Life as a freelancer is liberating and exciting, but you need to stay on top of your game to make sure you can achieve your personal goals and ensure your clients keep coming back for more. When you get comfortable, complacency can easily set in, making your standards drop; something you need to avoid. Here are ten signs of failure that you need to watch out for to make sure your gig is of the best quality and value it can be.

1. Business isn’t flowing. 

When you’ve set up your freelancing gig, and it’s been going for a little while, it’s super important that you keep things flowing. What does this mean? Well, in short, you need to ensure business is coming in. It’s no good resting on your laurels and ignoring potential new business just because you’re working on a big project. You need to make sure you keep your options open and are on the lookout for new clients all the time.

2. Complacency is creeping in. 

At the start of your freelancing journey, the chances are that you paid attention to every single little detail to ensure your submission was perfect before sending it to your client. A little further down the line, you might find yourself becoming complacent. You might forget to respond to an enquiry one day or not bother to spell-check a project outline the next. These things might seem small to you at the time, but when you look at the bigger picture, it’s a sign that you’re letting your standards slip, which isn’t a good thing.

3. You’re not paying attention to client feedback. 

Client feedback is precious, particularly when it’s constructive. You need to listen to what your clients are saying to you about your delivery and decide whether or not to implement some changes to future orders. While you might not like everything you hear, deciding to ignore feedback altogether means you are neglecting important learning opportunities and indicates to your clients that you’re not motivated to improve.

4. You’re not keeping your skills current and up to date. 

While all freelancers have a core set of skills that enable them to carry out their work, it’s vital that you regularly update your skills and undertake new learning opportunities wherever possible. Not only does this show your clients that you’re someone to be trusted, but it’s also an excellent way to develop your personal skills, which in turn enables you to improve the final product you deliver to your customers.

5. You get lazy with your communication. 

Have you stopped communicating with new or existing customers in a timely, polite, and engaging manner? It’s vital that freelancers are excellent communicators and take the time to respond to all requests they receive. Even if you’re not interested in the work or don’t have the capacity to take on more at the present time, it only takes a minute to draft a courteous response, thanking the person for getting in touch. If you become lazy with your communication, it’s a sign that you’re letting your standards slide.

6. You take repeat clients for granted. 

Throughout your freelancing journey, you will work with some clients more than others. You might even work with some on a daily basis and become familiar with them and their ongoing project. It’s absolutely vital that you don’t take these people for granted. While the work might be flowing nicely for now, the minute you start reducing your standards or becoming complacent, the work will dry up. Treat repeat customers as if they’re brand new in regard to how you communicate with them and how you deliver their work, and be sure to grant them the respect that they deserve.

7. Punctuality becomes less important. 

Have you started to pay less attention to deadlines? Or you might think that just because someone is a regular client, you can deliver a couple of hours late once in a while, so you can finish watching your favourite TV show first? Any serious freelancer understands the importance of meeting deadlines and will strive to do their utmost to ensure all deadlines are met. If you can’t meet a deadline for whatever reason, make sure you communicate with your client in advance and explain the situation. The least you owe them is an explanation and a resolution to put it right as soon as possible.

8. You fall behind with your invoicing. 

Invoicing is a huge part of managing your freelancing business. Whether it’s chasing payment or making payments, freelancers must stay on top of their invoices. Some people elect to use third-party software to help them with managing payments, while others prefer to take a manual approach. Whichever way you go about your business, you need to ensure that you’re on top of your invoices, as you will find yourself snowed under if you let things get out of hand.

9. You’re unaware of your competition. 

While it’s impossible to be aware of every single competitor out there, you need to spend a little bit of time researching the market that you’re working in. Look at what other freelancers are charging for similar services and/or products and look at how this differs from your offer. Use it as an opportunity to improve your service, and be prepared to make small tweaks wherever necessary to ensure you remain attractive to potential clients.

10. You lack the motivation to find new business. 

Perhaps the ultimate tell-tale sign that things aren’t going well is that you’re not motivated to get out there and find new business. While some business will undoubtedly come your way, you can’t be reliant on clients always finding you. Make sure you dedicate some time to chasing down some leads, updating your website/blog/social media feeds, and increase your business networks to try and get as many clients as you can.

Conclusion. 

If you’re aspiring to be a successful freelancer, you need to take these ten signs of failure seriously and do everything in your power to make sure you don’t let your standards slip. Most importantly, it’s not fair on your clients who are expecting high-quality service, and it will ruin your reputation in the long run, which is something you will struggle to recover from. Instead, be dedicated, punctual, and hard-working, and you stand a great chance of meeting your personal goals and objectives.