It’s amazing how much you really don’t know about something until you try it, right?
Over the years as I’ve matured as a freelancer (and now a Full Time Blogger, or TentBlogger) I’ve done my share of damage in terms of projects, relationships, and execution.
Here are 3 mistakes that I’ve made, and hopefully you’ll be able to take something away from them and not make them yourself!
1. Start Time
I’ve almost always been “booked” with work and in brief moments of clarity I have the wisdom to say “no” when a new opportunity comes up.
But, one of the mistakes I’ve learned in the beginning is saying “no” assuming that the client needed to start immediately. In many cases the client has time to start in a week, or two, or a month! They just want a firm commitment.
Figure out the start time so that you don’t lose any clients!
2. Do Your Homework
Not doing your homework on the amount of work necessary for the job will kill you. If you haven’t experienced this yet then trust me, you will.
Spend as much time as you need (and as the client will allow, for their benefit) to do your homework and make estimates accordingly. You cannot minimize this requirement, and I definitely learned the hard way when I accepted a project and gave them a bid before I completely understood the scope!
3. Establishing Expectations for Post Work
Almost every web project isn’t “done” after the project or site launches. In fact, most projects will need updates and/or maintenance. Establishing expectations and contracts that are explicit with how this will be handled is critical to your long-term success.
Don’t forget to clarify this and get them to sign-off on it!
Stephen Bateman says
post work expectations are killer. I keep finding myself stuck in this one. Oh for the days when you could ship units off, blissfully unaware of the problems your users would encounter.
Not really.