The 5 Most Common Mistakes in Scaling a Freelance Business and How to Avoid Them

Broadening your skillset, getting more projects, setting up a team, and, ultimately, expanding your profit margin, are all stages of scaling your freelance business. But, in the haste to achieve the next phase of growth, a lot of freelancers make the wrong decisions and end up with a trail of mistakes that may make it difficult to achieve the scale they wish for. Here are some of the most common mistakes in scaling a freelance business, as well as tips to help avoid them.

Undervaluing and Stretching Capacities

If you aren’t charging the right amount for the work you do, picking up more jobs won’t fix that gap between output and income. When you aren’t at full potential, the quality of work you put out will be affected, and retaining clients will be more difficult.

Tip: Don’t take on too much work at once.

Become a professional and getting certified in your freelance career as you can, and you will be able to place proper value and price on your work without stretching yourself too thin.

 Lack of Specialization

Having a broad range of skills is great, but being specialized gives you more momentum to build a solid portfolio in one industry, genre, or creative direction, depending on your type of work.

Tip: Target specific clients and projects.

Don’t take any and every job. Set standards and selection requirements for projects and clients. That way, your portfolio and experience record shows stability.

Lack of Clarity and Detailing

When a client starts to add tasks and roles that weren’t included in the initial agreement, some freelancers accept those tasks because they want to retain business with the client. But, that won’t help to scale your business profitably.

Tip: Spell out all the applicable terms and milestones.

Highlight and explain every detail for the project and set milestones that won’t be susceptible to sudden changes. Charge for any tasks not included in the initial agreement for the project.

 Using the Wrong Platform

As you get extra hands to help you complete bigger workloads while scaling your business, it is important to get the right management platform to keep track of the tasks.

Tip: Do appropriate research for a platform that matches your business goals.

Ensure that the features of the platform match the objectives you have set for the scaling process and your business as a whole.

 Hiring For Skills Only

It can be quite tempting to hire the most qualified candidate when scaling your freelance business but,  you need to remember that skill doesn’t always mean compatibility.

Tip: Search for potential employees that match skill with passion and commitment.

Get candidates who are qualified AND passionate about the work they do so that you and your clients will have a great experience.

In conclusion

It is important to remember that every aspect of running a business, even as the only employee, demands organic processes. Marketing, building a portfolio, and scaling must be done organically to achieve the desired results. If you wait till your freelance business is in the right position for scaling, you will be satisfied with the outcome.

About Ayorinde Okikijesu Elizabeth

Ayorinde Okikijesu Elizabeth is a freelance content writer, who sells her skills on Upwork and many other freelance platforms. She possesses top-notch experience in crafting SEO-rich content. She also belongs to a pool of writers, showcasing their skills via clearvoice.com. Ayorinde believes in helping her clients achieve note-worthy results for their business through quality writing. You can follow Ayorinde on Twitter.