I have been freelancing for over 12 years now, and let me tell you it’s not easy, but it can be rewarding if done right. I made a fair share of mistakes because freelancing wasn’t as popular as it is now.
I have learned a lot over the years of freelancing and decided to put this article together to help the freelancer community.
This article is mostly for beginners and intermediate freelancers who want to avoid these common freelancing mistakes while freelancing in 2025.
Specialize in One Skill
This is a very common mistake made by a lot of new freelancers, especially in the beginning. New freelancers focus on a lot of skills, which can negatively impact their freelance career.
Clients more often than now want to hire experts or skilled professionals for their projects. If you are working on different skills, your chance of getting hired for high-paying projects decreases.
Value Your Skills
While it’s okay to get less initially to try, keeping your prices lower for a long time doesn’t increase your chances of getting more projects.
Even if you do that, it won’t get you quality clients with whom you can build long-term relationships. So, value your skills at par, or slightly higher, with the current market price.
Don’t Stop Marketing
Freelancing is mostly a one-man show, and once a freelancer gets a project, they tend to focus on the project and stop marketing.
Not only they lose momentum, but they may also end up with no or fewer work opportunities after the project is done. You can always say no to some projects if your bandwidth doesn’t allow, but keep the marketing going.
Relying on a Single Platform
If you rely on a single platform, your entire career depends on that platform. God forbid if your profile is blacklisted from that platform or gotten a few negative reviews, you will have to restart from scratch on other platforms.
Diversify your sources, experiments and shortlist 2-3 platforms which are giving you the best results, and focus on those. Also, make your presence on social media platforms to get some inbound leads.
You can also utilize cold-email marketing to get freelance clients. It is one of the most popular ways to get clients for freelancing as well as agencies.
Send Personalized Proposals
Sending generic proposals doesn’t work, as the client knows when someone is not interested in the project. So take time to craft a proposal to win the project you would like enjoy working on.
Secure Your Contract
Do not make the mistake of not finalizing the contract before starting the work. Often, clients and freelancers have conflicts because they have different understandings of what they want and what freelancers understand.
Put everything in writing, including payment terms, and get approval from the client. Also, use escrow to secure your payments.
Follow Up and Build Relationships
Not following up with potential clients or not maintaining relationships with existing clients can lead to potential loss of money.
Keep in touch with existing clients, try to upsell your other services, and follow up with potential clients after sending them proposals.
Emergency Fund
Build an emergency fund for rainy days. Jobs are very uncertain nowadays, and freelancing is even more uncertain, as gig workers are the first to be let go or not get much work during downtime.
So, build 3-6 months of your monthly expenses and park those in your savings account or fixed deposits.
Final Thoughts
Freelancing can be a rewarding career, but it comes with challenges. By avoiding these common mistakes, you can build a stronger foundation and grow your freelancing business over time.
Focus on improving your skills, marketing yourself, and building relationships with clients. Remember, freelancing is a marathon, not a sprint, so stay patient and keep learning from your experiences to succeed in the long run.