11 Top challenges for freelancers and tips to overcome them

Working as a freelancer is extraordinary with many benefits, but there are also plenty of challenges to face as well. Which raises the question, what challenges do most freelancers face at this time and how can you possibly overcome them? Let’s find out!

Solitude

The price for independence is often isolation and solitude.

Steve Schmidt

Working from home comes easy to some people, but it’s quite difficult for others. If you’re a social butterfly, chances are that you will find working from home to be very difficult.

What you can do is to establish your own routine and also connect with others via conference apps like Zoom.

You could also try working where others are around, such as coworking, working at a library or even at a coffee shop if you don’t find it too distracting. 

It will help you get your work done, while also making sure that you don’t lose your social connections or deal with lots of solitude.

A lack of clients

The freelance world can be very challenging since more and more people are working from home. What can you do to acquire more clients? Try to increase your online presence and ensure that you’re always marking yourself as an expert. Another good idea is to be active on third party platforms as well.

Freelancing platforms like Fiverr will help provide another marketing avenue to show off your skills. You always want to showcase your skills in as many places as you can. The more you do that, the higher the chances that you will be hired. Plus, these platforms are free, so it’s a good idea to enroll in as many of them as you can.

Clients are not communicating

There are times when people will just hire you for your services and not communicate after that. It’s important to establish excellent pre-hiring communication with clients to ensure they get exactly what they expect. It helps eliminate risks, and you won’t have any more questions anyway. That’s the ideal situation and it will help produce better results than you might imagine. As time goes by, you will find ways to improve upon and adapt how you work with clients, but try to be very clear from the start to avoid any lack of communication from impacting your workflow.

Handling dissatisfied clients

“The key is to set realistic expectations, then exceed them, preferably in unexpected ways.”

Richard Branson

No matter how good you are at your craft, not all people will be satisfied with your work. For example, if you are a writer or produce videos, you can do your best revise everything according to their needs. However, you also want to have a strict revision policy. This will help you prevent any possible abuses that might arise, if you are working on a gig site.

When you work through a contract, it is crucial to make sure that everything is clearly spelled out and that your interests are protected.

It’s hard to keep up with the latest updates in your area

A good idea in this situation is to create a list with some news sites, magazines or outlets that share daily bits of information. It won’t take more than a few minutes to go through those, and you can still be up to date with the things happening in those industries. It helps a lot, and it will provide a much better experience than you might expect in the end.

A lack of confidence in your own skills

Many freelancers go through this from time to time. You might find a project that seems doable, yet you doubt your skills. What you can do is to listen to your client and his requirements. Be honest with yourself and see whether you have the skills to do this properly. It’s always important to trust your instincts and your skills, which is why you want to stay honest with yourself and your client.  It totally helps.

Working more than a 9 to 5 counterpart

Freelancing has a less glamorous side, when you end up working 10 to 12 hours a day or even more just to finish your project. This can leave you little time to spend with family and friends or to stay in shape. It can also leave you at risk for burn-out.

Thankfully, this type of stuff can be avoided if you have better time management. You want to ask for a longer timeline on the project and limit yourself to 8 hours per day at most. Sticking to your list and not going overboard is just as important too.

Clients not paying for your work

There will always be some scammers online that will try to run with your work without paying. A good way to avoid such a problem is to either use a freelancing platform or an escrow system. The escrow system requires your client to pay for your service beforehand, but the service won’t offer you the money until the work is delivered. It’s a safer system which helps eliminate scammers.

You’re always distracted

Working from home as a freelancer also comes with lots of distractions. That’s why a good idea is to have your own room for the office where you can work without interruptions. When it comes to digital interruptions, there are all types of software you can use to block social media, notifications and anything similar. This way you can work without being disturbed.

No time management

You want to use time trackers which will make it easier to see just how much time you spend on a project. It might be possible that you overwork and are underpaid. That’s why having time management tools to adequately track all your work time can really make a huge difference in the long run.

Lack of a stable income

If you are going the freelancing route, a very good idea is to try and set money aside beforehand. Working as a freelancer means sometimes you have a lot of work, but there will also be some dry times too. That’s why you need to be mindful of bad times and save money just to be safe.

Conclusion

Working as a freelancer always has its challenges, but any issue also has its own solution. That’s why we recommend taking your time as you find a way to overcome these struggles. Not all of them have an immediate fix. However, there are ways to solve pretty much any type of freelancing issues, as long as you have patience and adapt everything to your own situation. You will be very happy with your results in the long run!