in yourself:

You must Believe during this whole venture. If you doubt your ability to find success, you will never find it.

You need to start somewhere, so acknowledge your doubts ( most important part), then overcome them. It takes practice, but it’s important to do so.

There’s no way you can sell something to clients that you haven’t first sold to yourself.

Consistency and Persistency is the key. You need to work hard everyday cause Overnight success is a fantasy.

Have a Portfolio:

Ideally, you have made some pet projects or done internships or worked for a software development agency for at least one or two years. Beyond this, you will need some relevant data or proof that you can, in fact, do what you claim you can do. Resume or an online portfolio or personal website or even references and testimonials can serve the purpose.

You can join several online platforms like

Taking developer exams and tests in these platforms will help you earn greater trust of clients and the support of these trusted industry platforms and access to their large client database will help to boost your career.

You can give a thought to provide free bug fixes or consultation services to earn testimonials and referrals at the start.

Niche vs. General Programming Skills

Niche: denotes or relates to products, services, or interests that appeal to a small, specialised section of the population.

You must take a firm decision of selecting the skill you want to acquire or strengthen over the whole freelancing process or career.

The best way to stay ahead of this population is to generate your own area where your chances of getting selected are high. For example, if you can become highly specialized in Php Frameworks, Ionic, or JavaScript frameworks, you will have greater marketability and gain search ability from clients looking for those niche skills.

On the other hand general programming skills like core Html, CSS, Php and JavaScript will help you grab general population and their common problems or early stage products from a start-up.

The range of this domain is wide but so are the people you are competing with.

If you are at the beginning of your career, it’s important to make sure you have strong general background and developer’s mindset and once you acquire these,  learning new skills will be a piece of cake.

Once I learnt 4 new languages and solved more than 15 problems outside my domain in a span of 12 days. Those 12 days I worked more than 15 hrs a day and was one the best phase of my life. 

How to build a network of clients

Clients plays the most important role in your survival ,once you have established your reputation, make a goal to spend less time identifying and converting leads and more time earning

“First, be really good. Second, tell people about it.”
– CTO Josh Albrecht

Here are some tips for telling people about it:

  1. Market yourself to get clients. You are the business now, people need to know you and your work. Make yourself presentable to attract potential clients.
  2. Start blogging about your expertise and experience. Blogging is a great way to make people know you. You can write about the skills you need to strengthen and answer the questions that people struggle about.
  3. Use social media. Stay active in twitter, Linked In and Facebook Marketplace — stay active and share your work there.
  4. Network online and offline. While online is a great way to reach masses, entrepreneurship meetups and other speaking sessions where people interact and gain referrals.
  5. Get Referrals from other developers and clients who are happy with your work. Testimonials and Referrals from the people you worked with and happy clients are necessary and you must not be afraid from them to ask about these. Ultimately you will want these referrals to be the source of income and clients.
  6. Donate your time to open source projects or causes and organizations you care about. Optional but this is a great way to :
  • do what you love
  • get noticed and recommended
  • strengthen your skill
  • expand your reach

Choosing Your Clients: What to Consider

You must always remember this – If you need a client, that client also needs a freelancer, It’s a two way process and both must be equally beneficial and respectful towards each other. While selecting your potential client, these points must be kept in your mind –

Price – For the start you can accept compensation lower than market value but don’t consider doing that unless you are tight on budget. And remember high compensation demands high quality work too.

Client Consultations – The first impression when you talk to the client for the very first time is a great way to assess him on the way he communicate and treats you and whether he is respectful toward you and your work or not. If he is unclear about his agenda or has unnatural demands, feel free to offer him/her consultation to suits his need at its best.

Project Type – You can choose to grab template based projects or projects which challenges your skill.  Though the later one will help you to grow as your career proceeds while the simple one will help you to earn quick money.

Fire Bad Clients – Yes you have the right to fire your clients if they have uncanny demands or attitude.These are some of the most common reasons to fire clients:

  • Consistent missed payments or underpayment.
  • Drastic changes of requirements or project scope without renegotiation of terms
  • Last minute demands to change or add in delivered projects
  • Communication gap or breakdown
  • General lack of professional respect and courtesy

Firing clients should be considered a last option. You should make every effort to resolve conflicts while keeping patience to maintain goodwill before going down this route.

Read more: 17 Protocols for freelancing professionally

Operating as a Business

“Freelancing is more than just writing code for money: it’s a business”

As I constantly wrote, you are the business and you must be responsible for your actions and earnings. I will brief some methods to establish yourself as a business.

Freelance Developer Contracts

Having terms of service contract ready for your clients shows that you are a professional and is ready to do business. A contract is designed to protect both you and your client, and the terms should be mutually agreeable. Here are the most important things to cover in your web developer contract:

  • Expectations and responsibilities
  • Work reports
  • Payment terms
  • Confidentiality and IPR
  • Termination
  • Legal protections

The contract can be the same for every project but as every project is different you need to fine tune it before presenting it to any client.

Non-Disclosure Agreements

NDA is required by client to prevent freelancers to leak any crucial information of the project. But as a freelancer you must check that the NDA also protects your rights and does not:

  • Violates your right to work
  • Prevents you from using knowledge acquired before the project
  • Prevents you from using new skills learned during the project
  • Restricts your ability to market yourself
  • Holds you liable for future damages beyond your control

You could also have your own NDA ready or be at least well versed in laws to negotiate accordingly. Always pay attention to non-use and non-compete clauses.

Time Tracking

Clients can ask you to submit work logs and track your number of hours worked so that they know what they are paying for. It may seem hard as it destroys the advantage of independent time management in freelancing, but it prove your value to clients, and can be used to measure progress. Some software comes with Invoice generating system like:

Setting Your Rate

The factors determining your rate are

  • years of experience
  • skill level
  • location
  • project scope and complexity

Analyze competition and set your rate accordingly. Once you have a few projects under your belt, or if you are already an experienced developer, adjust accordingly.
Higher rates tend to attract higher quality clients, boost job satisfaction, and lead to career growth.

Let me recap whatever I wrote earlier in a small table.

Do’s Don’ts
Market yourself Take template projects
Network online and offline Work for free
Adjust rates as appropriate Undercharge
Fire bad clients Abandon projects
Donate time Neglect business operations
Consider yourself a business Over promise

Hope I covered everything required you to launch your career.

If you are in confusion of taking up freelancing as a prime or part time profession, Just remember Freelancing requires confidence and this is the only prime ingredient required to be successful.
So keep updated with us and subscribe and follow for getting more such kind of posts in future.
Hope your journey in freelancing be fruitful for you.

Keep Reading
Read About: Why I chose Freelancing?
Read About: 17 things you shouldn’t say at work.
Read About: What’s stopping you to start a successful startup venture now? Startup Motivation.
Read About: Guide to Resolutions this New Year

Want to start Freelancing? Register and start getting Clients on Freelancer or Upwork.

Freelancing

What is freelancing and why I chose it ?

Before I talk about what is freelancing or about what is freelance culture I need to make sure you really understand who a freelancer is :

“A freelancer is anyone who fulfill or provide services to anyone who requires it for a specific period of time for a project”.

Now the services may be :

  • Web Programming
  • Graphic Designing
  • Data Management

and many more, practically any conventional or unconventional service which can be thought of, can be provided.
I started freelancing by providing web development as a service, Read more about it here: Get Started on Web Development.
The regularity of freelancing will depend on what the project requires, designing a website is one-time job while web maintenance service requires working more than once a week.

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Now let’s clear out how hiring a Good Freelancer is both similar and different than hiring an employee :

  • Work on a project basis just like contractors.
  • Require work to be stated, how and when to do it is our lookout unless guidelines are given or mandatory.
  • Love what we do and that’s why we usually work more than 10 hours a day and sometimes even 15 hours or more, if necessary.
  • Keep ourselves disciplined and we are expert in managing time and clients.
  • Work practically from anywhere in the world i.e home, in a party, in a park, in a cafe….

what is freelancing in india? What is freelancer? What is freelance culture? Weboftwo

There are several advantages and disadvantages of freelancing. Some of them are

Advantages –

  • Start anytime: You can start now if you desire, there are a whole lot of portals online to connect people who need projects to be completed by Freelancers like us. Some of the popular ones are Freelancer, Upwork, Fiverr. Also social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Reddit are great too.
  • Easy to start: You just need a client from your network to start your own business.
  • Pocket-Friendly: All portals give us free access to grab a whole lot of open projects. You just need a portfolio i.e your own website or LinkedIn profile will also do.
  • Work how you want: Most of the time client specify the work and how we do it is our lookout, So we can choose to experiment or work in our own comfort zone. There are millions of people constantly requiring freelancers to complete their work. You just need to find them.
  • Choose whom to work with: You can ignore projects that don’t pay well and try grabbing one with good compensation.
  • Work anytime you want: This is the best part of freelancing, You can work whenever and however you want until and unless the project is being completed on time.

People usually suggest to never boast of skills which we don’t possess and always promise the service which you can actually provide.
But here, I will quote an amazing line which pretty much has made me where I stand today:

“If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!”
― Richard Branson

This quote is valid until the client gets what he/she wants and go home satisfied.

Disadvantages:

  • Irregular work: It takes a while to make a steady client list and good word of mouth networking.
  • High competition: More and more people are opting for freelancing. Freelancers Union stated that 55 million Americans which is 35% of the total workforce work as Freelancers with a market cap earning of $1 trillion a year.
  • Can be underpaid in the start: To get a good portfolio and earn people’s trust sometimes you will have to work on projects where you are underpaid.
  • Require to manage multiple projects in one time: At some point of time, projects will start pouring in and you will need to manage them efficiently for maximum productivity.
  • Bad client experience: Every now or then, every freelancer come across clients who are a pain to deal with. These clients either demand too much for very less pay, or keep changing project tasks and are very hard to satisfy and we can’t expect logical thinking out of them. Some of them either don’t pay well or some don’t pay anything at all.

How we got started in freelancing –

  • We first learned web development in Php from a offline 70-80 hrs training class.
  • Then we cracked our first internship from Internshala.
  • Worked despite getting underpaid for almost 1 year.
  • Worked at Codementor which was our first big thing.
  • Started getting word of mouth referrals for web designing projects.
  • Started getting projects on Freelancer.com.what is freelancing in india? What is freelancer? What is freelance culture? Weboftwo
  • We are still growing and learning with each step we take. Weboftwo is one of those steps towards sharing our experience with you and learning on the go.

So the hot question about Freelancing is “How to Get Started as a Freelancer”?

Well starting your career as a Freelancer is a piece of cake now due to the availability of Freelance sites like Freelancer. You just need to visit them, find projects and network with your circle of influence to discover your first client. Steps to build a freelance career are:

    1. Decide what you have to offer. Common freelance work includes web design, content writing, photography, graphic design, social media management, marketing, bookkeeping and more.
    2. Determine and Analyze your target market. Ask yourself this “Who needs what I have to offer?”. Decide if you’ll specialize within a specific niche of your service (i.e. Php Frameworks or WordPress) or within a specific market (i.e. writing articles for a established blog). This is the time to decide your brand and unique selling proposition.
    3. Create an online portfolio. You can start at LinkedIn, a social network which is all about career networking. Build a profile that promotes the benefits and services you have to offer. Consider setting up a website, which will offer you more customization and options to highlight and flexibility than LinkedIn.
    4. Set your own prices. Price is the main factor which leads to selection of a Freelancer for a project. You need to make sure that you charge enough to cover your expenses such as overhead costs, time to do the project, as well as enough for your own survival.
    5. Start exploring to find clients. Utilize your connections and network to help you connect with potential clients. Start using a freelance site, such as Upwork or Freelancer to find projects. While they may pay less than you want, it can be a great way to get testimonials, experience and referrals

Freelancing is a fast and affordable way of getting started on working as your own boss, from home. With that said, there are pros and cons, and success comes from those who plan their business and deliver high quality work.

Now why I chose freelancing is another story:
My motto from the start was to grab a high paying job from our Engineering B.Tech Degree.
But soon I realized that my lifestyle and perception towards earning money and making a dent in the universe doesn’t include getting a proper job.
So I decided to do what I love and make money out of it. I know this is not a unique line of work but trust me in India or basically in a developing country like ours, withdrawing your name from the Placement Cell takes a lot of guts and here I would like to quote another amazing line which continues to define my state of mind during this whole journey which is “Its okay to be scared, It only means you are doing something Brave”.

So today, I answered common questions about

What is freelancing or What is freelance culture or Who is a freelancer?

Now you all must have got the overview about freelancing.

If you are in confusion of taking up freelancing as a prime or part time profession, Just remember Freelancing requires confidence and this is the only prime ingredient required to be successful.
So keep yourself updated with us and subscribe and follow us to get more posts like these in the future.
Hope your journey in freelancing be fruitful for you.

Keep Reading
Read About: Complete Guide to Freelancing and getting your First Client.
Read About: Get Started with Web Development
Read About: Why WordPress should be your first choice for starting a blog

Want to start Freelancing? Register and start getting Clients on Freelancer or Upwork.