But it’s important to recognise it can be challenging, too. Whether you’ve already taken the plunge or are planning to start freelancing in the new year, your success can depend on implementing measures to address these difficulties. Unfortunately, when you’re fresh to the practice, you may not be fully aware of the issues and their solutions. 

Let’s take a look at some of the most common freelance hurdles and how to overcome them.

Finding Clients

One of the most difficult aspects for any new freelancer is gaining and maintaining a client base. Start by ascertaining in your own mind what clients you want to target. Pinpoint industries or perhaps types of projects. This will help to more effectively direct your search.

Then, you need to get a relevant portfolio of work together. When you’re new to the freelance field, you can’t often rely on your reputation alone. Clients want to see you are able to achieve the results they’re looking for in their projects. As such, it’s worth building examples to demonstrate your range of technical skills most appropriate for the types of clients you’re targeting.  

From here you should perform a variety of outreach approaches. Connect with your personal and professional networks. Let them know you’ve made the leap into freelancing and you’re looking for projects. Provide these people with a link to your online portfolio so they can pass it around. There are also a growing number of freelance job boards and communities that are worth checking every few days. Alongside this, performing some speculative outreach to businesses you’d like to work with is key. Even if they don’t have roles immediately, they’ll likely keep your portfolio on file. You can’t just implement these efforts sporadically. Consistent actions, even after you’ve started gaining clients, is important

Arranging Finances

Finance is a stressful part of any freelancer’s experience. After all, when you are working on your own you are in effect running an independent business. This means you have responsibility for all the accounting and investment elements of your enterprise. Some of the common mistakes new freelancers make are in relation to their approach to their funds. 

There will be times for some freelancers that they need to gain essential funding they don’t have immediate access to. This might involve buying equipment or software that is essential to their work. It might even include hiring some additional help to get through a busy period. It can be more difficult for freelancers to get loans due to a higher level of risk. However, successfully gaining funding can benefit from researching different types of lenders and putting effort into demonstrating you will be able to make repayments. You can also explore alternative forms of financing, like crowdfunding for limited projects or applying for grants from organisations.

Staying Organised

When you’re working a regular job in an organisation, there are often frameworks in place to keep everyone organised. This kind of rigid structure can fall away once you start on the road to freelancing. Unfortunately, this also means your ability to keep operations in order and efficient can suffer as a result. You need to put some focus on maintaining some organizational elements.

One of the best ways to approach this is by allocating a specific space in your home for your work. Many freelancers find they become disorganised because they’re in comfortable surroundings where they have to navigate non-work elements. Converting your spare room into a home office can help to create a clear line between your personal and professional life. Once you’ve examined the space and cleaned it out, you can then begin putting in place tools to support good organisation. This might include putting a whiteboard on the wall to keep your tasks visible. Adding a filing cabinet can reduce the clutter on your desk.

Alongside these environmental elements, adopt software designed to maintain organisation. You’re likely to have multiple clients and many freelancers today even have multiple jobs. Project management platforms can help you keep track of each project and the deadlines you have to meet. It’s also worth using accountancy software that both tracks your cash flow and integrates with your invoice procedures.

Conclusion

Freelancing can offer a flexible career choice, but it won’t always be easy. In the beginning, you should take a skills-focused and agile approach to client outreach. If you lack funding, consider alternatives to bank loans. A solid approach to organisation can make certain you stay on top of your growing number of projects. With more people electing to take this path, it’s worth taking time to ensure you can clear these hurdles and become an effective professional.