Monday, November 9, 2009

How to Freelance - Avoid This Critical Mistake If You Want to Do Well With Freelancing by John Purfield

If you are thinking about freelancing, you are going to make mistakes in the beginning. In this business, it's a given. The good thing about mistakes is you can learn from them and get better. The following is a very crucial mistake that is very common among freshman freelancers. Hopefully this will help save you some time.

I'd like to discuss the importance of good communication with your clients.

Some freelancers don't communicate well or at all with their clients. It's an easy trap you can get yourself into. This especially happens right after you get freelance work from the client. The common thought is you have the work anyway, they can't possibly take it away from you. While you may finish the job and get paid buy the client, you're at risk for losing that client and not getting any more work if you don't have good dialog.

There are two ways you can go wrong with miscommunication. One is you don't communicate well at all. The other is you just don't talk to the client at all from the point after you close the deal and start work. Both are bad.

For those that don't communicate well, you'll have your work cut out for you. The best thing you can do in this case is be a good listener. Clients like it when you hear them and answer their questions when they need you too.

If you are starting out with freelancing, you want to hear everything they tell you and try and paraphrase what they are saying. While this sounds very simple, you'd be surprised how many people foul up with this.

If you are the type that doesn't contact your clients at all, then you're in even bigger trouble. You'll need to make some wholesale changes in how you approach your work. With freelancing, it's not about just getting the work. It's mainly about supporting the work and the client. Keeping yourself in the loop with your client's can get you a lot of work.

Freelancing is a great way to be self employed. However, you have to make sure you can handle this crazy business. You'll see a link below in my resource box to a free report on starting your own freelancing business. It's a good read if you're seriously thinking of going into the freelancing business.

Good Luck.

Want to start your own freelancing business? Get my free report at http://www.beinbusiness.net and get the facts about how to start freelancing The report covers all you need to know to get started.