How to Choose the Right Projects as a Freelancer
Jumping into a new project can be exciting for freelancers. Given the difficulty of finding work as a freelancer, you may feel tempted to dive into any opportunity that comes along. Failing to consider factors like budget, timeline, scope, and skill level, however, may lead to long-term issues.
Freelancers need to be discerning in the positions they select. If you aren’t careful about what positions you bid for, you may end up taking on the wrong contract and losing far more than you make from it.
What Aspects Should Freelancers Consider When Taking on Projects?
As a freelancer, there are a number of considerations you will need to make before choosing to accept or reject any contract. These considerations can be related to both you, and the potential job. Ultimately, most of these concerns can be easily addressed by maintaining a clear line of communication between you and your client.
While most freelance workers are fairly skilled at quickly adapting and picking up new skills on the fly, you’ll need at least a basic understanding of most contracts. Even the most skilled learners should go into any new role with the understanding of what it will take to complete the client’s work.
It may be tempting to bid on roles that are close to, but just outside your range of expertise, but doing so may prove dangerous. If you go in without a full understanding of the work you will be doing, you may not fully understand what will need to be done to complete the job.
At best, this may mean you don’t get paid as much as you should. At worst, you may blow the time or budgetary restrictions, and you may lose out on the job or potential future contracts.
Before you bid on any role, always verify that you have the skills and understanding to put in an estimate, even if you need to learn a little while working. The key to ensuring that you may take on as many jobs as you need to is tokeep your skills relevant in techand pick up new skills as often as possible.
Materials and cost are generally speaking of greater concern for contractors working in a physical field. Even digital freelancers, however, should give these potential pitfalls a thought before jumping into a new project.
Before you take on a new project, consider what, if any, physical architecture will be required to fulfill it. If you are, for instance, designing a website, you may need some type of hosting if your client wants you to make it available online. Remember that your clients may not understand everything that goes into certain projects, so you’ll need to help them if you don’t want to share space onhosting for your freelancer portfolio.
Make sure that you are fully aware of the scope that the client wants before you start your work, and be aware of whether you can provide everything they need. Figure out what, if any, extra materials or skills you will need before you agree to the job.
While your clients may be most concerned about the monetary budget, you should consider time as one of your biggest concerns. Many freelancers work more than one job at once, which makes it easy to overshoot your own limitations.
Before you take on any contract, iron out how long the client expects the job to take, and try to divide it into phases. If you know what work is expected to be done and at what point, you can easily track if you are falling behind and need to dedicate more time to completing your end on schedule.
Remember when you plan your projects, they include downtime. Freelancer burnout is an issue that takes careful planning to avoid. Know what your schedule looks like, and how much work you could reasonably expect to take on before you agree to anything.
Another key element that is imperative to know before you start a new contract is the scope of work that your client expects. Laying out clear and concise guides for what work will be delivered is the best way to avoid headaches down the road.
Even when the terms of the work seem clear to you, your client’s vision of what is going to happen may not match yours. confirm that you have frank and honest conversations ahead of time, and lay out what will be delivered to avoid scope creep.
If you notice that the client’s idea of the project doesn’t match your own, you may need to have a difficult conversation with them. Don’t agree to take on any project where your understanding and the clients don’t sync up.
How Should Freelancers Decide Which Projects to Reject?
Once you’ve given the above points some thought, there are a few other items you should double-check before you sign on to a project. These last-minute checks will help to ensure that you don’t end up overextending yourself with your new work.
Considering the Workload
When you take on any project, you should keep careful track of what all you have on your plate. Taking on multiple projects at one time is fairly normal for the majority of freelancers, but jumping from one to the next can take a mental toll. Every extra contract you handle at once adds extra stress and difficulties balancing timelines and schedules.
Failure to keep your days properly balanced may lead to burnout, but you’ll need to keep consistent enough work to maintain your finances. Project management software can be particularly useful to ensure that you aren’t taking on more than you can handle. There area number of tools for freelancersto help you keep track of your progress and keep you on track.
Managing the Schedule
Time will be one of your greatest resources as a freelancer. Figuring out how to divide it up can be difficult, and taking on more jobs than your day can hold may result in lost clients and revenue. While it may seem counterintuitive to pass up on a role that you could potentially squeeze in, you need to balance your schedule carefully.
Determining Costs and Rewards
Not every gig and job that you see will be worth the time that it will take you to complete them. While turning down an opening might not feel good, sometimes you will have to pick the more advantageous position.
Consider all of your costs, like time and material resources, and find out how much you’ll dedicate to the project, and how much you’ll make from it. Ultimately, this is the single most important factor for freelancers, and will make the difference between freelancing as a career as opposed to a side hustle.
How Should a Freelancer Determine Whether to Take a Job or Not?
The most important thing for you to do when considering taking on a new contract is to maintain honest communication with your potential client. Knowing what skills you have and which ones the job requires can help you see how long it will take.
Having a full understanding of the timeline and scope of the work will help you see what it will cost you to complete a project. Bearing all of these factors in mind will help you decide which projects are right for you, and which ones are outside your reach.
Are you considering a full-time freelance career? Here are some signs to help you decide if you’re ready, and what steps to take next.
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