5 Mistakes Freelance Designers Often Make

5 Mistakes Freelance Designers Often Make

1. TAKING ON ANY PROJECT

You might be eager to take on any task for a client. It might be exciting to try new projects. Make sure you have experience in the category and be able to complete the project in a professional manner before you agree to start. For example; if you specialize in product layout design of packaging material, it is not the best thing if you promise a client an illustration for a children's book. If you have no experience and want to learn how to do something, don't use a client to cut your teeth. Do a personal projects that you do on your own time to get your feet wet. Nothing is worse than giving a paying client work that was nothing like what they were imagining. You will most likely have to redo things, which takes even more of your time and maybe even cease the project for someone else to finish it. Not a good feeling for you or your client.  This kind of thing can ruin your reputation and hurt you in the long run.

2. NOT KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH YOUR CLIENT / MISUNDERSTANDING THE BRIEF

These two things go hand in hand. You need to understand exactly what the client expects of you. Take notes, print emails and KEEP IN TOUCH! If you have a question, contact them right away! Don't guess.  I'm sure your client will rather have you keep in touch with them and get the project right the first time, then to go back and redo things. That can also lead to a lot more work on your part. Try to make a list of a few questions you want to ask them before you call or email. Try not to call them many times with only one question a contact. But even if you have to bug them a bit, you would rather be right than wrong and have to do things over.

3. TAKING CRITICISMS PERSONALLY

Sometimes, when a person looks at your design, they will have negative things to say about it. It's human nature to look past all the good and criticize the "bad". If this person is your client, just take it like a champ. They might have another idea of what they wanted to design to look like. It doesn't mean your design is bad, it just means it's not what they were thinking. Clients will focus on the bad right away because they want it to be edited quickly because they want the finished product. If you feel hurt by someone, just understand that they don't mean anything bad about you personally. Just because one person doesn't like it or wants you to change something, doesn't mean there won't be others that love it. If the opinion is coming from someone very experienced in the design field, take that as a learning tool, because they have the experience! Don't get discouraged, use it as motivation to do even better. Besides, you know you can do even better! The world is not full of big pats on the back, even though I wish it was.

4. OVER PROMISING & UNDER DELIVERING

I have learned this the hard way - many times. It's easy to talk and to tell a client everything you can do for them. But it isn't a good thing when your mouth runs away with you. A big issue is when it comes to promising a client a lot of work for a small price. You end up feeling over worked and underpaid. This can also happen when you are a bit inexperienced and you are acting like you know what you are doing in the meeting to get the job. Please be aware of your skills and prices and discuss them appropriately.

5. GETTING A DOWN PAYMENT BEFORE STARTING WORK

I cannot tell you how many times I have done work for someone and they just stopped contacting me. They just fell off the face of the Earth. I would finish an entire project spending 10 or more hours on it and them just not getting back to me. A down payment is an agreement that both parties are liable for the service you are offering. Even if you have your client sign a contract, it is hard to legally demand them for the money. You have to go to court and it's a big hassle, especially if you aren't getting paid a big amount. I ALWAYS get down payments. But even I got hustled recently by this person who I thought I could trust, who never got back to me after I did some work for them. Even people you really think will pay you sometimes wont. If a person is committed to having a design made, they will give you a down payment. If they don't, you don't need them as clients at that point in time.