“1. Under-pricing
Most of us will have done this at some point, many of us still do. Money is a difficult subject for a lot of people. While I am better at talking about money now than I was, I still find it an uncomfortable topic. Problem is, while you might not find it easy it is absolutely critical.
You have a right to earn a fair price for your work, and doubly so when you are good at your job and have excellent experience. How do you know if you are underpricing? If you do good work but you never lose a bid then your prices are too low.

Also be careful about charging by the hour when you don’t have to. When you charge by the hour you are actually penalizing yourself for getting faster at your work! Also some jobs require considerable experience and expertise while taking little time to execute. As the old carpenter said when his customer complained at the price for fixing a creaky floor board, “That’s $1 for the nail, $999 for knowing where to put it”.”

- Verkaufen Sie sich nicht unter Wert. Ob Sie sich tatsächlich unter Wert verkaufen, merken Sie, wenn Sie gute Arbeit leisten und nie eines Ihrer Angebote ausgeschlagen wurde.


“2. Over-committing
No one client has the right to monopolize your time, even if they do think they are paying well. When one client takes all your time that is a boss and you have a job, not a client and freelancer relationship. Remember as well as the job at hand you need time to market and network to bring in future work. Allowing one customer to dictate my hours was the worst mistake I ever made as when that contract was over I had nothing to fall back on. You ideally want to have four or five overlapping contracts plus some breathing room so the loss of one doesn’t set you back too far.”

- Als Freelancer sollte man sich nicht völlig einem Kunden ergeben. Damit ist gemeint, dass man sich selbst zeitliche Obergrenzen für Aufträge setzen sollte. Tut man dies nicht und der Kunde diktiert einem den Arbeitsalltag, so ist man letztlich doch wieder wie in einem gewöhnlichen Arbeitgeber-Arbeitnehmer-Verhältnis.


“3. Failing to sell
After money I am guessing the next worst part of freelancing for most people is the thought of selling yourself and your services. Fact is though many times a client will know they want your help but will not know exactly what they want. Selling need not be about snake oil and ripping people off. If you can truly help someone out then offer your services in a way they will respond to. Make it all about them, their needs, what they will get out of it. Most importantly, listen more than you talk.”

- Verkaufen Sie richtig. Damit sind hier nicht die typischen Verkaufstechniken gemeint, sondern vielmehr die Fähigkeit die Bedürfnisse des Kunden explizit zu kennen und ihm daraufhin passende Leistungen zu verkaufen.


“4. Always saying ‘yes’
Fear can cause us to do many stupid things. It took a lot before I started turning down requests. Some were easier than others. Requests to work for free still come but I am better at saying no now, turning work down is still tough but I can do it. You have to remember that a bad deal or bad client can damage you far more than the loss of the work. Be prepared to not agree to everything that comes your way and know that you can be nice and friendly without agreeing all the time!”

- “Nein” sagen ist grundlegend! Der wichtigste Satz ist hier: Ein schlechter Deal kann Ihrem Geschäft mehr Schaden als ein verpasster Auftrag.


“5. Not following up
Past, happy clients can be your biggest source of new work, both with repeat business and referrals. Always get at least a testimonial when they say how happy they are. Even better if you can get them to recommend you. It doesn’t hurt to ask! Also it can be nice to send birthday cards, etc. You never know.“

- Nach Abschluss eines Projektes ist die Arbeit für Sie nicht getan! Versuchen Sie mindestens eine positive Aussage über den Verlauf des Projektes aus dem Kunden heraus zu kitzeln. Besser noch ist eine direkte Empfehlung durch den Kunden. Einfach Nachfragen!


Quelle:
http://freelancefolder.com/my-to p-5-biggest-freelancing-mistakes/