5 Common Mistakes Made by Freelancer Newbies

An ever increasing number of people are turning to freelancing with each passing year. If you are embarking on professional life as a freelancer, you likely have established some solid objectives. What you may not have closely focused on are mistakes that are made by new freelancers with some regularity. Indeed, there are five common mistakes routinely made by freelancer newbies.

Treat Income Like Profit

One of the most common mistakes by new freelancers is treating income like profit. A new freelancer likely had a job before embarking on freelancing. That may be your situation as well. As a result, you are used to receiving a regular paycheck at specific times.

As a freelancer, you are responsible for taxes and a myriad over overhead or operation expenses. You must make sure that you set aside money each month to cover these expenses in advance of allocating money to yourself as your “pay.” If you don’t engage in this practice, you can end up with a freelancing business in debt, and ultimately financially dysfunctional.

Although the amount of money set aside for expenses depends on the type of freelancing business you launch. With that said, a good estimate is to put aside about 30 percent of your income each month for taxes and other expenses.

If you utilize a payment service like PayPal to receive payments from your clients, you might want to consider using it to coordinate your own “pay.” For example, you might want to consider paying yourself a salary or wage twice a month via your payment service account. In other words, you can pay yourself twice a month via PayPal or a similar service.

Let Clients Set Price

Another major mistake that a new freelancer oftentimes is make is letting clients set the prices or fees for services. Although it is true that deciding what to charge in the way of fees can be challenging at the outset, you cannot let your clients take advantage of your status as a new freelancer.

In your own like, you do not go to service providers and name the price for their professional services. In the same way, your own clients should not be in the position to set your fees. You are a professional service provider and need to be treated as such.

As part your efforts in advance of launching your freelance business, establish a fee schedule. Over time, you will be able to determine how and when your initial fees need to be adjusted, one way or another. In addition, you can reach out to other freelancers who provide services in your area. They likely will be willing to assist you in determining your fees for services.

Delegate Routine Tasks

Many new freelancers fail to delegate routine tasks that do not require their professional expertise. For example, tasks like bookkeeping and accounting can be delegated to a professional. You do not need to waste your valuable time engaged in tasks that can be undertaken by someone else.

Other types of tasks that can be delegated in many cases include invoicing, taxes, and managing social media. (Social media can be vital to a freelancer. However, you run the risk of squandering an unnecessary amount of time on social media.)

Spread Yourself Too Thin

Yet another common mistake associated with a new freelancer is becoming spread too thin. By this it is meant that you offer too broad an array of services. Your initial inclination in starting a freelance endeavor is that you will be better served by offering your clients a wide spectrum of services.

You enhance your prospects for freelancing success by focusing your services. Develop a specific niche of a particular service, or a few services, through which you ultimately can be recognized as an expert.

Say Yes to Everything

On a related note, another mistake a new freelancer makes is to accept every offer or request for assistance received. Not all proposed jobs, gigs, or projects are the same. You must be selective about the projects you select. You must learn to say “no.” Saying no and setting boundaries are vital to freelancing success in the short and long term.

Make sure that projects you select from prospective clients are a good fit as far as your interests and abilities are concerned. You will also want to select projects that you will have a better chance of enjoying. Nothing is worse than being a new freelancer faced with projects you do not like to undertake.

Jessica Kane is a professional blogger who writes for Faxage a leading company that provides Internet fax service for individuals and businesses.

7 Part Time Business Ideas You Can Start in Your Spare Time

If you are like many people, you may have an interest in earning more money. As a result, you may be pondering what you might be able to do in the way of a part time business you can start in your spare time.

As an aside, you may also have an interest in starting a part time business in your spare time that is capable of growing into something larger. Noting these possible objectives, there are seven part time business ideas you can start in your spare time.

Social Media Posts for Businesses

Businesses of all types have come to understand the important of developing a social media presence. The reality is that many businesses don't have the time or an understanding of what to do to launch and maintain an effective social media endeavor.

One business you can launch and run on a part time basis in your spare time is creating social media posts for businesses. You may find that there is a decent number of businesses that are interested in your services. Over time, you may end up with more clients that desire this type of assistance than you ever imagined.

Personal Assistant

A second part time business idea that you can launch in your spare time is that of a personal assistant. A growing number of entrepreneurs are turning to virtual personal assistants as a means of getting help and support for at least some of the tasks they need to undertake as part of running their enterprises.

You certainly can be a real world personal assistant on a part time basis. However, you might also want to take the virtual approach. This makes working as a personal assistant a more convenient proposition. This particularly is helpful when you want to undertake this on a part time basis, in your spare time.

Pet Services

A majority of people have pets. A majority of people work. The combination of these two realities renders it challenging for a pet owner to tend to everything that must be done for their companion animals.

One part time business idea that you can launch in your spare time is providing some type of pet services. There is a myriad of different types of pet services that you can consider. They range from everything from dog walking to pet sitting to "poop" removal.

Baking or Cooking

If you have a flare for baking or cooking, this is a skillset that you can turn into a part time business you can start and then run in your spare time. As is the case with pet services, there are a variety of different options to you when it comes to baking or cooking.

Returning to the reality that many people have hectic lives, and little time to tend to the affairs of the home, hiring someone to prepare meals on a regular basis can prove to be a godsend. This is one area in which you can find a nice in this particular area of the marketplace. Other baking and cooking possibilities include baked goods, health food items, and similar products.

You might also consider catering in a small scale, part time basis. A smaller catering operation allows you to get your foot in the door should you elect to do something more substantial in the future.

Freelance Writing

Thousands of people across the United States engage in freelance writing on a part time basis and in their spare time. If you have solid writing skills, this is another avenue you might want to pursue when you are interesting in starting a part time business venture in your spare time.

Tutor

Many people, in all levels of school, require additional assistance when it comes to getting a handle on their coursework. A part time business that you can start in your free time is tutoring. Odds are that there is a particular subject matter that you have an aptitude. In addition, there is also likely an educational level that you have a stronger desire to tutor. By focusing on these considerations, you can develop a select tutoring niche and being working with students, even online.

Personal Trainer

A final idea that you might want to consider as a part time business you can start in your spare time is becoming a personal trainer. You must have the proper skillset for this type of business, of course. If that exists, you actually have a considerable amount of flexibility in working as a personal trainer.

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Jessica Kane is a professional blogger who focuses on personal finance and other money matters. She currently writes for Checkworks.com, where you can get personal checks and business checks.