Most important freelancing lessons you've learned in 2018

astraherondale Level 1

December 24, 2018, 4:29 am

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2018 brought new challenges that surely taught us a lot of things. What are some of the most important lessons you've learned about freelancing this year, either through firsthand experience or as an advice? Share away!

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Tehilah27

Tehilah27

Patience is the most important attribute to possess in any endeavour. You need to know that there are lots of ways to earn money online as a freelancer but you won't start raking in the money the first day you advertise your gigs. Sometimes, it takes time and effort. By patience, i do not mean waiting patiently without doing anything, I mean keep working and striving while being patient.

8 years ago

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dullian

dullian

The most important lesson I've learned about freelancing is discovering the freelance world itself. I had no idea prior to this year that this world offered so many opportunities. This has motivated me to learn and specialize in something so I can start working on my own.

8 years ago

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amelia88

amelia88

I remember the amazement I felt too when I first came across freelancing as a career. Working for myself had been nothing more than a dream until that point. It’s been a few years now of freelancing for me now, and each year gets better and better!

8 years ago

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jaymish2

jaymish2

I have been freelancing for about one year. The most important lesson I have learned is that freelancing is one of the hardest things you will ever do in your life. That is why it will remain a lucrative world because most people who try it out will fail at it. Eventually only a few freelancers who upgrade and continually improve their skill will remain. The rest will probably go back to their nine to five jobs.

8 years ago

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astraherondale

astraherondale

That's why I've always thought that you can't start freelancing if you don't have enough courage! It takes a lot of guts to venture into something that involves so many risks, and in the end, only the truly determined will survive.

8 years ago

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kaka135

kaka135

This comment has been split into a new thread here.

8 years ago

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theresajane

theresajane

This field really taught me to be patient. It's not easy to be a freelancer. That means you are not dealing with the same people, you deal with a lot of people with different personalities. You have to know what is right and what is wrong before you act up against those annoying clients.

8 years ago

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Barida

Barida

This is true. As a freelancer, there is no need to rush things to happen as most of the times, it may not even work out as planned. This is the need for majority of us to focus on doing what will give us better aim at success instead of having to rush things.

8 years ago

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Alymae

Alymae

This year I have experienced a lot of things. Both happy and sad moments. What I experienced are like years put together in 2018. It is my treasure trove of learning and I can never forget. I learned to love myself and never give up on my dreams. I also learned that God always has perfect plans for us and our plans would not come into fruition if not because of him. He will always have our best in His heart and nothing more. I learned to value time and not waste it. I am doing my best to be the best version of myself.

8 years ago

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esteban123

esteban123

The important freelancing lesson that I learned in the year 2018 was to make use of my free time to work on my freelancing sites because it gives me an additional extra income that can helps me a lot everyday in my day to day life instead of playing some nonsense games in my mobile phone which leads me to wasting my precious time. I learned that I should make it a priority to work on my freelancing sites especially now that it gives me a decent income already to make a living which I really like the most.

8 years ago

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Barida

Barida

I have learnt not to procrastinate. There are a lot of things that I would have done better supposing I didn't let it slide and this is something that I will be looking at working on in 2019 by the special grace of God.

8 years ago

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astraherondale

astraherondale

This is one of my problems until now. I always end up regretting a lot after procrastinating, but it's so hard to avoid. Hopefully we'll be more productive this 2019!

8 years ago

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knnon

knnon

Procrastinating is a big no with freelancing even if we do own our time. It just means we'll be even more stressed when our deadline is closer. I'm not sure how many beginner freelancers make this mistake, hopefully not a lot. Good luck on your 2019 career!

8 years ago

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axl2468

axl2468

I learned to always avoid distractions. Sometimes, a lot of my time is wasted because of video games (my work PC is also my gaming PC at the same time). I lost so many time (and potential earnings) because of being distracted, so I learned my lesson.

8 years ago

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astraherondale

astraherondale

It might help if you could hide your gaming apps or take them somewhere hard to access. It's very important to deal with distractions since they hamper productivity.

8 years ago

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Alania

Alania

My most important lesson is to check the contractor first (the one who hires me for my skills). Because I happened to work for some people who ended up not paying me. Gotta check the success rate of a contractor before applying to any job that he provides. Check his paying rate as well.

8 years ago

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overcast

overcast

I have learned that time is very important thing. And one should never waste time on low paying gigs as time can't be earned back. And spending more time on low earning gig only wastes our life. So I think it's always better to learn new skills. And then approach new clients. Having process is another thing I have learned. I am going to spend my next year establishing the process and so that should reduce my efforts on other things.

8 years ago

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Enyi

Enyi

I have learned to do my work deligently. I wrote some articles days ago and some were rejected and I realize that those that I didn't take my time were the ones that were rejected. So I'm being more careful now.

8 years ago

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MelanthaKrasos

MelanthaKrasos

The most important lesson I've learned in the freelancing industry is patience. Patience to wait because it's not going to give you a million dollar earning. Nor will it give you loads of clients at first try. Then, be ready for anything that could happen under the sun since not all freelance job will boost your morale, some may dissapoint you. But the trick there is to keep trying and be sure to keep improving.

8 years ago

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amelia88

amelia88

The biggest lesson I’ve learned this year about freelancing is that it really is what you make of it. As a freelancer you have the ability to set your own hours, to self-educate, to seek out more clients - so you can make a really good living if you continue to hustle and work hard.

8 years ago

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theresajane

theresajane

Yes, I agree with you. Even though it assures you that you can work anytime and anywhere, you still have to make sure that you are not lax with your work, or else, you'll earn less.

8 years ago

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amelia88

amelia88

For sure. Being able to self motivate has been a big lesson for me too. When you don't have a boss who is checking to make sure you're on time for work every day, it can be easy to get lax. Ensuring I do set specific "work hours" is a big part of controlling that for me.

8 years ago

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Alania

Alania

Freelancer is just a regular work, almost as any other. The fact that we do it at home and manage our own hours doesn't excuse us from the hard work. But still, I think it's very rewarding to be near your family during their hour of need.

8 years ago

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jessie271

jessie271

The most important lesson for me this 2018 is how to be "disciplined". When you are a freelancer, sometimes it's hard to be disciplined when it comes to your time. Yes, there are some lazy days but I learned how to discipline myself. Though I don't have a physical boss who checks on me from time to time, I'm thinking that I have so I won't relax.

8 years ago

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nivramlop

nivramlop

Eventually, I learned that making a living is not so easy. Free lancing is fun but you need to work hard for it and maximize skills, focus and put the heart on things you are doing. Patience is really a virtue that's what I will say. Be paid so be good.

8 years ago

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mhingnhormz

mhingnhormz

Most important freelancing lessons you'vell learned in 2018: I am a newbie here in freelancing but I can say that I already learned one thing for this short time I'vr been here it was to keep moving forward, keep learning and read some advices to different kind of people even you don't know them exactly in person.

8 years ago

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amelia88

amelia88

Continuous learning is a big one and it's great to apply to whatever industry you work in. Times are consistently changing and if you're not always learning you can really be at a loss compared to your competitors. I always try to work in some kind of self improvement/self education into my schedule.

8 years ago

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knnon

knnon

The most important lesson I've learned from freelancing is confidence.
Confidence in my work and confidence in the effort that I give and the confidence in what I can offer.
I've also learned to be more patient and understanding.
Another is that rejection, though unprofessionally placed, doesn't mean you're bad at something and you should lose confidence. It just means you should try again, somewhere else and learn from your mistake.

8 years ago

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Corzhens

Corzhens

Affiliate marketing is more profitable than my present main line of freelancing which is paid forum posting. Although I enjoy doing the forum posting but it pays little and sometimes I couldn’t even buy my lunch from the earnings. This coming year I have solid plans of doing affiliate marketing and maybe I can go full throttle with the help of some friends. But I need to have my own site for the purpose of promoting the products that I will endorse.

8 years ago

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theresajane

theresajane

Well, paid forum posting really pays you less tha affliate marketing. But, for people who have their stable jobs and are looking for something extra on their free time, it's one of the most popular feelancing jobs.

8 years ago

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overcast

overcast

Forum posting is not a business and neither it falls into freelancing. Forum posting is like hobby time pass type earning. Forum posting does not classify as a job. So the best approach is to move towards affiliate marketing or some other work that is like real job online. Affiliate marketing is like marathon takes year to master and work out for you. But give it a try next year.

8 years ago

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anyone01

anyone01

Continue to be humble but allow 'em recognize. It is outstanding to provide credit score greater than you're taking credit, but while it is your turn to own it, do that.Never forestall learning, because it gives you braveness. The greater knowledgeable you are, the greater comfy you experience.A winner in no way quits a quitter in no way wins.

8 years ago

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burgosmichael24

burgosmichael24

What I learned about freelancing this year is how to stay on track even in the midst of distractions. There are a lot of times that you would get distracted in your freelance work but you somewhat manage to escape from distractions and focused yourself in what you are doing.

8 years ago

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Alania

Alania

Yeah, once you get distracted it's hard to get back to. But I guess that applies to almost any kind of work. You have to concentrate and have a lot of power of will.

8 years ago

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jpk0007

jpk0007

Well , 2018 was the year when I started my Freelancing carrier. I am still very new to the field and am trying to learn new things everyday. The most important thing that I have learned till now is the amount patience and perseverance required to work as a freelancer.I also have learned that on what's to constantly update his knowledge and learn new things in order to explore more opportunities in the field of Freelancing.

8 years ago

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esteban123

esteban123

I have learned in my freelancing activities this year 2018 to have a very long patience in working online as I had experienced some feeling of boredom while doing my freelancing works. Sometimes I feel lazy to work on it which makes my earnings becomes limited even though I am aspiring to have more earnings everyday. I just realize that I need to sacrifice and work hard to achieve my goals.

8 years ago

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ajahcuizon

ajahcuizon

I agree. I also feel so lazy on doing online jobs before and even until now but I noticed how it lessened and I'm glad about it. The thing is, I have learned to work harder for my goals. Freelancing really have taught me to have long patience and be contented with my earnings.

8 years ago

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ajahcuizon

ajahcuizon

The best thing that I've learned in freelancing is patience. Before, I'm this kind of person who kept on pushing things eventhough I know that I still have to wait. But this year, many things, including freelancing, taught me to wait and be patient for the things that I want to achieve. That I have to work hard for it and things will come on its right time.

8 years ago

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Franzel2oo

Franzel2oo

I think the biggest lesson I learned this year is to just keep at it. Freelancing could seem like really drooling work. It takes a lot of patience and searching sometimes just to find one job. At leas, when you are starting out. I have learned to keep trying new options and keeping an open mind always. You never know when you might hit gold.

8 years ago

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NerdIndeed

NerdIndeed

One thing I learned is to know your worth. I've encountered an employer who would like to pay me peanuts and still expect high-quality work. I learned never to settle and always negotiate my rates no matter how hard it is to find one.

8 years ago

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Martinsx1

Martinsx1

Well, I would say that my favorite lesson learnt is to never overreach when it comes to giving guarantees on what you can actually deliver.

When you fail to deliver on your own business word, it would make your clients to lose trust and confidence in your business.

8 years ago

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Kakashi2020

Kakashi2020

I've mastered Patience in working online and in growing my Facebook Pages and Groups. There's no shortcuts in building up a site and in becoming an authority figure in my niche. I has to be slowly but surely.

8 years ago

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burgosmichael24

burgosmichael24

"Never settle for anything less." I have learned this lesson in my freelancing experience. I believe that this field has a lot in store for us. This is just the beginning of our journey and we can be better from time to time as we develop our skills and knowledge. Bright future is ahead of us if we are willing to pursue our dreams.

8 years ago

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esteban123

esteban123

I have learned this year that time is really gold and we should not waste it as much as possible, we should do our work ahead of time so that we will not feel so much stress later on if we just work on it on the later part of the day. It is really because sometimes I have the attitude of doing things late which sometimes triggers me to have an headache in coping up the deadline for the task that I want to finished.

8 years ago

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gembanawa

gembanawa

Patience and Confidence - a balance of both. Being able to know when to be patient and when to push forward is the key to being successful. You must be patient in looking for clients, building up your portfolio when you are just starting and also knowing your limits. Be patient but also don't waste time. Time is really important for us freelancers as we are not constrained by the everyday work hours that typical employees must render. We can work for longer or shorter hours depending on us. So it is imperative we make full use of those hours and know when to push through negotiation confidently for a better deal or to be patient and wait for the better offer or for a better job.

8 years ago

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Kakashi2020

Kakashi2020

One thing I've learned this year is the more complicated the job, the more time spent that's why it's better to get simple jobs that can be done faster because at the end the earnings just the same.

8 years ago

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Wave231

Wave231

I've been working on my site as a webdesigner mostly this year but this really taught me patience. Most important freelancing lessons you

Most important freelancing lessons you

So about a few days ago I did website redesign, check it out: http://under-the-open-sky.com. I hope to improve even more next year!

8 years ago

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Rathiel

Rathiel

Don't undersell yourself. I was happy making what I was with freelancing, to be honest. But I found out that I've been undercharging quite a bit, which led to the glut of work thanks to the low prices. To be fair, I make more than what I would working hourly for a local company, but still.

Learning to say 'no' to excessively pushy clients is also an important lesson. I finished the work that I was paid to do. I can't and won't adjust it two months after the client approves it and receives it, initially with high praise, only for them to demand that I do some parts over because of new data that came in a month after the submission! And certainly, not for free.

8 years ago

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stormbreaker10

stormbreaker10

Patient and dont be timid. I hope this 2019 is be good to me.

8 years ago

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fortext

fortext

You won’t have the time to do it later.

It’s Murphy’s Law.

You think you can postpone a project for two hours so you can take a nap, but then in the afternoon, you suddenly have a pile of things to do.

It’s ridiculous! It’s as if those things just pop out of thin air. Your son tells you that he has some stuff to bring to school tomorrow, the wife phones and asks to be picked up at the mall, daughter says her tooth is aching so you need to rush to the dentist, and so on.

And then, when you finally back at home and turn on the laptop, Windows thinks it’s a good time for an update.

8 years ago

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