English translation of a Persian article from the WebTarget archive. The date above is the original publication date. Some advice, especially technical details, may be outdated.
A freelancer’s life has its ups and downs, its agreements and disagreements, and its pleasures and difficulties. In this article, I want to share some of those challenges and ways of dealing with them. Some points are simply my own opinions, and there may be exceptions. From the outside, freelancing can look exciting: you decide when to work, when to get out of bed, how long to spend on lunch, and whether to take a short rest in the afternoon. There is no employer looking over your shoulder, and you can choose your place and hours of work. That freedom is real, but does it make the work easy? Before leaving a job and handing your computer back to your manager, look carefully at both sides. As a freelancer, you will have to take responsibility for solving your own work problems.
1. Choose when to start
Knowing when to begin is the first important decision. Are you ready to work independently, or have you just left university and rushed into a business without experience? Start with a clear reason for choosing freelancing, and make sure it is a reason you believe in. You need a realistic, considered view of what working for yourself means.
Working for an employer gives you one working relationship; running your own business lets you build relationships with many clients.
2. Be prepared to wear several hats
In Persian, we often use the image of an adjustable wrench for someone who can take on many different jobs. Freelancing calls for that kind of versatility.
You may think of yourself as a designer, but you will also be responsible for investment, marketing, IT, accounting, and many other tasks.
How can you handle so many responsibilities?
Allocate time to each responsibility and make sure that time supports the purpose of the business. Your tasks are connected like links in a chain. Neglecting one can weaken the whole effort. Learn enough about each role to recognise your weaknesses and improve them.
3. Establish a daily routine
Get up, get ready, and go to your workspace to begin the day.
It sounds obvious, but having a plan and a purpose for the working day matters. If you work at home, time spent designing or writing code should not constantly merge with time spent doing laundry. Treat work at home as real work, and give it a place in your schedule.
4. Know when to stop
We have all started a project and lost track of the time, particularly when a deadline is close and we put ourselves under pressure to finish.
How do you recognise when it is time to stop?
Working continuously through days and nights can make you tired and less effective. Stop for a while and give yourself time away from the project. A realistic professional schedule includes rest; it is one of the important parts of the plan.
5. Keep marketing your services
Finding work is one challenge; maintaining a steady flow of work is another.
Which methods have you tried to introduce your services, and what is your plan for finding future clients?
Clear your desk, take a notebook, and start thinking. Identify the people who need your services and organise what you know about them. Then begin reaching out and explaining what you can offer. Persistence in this work can make a difference.
Describe your services simply and briefly. Before making contact, learn something about the prospective client so the conversation is relevant to them.
6. Follow up on invoices
Payment administration is part of freelance work too.
Keep a record of what you are owed. Clear terms at the beginning help, but payments can still be delayed. A friendly email or phone call is a sensible first reminder. The original article expressed confidence in that approach; it should not be read as a measured success rate or a guarantee that a client will pay.
Late payments can upset your plans. Make the payment arrangements clear when agreeing to the project, and remember:
Do not count on money that has not arrived.
7. Trust your creativity
Working alone can mean making the creative decisions yourself. Do not let unfair or uninformed criticism destroy your confidence. At the same time, advice from capable designers and other professionals who understand the work can be valuable.
Seek advice from people whose work and judgement you respect.
A project may look overwhelming at first, but some thought and creativity can reveal a workable solution. Trust your judgement while bringing your best skills and standards to the task.
8. Maintain relationships with clients
There is no single formula for keeping clients, but the relationship can be managed. You may have delivered careful, professional work, yet suddenly the phone stops ringing and the messages stop arriving. What has changed?
Build a relationship based on trust and cooperation. Do not simply wait for clients to call. Approach them with relevant ideas and useful services. Be proactive, and present your work in a way that shows you understand their needs.
9. Respect deadlines
Every client wants to feel that their project matters. Give it appropriate attention and communicate that attention honestly.
We all want people to need our services, but we also need to know whether we can deliver them within the promised time. Accept work according to a realistic plan. Taking on a project you cannot finish on time disrupts your schedule and damages trust.
When you give each project enough time, you can complete commitments in their intended order and keep clients informed and satisfied.
Set your own target for completion earlier than the deadline you have promised.
10. Pay attention to the direction you are taking
How can you keep moving forward in a competitive field?
If you keep your head down and only concentrate on moving, you may lose sight of competitors or even find that you are heading in the wrong direction.
Stay focused on the work while keeping your interest and energy alive. Be ready for new opportunities. Notice what is happening around you, including the people ahead of you and those coming up behind you.
11. Understand your tools
Set aside time to learn about the hardware and software you use. Follow changes in the tools relevant to your work. Read useful blogs, talk with colleagues, and explore available equipment even when you do not intend to buy anything immediately.
Do not allow your working tools to hold you back. When it is useful, reinvest some of your income in improving them.
Good tools can make you more eager to work.
12. Keep your creativity alive
Successful design work needs fresh ideas. You may have used all the ideas currently in your head, but the next project will ask for more. How can you help your mind find them?
One useful habit is to examine creative work by other people.
Study other artists’ work carefully and use it as a starting point for ideas.
This can help renew your creativity. But taking inspiration from a work is different from copying it.
Do not reproduce another designer’s work without thought. Relate what you see to your own ideas and develop something new from it. That can be difficult, but it is worth practising.
A graphic-designer friend often tells me to look through image collections repeatedly. Later, an appropriate image may come to mind when a project needs it. Different people have different methods for staying creative. For me, examining varied work and learning from it is especially useful.
13. Make room for living
Why do you work?
My own answer is to have a better life and make use of my abilities. Sometimes we need to step away from work and attend to the life that work is meant to support.
Work to live better, rather than living only to work better.
Spending all your attention on work can leave you disconnected from the world around you. Maintain your relationships. A day in the mountains, exercise, a film, or another activity away from the workspace can be useful for you, your work, and your ideas.
14. Learn to say no
Why can saying no to a client feel so difficult?
Accepting too many projects at once divides your attention and creates pressure. Delivering one piece of good work is better than leaving every client with something unfinished. Allow enough time to do the job properly. Explain your workload and decline when necessary, or agree on a later start so you can complete projects in order.
15. Improve your productivity
Enjoying the work can help you do it better. Notice the routines that give you energy and those that unsettle you. A good breakfast, suitable working hours, well-timed breaks, and useful conversations can all play a part. You know which activities help you feel ready to work.
One method I use to get a better result is:
Order tasks by difficulty, and tackle the harder ones first.
16. Plan time off
To somebody who attends an office every day, a freelancer may seem to be permanently on holiday.
But choosing a different way of working does not mean doing less work.
The real question is how to plan and manage actual holidays. You might take a few days off after completing a project. Some freelancers arrange longer periods of work followed by longer periods of rest. How practical that is depends on your situation; the original article noted that it might be difficult in Iran.
Whatever your arrangement, plan time off and use it deliberately.
17. Adjust to losing a regular salary and benefits
Leaving employment can mean losing the regular pay, bonuses, insurance, and other benefits your employer provided. It is understandable to feel anxious about that change.
You need confidence in your decision and a practical plan for your life and work as you adjust.
Much depends on how well you manage yourself as your own boss.
18. Keep confidence through difficult periods
How can you stay confident when no new work arrives, payments are late, and bills need to be paid?
Those periods are difficult. Most of us will encounter them to some degree, so prepare for them, at least by recognising that they can happen.
Keep your interest in the work and your reasons for doing it in view. People have different ways of regaining their energy: some use humour, some take a short rest, and some look for a fresh idea that might bring work in.
Reducing worry is not the same as ignoring responsibility. It can help you think more clearly and decide what to do next.
For me, having a clear goal and a plan gives me a reason to continue, even when confidence is difficult to maintain.
Know what you are working towards, and keep believing in your ability to take the next step.
19. Prepare for the long road
As we reach the end, perhaps we are still looking for a single key to success. What might it be?
Many freelancers stop before they achieve the result they hoped for. The uncertainty can wear down their confidence.
Look realistically at the road ahead. It can be hard, and preparation matters. Understanding the challenges and preparing yourself to face them is, in my view, an important part of giving your work a chance to succeed.