Tips for Solopreneurs: How to Deal with Top Freelancer Frustrations

FEATURED POST

Are you thinking of becoming a freelancer?

It can be a rewarding career to have.

You set your own rules, work with the clients you choose, and be able to generate a solid income based off a set of skills that are in demand. 

You can craft your workday to be as flexible and adaptable as you really need it to be, and work from whatever spot you choose. Your bed, a desk in the living room, a cafe, a coworking space, a hotel — the choice is yours! 

But it’s not all picture perfect.

Freelancing carries a lot of challenges as well. And no matter what industry you’re in or what skills you’re selling, you’re going to run into the ones below at some point. 

Some of them may even become ‘daily work life’ struggles — but proper planning & expectation setting something can help minimize frustration.

Clients with Endless Expectations

Sometimes you pick up a client who seems great.

But after a month or so into your time working together, they just expect more and more from you. They want more tasks completed. They want you to work longer on certain projects. They send out endless critiques on anything submitted for approval. 

This kind of client can go from positive to negative quickly.

But you’re a professional with a skill, and even as a freelancer, this level of expectation is unreasonable.

The recommendation is to be clear in initial agreements.  You can outline how long you’re willing to work, what times you’ll be available, and how many revisions the client is allowed. Any changes to work proposals can be documented with increased fees and service times for completion.

This sets professional boundaries between all parties, and makes it much easier to work constructively toward the same goal.  Seems straightforward, but poor expectation setting from the start can lead to negative reputation as a solopreneur.

Requests Outside of Work Agreements

It’s quite common for freelancers - especially those new to freelancing - to be taken advantage of. 

Some clients think having a freelancer means having a ‘Swiss-army knife’ that can do it all. They’ve outsourced a set of tasks to a skilled contractor, but they also need this extra task that uses the same skills - so why not just get them to do it? 

For example, if you’re a freelance writer, they may start asking you to also come up with content ideas, or edit copy submitted by someone else. But just because something could possibly fall under your purview doesn’t mean you should be doing it — without added compensation.

If a client comes to you with a work request that isn’t outlined in your contract, you can simply point them back toward it with the polite reminder that you’ve not been hired to work in this manner.

This way you don’t have to try and find time to fit it all into your schedule and tear your hair out over doing so! 

Getting Paid

Let’s face it, this is the biggest frustration of being a freelancer.

Not only is it common for clients to be late responding to your invoices, but you’re constantly juggling different portals just trying to get the money you’re owed. 

This is one of the most important reasons you should always be working within a legal agreement that covers breaches for non-payment.

But you can make getting paid easier for everyone involved. You can start working with a virtual terminal, for one, as this means you can accept payment no matter if you’re in a remote location or standing in your client’s own office. 

Indeed, virtual terminals make transactions easier no matter where it is you do your business. This way you’re more likely to get prompt payment, and there’s no excuse why someone would not be able to pay you either! 

Communication Issues

Most people aren't natural communicators. You’ll never find this more true than when you’re a solopreneur dependent on remote interactions. Sure, you may get conference calls once a month, but otherwise you’re emailing or sending direct messages. 

And this can lead to a lot of misunderstandings and crossed wires. It’s hard to communicate in an exact way without face-to-face interactions. Try to be clear at all times, even if the client in question doesn’t seem to make the same effort. 

Freelancing Can Be Fulfilling, But also Frustrating

In terms of career types, choosing to freelance over being traditionally employed can open up a world of benefits.

However, it also opens up a pit of frustrations that could end up affecting your work-life balance. 

For one, freelancing is more volatile compared to being signed on as an employee. If a client decides to cut ties, they can do so with very little notice, and you may have to scramble to find another client to take their place! 

Combine this with the frustrations above and it seems difficult to understand why anyone would choose to freelance.

If you encounter issues like this in your workflow, remember the tips we’ve included in this post.