When I packed in the BBC seven months ago and began freelancing, I thought it’d be no more than a month before I tucked my tail between my legs and headed down to Grafton Recruitment. But somehow it — “it” being full-time freelancing — has worked out. Not only have I turned down three jobs since I began, but I’ve had a bloody good laugh and learned a hell of a lot.

But every rose has its thorn, right? I’ll be the first to admit I’m no expert at offering freelancing advice, but I hope a few things I’ve learned will assist you in setting up or optimizing your own shoppe…

6. Go with the gut.

If something doesn’t feel right — the pushy or clueless prospective client, the shady list of deliverables, etc. — it probably isn’t. I’ve turned down a fair share of projects based solely on the fact that something didn’t feel right at the outset, but I’ve also taken on a few without trusting my instinct. This leads to either wasting hour upon hour on a project you come to loathe, or worse yet wasting hour upon hour only to find that the client has high-tailed it to Mexico. If you can’t see the hook, don’t bite.

5. Do it now.

Think you’ll have time later to get around to something that could otherwise be done now? Think again. Bite the bullet, knock it out now, and avoid accumulating that inevitable, overwhelming stack of pending work. Especially with Flash or HTML work, things could go belly-up, so make room for mistakes that have yet to occur.

4. Promise consistency, deliver consistency.

It’s easy to exceed expectations the first time with a client, but extremely difficult subsequent times. Instead, analyse the deliverables as best you can, set reasonable expectations, word the contract accordingly, and then go give it your best shot. Clients will typically come to you for one or two specific reasons — they’ve been told you’ve got a great turn-around time, or they know you as someone who always puts out quality. So of you promise quality, deliver quality. Promise speed, then deliver speed. Whatever you excel in, be consistent at it.

3. Know your limits - especially when starting out

Just because you’ve recently learnt how to use Photoshop’s displacement filter creatively, or because you’ve recently completed your own set of graffiti fonts, doesn’t mean they’re ideal for job in hand. Don’t get over-excited, stick to what the client wants and don’t alienate the project from them. DO store what you’ve learnt for later use, it’ll come in handy somewhere down the line.

2. Don’t fuck with the taxman.

Set up a separate interest-bearing account strictly for taxes, and then deposit a percentage of revenue immediately upon receiving any payment. Your percentage will vary, but 30% is probably a safe place to start. If you’re studying while freelancing, don’t worry too much until you graduate, but keep enough aside as a precaution.

And the most important piece of advice I can offer?

1. Avoid ‘maintenance’ like the plague.

After completion of a project, a client may ask if you offer maintenance, for example adding a website, or updating a catalogue. This may seem like a cushy way to earn a few more bucks, but beware: the offer of maintaining work undertaken may lead to the client owning your ass. The site goes down through no fault of your own? Ring Ring. The client’s wife suddenly realises that she hates the logo’s font? Ring Ring. The client’s new employee want to re-do the whole catalogue and wants your ‘opinion’ on the matter? Ring ring. And more often than not, this work will be undertaken as ‘a favour’, or so the client says. Sure it’ll only take a few minutes. Yeah right.

The best job available is the one you can complete, hand over on disc or upload, then be free of the whole matter. Returning to the same client for a different job is fine-in fact, returning customers are the best way of building up a portfolio and a rep, and provide a steady income-but if at all possible, keep the job as cost-efficient and no-strings as you can. Don’t cut corners, make sure the finished effort is as refined and polished as possible, and there’ll be no need for the client to call on you in the future.

That’s all I gots so far, I’ll probably update the list as I learn along the way; and I hope this helps a few of you who’re thinking of heading down freelance alley. Keep focused, stay away from miniclip.com, and remember; “Great souls have wills; feeble ones have only wishes”.