When some people tell you that there are many freelance clients, they are not joking! Everyone has heard of Upwork, Crowded, Fiverr, Freelancer.ph, and other social media groups actively recruiting for new additions to their team everyday!
If you’re thinking of jumping to freelancing, the perfect time to do it is now.
Regardless if you call yourself as a freelancer, self-employed, consultant, and side-hustler, the fact that there’s a growing demand in freelancing never changes.
“I’m ready to be a freelancer. I’ve created an online profile. What should I do next?”
The next step is to be prepared with the types of freelance clients you will meet. Just like the common saying, there are good and bad clients along the way. Prepare yourself!
5 Types of Freelance Clients
Passionate Startup CEO
There’s no denying of the increasing startup ventures across the world. It doesn’t happen in the USA alone. There are startup businesses from UK, Australia, New Zealand, Scotland and others who wish to recruit global talents.
Most of these startup CEO are positive towards their business. They’re focused on using the investor’s fund towards establishing the brand instead of being conservative in their cash flow.
How do you know if you’re already working with a passionate startup CEO?
- Business has been established in less than 2 years.
- There’s no system yet for recruitment, service fee, and company organization.
- Client lets the workers decide on what or how tasks should be completed.
Are there any perks when working with startup CEO?
- Higher service fee compared to others;
- Flexible schedule and freedom to decide in completing tasks; and,
- Optimistic mindset of leaders.
They sound very promising, right? That’s the danger though. These clients may not stay long if the business doesn’t succeed. Hence, they can be for short-term gig only.
VA Manager
What do you mean by VA Manager? These are freelancers who recruit other freelancers. They capitalize on their good background and wide connections to get many tasks!
Then, they delegate the tasks to other new freelancers whose service fee is a bit lower than how much they get paid.
It’s so easy to identify VA Managers!
- They work with different freelance clients and offer various tasks.
- Tasks may vary from CSR, writing, typing, research, and recruitment.
- Service fee is usually per hour but may offer commissions especially for “rush” work.
Is it worth working with these clients? That’s a really good question! I recommend this client to new freelancers for the following reasons:
- Opportunities to learn new tasks;
- Exposure to different types of direct clients; and,
- Experience on how to handle VA Manager work for your future.
If you feel like you want a good experience in freelancing, this is for you! However, the service fee may be cut in 50% since they’re getting a commission or the rest of the actual fee. There’s nothing wrong with this! After all, they got the client!
Giant Player
Yep! Even big companies are working with freelancers. BPO or call center jobs in the Philippines is a perfect example of this client. They’re worth billion dollars but they see the importance of creating jobs in other countries.
Don’t you know that you can get hired for these jobs from the comfort of your home?
Should I work with the giant players? Please don’t hesitate to join their team especially if stability is what you’re looking for.
- They offer a stable job with long-term contract.
- It’s a work from home jobs with benefits and health card.
- There’s a standard policy and organization that you can follow.
They sound like the same with your corporate jobs, right? So, what are the possible challenges with this freelance client?
- Strict compliance with the company policies;
- Salary increase may not be as fast as others; and,
- Processing of requirements might take you 1-3 weeks to officially start working.
Although someone might end up getting bored with routine work, this is best for parents or professionals seeking stability.
Too Good to be True (Warning: Avoid these freelance clients!)
Have you ever heard of scams? Unfortunately, these happen to freelancing world too! More often than not, they’re too good to be true!
They start with a huge compensation package. They’re willing to pay you twice or thrice than what you get! After working and completing tasks, they are suddenly gone. You’re blocked and cut from their connections without getting any.
This is sad, isn’t it? Imagine not getting paid after your hard work. I experienced it too, and it was a stressful experience! Honestly, what I experienced is better compared to others.
There are some freelancers whose private details or info are being used for illegal transactions.
Virtual Mentor & Family Member
It’s a common story in freelancing word to have three or four clients at the same time. You might end up working with 20 but I do hope that you’ll be able to meet at least one treasure!
Who are they?
These are your clients who appreciate you and your work. They don’t treat you as workers but as family members. Do you have a family emergency? They’re willing to give you extra cash. Have you been recently married? They will love to send you sweet words.
There’s a touching story of a freelancer who got sick. Despite the client’s declared bankruptcy, he set up a fund account from his friends. The collected funds went straight as a financial aid to the freelancer.
Sure! There are many discouraging stories for you to join the freelancing community. But, there will always be pros and cons to whatever we do.
Learn from the negative experiences, and keep the positive ones! Most importantly, be better in whatever you do regardless of the type of freelance client you have! 🙂
