The 5 Major Reasons Behind Freelance Failure

The 5 Major Reasons Behind Freelance Failure

Nobody has ever started a business with the intention of failure. No traveler wishes to stop his or her journey halfway. The first thing that comes to the mind of your freelancer is success. You cannot decide to get into the freelance marketplace with the intention to fail. The Economists opine that the primary aim of every private business activity is profit and that's the truth. You didn't venture into freelancing for charity. Perhaps you have been struggling with your finances and you believe that freelance will make you better. That's a very good ambition! You probably have heard so much about freelancing from other people both offline and online. Their success stories motivated you into joining the freelance community and that's really commendable. However there's a question for you. Have you prepared to succeed as a freelancer? It's really sad how many freelancers do not take this question seriously. I met a young man who recently joined freelance. When I asked him this question, he laughed so hard that he even had tears in his eyes. I was confused because I hadn't said anything out of the ordinary. When he was calm, I asked him what was funny about my question. In response, he started another round of laughter. I literally felt like the ground should open up and swallow me because I was honestly embarrassed to say the least. When he was done laughing, he asked me the most rhetorical question. This was his question - do you think I will venture into freelancing to fail? It was at this junction that I realized that I really needed to write an article like this. Every freelancer says that he or she wants to succeed but not many freelancers are even prepared to succeed. The most sad part is that many freelancers keep doing things that put them on the path to failure.

In this article, I intend to talk about some of the major causes of freelance failure. In fact, I want to categorically let everyone reading this piece know that many freelancers have positioned themselves to fail from the very day they joined freelance. This is the reality that is not talked about well enough. More often than not freelancers fail as a result of their own actions and inactions. This is where it gets very interesting. Let's quickly look at the five major causes of freelance failure below. 

1.Inability To Realize That You Need To Prepare To Succeed

There's a common saying that when you fail to prepare, then you have prepared to fail. This adage is most applicable in freelance. There is no dormancy in freelance; it is either you are doing well or you are not doing well. Freelance does not allow for lukewarmness; you must be either hot or cold. You cannot get into freelancing with the mindset of trial and error. No! In the world of freelance, you must be very intentional. If you want to succeed as a freelancer, be very intentional about it and prepare for it. Freelance does not also condone assumptions. Don't assume that you are supposed to succeed since you have ventured into freelancing. No my dear! It doesn't work that way here. Once you are unable to realize the fact that you need to prepare for freelance success, then you have joined the path of freelance failure. So as a freelancer who's interested in becoming successful, you must first have the mindset of preparation to succeed. I always tell people that successful freelancing starts from the mind. Your mindset is your most dependable tool for success. If you do not want to fail, then realize the need to prepare for success. 

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2. Inability To Actually Prepare To Succeed

While it is paramount to realize the need to prepare for freelance success, you must also know that you have to follow up your realization with action; and that action is actual preparation. If I have realized how hungry I get at exactly 12 noon everyday and I choose not to do anything about it, will the hunger be taken care of? Absolutely not! As much as it is good to know the right thing, getting it done is better. The Holy Book emphasized this when it says " to him that knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin". You will fail as a freelancer when you don't start making the preparations needed to succeed. There are very many important things every freelancer must know and do. Your duty is to find out what these things are and do them. A land lying fallow cannot produce any crop the same way a latent knowledge is useless. To prove you actually know is to apply what you know. Don't sit down waiting for manna to fall from heaven because you have realized that manna can fall. Get busy doing something. Since you have ventured into freelancing and you intend to succeed, then start doing those things that can make your freelance success possible. The inability to prepare for freelance success is one of the major reasons many freelancers keep struggling and hitting rock bottom.

3. Half Preparation

Some freelancers never complete any training they enrol for. Some freelancers will always learn skills halfway. This is just as good as having not prepared at all. Half preparation has eaten deep into the fabrics of most freelancers. This is another reason many freelancers are experiencing failure regularly. If you want to do something, you must be ready to finish it. Don't ever start anything and leave it halfway. That's the attitude behind the failure of many freelancers. It is good to prepare to succeed as a freelancer by attending workshops, symposiums and training, learning skills, studying relevant materials and the rest of them. It is better to finish them too when you start. Once you leave any preparation halfway, then you haven't prepared at all. Sometimes freelancers get stuck doing a job they could have easily finished if they had gotten the full knowledge needed to accomplish such a task. Be informed that incomplete knowledge is no knowledge at all. When you do things halfway, then you will fail in freelance. Sadly, there are freelancers who do clients' jobs halfway and expect to get paid. Isn't that laughable?

4. Procrastination And Indecision

Time for a freelancer is worth more than gold. When you keep postponing what you should do, then you are wasting your time and chances of success. The problem of lack of time management and inability to take decisions at the right time will undermine your chances of succeeding in freelance. Every freelancer must never waste time in making decisions. If you have a book to read, read it immediately. If you have a client's job to deliver, start it already. If you have training to attend, don't miss it for anything. That's the right attitude for success in freelancing. Most freelancers fail because they do not take decisions when they need to. A typical freelancer bound for failure keeps wondering why and when to do what he or she has to do instead of doing them already. Such freelancers will always wait till the last minutes before trying to do something they should have done earlier. This is the surest way to fail. Don't tow this path if you are interested in becoming a successful freelancer. Failure in freelance is not different from the outcome of indecision and procrastination.

5. Wrong Decisions

The decisions every freelancer must make include; decisions on the right freelance platform to practice, decisions on relationships with other freelancers, decision on freelance niche, decision on payment options, decision on clientele base and so many other decisions. It is essential that a freelancer learns to make the right decision. For a freelancer to succeed, he or she must identify with the right freelance platform which is no other than UpMyChain. When you make this right decision by joining UpMyChain freelance marketplace, then you have started on the path to success. Choose your niche wisely by taking your best skills into consideration. Ensure you weigh the pros and cons of every decision before taking them. Wrong decisions have led to the most failure in freelance. You must be vigilant to ensure you do not make decisions that will jeopardize your chances of succeeding in freelance. Whenever you make any wrong decision, freelance failure will begin to stare you in the face. Be very careful.

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Easy Answers

  1. Inability to realize that you need to prepare to succeed
  2. Inability to actually prepare to succeed
  3. Half preparation
  4. Procrastination and indecision
  5. Wrong decisions

You have taken another step towards moving away from freelance failure and into freelance success by reading this piece to the end. If you found this article helpful, do well to leave a comment using the comment box below. Do have a freelance career free from failure and full of success. 

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