If you are working as a freelancer, either on large projects, or if you have found work from home, before accepting a new job you should review certain conditions, since taking some jobs could end up generating losses and not the profits that you so desire.
Continue reading and recognize those conditions, among other details, that you must take into account before making the decision to take on a project.
Review The Project Conditions
Study Operating Expenses
Before presenting your offer, remember to check your rates first, with this you will avoid losing money on projects that are unprofitable in the end. To do this, in addition to estimating the time that you will allocate to said project, you must consider the resources that you are going to use, as well as your daily expenses, since while this assignment lasts you will have to eat, and mobilize, among other things.
All these expenses must be included in your rate, so you should regularly review the prices that are handled in the market, so you can calculate how much a project really costs you.
Although it is a very good idea to take into consideration the budget you have available to invest in the project, it is also true that you do not have to accept it if what you are supposed to earn does not cover your expenses, because remember that at After all, you are working to increase your income.
Establish In Writing The Conditions Of Service
Before undertaking any task, you must be sure that between you and your client, the conditions of service have been made clear. To do this, you could write a proposal in which you detail the tasks that you will develop, the time, what it does and what it does not, as well as the changes that you would be willing to incorporate.
As much as possible, avoid starting work when only verbal terms have been presented. Your client, in the same way, should approve your hiring, either in writing, a purchase order, a signed offer, or even through an email in which they accept your work proposal.
In this way, you can make sure that your client, in addition to having agreed to hire you, is accepting the conditions under which you will be providing your services, as well as the payment method.
In the future, these measures will mean a saving in misunderstandings, or you end up doing things that were not included in your conditions, and that could generate expenses that you had not estimated.
Ensure The Collection Of Your Invoices
Regarding payments, it is possible that you receive an advance before starting the project, as it could also be the case that your client wants to pay you in full once it is finished.
If your client is a business, they may establish a contract in which they will determine the terms for making payments. But if they are people, it is better to start the work with an advance, since having a contract could be more difficult.
In this way, you will be sure that you are not wasting your time, nor wasting resources, on a project that you are not sure if the client will end up abandoning, canceling the commitment they agreed upon, or worse, staying with your ideas without generating you. no kind of profit.
You must be totally sure that you will receive the payment, before anything else, so you should never deliver advances that are relevant, much less the final work.
A recommendation that can be very useful is that, if you are a designer or you dedicate yourself to photography, try to send the advances with low resolution, or include watermarks with your logo.
Another way in which you could carry out work without receiving advances, but with guaranteed payment, would be to use an online payment platform, since these generally use guaranteed payment systems or escrow.
You could ask your client that the project be developed by using a platform.
One of the recommended ones is SoyFreelancer.com, which is entirely in Spanish, so you could ask for help more easily if you want to know more about it. And, of course, ensure payment for your work.
In addition to these recommendations, there are certain projects in particular that you should not work on if you are a freelancer.
4 Types Of Projects You Should NOT Work On As A Freelancer
#1. Do Not Accept Jobs In Which You Do Not Set The Price
When the work is proposed by a person and not by a company, then you should avoid clients who tell you the amount they have, with no possibility of more, or who will choose the lowest price. Well, this is only indicative that he is not willing to negotiate and that he does not value your experience or the quality of work that you are willing to offer.
You are the one who should set the price because you are the one who knows the value of what you know how to do. This implies not accepting any type of work that is below the rate you have estimated since you would only be losing money.
Another point that you should avoid is giving away your work, by charging less than what it is really worth, since this has repercussions in your professional area, making your sector less profitable.
Something that you really would never want.
# 2. Do Not Work For Clients With A Bad Reputation
This would be the worst type of business in which you could embark, since you would be spending effort and time, working for a client that in the end will make it difficult for you to manage your payment.
These types of decisions will only be generating unforeseen expenses, in addition to the fact that you could be left without any type of payment at all.
To all customers who have a marked reputation for not making payments on time, making excuses, or paying badly, you simply have to identify them and say “No”. This also includes clients who ask you to move forward while they are looking to manage advances, as these will likely never come, since to start a project you are supposed to have a budget initially, and if you don’t have the money to cover it, you must answer with a “No”.
Simple as that.
It is better that you spend your time trying to locate new clients, rather than trying to retain one that will be worse for you.
#3. Do Not Take Unfeasible Projects
If you notice that a client makes a request that, from your experience, you already know will not work, it is best, to be honest, and let them know your opinion.
Being honest, in addition to speaking highly of your reputation as a freelancer, will save you wasted time -both for you and the client-, plus it will save you starting a job that will probably end up being canceled, and even the possibility of not receiving payment at the end of the job. not being able to finish it.
#4. Avoid Customers Who Don’t Know Exactly What They Want
On some occasions, you will find clients who do not know what they want, or what the project will really be like. It may be the case that, before contacting you, they need a business advisor to help them define objectives, and thus they can set the goals they will develop.
If you get the impression that the client is not clear about what they want, you can make the recommendation. Well, otherwise, you may start a job in which you have to do tasks for many proposals that will end up being useless and representing a waste of effort and time.
It will be essential for the client to have clarity regarding these five factors:
.The type of services you need and what problem you will be solving with them.
.The number of proposals you will need to compare before making a decision.
.What will he need to deliver to you to start the job?
.The number of sessions it will require for review and changes (which should not be more than two).
.The delivery date by which you want the project to be finished.
These aspects must be discussed with your client, before making the decision to start the work, and of course, you must establish them in the budget that you present to them for their written approval.
Learn More About Business From ProgressionBusiness
