You’re just starting out your freelance career and you know you got to pay your dues.
You have to work cheap for anyone willing to pay you so the wheel starts rolling.
It’s not nice, though. You’re working all the time and clients aren’t exactly “thankful”. You charge pennies, and you even have to chase payments more often than you’d like.
Some of them also call you late in the night or email you on weekends expecting an immediate response.
But that’s ok because you’re starting out, you’re making a portfolio. Of course, this is very different than what you imagined when you decided to become a freelancer, but this is how it works when you choose freelance life.
Or… is it?
Actually… there’s a way to land good, high-paying clients, right from the start.
In fact, as hard to believe as it sounds, this is the best time to choose the clients you’ll work with, how much you’ll be paid and the terms of work.
At the very first beginning of your freelance career.
Most “successful” freelancers show the crappy client-low payment path as the way to go when starting a career as a freelancer.
But there’s a much better (and easier) path, and it is possible to walk it as a beginner freelancer.
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What Life as a Cheap Freelancer Looks Like
So let’s say that you start the most obvious way. You take on crappy clients’ projects for pennies because you want to build a portfolio and start the wheel rolling.
They even sent some of their colleagues your way, too. So you’re working all day for almost no money.
Maybe you’ve been doing this for a while. It’s exhausting. “But it’s worth it,” you often remind yourself.
Clients call you at any time, with the most ridiculous complaints, asking for things they didn’t specify before.
They want you to work during weekends. They may even send you an email on Friday night and would complain you didn’t get back to them on Monday morning.
It doesn’t matter, because you’re building your business. If you don’t satisfy all their wishes, you could lose them or damage your reputation. And then your business dream will be gone.
You don’t have much time because you’re always working. Even when you think you finished a job the client’s always asking for changes you didn’t agree to before.
Sometimes it’s difficult for you to make any plans with your loved ones because you may need to work on some last-minute urgent tasks that a client came up with.
Money isn’t great, either. What you’re making as a freelancer is hardly a side salary. You sometimes even have to chase clients for payment.
This clearly isn’t the life you dreamed of when you decided to become a freelancer. You wanted to work on your terms, have more free time, and decide which clients you would work with.
That was a long time ago.
What about trying a different path?
Why Reject Cheap Clients That Give You a Lot of Work (and What to Do Instead)
Let’s go through some of the characteristics of these kinds of clients (cheap & crappy).
- Everything is last minute. Nothing’s planned or organized. They have spontaneous wishes and they want them to be fulfilled now.
- They complain about things they didn’t specify before. They don’t give you any feedback and then complain that your work didn’t meet their expectations.
- They treat you like an employee. They want you available all the time to deliver whatever they need.
- They call or email you at late hours or during weekends and expect you to be online, or to hear back from you shortly.
- They disappear right when it’s payment time.
- Most importantly, they don’t value your work: they’re cheap, they bargain a lot, they’re always crossing the line, asking for things that weren’t included in the budget but not offering to pay an extra fee.
Retaining crappy clients actually prevents you from taking on good ones. You’re dedicating your most precious time and energy to those bad clients that don’t make the difference.
But it’s not just about ditching bad clients. Sometimes a crappy client can become a good one if you change your way of working with them. If you set boundaries.
The problem with this is most freelancers are afraid to set boundaries and reject clients because of many reasons. Let’s talk about the most common myths about rejecting crappy clients or setting boundaries.
#1 No One Will Hire Me Without a Portfolio
You may think that not having a portfolio instantly forces you to set extremely low rates so you get hired anyway.
But guess what.
Most clients are not worried that you’re a published author. In fact, many will want you to ghostwrite for them. This means not having the article published under your name at all.
Some of them might not even consider you if you charge ridiculously low prices. Because quality clients know that cheap prices usually bring cheap results.
What clients are worried about, is that you know how to do the job. So make sure to let them know that you’re good at what you do. Show them actual reasons why in your profile or pitch.
More advice on this below.
#2 If I Set Too Many Boundaries I Will Lose The Client
Let’s say you meet a guy or a woman. You start to know each other. You like them. You start getting involved. And then, they ghost you.
From one day to another, they stop talking to you. You send a few messages, no answer. They’re gone. It’s like they’ve never existed.
Ouch. What an awful feeling, right?
But then, you realize.
With that kind of behavior, you’re glad they’re out of your life. While it hurts your ego and your feelings (because you really liked them), you don’t like that kind of attitude.
With clients, it’s the same. You want to enjoy your work, you don’t want to involve in toxic relationships.
While other so-called experts or even your own intuition might tell you you should keep the crappy client or you’ll end up with nothing, it’s the other way around.
Crappy clients prevent you from dedicating time and energy to getting good ones. And then, they are a hurdle to deliver quality work.
#3 I Have to Do Everything the Client Says Because They’re Paying Me
There’s an automatic tendency to take everything the client says as magic words, the ones with all the power.
But the client is hiring you because of your expertise and knowledge. And while they may have a very clear strategy on what they want you to deliver, that doesn’t mean you always have to do what they say, no questions asked.
Sometimes clients are experts in what you’re doing, too. Sometimes they know nothing about that, and not arguing with them will result in useless work, and they may even blame you if it doesn’t work.
Besides, doing everything that you’re client says just because they pay you is far from being a freelancer. You’re behaving like an employee. Your client is not your boss.
Good thing about freelance life is that you get to set your own terms of work. That being said, make sure those terms are very clear before the working relationship starts.
Your clients are paying you to make a good job, not to agree with them. If you disagree, make sure you have your own very good reasons.
#4 My Reputation as a Freelancer Will Be Damaged If I Don’t Do Everything the Client wants
“They’ll get mad at me and will post negative comments about my service.”
That’s a very common fear that many freelancers have. They’re afraid that no one will work with them if the client gets mad and starts talking about them with their colleagues or in forums.
This is hard because they actually can do that. But you have your reasons why you work a certain way. If the client doesn’t agree with them that’s not enough for accusing you of something.
We often overestimate the reach of a client’s comments. And there’s a very good way to counteract unfair negative reviews:
Always ask your clients for testimonials, this way you can counteract the effects of any negative critics that you may have by quoting them.
Keep your (or your business’s) mission in mind and keep working at your best. You’ll get good clients that really value your work and that are much easier to work with.
#5 There are Lots of Writers That Can Do What I Do
There’s a common thought that freelancers belong to this wide, chaotic world where there are lots of people fighting to win a client.
Just look at freelance marketplaces like Fiverr or Upwork. Thousands of similar profiles waiting to be hired, working cheap to get good profile reviews.
While there may be lots of freelancers on the internet, there’s not a single one just like you.
In fact, there’s space for everyone that’s willing to do what it takes. According to this article on Inc.com, this is the best time to be a freelancer. There are opportunities for everyone.
To be an online services provider, you need to create your own style and market yourself from what makes you unique, not what makes you like all the others.
You may fear that if you don’t agree to every single thing the client wants you to do, and work for low rates, they may ditch you for a cheaper and weaker one.
But no one works just like you. You have that unique thing that makes you stand out. Think about that one thing and use it to market yourself as the only one that can provide that value.
How to Find Good, High-Paying Freelance Clients Right From the Start
Finding good, high-paying clients is something you need to make from the very first moment of your freelance or online entrepreneur career.
Because if you start charging low fees, you’ll be the one that makes the job for pennies. The clients will always go to you because of that.
If you’re the one that answers the phone while having dinner, you’ll always be the one that’s available all the time. And those are the values you’ll be known for.
But you don’t want that. You want to be known for your services. And you want to be able to live out of your work as a freelancer and have the freedom you aimed for when you made the choice to walk the freelance path.
So let’s see how you can get quality clients that pay well as a beginner freelancer.
1. Think of your ideal client
What makes a perfect client? The first step is to think about how a good client would look like, for you. But how do you identify your ideal client? It can be different for everyone.
Which brand do you love and admire and would die to work with? Then think about every aspect of your working process and the kinds of work you want to do for them.
Would you like them to call you all the time? Do you prefer to have weekly calls? How do you want to deliver work? What kind of work?
How much do you want to charge for your services? How many hours would you have to work to make these rates work for you?
Think about all these aspects and write them down until you have a very clear image of your ideal client.
Why is it so important to define your ideal client? Because the only way to get where you want is to know your destination..
Build your mission and stick to it. Remember that one thing that makes you stand out that we talked about earlier? Think of it and market your business from that.
So, next, how do you attract your ideal client?
2. Create an Online Portfolio
While you don’t need to have previous work to charge decent rates and get good clients, you still need to have a portfolio.
Your work needs to be out there for others to see. Potential clients need to see what you do, to analyze whether you’re a good fit for them.
But… how can you have a portfolio without clients? The answer is simple: create one.
You don’t need clients to make a portfolio. After all, this is what you love to do, or at least what you know exactly how to do.
So do it. Create work samples.
If you’re a writer, write about the topics you’d like to write about for clients.
If you’re a designer, create designs you’d like to do for them. Think about your work and what you’d like to do for others, and do it for yourself, as if you were the client.
You can have pdf files and send them to potential clients or have google docs and send the links, but having your material published out there gives you a more professional profile.
How can you create an online portfolio?
There are many options for creating portfolios online, and they will mostly depend on what you do as a freelancer:
- Having a profile on portfolio sites: You can create a profile on a portfolio site specialized in your area. For example, there’s Contently for writers, Behance for designers. You should look for the best one in your area, create a profile and upload or showcase your work.
- Social media: This is probably how many people do it, but it’s not always that efficient. Maybe your potential clients are not on social media or the social platform you can find them is not good to showcase your work. For example, LinkedIn has the option for you to upload documents. But are your potential clients going to download those files to see them? Look for the right platform in your field and show your work.
- Free platforms: You can also create a profile on free blogging platforms like medium, blogger, wordpress.org, and publish your work there. The good thing about them is that it’s easy to do, but they don’t look so professional and your profile url is not that personalized.
- Create a website: This is what I recommend the most. It’s not that hard, not that expensive either. You just need to purchase a hosting service (it can be the cheapest plan, you only need to start) like Bluehost and the domain name.
If you want to know more about how to create a freelance writer blog, check out my Resources section where you’ll find the exact tools to create your blog fast and turn it into a portfolio or a successful business.
You may be wondering how to create work samples. One thing that works for me is acting just as if I were a client.
Request your own services. Create step-by-step instructions of exactly what you want. Think of it as if you were the client and you were hiring someone to do your job because you don’t have enough time.
Then send yourself an email with that request.
It may sound silly but it helps you get into the “working for a client” mood. Try it and then tell me in the comments, how did that work for you?
3. Collaborate With Other Entrepreneurs
What’s a collaboration? You can exchange services with other entrepreneurs. So for example you create a logo for a copywriter and they can write the copy for a section of your site.
Freelance writers can write guest posts for other sites, while web designers can design the web for a friend in exchange for a testimony to put on theirs.
Or you can just work for free for a popular website, in exchange for promotion (they link to your site, or leave your contact details for everyone to see) on sites that have a high level of traffic. This is very different than working cheap for clients that bring no value to you.
By making collaborations with other entrepreneurs, you’re not only getting more visibility, but you’re also networking.
These freelancers or entrepreneurs may hire you for their own projects or send you to their colleagues for future work. You could also work together as a team.
Don’t worry if you’re not interested in this. You don’t need to work with them if you don’t want, but having these contacts is always helpful. People knowing you exist, and what your work looks like.
4. Develop a Strategy: Pitch
I know. I can hear you. “I applied for a bunch of projects but I haven’t heard back about any of them.”
It’s the story of millions of freelancers whose wishes of working with clients die in freelance marketplaces.
But there’s another way to work with your ideal client, even if they don’t advertise on a freelance marketplace. Don’t wait for people to “give you” the work. Cold pitch.
You already know who your ideal client is. So look for them and pitch.
I was once listening to a podcast and they mentioned a time tracking tool that would be very helpful for me to be more productive at work.
I googled the tool and while scrolling down their website, I found that they had a blog in which they talked about productivity.
I write about productivity, so I thought I’d contact them in case they were looking for writers for their blog.
I looked for them on LinkedIn and found a bunch of people who were in charge of the marketing and editorial teams inside the company, so I emailed them with a pitch.
I got an answer saying they were actually needing a writer. I ended up having an interview with one of the members of the team.
You can do this, too. It’s easy. In fact, it becomes an automatic process after a while.
So while applying for job ads on freelance marketplaces is fine, also pitch your ideal client.
Build a spreadsheet with a list of websites of the people you’d like to work with, and pitch every single one of them. If they don’t get back to you, wait 2 weeks and send them a follow-up email.
Develop a routine and do this on a regular basis. It’s just a matter of statistics. You’ll end up working for your ideal client sooner or later.
The secret is in being proactive. Instead of thinking “nobody hires me”, think “what can I do for clients to hire me?” And you’ll be surprised at the course of action that turns out from this question.
If you’re a freelance writer, learn more about the freelance writing cold-pitching process in this blog post by Elna Cain, an expert in cold-pitching.
5. Enhance Your Skills
Quality work entails developing your skills and becoming the best at what you do so you can have quality clients.
You need to invest to make sure your skillset is up to the task. Find the best courses on what you do, and take them. But make sure it’s the fastest and best possible way to get there for you. Look for course reviews and actual results.
Also, be updated on your field. Subscribe to newsletters that help you increase your knowledge of what’s happening.
That’ll give you constant and updated information about what’s working right now in your area of expertise, what your potential clients want, and what they need.
6. Make a Contract: Set Your Terms & Conditions and Stick to Them
This is probably one of the main aspects of being a freelancer. You may think that just agreeing on a task and delivering it will do.
But experience says that it’s best to set every aspect of the work exchange in advance, so everything’s clear.
If there’s a disagreement or a misunderstanding, you can always go back to the terms and conditions the client agreed to.
So, the same as when I told you to think about your ideal client, think about your ideal way to work and write it down in the form of a terms & conditions text.
It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. It can be a Google Doc with your logo that you then turn into a pdf file.
But make sure you specify every aspect of your working relationship.
Here are a few questions to serve as a guide of what you should include:
- What will the client get by working with you? Try to make this part extremely client-centered. Highlight all the value that the client will get by working with you. Here you can include relevant achievements, and facts that prove you’re great at what you do.
- What did the client ask for? Here you specify exactly what the client wants. Be it a logo, a graphic design, or a copy for their website. Express it in a very clear way. Include bullet points if necessary.
- How much does each and every item requested by the client cost?
- How are you going to perform the tasks? How much time will it take you? Here you describe your work process, with details of the steps and time it takes you to complete tasks. This helps clients understand the complexity of your work.
- What forms of communication do you allow? This is the key part to get a healthy work process. Here’s where you agree with the client if you’re going to communicate by email or phone, how often, and what they can do in the case of an emergency. So, for example, I only allow communications by email and make it very clear that I don’t check emails all the time (you can also include a time in which you’ll be online for them to make any questions or send you a message). I also include my phone number but just for emergencies (and describe what an emergency would look like). It can also be a weekly call and daily updates. Everything’s going to depend on the kind of project and your way of work. In this section, you get to set your boundaries and make the way you work very clear to the client. Then it’s up to you to enforce these limits if you feel the client’s overstepping them.
- How many changes will you make for free? If you correctly described what the client wants and they agree with it by signing the contract or giving you a thumbs up by email, then the changes have to be justified. Either you didn’t deliver what they originally wanted, or now they want something different. So make very clear how many changes you’re making for free, or what will cost them if they want changes.
By making these terms & conditions you make sure everything’s clear and you save yourself and the client lots of time and energy.
7. Educate the Client
It can happen to you that, even when you have a contract, the client always crosses the line. They ask you for things that are not in the contract, they call you at improper times, etc.
This is not always because they’re bad people that don’t care. Sometimes they don’t know how to behave differently. So when that affects your work, you need to educate them.
The correct way to do this is by focusing on how that negatively impacts the results.
Kindly explain to them how your process works, why you can’t do the things they ask for.
Focus on how much trouble it would cause the client for you to perform the task they’re asking for.
For example, let’s say you’re a freelance writer and that a client asks you today to have a 1000 words article for tomorrow morning.
One possible answer would be to explain to them that there’s not enough time to make the research and produce a quality piece.
Tell them how your work process goes, and let them know that the piece you’d deliver wouldn’t be of use.
Always be polite: it’s true that many clients are just shitty clients, but some of them just don’t understand what the tasks for people in your field are. Or how much time things take. Or how much effort it takes you to produce what they need.
If you politely explain to them, you could actually gain a good client after that.
7. Rise to the Occasion
It goes without saying that to get clients that pay well you need to be up to the task and deliver quality work.
Good clients want good freelancers who deliver great jobs. So meet (and exceed) their expectations in a unique way.
That’ll make them not only get what they want but have you as the person who can do it best. And they’ll keep working with you, as well as recommending you to other people. Also, they’ll be willing to give you their testimonial so you can add it to your portfolio site.
Some Final Words
I know you’re afraid to lose clients or reputation.
I know you think many freelancers can do what you do for much less money.
And I know that getting crappy and cheap clients always turns as the best way to go.
But the type of clients you choose to work with is what sets the tone for your business, not something else.
So why not try a different path? You CAN have good clients that pay well as a beginner freelancer.
Follow these steps and see what happens.
No more calls during weekends. No more constant questions about how you’re doing with the project all day.
Enjoy your free time. But really enjoy it.
Be able to make plans with your friends a family.
Read that book you’ve been wanting for a long time.
Sign up for that class you’ve been eternally postponing because you were afraid that you wouldn’t be able to make it because a client asked you to redo the entire job.
Stop working all day for pennies. Earn real money by working a decent amount of time. Get rid of that client that you hate but keep because gives you a steady workflow.
You can take control of your job and actually enjoy it.
Try this and let me know in the comments. Which step is the one that you needed the most to improve your client’s quality?
I like this freelancer job platform best. You can also try and see.
https://www.fiverr.com/pe/3E3p7k