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Don't be afraid to fail as a freelancer, it's a part of how you learn

  • TommyCarey Level X3
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    Don't be afraid to fail as a freelancer, it's a part of how you learn

    Everyone who starts working as a freelancer thinks it's just going to be rainbows and sunshine, but that's far from the truth.  You're going to screw up from time to time, and some of those times could kill your website completely, making it a requirement to start over from scratch.  Now that won't happen every time, maybe not at all with you, but it's a possibility that could happen so you need to try and do everything right in order to avoid this. 

    If you're a freelancer, you will fail from time to time, but you need to learn from it and not let it get you down.  Think of it this way, you're doing the work so you can make money and you mess up, it's similar to going to school and failing a test.  The only difference is that the work you're doing to make money will set you back further than a bad test score lol.  This is why you need to learn from your mistakes and try not to repeat them over and over again.  The more you screw up, the more money you'll lose in the long run because people can't find your site after you gained a penalty or your customers don't like the work you did because it's sub-par.

    In the following sections I'll be talking about why you shouldn't be afraid to fail, think of it as a learning experience.


    Failing is inevitable, you won't get it right from day 1
    Not every business you see was successful from day 1.  In fact, there are plenty of business owners that are on their 2nd or 3rd try with owning their own business and they had to screw up a bunch prior to being successful.  More than 70% of businesses fail within the first 3 to 5 years.  That means the successful businesses, if they're on their 3rd try, have at least 10 years of business experience behind them and can make it look easier than most people.

    When you fail at something you can't let it get you down, it's a learning experience.  I've failed plenty of times in the past from burning websites to the ground on accident to buying bad ad space that I wasn't sure was going to pan out.  All I had to do was some research and I could have avoided these devastating mistakes.  Nowadays I research 2 or 3 times and then make a purchasing decision, unlike when I started out and I would just take chances. 


    Failing teaches you how to set up and run your next website even better
    Like mentioned before, failing at something will be a learning experience so you know what not to do the next time.  If you keep setting up websites and building 1,000,000 profile backlinks over night using Xrumer, but still wondering why your sites get penalized, I don't think you're learning too much.

    I myself have burned a website or two while a long time ago because I wasn't exactly sure what I was doing when it came to SEO.  Now I know that I can't run GSA SER on all of my pages at the same time and expect to be ranked #1 for every single keyword possible, because Google will hate me if I do lol.  It was a learning experience and now I do everything manually, if possible, until I start to gain some authority within my niche.  Until I'm an authority, I don't think of using software at all, and even when I do use software it's never on my website or tier 1 links Don


    Failing might inspire ideas for your next successful project
    When you're working on your next big idea and it's not panning out how you expected, there are usually some hidden gems in your process that can be set up as their own business idea.  There have been times I took months to set up a business plan and when it started to fail I had that "Ah Ha!" moment.  I noticed a few little things within the business idea and website that I could just simplify and run as it's own service, and it worked out very well for me Don

    Your ideas don't have to be too complicated, like my example above, in order to be successful.  You might fail at the crazy difficult ideas as often as you fail at the smaller ideas.  How you get back up and overcome your failures is what makes you successful.

    You never know how many failures it will take before you become successful online, so never give up Don




    In Conclusion:
    You need to be learning everything you can as often as you can.  I rarely read books because I'm always online reading forums and blogs in order to learn what I need to know about tips, tricks and techniques both old and upcoming.  My girlfriend says I never read when I'm at home, but in reality I'm reading for 6+ hours a day because I'm constantly researching and learning new things.  If you do end up failing, big or small, be sure to pick apart everything to see why exactly you failed.  If you can figure out why you failed, you will know how not to do the same thing the next time you try to take over your niche Don




    Remember to follow me!
    https://www.seocheckout.com/user/Razzy


    Thanks!

    Razzy

    #Learning Freelance
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    kgord

    kgord

    Yep, despite what the movie Apollo 13 tells us, failure is indeed an option, and I think we need to not only be prepared for it, but embrace it as well. This doesn't just include websites and website design but may be for life in general. All successful people have failed at one time or another.
    6 years ago

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    wiseagent

    wiseagent

    I think no one prepares to fail because our mind seems to be prepared only to win. But being able to deal with the failures that will happen makes all the difference to the next things that will happen in planning and putting into action the new decisions.
    6 years ago

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    Corzhens

    Corzhens

    You are right that we should be durable when failure comes in life because there’s no such thing as a clear path. Failures come and go but we are still here no matter what. I have been freelancing for 3 years and it’s only now that I am finding the other avenues for earning like SEO work and affiliate marketing. My focus was only on blogging and my main line is paid forum posting which wouldn’t make me rich.
    5 years ago

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    JoeMilford

    JoeMilford

    Razzy,
    Let's just hope that my failure ration will one day be matched by my success ratio, right? We all live and learn--I think that maybe the main crime is just not learning from our setbacks and experiences. You have reminded us more the once of the importance of this and of staying focused, dedicated, and determined. I like your final point about the "hidden gems" to be found in failed projects. Sometimes, we embark upon paths that are going to fail just in order to discover or put into perspective what we could really be working on that has much more potential. I have had this happen to me many times in my life, to be sure.
    6 years ago

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    cmoneyspinner

    cmoneyspinner

    If I were afraid of failure I would not be at this site talking and learning from people like you as of today. My online journey started 10 years ago when I trying to help my husband get started in his business. He got sick and that left me with the job of trying to make it on my own. I failed so many times I lost count. All I can tell you is that I got back up and tried again. My philosophy is "As long I'm still living, healthy, able-bodied with a sound mind then there's some kind of productive and profitable work that I can do, ____________. Gonna fill in that blank."
    6 years ago

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    peachpurple

    peachpurple

    I admire your guts and spirit. It is not easy to be a one man show after your hubby got sick. It takes determination and confidence to keep going. I am sure you are doing well now.
    6 years ago

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    Tronia

    Tronia

    This is one of the most important lessons that all freelancers must accept and learn - failing will lead you to do greater things. Why? Because if you are smart, each time you fail, you will learn from it and grow. You won't repeat the same mistakes (at least I hope so) which will increase your overall chances of succeeding. So, if you fall, get back up and keep going because the end will be worth it.
    6 years ago

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    wiseagent

    wiseagent

    Not being afraid should be treated as a sort of philosophy by people, but unfortunately not everyone is so brave to that point. It's normal to fail because making mistakes is a very important part of learning that will lead you to your personal / professional growth.

    What can never happen is to persist in the same mistakes and then simply give up everything.
    6 years ago

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    potentialwriter

    potentialwriter

    There's tendency for failure for anyone that comes into freelance writing. In fact, there's no assurance that you won't first pass through this. Failure is a signal to stepping up in any business, but no amount of failure can cause you setbacks so far you remain focused. One motivational speaker explained that you shouldn't be upset when you fall. When you fall down, you shouldn't do but pick something on the ground.
    6 years ago

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    vinaya

    vinaya

    I have been freelancing since 2001, however, I decided to make freelancing my career and full-time work only in 2010. I have published over 1000 newspaper articles and over 2000 online articles. I have written ebooks for clients as well as published ebooks on my own name. Based on my statistics and my portfolio, some people might consider successful. However, I am very far from being a successful freelancer. I am always in short of money. However, I have not left my dream that I dreamed seven years ago.
    6 years ago

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    augusta

    augusta

    This was a good motivational tonic for newbies, it will help them realize that nothing good comes easy, nobody has even a good deed without encountering difficulties, problems, failure etc.Freelancing isn't a bed of roses, it comes with it own thorns but if you wriggle out, you will be refined as a new wine daily.Always put your right foot forward but if you fall get up, dust yourself and keep moving.
    6 years ago

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    Kakashi2020

    Kakashi2020

    Like the saying goes "failure is just an obstacle you must surpass on your way to success". You shouldn't be afraid of failure, instead embrace it and overcome it.
    6 years ago

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    Baburra

    Baburra

    I agree. Not just with freelancing but with anything, I would say this is healthy advice to follow. I think it's normal for people to be scared of failing, as I know how that feels and the fear could be crippling. However, when left with not many choices, you really don't have much else to do but to try and these are the times when you prove to yourself that you didn't have much to fear in the first place because experiencing it alone is enough to get you more acquainted with what you need to do to move forward, even if the first few steps are failures.
    6 years ago

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    jaymish2

    jaymish2

    Great tips.I think people tend to forget when they are working online that they are more or less running a business. I think this is one of the biggest failures. Most businesses have their ups and downs, even the bluechip companies like Coke, Johnson and Johnson and Pepsi Cola.I'm sure when they were starting out it wasn't smooth sailing.I always argue that any online work is uncharted waters. Remember the internet is a new invention and everyone is navigating their way through it. We should always accept the lessons from any failures and never give up.
    6 years ago

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    DenisP

    DenisP

    Failure is a bitter pill to swallow. But much like with any foul medicine, just because it has a bad flavor doesn't mean it won't do you any good.

    I'm still young, and am yet learning how to take my mistakes and failures gracefully. There is a part of me that constantly wants to beat myself up for my faults, but there is also another side that knows that there is much to learn from the experiences. I constantly try to look at my errors simply as areas where there is room for improvement, and that no one does things perfectly right off the bat.

    Thank you for this post, because I feel that content like this is necessary for many of us here that have felt/feel like giving up due to what we regard as our failures.
    6 years ago

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    overcast

    overcast

    I think failing needs to be calculated. Anyone who is doing the freelancer needs to keep the multiple income source going on. And that should give them an idea of where the money is flowing. I have seen that one should never be afraid of the freelancing lifestyle. And we have to take calculated risks. Because jumping directly into this may not always going to work. I have tried it and suffered and doing many small jobs along with other day job now to recover from this type of the issues. So you have to learn about it.
    6 years ago

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    mildredtabitha

    mildredtabitha

    I have also learned a lot since I started freelancing. I almost quit during the first few weeks but I have learned from my mistakes as time goes by. I am more comfortable in writing articles than when I joined freelancing world.
    6 years ago

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    Barida

    Barida

    The worst that can happen to any freelancer is when they give up. So, believing in yourself is the best way to go about it in the freelancing world.
    6 years ago

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    mildredtabitha

    mildredtabitha

    I also believe it is okay to quit writing for bad clients or for sites that pay too little for too much work. It is not okay to quit freelancing if you enjoy doing it but it is okay to quit working for employers or sites that don't appreciate your work.
    6 years ago

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    overcast

    overcast

    If freelancing is a side hustle then worst that happens is we get back to job. But when the freelancing is a full time gig then it can be harder to give up. You have to keep on plugging. And that means it would be reasonable to say that we have to learn from our mistakes. That being said it can be not that easy either.
    6 years ago

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    DarthHazard

    DarthHazard

    Failing is actually a really good thing. I think a lot of people are scared of failing, I'm not saying you shouldn't be, but it is not at all the worst thing that could happen to you. And this is because of the fact that when you fail, you can learn from your mistakes. This will then allow you to become a much better person and try and not make that mistake again in the future.
    6 years ago

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    Corzhens

    Corzhens

    Failure is part of life in general. No person is exempted from failure which means all of us have failed one time or another. The most important phase in failure is to stand up and recover. As the saying goes, try and try until you succeed. Failure is not the end of the world, in fact it is just the beginning of the road to success.
    6 years ago

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    overcast

    overcast

    This is true. Life happens very fast. And we have to understand that failure happens every single day. And we have to learn to grow over our set of the problems. And that seems to be only way for fixing things that are going wrong. I am sure that in future things may change but we just have to work with how things go in this case. I agree that failure indeed is not an end to the word.
    6 years ago

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    vinaya

    vinaya

    We learn from our failures. Failures also teach us to work her, work efficiently, work smart. If we don't fail, we will never learn. There is a popular legend surrounding King Arthur. After losing a battle, kind Arthur ran to a forest and hid in a hut. Inside the hut he saw a spider climbing the wall. After many failed attempts, the spider finally reached the ceiling. Arthur learned the lesson.
    6 years ago

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    Aree

    Aree

    Actually, it's not the failure itself which is destructive. Failure is just checking off one more item about how not to do it. It's the fear of failure which has stopped many people dead in their tracks. They are so afraid of failing that they don't even want to try at all in the first place. Which, of course, is the surest way to fail. You can never succeed if you don't try but you can definitely fail without trying.
    6 years ago

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    razarshi

    razarshi

    its just the way of life. if you dont fall, you wont realist the height and depth. But the mentality of fighting back is mandatory. As a freelancer, you are your own boss, just treat himself like that. You will overcome from every possible issue.
    6 years ago

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    vhinz

    vhinz

    The fear of failure is what keeps most people from trying and I'm guilty of this. There are many great opportunities that came to me before but it just slipped away because I was afraid to try. I was afraid of the consequences if I fail. What I did not realized before was that I was already a failure because of not trying.
    6 years ago

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    overcast

    overcast

    I think the fear of failure for the freelancing is real. You can see that some of the times people are afraid for real. Because freelancing is a career risk. And you can't get rich with it. It's kind of side hustle and career risk at the same time. I have seen freelancing gone wrong. And things take more time to change. So one has to be making changes in such cases. It takes time for things to properly settle though.
    6 years ago

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    vhinz

    vhinz

    In my case I feared about not rendering well to the clients in which it could ruin my reputation. I feared that what I know won't be enough and my work would be a disaster. And if that happens, I'm not sure how long it will take before I can be trusted again.
    6 years ago

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    overcast

    overcast

    I think some of the times we have to say no for things that are hard. And that seems to be the way to deal with clients. Not always possible. But it can be done. Some people can do better with clients this way. That's what I have learned from my experience.
    6 years ago

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    ColdFlameChris

    ColdFlameChris

    When I became a freelancer, I know that this is a very long journey to face and would definitely bring me a hard time since there's no easy way for me to find a good and decent job online. I still pursue this path and even I failed many times in all of the things that I've tried, I still continue because I believe that I will find the perfect online job that would be fit to my skills and guess what, I still don't find it, unfortunately. But anyways, I do have a current online job which is as transcriptionist but I can say that I'm happy about it that I'm earning money regularly and not worrying that my hard earned money would be gone since I know that this is a legit business. I'm willing to wait no matter how long because I believe in the potential of this kind of industry and someday, this will be the number one source of jobs and income. If I fail to find a great job, I'm willing to learn new skills to make a profit out of it.
    6 years ago

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    potentialwriter

    potentialwriter

    As a freelancer, you don't have to be afraid of failing in freelancing because it's going to help you out of one low stage and take you to another higher stage. It's going to help you wax stronger in the business and will keep you till a very long time. You will soon get over all failures. They usually occur in the early stages of freelancing and all those challenges will only make you master a lot of things about the job and will eventually coach you towards leveraging the job for success.
    6 years ago

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    TimothyAlex

    TimothyAlex

    A person who is afraid of failure or can't accept failure as a fact of life will have a very hard time as a freelancer or business owner.
    6 years ago

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    vhinz

    vhinz

    I totally agree. It happened to me. My friends, classmates, and previous co-employees believe that I have skills. Only that I am afraid to try that's why I still don't able to get an online job and I'm stuck on my regular day job which I don't really enjoy. While some of my former co-employees that used to ask from me about some technical skills are now already earning good money doing online jobs.
    6 years ago

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    rhombus

    rhombus

    I agree, if you don't at least try you will always have the "what if" regret. With freelancing however you have the extra stress to accumulate funds to pay the bills at the end of the month. Its difficult to budget, therefore at the back of your mind you have financial worries as well as professional (am I good enough) stress. One negative review can knock your confidence and thats the main reason so many people (who are gifted) do not succeed.
    6 years ago

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    Adesuwa08

    Adesuwa08

    When I started freelancing I was heavily rejected by the forums/websites/blog even postloop once rejected me, I was so unhappy and I felt I was never going to make it in freelancing, we writers like our work being appreciated that's why we like nice compliments a lot.

    Getting rejected and getting up to try again is so easy to say because it wasn't easy for me, you get to feel this depression and unwanted by the society syndrome because you are hurt that your works were rejected, my best friend who introduced me to freelancing online helped me get back up on my feet this type I did better than before and I got accepted. Sometimes rejection isn't all about failing it is all about you doing much better than the last, when i got rejected I shaked off that sad feeling and this type I got the opportunity, I am still improving it doesn't make me that good enough but just remember rejection is all about you bettering yourself and art.
    6 years ago

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    Pixie06

    Pixie06

    Failures help us to learn from our mistakes so that we don't repeat them again. I won't deny the fact that I have failed many times. Constructive criticism has helped me to learn where I went wrong and today I can produce work of high quality.
    6 years ago

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