Do you find yourself struggling to land clients? Are you feeling underwhelmed by your freelance earnings and wondering if freelancing is right for you? If this sounds like you, then don’t worry. This post has 3 golden guidelines to help get your business kickstarted or back on track! These are all tactics that have been used successfully by successful freelancers who are now making six-figure salaries through their freelance businesses. After a detailed analysis of high-performing freelancers and agencies, I present you with my selected guidelines for freelancers.

Rule #1 – Client Acquisition

How do I get clients? This is probably the question I hear most often from freelancers (and incubates) and it’s also the question which we would like to answer today. Client acquisition is one of those things that comes naturally for some and not so much for others. Some people know how to attract clients easily, while others need more help getting their business started. If you’re in the latter camp (and chances are if you’re reading this, you are!), then don’t worry; there are several things we need to take into consideration before we can start attracting clients effectively. 

One thing we should ask ourselves before beginning client acquisition: Am I ready and skilled enough to handle a client? It is of utmost importance to ask ourselves if we are ready for clients otherwise, you’ll be doing damage to your brand which we’ll talk about after this. Second thing is to realize that client acquisition is all about how to present your services and it goes without saying that a good presentation of your skills will impress potential clients.

Rule #2 – Personal Branding

Another thing to take into consideration when attracting clients: Personal Branding.  Personal branding is about representing your ideology as a whole. It’s what the client will remember you by, after all. 

A brand for me is a promise, what promise are you making to your potential client? Ask yourself that.

It’s important to note that personal branding isn’t just an ordinary company logo; it goes much deeper than that. Your logo represents who you are and what you’re capable of doing (your skills). Include those things into your logo so a potential client would be able to know if they are looking for someone with those capabilities or not.

Rule #3 – Have A Strong Work Ethic

The third and the last golden guideline to land clients is to know where to draw the line. Do not forget ethics in pursuit of clients and projects. 

Don’t Over Commit

In freelancing, you will face clients who are hoping to get more done with very little.  While it is tempting to say yes, remember that your work must be of the highest quality and that would entail some time and patience. You will eventually lose trust if you over-commit yourself to clients in a private or public capacity.

Admit If You’ve Made A Mistake

Covering up the truth may be necessary under certain circumstances, but when it happens too often, it leads only to frustration with you as well as the relationship between you and your client. In this kind of situation, your effort cannot last long because sooner or later the truth always uncovers and prevails.

Michio Kaku in ‘The Future of The Mind’ says that “in order to compete with robots, start being a man.” It is that simple, a good human is also a good freelancer. Personal branding is important to stand out from the crowd, to be memorable and to show your value. With that being said, freelancers must also take ethics seriously because there are no HR departments or managers that will help you do it for yourself. 

Have any of these rules helped you? Let me know so I may continue reading and crafting the best pieces for you. 

Taimoor Bamazai