34% of all working-age citizens (53 million people) work as freelancers; in Europe, the share of freelancers in 2013 was 45% (8.9 million).

1. The client sets unrealistic deadlines

4. The client sent a test task that was too large

Many freelancers have had disputes over test tasks, especially journalists, copywriters and translators. The scheme is always approximately the same: they send you a task, they say that you were not suitable, and then you see that your work was used.

Another reason to be wary is a “series” of test tasks. The client says he liked your work, but he's still not sure you can handle the project, so he gives you a few more.

Distinguish test it can be difficult from “real”, but remember: if this is a test, then it should be small. For example, for a translator it should not exceed 250 words or 1800 characters with spaces.

Check with the customer in advance: “Do I understand correctly that this task will not be paid, and my work will not be distributed to third parties and will not be published?” Proceed only after receiving written confirmation.

5. The client does not discuss payment “on shore”

Be sure to check in advance when payment will be received, in what currency, and whether the client will pay extra, say, for urgency.

Of course, no one is forcing you to take such extreme (but, admittedly, effective) measures, but you also need to remain firm on the issue of payment.

The main thing is to always remain professional and not become aggressive or rude. Carefully check the reviews of other contractors of the client and, if you are collaborating with him for the first time, be sure to record everything in correspondence.

The biggest advantage of freelancing is the independence. There is no specific employer who would stress and control you. A freelancer works on the Internet in general, and not for anyone in particular. Such independence has one advantage, which can be expressed in the following words: “work on the Internet, travel around the planet.” When you are not tied to any specific territory, it gives you a free hand to be free in your geographical movement. But, due to the specific nature of their work, freelancers also have problems.

Brief introduction

Naturally, the given list of problems will be subjective; some may not have these problems. It may be the other way around, I may not mention the difficulties that other freelancers have in connection with their work. By freelancing, I mean a person whose main source of income is the Internet.

Common Freelancer Problems

1. Health problems. There is a good Russian proverb: “the legs feed the wolf,” in other words, if the amount of your earnings depends only on you, then why not work more. Due to the large amount of time spent at the computer, problems with posture, or rather with the spine, and vision problems may arise. Also due to sedentary way of life, there are prerequisites for the emergence overweight.

2. Problems of freelancers with motivation. When there is no external stimulus in the form of a boss or manager, problems with motivation may arise. Such is the nature of a person that for motivation he needs both a stick and a carrot, but not everyone will prescribe a stick for himself. I noticed in myself that out of 15 hours spent at the computer, I can only spend 30% on work, and the remaining 70% is not clear on what. It’s much easier to take time off from work on the Internet than offline. If you work in an office, then the admin can monitor your work through various programs, such as staffcop. If you work at a construction site, that is, the foreman who has you in full view will motivate you with different words. And if you work at home, at the computer, and in one click from you there is: a sea of ​​videos on YouTube, a sea of ​​witty jokes on Bash, and hundreds of friends on VKontakte, then your work may not withstand competition with these services. Basically, you know what I mean.

3. The “common sense” is lost. When you make a mistake in offline work, it quickly becomes obvious, and this mistake is pointed out almost immediately. If you, as a freelancer, make a strategic mistake in website promotion, then this may come to light when the problem gains scale. And in general, when you work yourself, then there is nothing to compare your work with in order to understand whether you are going in the right direction or not. Naturally, you can see the financial strip of another freelance blogger or compare his blog design with yours, but this is all a little different.

4. Family problems. If working from home, and there are still relatives at home, for example a wife, then spending too much time together can be a problem. To maintain a normal relationship, you need to take a break from each other. And in general, it’s normal when work and family life is divided territorially, and when there is no such division, the line between personal life and work is blurred. Naturally, with the right approach, such problems may not arise, but still.

5. Difficulties with education. Since a freelancer is a friend, comrade and food, then all the intricacies of the work have to be learned by yourself. Similar problem exists offline too, no one wants to increase the number of competitors, so this is a purely personal matter. But the fact is that offline, there is no such fierce competition, since you can work in different territories. And the Internet is like a big collective farm, if you rise in the search results, then someone else has dropped in the search results, and no one wants to “fire” their topics so as not to lose their position. You can formulate this point differently and say that this is not freelancer problems, and difficulties with the education of freelancers.

6. Social integration. I described the extreme extent of this problem in the post. This is a controversial point, someone may not have such a problem, but the prerequisites for this exist. Since many freelancers work longer than normal, there is less time for the real world and real people. And what we give little time to does not develop and degrades. To avoid being completely absorbed, you need to maintain contact with real people.

I’m always glad to see reactions to my posts, including in the form of reply posts. I'll definitely read it.

Yes, there are many problems. But there are also enough advantages 😉

There are advantages, no question about it. When I worked as a sysadmin, in one not very good organization, my nerve cells died much more often :)

There are still things that freelancers need to think about. For example, relations with the state: taxes, pensions...

Well, I think it’s worth thinking about when it becomes the main source of income and the income exceeds 200 USD.

Although I don’t know from what amount you need to start declaring your income

Sergei

I agree with these problems (although some problems sometimes, on the contrary, are problems for the official one, anything can happen in life) But what about taxes? This is not something a freelancer encounters? And the experience is not officially recorded anywhere... but what about the future pension?

Apocalyptic

I read the article by “a freelancer to the core” :)

Good example with Google and liked the position on the 5th point.

I’ve also heard the opinion that you need to share your knowledge in order to free your head for new knowledge :)

1. For example, that the problem of motivation is solved by the lack of money.

I work hard when there is really little money, and when I reach a certain minimum, and it is very low for me, my motivation disappears. It’s a matter of values; if for some people money is the highest value, then there are no big problems with motivation to work.

But this is a personal question, so there cannot be any clear advice.

2. And on the issue of social integration, I think Skype, etc. don't solve the issue. It’s like with correspondence, you write a letter not to a person, but to the image that you mean by a certain person. And relatives are a little different.

It’s just that if you are a freelancer, then you can come to the conclusion that you are in touch with all of humanity, at least in its digital version, and not with anyone in particular. It’s like F.M.D. said, “the more I love all people in general, the less I love a specific person.”

This is all IMHO, and I think that such a point of view has the right to be :)

Sd3000

The problem of paying pensions - yes, it really is a problem. Since there is no law regulating this activity. That is, a freelancer does not count on experience.

Further, I agree to pay taxes only when the expenses become open to the public and will not buy $1,000,000 buses for 10 administration people to travel out of town for recreational activities. Because at the moment I cannot blame anyone for the fact that my money was not spent purposefully.

I am ready to help orphans, children, doctors, teachers, and so on, but on the condition that my money actually reaches them. But it’s not like, for example, 12 million rubles were allocated for our school for a complete reconstruction, but only the roof was repaired, and the school director now has the same roof made of the same material, and the administration has been building a church for 10 years and still doesn’t have enough money, they only put up a cross, but There is still no foundation for anything 🙂 although according to the papers 12 million rubles have been spent. I don’t think that a wooden cross 1.5 meters high costs that much. But these are lyrics that are not related to the topic. By this I want to say that as a freelancer, as long as I have the opportunity, I will not pay taxes until general principle will not change towards people and tax waste.

Sd3000

So let's take the evolution of writing.

Previously, letters were written and the post office sent them.

Now I think no one will argue that we didn’t write less, but a lot more, because email it became much more convenient. The same goes for the telephone. Previously, many people didn’t even have a regular one, but now almost every progressive person has a cell phone. The same will be current communication.

Zheka

Whether you agree or not to pay taxes - no one will ask you... it’s one thing if you don’t pay them while working simply as a freelancer - then the tax office will most likely not see you, but if you are an individual entrepreneur (so that there are no problems with your pension))) ) - then fire me

Lightg

I myself have been a freelancer for almost a year and a half, but I don’t agree with the last point - I have even more friends than I had before, and not only online ones, but also the most ordinary ones. And there are many more reasons to write than reasons to call or even see each other, so even very subtle connections are not lost.

Apocalyptic

The problem of pension payments - yes, it really is a problem. Since there is no law regulating this activity. That is, a freelancer does not count on experience.

It’s really strange that government officials, due to their stupidity, leave themselves without money. By the way, in Ukraine, you count for experience if you work in the field of “providing occult services.” This is of course stupid, but it generates income.

I am ready to help orphans, children, doctors, teachers, and so on, but on the condition that my money actually reaches them. But it’s not like, for example, 12 million rubles were allocated for our school for a complete reconstruction, but only the roof was repaired, and the school director got the same roof made of the same material,

Well, this is of course a big question, budget money is being cut left and right, and I know it all. It’s the same with Zheks, you pay for utilities but the elevators don’t work, etc. Nobody wants to throw money away.

Everything will slowly but surely creep onto the Internet and it will be convenient to communicate. Everything is going that way. I pressed the button and saw my grandson, etc. Laziness is a kind of even a very big engine of progress.

We do everything in this world to do nothing, but at the same time to have everything.

Well, yes, the main thing is to remain human, and not like in the movie “Surrogates” :)

Much more has been written about the other side of the coin, but Negative consequences somehow it’s not customary to discuss, so the author is great!

Thank you :)

I’ve been a freelancer for almost a year and a half, but I don’t agree with the last point - I’ve made even more friends

Well, all these innovations make communication easier. That's right, you need to be sociable :)

Lara

I disagree about motivation. To me, on the contrary, freelancing is closer to me because I get as much as I earn. That is, it definitely makes sense to develop and work more. The minimum is clearly not enough to meet growing needs. And in an ordinary job, a salary increase sometimes does not depend at all on the hours in the office. Even if you crash, you won’t jump higher than your place there. Or it takes too much time.

Freelancing is good, really. Especially for those who escaped from the explosive group of women or from the boss of a tyrant. Or those who cannot leave a sick grandmother/small child/cat at home. But there are also problems that are not customary to voice, about which few people complain... because if you tell someone, they will laugh, that’s also a problem for me...

Purely women's problems...

For example, this is familiar to many girls... you stop being a gorgeous woman. Because you're sitting at home. I bought an elegant dress - where to wear it? And I also want... heels, a dress and... where? Going to Pyaterochka for shopping once a week?

It’s good if you have an attentive husband or boyfriend who can take you to a restaurant or cafe. And so - sit and wait for a special occasion. Which rarely comes, because of all your friends you have only a few left. You sit at home and talk about things that are little understood by someone. Comrades are gradually being eliminated...

You stop looking after yourself with such zeal, because – that’s right, you’re sitting at home. Men can go days without shaving, ladies can twist a “bun” at the back of their heads and they’ll be good to go. This doesn’t apply to everyone, but almost everyone has moments when they absolutely don’t care what you look like. Then, after some time, you look at yourself and groan: what am I turning into? And let’s work hard on ourselves: fitness, swimming, massage, nails, eyebrows... But it’s not enough for a long time - either there are a lot of orders, or it doesn’t matter - for whom is it all?

Friendship and communication...

We desperately lack communication. That’s why we are eager to chat in queues, to at least break out to the fitness club - not so much for the sake of sports and health, but for the sake of communicating with our own kind, lively and warm people.

It's hard to find a boyfriend/girlfriend because you live online. If you are left alone for some reason, you are desperately thinking - how to meet someone if you practically do not communicate with people in your life? Dating websites? You rarely go out for a walk, and then only with a dog or a child (if you have one). It seems that you are an interesting interlocutor, and you know a lot, but there is no opportunity to make new acquaintances. This primarily applies to single mothers with children - there are many of them in freelancing for a variety of reasons.

There are no topics for conversation with old friends - but this is not only a problem with freelancing. This is a problem on a generally universal scale with communication between people, but we always try to close ourselves off from each other. And smartphones are not to blame for this. Previously, they hid in newspapers and books, just to hide from others.

Friends disappear for various reasons. For example, the threads that connected you before have disappeared - one job, fun drinking sessions on Fridays. And now you don’t have these drinking sessions. Because Friday as such has ceased to be an unusual day. You can work on a new project this evening - because clients, as you know, like to remember urgent matters on Friday evening.

Over time, you acquire new friends and acquaintances - but mostly virtual ones. These are your colleagues, sometimes customers, sometimes just passing by, with whom you connected in the comments to a post on a social network.

I'm tired of all…

You get tired of the house and want to get away from here. It’s always good at home, but sometimes you just want to leave, get away, for a day or two, to take a break from these walls. The good thing is that freelancing gives you the opportunity to do this at any time. But not always in reality... admit that sometimes you can’t just pick up and go somewhere like that, because there are a lot of orders, and it may be inconvenient to work in a new place. And not everyone has the opportunity to go to a coworking space - for example, in my town there is simply no place where I can quietly sit with a laptop for half a day. You won't be able to sit down in nature either - 3G is limited in places, and its quality leaves much to be desired. And they won’t let you sit - the town is small, there are a lot of acquaintances, everyone comes up and looks in: “what are you doing here.” What kind of work is there in such conditions...

Health…

My vision blurs and my back hurts. True, we are not ashamed to talk about this. What is there to be embarrassed about - the work is sedentary, at the computer, like most office workers. Naturally, sooner or later “side effects” make themselves felt. True, few people seriously struggle with them - go for a massage or see a doctor. Again, it’s a waste of time, or new interesting orders are distracting. Until it gets too hot, you can be patient...

Yes, freelancing is cool. This is freedom - you choose when to work and with whom to work. But still, most of us spend a lot of time working, promoting our brand, searching for orders. All this routine drags on, there is not much free time left. We don’t find the strength for ourselves, we think it’s better to invest it in something else - in training, in new orders... We don’t think about rest, about communication. And over time, we ourselves become loners. We learn to live alone, work and relax alone. And this is the main problem that is not usually talked about: freelancing gives you the freedom to be yourself, to be free, but the price of this freedom is loneliness.

Anyone who wants to become a freelancer should know that freelancing is a very serious job that requires complete dedication. Freelancers devote as much (and even more) working time and effort to it as if they were working for permanent job in the office.

If all freelancers understood the importance of remote work, freelancing would soon become a respected and accepted profession. Unfortunately, sometimes, instead of the respect they deserve, freelancers are perceived as a cheap alternative permanent employees- lowest grade, risk category. Part of this attitude arises from the problems that freelancers create for both themselves and clients.

In this article, I will explain why freelancers don't get the respect they deserve. I'll also highlight some of the most common problems that clients face and give some tips for freelancers on how to prevent these problems from occurring.

Why freelancers don't get the respect they deserve

Unfortunately, some people consider freelancing to be child's play, just because they themselves work from home, sitting on a comfortable sofa. Frankly, everyone with a computer and Internet access wants to be a writer, CEO consultant, or designer. There is nothing wrong with these ambitions, but they are only justified if the work is done with due dedication and responsibility. (Plus, of course, there must be certain skills.)

Often, remote workers do not fulfill their obligations because they take their work for granted. They allow home and personal problems and other concerns to interfere with work and derail work plans. Not only is the freelancer’s professional reputation at risk, but the client also suffers. The client is doubtful and disappointed and the next time he hires a freelancer, he sets very strict terms and conditions of work.

Now that I've outlined the respect problem, let's move on to the root causes and their solutions.

Problem #1: Mood Man

Sometimes freelancers let their mood affect their work. If everything is in order and they are happy, the work is done on time. If not, the client can only wait and pray for his project.

Missing deadlines is very common in the freelancing environment—some freelancers can slack off all day. They often miss deadlines and delay the delivery of the project. When they finally finish the job (by which time the customer is already starting to lose his temper), the quality of the work suffers. A freelancer cannot complete an order in a way that makes them proud, or, more importantly, makes the client happy.

If your bad mood is affecting your work, for the sake of your clients, look for something else to do other than freelancing!

There is a solution. Decide whether you have the professionalism, dedication, and serious attitude to work that are so important for a freelancer. If distant work seems too simple, boring and uninteresting to you, then quit. Remember, if you cannot dedicate yourself to your work, you will never be able to earn enough. Don't let personal problems affect your work. Even if you work from home, learn to control your home problems. Why should someone else's project suffer because of your bad mood?

Problem #2: You take on more responsibilities than you can handle.

It's exciting to negotiate multiple projects at once, and it's great if you can win back some of them. You're excited, you're triumphant, you start counting your income, but when you finally get to work, the sad reality sets in. Too much work, limited time, demanding customers. You think you're done for! Your work turns into chaos. You can lie, apologize, try your best to please everyone. Quality suffers, customers complain, your pride is hurt, and you’re just sweaty from worry.

There is a solution. Don't take on more than you can handle. Keep a diary. Plan the amount of work you can do in fixed time, and set aside a certain time for each project and try to finish the work on time. Once you're done with one project, move on to another. This way, you won't have to worry about multiple unfinished projects and can focus on just one. This will ensure a high standard of work completed. Customers will be able to evaluate the quality. (Trust me, they are not as stupid as you may think.) If you can guarantee and deliver quality work, you will buy regular customers who will generously pay for your work. By doing less and better work, you will earn more than if you did more work of poor quality.

Problem #3: Ignoring deadlines

This is probably the most serious mistake freelancers make. Ignoring the deadlines set by the customer means that the freelancer is either not serious about the task or is too proud to monitor the fulfillment of the terms of the task. If a freelancer is a professional, he will carefully read every point and fulfill every requirement of the customer. However, due to the fact that freelancers are constantly in a hurry, they do not always understand the requirements and start working without thinking. As a result, the end result is far from what the client wanted. Naturally, the customer will demand that errors be corrected, and the freelancer will have to spend more time on the project, to the detriment of other projects.

The solution is simple! Take a breath and carefully read every word of the list of requirements that the customer sent you. Each client has its own requirements for work. Sometimes they may need additional explanations where everything seems very simple, and since the customer pays for the work, his requirements must be met. Missing deadlines undermines your authority. Carefully reading the instructions will take no more than ten minutes, so why neglect them, risking your reputation and wasting precious time?

Problem #4: High-quality examples, poor quality work!

Many clients face this problem: “The freelancer sent me excellent examples of work, but when I finally received the work itself, its quality was much higher.” worse than that what I have seen in examples." Often, to convince a client to entrust a project, freelancers show the most best works. However, often freelancers themselves transfer projects to other performers. Problems arise when the work that another freelancer did for you does not meet the customer's expectations. The client thinks that he was deceived and the freelancer no longer receives any orders.

There is a solution. If you outsource the work to another freelancer, check the work and make any necessary changes before sending it to the client. If you don't do this, you may embarrass yourself. If the project is very complex and requires your expertise, do not delegate the work to anyone else. If you don't have time to make it yourself, just skip it.

Problem #5: Late message

Sometimes freelancers don’t check email updates or new emails often enough and don’t respond to client emails on time. When a freelancer does not check incoming correspondence, he will not only irritate existing clients, but will miss out on new opportunities. In fact, freelancers should take it a step further and check their spam folder. Sometimes clients who contact a freelancer for the first time can easily end up in the trash.

Solution. If you are using a platform like Elance or oDesk, make sure that the exchange account is associated with the main address Email(yes, the same email that you check ten times a day). This way, you won't need to check your account on the site very often, and you won't miss important messages and notifications. Take care to respond to customers as quickly as possible. Don't make them wait if you don't want to wait for payment in the same way.

Your turn

Have you hired a freelancer? What problems have you encountered? In the comments, share the problems you have encountered and suggest a solution.

We usually associate freelancing work with home, where you can comfortably sit on the couch and mind your own business. And if at first this is a really wonderful feeling (especially for deep introverts, yes), then later some problems often appear. Today we want to tell you about them, and also introduce “Technopark Perm” - a platform with which we recently met and thanks to it we learned how freelancers and startup founders manage to solve many difficulties together.

For many of the freelancers we interviewed, one of the very first surprises was that their home, it turns out, is not always quiet and calm, and besides, it is not always comfortable to work. This applied to everyone who does not have a separate home without relatives or neighbors. And it turns out that all the other inhabitants of the house are leading their normal lives and especially want to communicate with you when the deadline hangs over your head with all seriousness preparing to collapse on it. I really want to run away at this moment to a place where they will let me work in peace. But, alas, renting a separate office is often an overwhelming task.

On the other hand, being alone is also not always convenient. When you are in an office or workshop, there are always colleagues and like-minded people around. There is someone with whom to discuss issues, consult, and look for interesting solutions. When going freelance, a person often finds himself isolated, life around him slows down, and the need to always think about everything alone puts him at a dead end. And, of course, the level of self-discipline falls in this case, even among freelancers with iron willpower, because when no one is looking at you, the temptation to do slightly different exciting things instead of work is very great.

Already these first problems are so widespread that, as the popularity of freelancing grows, coworking sites began to appear across the country, which, with varying degrees of success, are trying to solve them. Co-working translated into Russian can be represented as “co-working,” and it seems to us that this name quite successfully reflects the essence of this phenomenon. We recently learned about the opening of such a space in Perm and, using its example, we want to talk about a successful option for freelancers living together.

- this is a joint office, a platform for events, and the possibility of renting separate premises for those who have already found their footing. The result is a business environment in which, on the one hand, you work independently and no one bothers you, on the other hand, there is always an opportunity for communication, development, and new acquaintances. Compared to home, you still feel like you’re “at work,” but, of course, not like an employee. In such a place, everyone is an entrepreneur or an equal member of the creative team.

What the editors of our portal immediately liked about this coworking space was its 24-hour operating hours. After all, freelancing is often chosen by those who like to create at the most unusual times, especially at night. And if at home after midnight you are often afraid to rustle paper or turn on the printer so as not to wake up anyone, then here you can have intimate conversations with like-minded people in the recreation area, and work in your own separate place, and drink tea in the lounge area. (there is no separate room, since everything is in open space, there is a coffee shop area, a lunch area, a lounge area, separate places with sofas or poufs)

By the way, there is another rather serious problem faced by freelancers working with individuals and entrepreneurs without an office. If a personal meeting is necessary, you have to organize it anywhere - in a cafe, shopping centers, with extraneous noise and without the ability to even make a presentation. Needless to say, the client’s impression of your professionalism and expected level of payment is not the best. This is another difficulty that coworking can solve - there is a special meeting room, the same as in the offices of large businesses - with a screen for showing videos and slides, good repairs, comfortable new furniture.
And for public presentations and lectures there is a large hall with all the necessary equipment.

In general, coworking differs greatly from a business center not only in its shared work area and common rooms. One of the biggest differences is the atmosphere. Even those who work in dedicated offices of the technology park communicate with each other much more and more productively. Joint events organized by both residents and the administration of the space, free lectures on various specialized issues with the participation of invited speakers, meetings with investors and experts are excellent reasons to develop together, create common projects, discuss new opportunities and lead discussions. In addition, of course, no one has canceled the magical effect that being among active and creative people has - then you yourself seem to be recharged from this environment and new ideas arise, and the level of performance becomes much higher.

For our readers associated with high technology, we would also like to note that many Technopark residents specialize in innovation, robotics, programming, telecommunications and multimedia, therefore a large number of meetings with experts and special events related to these topics. So, if possible, we recommend stopping by and getting to know this space. Perhaps this is one of the most mobile and in in a good way“young” environments that we encountered. You really feel the desire to develop something fundamentally new. Let us not be afraid of pathos, and frankly say that for the editors of the Freelance and Life portal, acquaintance with Technopark Perm became an important discovery this fall. We wish this platform to successfully go through difficult stages of development, expand the list of experts and investors and, of course, have a successful and long existence.