Rebecca Davis
More than 30 percent of American adults currently do work for freelance clients. A good number of these adults learn that freelancing, like traditional jobs, has challenges. Picking the right freelance clients is a leading challenge that independent workers often face.

Work with top freelance clients

The sooner professionals get real about the challenges, the more they can reap ongoing freelancing benefits. For example, working with top freelance clients could be a way to set your own work hours, establish the location that you want to complete projects from and have the flexibility to change your pay rates and overall income. Working with freelance clients can also offer you opportunities to strengthen your entrepreneurial muscles and start building your own business.

Basic elements to look for in freelance clients include the clients’ credibility. In addition to conducting an online search on potential freelance clients, ask clients for referrals or references similar to how a traditional employer seeks references on people they are thinking about hiring. Unscrupulous people can easily create websites that mirror official company web pages and deceptively try to convince you that they started or work for a credible organization.

Be smart (not desperate) when sourcing for and accepting freelance clients.

Get paid by top freelance clients on time

This means that you perform your due diligence and make sure that freelance clients pay on time. Research the market to see what other freelancers earn by the hour or assignment. Align your rates similarly. Value yourself and your abilities, so you’re not underpaid.

Asking for constant edits is one way that freelance clients could try to push out the date that they pay you. For this reason, limit the number of edits that you will do per assignment without asking freelance clients to pay you more money.

Flexibility goes both ways

You’re not the only one who needs to be flexible for a freelancing gig to be rewarding. Freelance clients who you work with should also be open to your ideas and recommendations. Good freelance clients genuinely care about you.

For example, if you tell freelance clients that you are taking off during a holiday, your birthday or to vacation, good clients will generally work around your schedule. They won’t demand that you work on vacation or only take time off when they want you to.

An integral part of the team

The best freelance clients will make you feel like you’re an integral part of their team. Because you’re a freelancer, they won’t treat you like you’re an employee. You generally won’t receive paid benefits like company paid vacation and retirement benefits. However, good freelance clients will make you feel like you are a key part of their success.

They will complement your good works and express their appreciation for your projects that you work on for them. In fact, some freelance clients express more appreciation for work you do for them than traditional employers do.

Won’t keep you a secret

Add the right freelance clients to your roster and the numbers of organizational leaders who learn of you and your skills may expand. Good freelance clients aren’t afraid to let others know about you. In fact, they’re happy to share your contact information with other entrepreneurs they know who are looking for contractors to fill one-time or ongoing project needs.

You could also add the organizational names of good freelance clients that you work with to your online and print portfolios. Your portfolio is one of the resources that potential clients will look at before they decide to contract with you for work.