September 30, 2013

Keeping in touch with your clients even after completion of the project

It is easy to keep in touch in today’s world. There are more ways to be in touch than to be away, from people. So why not continue association with someone who has employed you for some time? It is important to keep in touch with past employers. Especially for freelancers who have been on a project for a longer period of time, say six months.

To find ways to be in touch is not difficult. There are ample opportunities that present itself for such a situation. Freelancers can take this opportunity to inform clients about the new things they have learnt. They may also talk about some prestigious projects undertaken. Talking about your achievements will create a positive picture in the minds of the client about you.

After completing a job well, don’t you think that your earlier employers should know what you are up to? You may update them in many ways. One such way is to occasionally give a courtesy call to the employer. You may have a casual chat with the contact point and inform him about what you are up to. You may also update him a bout you latest achievements.

There are networking sites like LinkedIn where you could update your latest projects, learning, interests etc. This gives you visibility. Not only past employers but also future recruiters who are looking for people who have talents like yours, are able to see your work profile.

If you have a website that publishes your work, you have visibility in the web as well. You may promote your website on social network sites. There are ways to advertise your work well. News letters can be a medium through which you may publicize your work. It is used by many to keep the clients updated on their work profile use this mode.

Well, that said, why is it important to be in touch? Keeping touch can be a follow up of what has transpired earlier. Hence, it need not necessarily be on work related matter and meetings. It can be a regular exercise you do, to exchange information or ideas or just casual chat. It further leads to more work from potential clients who were also past employers.

Always remember to appreciate the client for giving you an opportunity. This is another strategy that could earn you brownies. Clients will appreciate that you remembered them. Sending them a New Year gift or a Christmas gift as a token of appreciation will have an impact on their view about you and how you maintain professional relationships.

Remember to invite your clients to promotional events that you are participating in. This could be in the form of a trade meeting or a community event that you are using as a platform to promote your skills or product. The clients will have an opportunity to attend the event and also view some interesting products and promoters as well. This way you are extending good will to both the client and others around.

Sponsorship of events is another way to promote your business. While clients may have sponsorship requirements, you may take up this opportunity to meet more people from the client’s side as well as other participants who might be interested in your work.

While all the above are mandatory, there is no comparison to the occasional face to face meeting that you might want to have with the client. This may not be a true professional meeting, but these meetings could turn out to be great relationship building exercise that will benefit both parties. You could deliver some important facts and figures while you are at it. This could make you an integral part of your client’s contact list.

Refer your clients to prospective business contacts as well. This way you are opening up another channel for mutual help. The client may also appreciate the fact that you are extending support to them. Refer good people to them who might be of mutual help. Remember, what goes around come around. You never know when you will get a similar help from people you have been in business with.

Ultimately, it is these small gestures that will pave way for greater things to happen in future. All individuals great or small will reciprocate the good will shown to them. The results may turn out to be amazing experiences that one can never forget. Or they may just promote your work and business to higher levels ensuring your success.

K Saravana Kumar

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September 12, 2013

Consistency in work delivered is important

What is consistency in work? It is the ability to apply the same level of performance through out your work without any compromise on quality. Consistent excellence in work will benefit the freelancer. The time frames used for completion and the quality of the work benefits the freelancer getting him more and more work from his employers.

But, when it comes to freelancing why is consistency important? Many times the employers do not see you face to face. Hence, consistency in work is the only way, they can identify with you. They form opinions about you, based on the quality of work you deliver. There are no other measurement techniques applied. It is only consistency in work that will speak volumes about you and your professional capabilities.

Consistency also means accountability. So when there is no one to monitor your activities, you need to prepare your day to day work constructively and deliver results. This enables you to develop responsibility towards your work. Appropriate actions taken at appropriate time schedules will ensure success in work.

How can one develop consistency? Rewarding yourself for work well done is a method used to develop your own self –respect, and pride about the work you do. It takes a great deal of patience to develop the level of consistency that a client or an employer expects. The only way to achieve this is to have a super will power. Getting things done against all odds and rewarding yourself for each achievement will see you good towards your travel for perfection.

Another factor that helps develop consistency is the rules that you set for yourself. Every time you adhere to your set rules, you are accomplishing your set standards. Every time you accomplish, you are nearer to the point of consistency in your career graph. So, have rules that are accomplishable yet smart so that you can adhere to it and notch up the consistency mark.

Consistency also generates confidence in your mind about the work you do. This confidence will see you through many projects. Confidence helps you realize that whatever happens, you will scrape through well with the help of this quality called consistence. It will instill in you, the ability to survive adverse conditions at work.

Will power is also a quality that helps you with the consistency factor. When you have a strong will power to get things done when circumstances are adverse, it is consistency playing its role well. It helps you to do your work at a great speed. With consistency, you develop expertise in work. This means you are able to complete your work faster.

Hiccups are bound to occur while you try to be consistent at work. But these are only temporary. The harder you attempt overcoming them the greater is your success. Sustain on your attempts to be consistent. You may feel pressurized at times. But you will succeed with great will power. Once you have tasted success, you will want to continue being better.

Let us look at another aspect of being consistent. While being consistent is good, one has to be realistic about the goals set. Anything and everything is not achievable by just being consistent. There should be strategic plans that will guide you to doing a task. Such plans will enable you to know whether you will be successful in an attempt or not.

There are quite a few more things that could be written here on consistency. But the message is that while you work, focus on the job at hand, and also adhere to consistency in quality. This should be sufficient to help you run your business ethically and to earn good will of the clients. Keep your mark on the consistency graph and ensure that it peeks with experience. Do not allow your mark of consistency on the graph to go down at any cost.

K Saravana Kumar

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September 11, 2013

Updating your skills – Freelancers

A freelancer thrives in an environment full of various skills. That is precisely the reason why he has chosen freelancing. He feels at home in a breeding ground of such skilled people. Else, he would be elsewhere working on a mundane job. It is his confidence in his skill sets that has leaded him to choose freelancing as a career.

A freelancer is often a big dreamer. He will have dreams of being successful. Dreams in which he will see himself as a successful business man running his own freelancing unit. There are very creative dreamers as well. Those dreamers, who read this and identify themselves with this role, will have more to add to this statement.

Let us continue with an intention of success, to everyone who reads this. Let us also peep into the pre-requisites that will enable freelancers realize their dreams. First and foremost, a freelancer should know why he is doing the job, which he is doing, as a freelancer.

Freelancers who consciously choose their particular jobs, knows how to go about it, is confident of delivering the work well and knows his strengths and weaknesses. He will know if the project is favorable or not, to him. He will know exactly how much effort needs to go in.

But at times, freelancers are at a loss to understand why they are doing a particular kind of job. To overcome this sense of deficiency a freelancer has to update him frequently on all the topics that summons his interest.

Learning is essential for a freelancer. It may be through work or through colleagues or by any other means including training classes. Individual learning again, can be diverse, ranging from the core subject matter to personal development. Advantages of meaningful learning are that the freelancer is full of information required for his work. Day to day situations that he may face also helps him with informal learning. These lessons, each freelancer has to identify and inculcate within him.

Learning is easiest while teaching others. A freelancer who has the knowledge can offer to impart his knowledge to teach others. The students may have new ideas and questions to ask. The freelancer gets an opportunity to learn while answering those questions. Teaching is the best way to learn as it helps further your knowledge, and gives a foundation that is stronger. Teaching can open up new avenues that you can explore to pursue your interests.

Good people are a boon to be around. Since freelancers do not get an opportunity to work with a team of members, they are isolated, except when they work as part of teams. So when there is an appropriate opportunity, for a freelancer to work with good people, the suggestion is to grab it. You may find people who can be your role models, especially, with regard to their approach to life and work. People who do work with a good attitude and also teaches you lessons that are worth learning, without offending you. Friends and mentors and bosses and peers, who will hand hold you and groom you, bringing happiness around. People who can get work done!

While working with good people it is also important that we have to change ourselves a bit. We should learn to take criticisms, both positive and negative. Work on the positive criticism and improvise on the work that we do. Positive criticism coming from people worth listening to, and learning from it is a boon. Only well meaning people will give you criticism worth working on.

Take on new challenges as part of your learning. You may inform your team that these are not your core strengths, but attempt to work at it and do a good job. There are times when you are in the right mental frame work; and the attempts that you make bring positive results. When this happens, you know that it is worthwhile doing another attempt and try to hone your skills further. Freelancers are lucky to get openings where the client is willing to experiment with their talent. If you a lucky person, you will find the right kind of person to give you the right opening.

Last but not the least is the inspiration and motivation that one has, which helps you to learn by yourself. It is essential that one has the motivation and inspiration to learn more. Only when the passion comes from within, can a person go about learning new and more beneficial things. One has to align the instructions received, the practice he has had and the assessment of the job at hand, and connect these thus enabling one to benefit from what he has learnt.

K Saravana Kumar

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September 9, 2013

Points to remember – for the first time freelancer

A person who does freelancing for the first time may go through many emotions and decision making tendencies. It is alright to try freelancing even if you have a regular work. The key is in the passion one has to pursue his or her interests. If the freelancer has a passion for the work he is involved in, he may see success very soon.

Combined with passion is the enthusiasm to get work and do the same effectively. Enthusiasm sparks creativity as well. So another most important trait required for a first time freelancer is enthusiasm to follow through and get work done.

Self discipline is another trait most people need to work on. For a freelancer this is essential as he is not reporting to anyone while at work. So he has to be on time for work, continue to work for the stipulated hours and bring out results with out supervision.

Balancing both personal front and professional front is a challenge that first timers face, it is important to k now how to balance your personal and professional life, especially when you do not travel out of home for work.

Money management is difficult for a first timer, unless the experience is good. So be lenient and learn the ropes of freelancing before you demand great rewards. There may be too much competition around. But cleverness does not pay for the first timer, as you will have to work and prove yourself.

Look at the community near you. You may find initial opportunities coming in from there. This community will help you in your professional and will also demand something in return. So go ahead and be a part of the mutually helpful community that you live in. Market yourself in your community by joining in for other voluntary efforts and you will be popular. Popularity instantly earns you the rewards, and people might just start referring you for more work.

Create portfolios that will help you reach other once you are established. Web pages or even good advertisements will earn you a lot of exposure. Let us not even mention the benefits if word of mouth publicity. Money should be the last criteria when you freelance. Charge less in the beginning. Once you get to be the expert you may quote your prices and be confident that you will for sure be successful.

Ongoing contracts may have a few lessons to offer. Try to learn as much as possible from your assignments. Once the learning is over, the rest will follow in line. But do not have too many to do in one go. If you are doing one project, give your complete attention to it. Distractions affect the quality of work. So, if you are a part-timer and want to freelance as well, be sure to deliver to the best of your abilities.

Freelancers need to be brave. There are times when you will not have any project in hand. You may be constantly looking for a job. Other times you will have your days full with work. Both ways are dreadful and hence one has to prepare for extreme eventualities. Be prepared to work hard when there is lot of work coming your way. And have a strong emotional capability to handle days when projects are not so forthcoming.

Another factor that you will not have control over is what the client will say about you. Some may give a positive feedback and some may not. As a first timer try to remember that your reaction also matters. So accept criticism and move on. Where the positives are said, appreciate, and thank the client.

Keep in mind that your skills have to speak louder than your voice. Hence, concentrate on doing a better job each time. Big companies will give you more exposure. Be sure to charge them fairly. Big companies can also cause you losses, if they do not like your work.

Learn to handle competition that exists among freelancers. Your networking skills will help you here. Improve your entrepreneurial skills and you will be able to go a long way.

The factors mentioned above are the major challenges a freelancer is bound to face while at work. But as your experience increases, you may have to overcome more and more challenges on the personal front. This may be in the form of health issues, or owning your business, hiring people and expanding your horizons. On the professional front, some of the challenges pertaining to knowledge will grow less as you will be an expert as time flies. Let me wish you a good time ahead!

K Saravana Kumar

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September 8, 2013

Keep your spirits high even if you don’t succeed the first time

Failures are stepping stones to success. So, as a freelancer, if you do not succeed at first, try again. Freelancing is no exception when it comes to failures and successes. One has to have the fire in him to surpass these failures and come out successfully. Failures as such do not wait to pounce on you. You need to know that failure is around the corner, when things don’t come up the way they have to. And need to take corrective action immediately.

What is the reason for your failure? This is the first question one may ask himself. Look at yourself and determine why you have failed. If you are not sure, ask your client. Ask friends who know your work. They will have a better idea.

Once you get to know the reasons, work on them. Work on the weak areas which need attention. Sometimes your over confidence needs to be brought down. Anyways do your self appraisal and you will know where you have faltered.

Another question you need to ask is whether you or another party caused your failure. Reasons for the failure could be many. You may have been in the picture and involved in a small way. Is the failure because of non availability of resources or any other factor that was not in your control? Then you do not have to take the blame. Things beyond your control really do not matter.

But if the failure was due to your incompetence, assess the factors that caused the incompetence. Assess what more you could do. Assess the kind of help you should have asked for. Assess the amount of help you should have taken from others and other resources.

If it was due to lack of knowledge, assess if you really would like to work on that area again. If yes, upgrade knowledge by going for a course. Crash courses are available. But choose the one which will provide you with good knowledge on the subject. Check if the teachers are qualified to help you further upgrade. If yes then it is the right place to go to.

Ask the right questions to understand why this failure happened. More over it is important not to play the blame game. Accept feedback in good manner. Accept what needs improvement and there you will be among the best again after a few months and years.

Once you have, upgraded skills approach you employer. He may give you another chance. Most of them would like to work with familiar personnel than go for newer freelancers each time. So make sure you upgrade your knowledge and continue accepting feedback to improvise and improve.

Was it your kind of work? This is another question worth to think about. Was it your area of expertise? If not, move away. If you still want to continue with it, upgrade skills. You may choose to move away in to a lateral field as well. As a freelancer, there are ample opportunities available to showcase skills that relates with each other. You have to have the determination to learn yourself. Self help is important at times because it will stand you in good stead with your employer. Basically, you do not have to cry out for help at every given opportunity.

If failure was due to lack of resources, get help to research, and make resources available. At least for your next assignment these resources will be helpful. These resources can be page marked and filed so that they are always at your hands length whenever required. Availability of resources cannot be a reason for failure these days as enough and more resources are available at the press of a few buttons. But to choose amongst the best and most suited needs intelligence and discrimination.

Friends can provide you with great inputs. Do you home work on the work assigned. You may take hours to formulate your strategy on getting work done. But all that matters is not the time spent, but the quality of output given.

Failure is opportunity to begin again. It points the way to success. Begin your work more efficiently and logically and you are sure to succeed.

K Saravana Kumar

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September 7, 2013

Keeping your communication channels open

Keeping communication channels open is an integral part of the feedback sessions that I have written about earlier. It is common that not all feedbacks get replies or action is taken. There may be areas where required action is pending and hence the freelancer is unable to carry on with his work.

There are always cases pending for action, in a project. These need tracking and communication regarding this has to go forth to concerned authorities, to enable closure of such cases. Communications on these may prove to be of good use while we rush through the daily commitments.

Communication channels are useful when people procrastinate over small issues which otherwise are sorted out faster. Open communication channels allow you to raise issues at work to people in the line of command to resolve issues. Resorting to such open communication helps increase efficiency at work.

Where the answers to questions and feedback are insufficient, one may resort to other modes of communication, for information, along the line of reporting. If a person you are in contact with is not able to provide sufficient information, you may approach another person who could provide more information on the topic concerned.

Where the information is unclear, and the freelancer is unable to make sense of the information, it is only right to ask for more clarity. This happens only through open channels of communication. So if your regular contact is not aware of means to provide any more clarity, than already available, you may approach another source and so on.

Proper steps on approaching an issue forms after proper communication on the nature of the issue happens. Each step that needs attention will have a definite number of processes that needs completion. A freelancer is able to do it only after consulting appropriate sources through communication channels provided.

Probing is an art of asking for information and expectations. A person with good communication skill can easily probe and get the information required. Even while going through the initial stage of the project a person, with good skills, can probe and understand the situation he is in very quickly. But probing is possible only with easier accessible channels for communication.

Where there are issues of online access to portals, to access information of the company, the view that a freelancer gets may differ from that of a regular employee. As such, information displayed will be limited and hence feedback communication has to go to get the issue resolved and the proper content made available.

Hiccups in technology used almost certainly crops up in freelancing. If there is more than one person involved in the project, the time and availability of technology available to each may vary. Hence, it is important to have everyone on the same level of understanding, for the project to function properly and for knowledge sharing and communication. Where this is not happening, communication channels should open up to make this happen.

Errors in the work outline may pop up when knowledge sharing is completed. So the initial drafts may require reworking, to suit the need of the client and for the final output to clearly emerge. What is critical here is to have a good communication marathon to happening in order to assess the short falls and to have the project going in full swing.

Error in the processes and templates can gain attention only when communication is open. Errors in the process templates and development template pop out while we are at work. These need immediate attention and hence a communication channel for immediate access is required at times.

To sum it up, it is mandatory that any employer or organization outsourcing their work has a good method or process in place for communication. They may use various available methods to effectively get their freelancers to talk to them and gain their respect as well. This will pave way for better working relationship and greater output at work.

K Saravana Kumar

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September 6, 2013

Freelancing – Your feedback about the task matters

Freelancer will always have a whole lot of feedback about the job at hand, which needs the attention of the employer. The effort required in researching the subject of work is the first in the list. Apart from secondary sources, which are easily accessible, the project may require inputs from primary sources. There are quite a few primary sources, available, for reference. The freelancer should quickly access the correct source needed for completion of work and provide feedback on requirements to complete the job.

The time required for research gets a mention in the feedback. Even while you zero in on the correct source material, the appropriate content required from the source material to finish the job should be available. There are times when the content on the work is available, but details thereof to complete a specific area with right inputs are missing. Certain times, there are innumerable inputs available on a certain topic, but when it comes to suitability, they may seem improper, for the work in hand. In short, the answers that need an explanation may not feature, in these sources. Here the freelancer has to go back to the client asking for sources of reference.

Then comes the time frame provided by the client, for research on topics. While employers provide few days or hours ahead of work schedule for research, this may not suffice. The freelancer may require more time, solely due to the nature of the subject of work. These are times when the employer need to get to know that more time is required for research as the subject in hand is complex. Accordingly, the time lines for the project changes.

Once the initial research is over, it is time to prepare the draft or the shell of the project. This will include designs and content or even codes required for the project. This may take less or more time, depending on the complexity and detailing required. Accordingly, the employer needs to get intimation.

Another aspect which needs feedback, critically and in time, is the need for more funds. The funds usually feature in the remuneration, or on a case to case basis, as and when required, whichever is convenient. Half way through the project if the freelancer realizes the need for more funds, due to the complexity of the project, then the same needs immediate attention and communication, lest the freelancer suffers losses.

Projects require resources of varied nature. This may be in form of manpower or things. The freelancer has to keep tab of what is required, at every point of development, to correctly estimate the resources required. More resource as appropriate will save the day for the freelancer.

Often, the freelancer cannot proceed beyond a certain stage due to lack of expertise. These areas identified earliest, needs communication to ensure that the project is wound up at the appropriate stage and handed over to the Subject Matter Expert who can continue to work till completion.

Whenever there are areas where specific, knowledge is required, this knowledge transfer is done either by SME or any other expert. On receiving feedback, employers can arrange sessions for knowledge transfer and sharing to effectively clarify doubts. Some of the specifics may be technical in nature, which will require a demonstration. The advanced technology of today enables a freelancer at a remote corner of the world, to get a demo of the required knowledge base through video conferencing and other means.

Where the means used for knowledge sharing is insufficient, there are alternate methods which are available and used. A freelancer can capitalize on the blessings of modern technology. The freelancer should be able to suggest and give feedback on what exactly he is looking for so as to enable appropriate means of sharing knowledge. For example when the specifics are not clear during a telecom, then the freelancer can suggest a meeting through video conferencing or even net meeting.

Certain technologies used in other countries may not be familiar to the freelancer. Such situations warrant, an overview of the technology and the processes in use, in that country, together with the country map and areas covered.

Similarly, some of the verbiages used in context vary with each English speaking country. The freelancer has to be aware of such verbiages and can write on back for inputs from the employer. This helps in avoiding confusion or miscommunication while preparing the final output.

Bigger corporations outsourcing work have their websites to provide all the information required. A freelancer who is an outsider may not have access to all the pages on the website of the company. Hence, a feedback can be in the form of a request for access to pages which have crucial information pertaining to the project. It is always good to remember that, the better the feedback, the better the output.

K Saravana Kumar

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September 5, 2013

Understanding the expectations of the client

What is client expectation? If you ask the client, the answer will vary from one client to another. Certain clients may expect you to deliver his work within stipulated time frames and will be keen on keeping with deadlines. Some others may only expect good quality work from you, irrespective of time frames.

So how do you manage the client’s expectations? There are quite a few circumstances that bring up varied experiences on client expectations while working with a wide spectrum of clients. The key to managing expectations is to have a plan and a back up plan for all situations that you may foresee a crisis. However, there are also unforeseen crisis, which one has to prepare for.

If there is a crisis or if there is good news, let your client know immediately. This way he will be confident that you will get back to him, whatever the situation you are in. Let them know if you are away from work or if you are unable to complete your tasks. This should be part of your regular communication plan.

Whenever you are unable to complete the work as per schedule, offering workable solutions to help them, complete the work is a good way to manage client expectations. Guide them on how to complete the pending task or even recommend a few people who may be able to pitch in and save the situation.

Building good rapport helps when the deadline of a project needs extension, especially when the client is far away from you. At any stage, the rapport that you build will help, to even question certain decisions that the client may make. Many times the clients are willing to explain a certain stance or change, elaborating on how it is going to be beneficial for both parties involved.

Having said the above, most clients do not have any expectations around work hours, as far as freelancers are concerned. This because they are aware that freelancers do not abide strictly to the number of working hours due to their nature of work.

Most clients expect quality of work to be topnotch, when they outsource projects for freelancing. Output, irrespective of the number of working hours put in, has to comply very specifically with depth, class, quality, and accuracy. These, freelancers, have to keep in mind while doing his work. The expectation from the client here is a superior job that will earn a lot of appreciation.

There are situations where more than one person is coordinating, with you, for work. There may be three or four people who are co-coordinating with you over a particular work say development of a curriculum etc. Here the SMEs, trainers, managers, sales personnel etc will have their views shared over a telecom or meetings. It is important to filter information that is necessary and crucial to suit the developmental work, the most. The freelancer requires a lot of discriminatory ability to know what should go into the curriculum and what should not.

If the situation demands it from a freelancer, it is quite alright to stretch work hours and offer to do a few extra assignments. Going the extra mile will help you gain the good will of the client. You may gain valuable experience while doing these extra assignments. This need not be a habit but, a freelancer should make use of a proper opportunity to learn and get the extra edge over others.

Payment is an area where it is crucial to learn to negotiate. The client may not give in his expectations, but the freelancer can gently remind the client, the amount of work involved in order to complete the assignment thus justifying the charges. But there are certain times when the freelancer can push for charges, for extra work especially, when the work is well over that mentioned in the contract. Whether the freelancer is a tax payer needs factoring in as well. It is advisable to keep in mind that, if much of technical complexities are involved, then, it is only right to charge a steep amount. This way you are ensuring fair treatment as well. And you save the client from being unreasonable.

Last but not the least is something that you, as a freelancer, could do to manage your client’s expectations. Always over deliver while you may promise something less. This way the client will be delighted at the effort put in and will also want to reward you for your efforts. So then, what is that we need to promise? Always promise in line with results expected from you. However, when it comes to output, over deliver and do that little excess to delight the client.

As and when you keep growing in your area of expertise, it is good to give valuable suggestions to clients who are looking for it. This way you act as a freelancer and a consultant as well. The client will then have a one stop shop where he will get all the solutions related to his work. This yet another method of managing client expectations.

K Saravana Kumar

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September 4, 2013

Freelancing – Understanding your project/task

Understanding the task at hand is as important as the knowledge one has to have about the project. The freelancer should know if his skills match with the skill requirement. For this, he may have to have exchanges through emails or through telephonic conversations.

A task that has been outsourced may appear to be simple at times. Such tasks will require only a basic talent from a freelancer to complete it. But at times, there will be hidden complexities associated with the same. Thus, it is always advisable to read through and understand the requirements before attempting to do a project.

When the project is technical in nature, one has to be confident that his or her exposure matches to the requirement of the project. Technical upgrades may vary from year to year. Newer versions of the older technologies are available each year and one has to keep updating on the new technology.

Freelancers who do work in software development need to be up to date with every new aspect of work. The client would want a use friendly interface to be developed. The idea might appear to be brilliant and simple. There will be no introduction manual at times. Understanding the project is of utmost necessity here.

Let us look at the numerous applications that are developed. Every year there are new applications that come into the market. The ones that are popular are the ones easy to operate. Those with too many complications may not survive. No one will take time to hunt down the ones that are difficult to use. The easier applications and the readily available applications have more takers. Freelancer may keep this in mind – What you produce need to user friendly, readily available and easy to use.

Reliability of your output is another factor that points to the understanding of the task. A person who has understood the task, and knows what has to be done, is able to churn out reliable work that will stand the test of time. When a transaction takes a longer time to for implementation, the one reason is lack of understanding among the people who are involved in implementing it. This lack of understanding among people further filters down to lack of understanding of the job itself.

For the freelancer, the best way to know if you have understood the task at hand is to reward your work completed. As and when you complete a work reward yourself and you will know that you are in line with what is expected.

What you have not understood after a discussion with the client needs writing down. This later requires discussion in a forum where you are in touch with experts in the matter. Mentors can also help in a very large way to implement these unresolved issues.

Many times, you may be a part of a larger project that would be break up in pieces and distributed amongst many freelancers. Sometimes you do not get the larger picture until you see the connection of your project to the larger work schedule. In such situations ask for a meeting where all the people involved are at one place and discuss the larger cause. This is give ample insight to the task on hand.

When a task fails to come up the way it has to come up create a back up plan. This can come with experience. Once you know how to create back up plans you would want to do away with them and have the taste of success the first time around.

Having a positive morale and attitude is important to understand the tasks given to you. Certain work may be stressful and you need to motivate yourself about your capability to deliver the work well.

Understanding what goes first also is vital for success. Every freelancer who understands his task will know what goes first. For example, some who write a story for children will have to know the age group of the target audience first. They need to know the background of the target group. Then he should know the language the children will speak and read. The moral that has to reach the target group and the emotions that make the story fall in place. Finally, any input to make the story interesting for a child is clearly made note of. Some marketers would also ant their part to be taken care of – the story should sell!

K Saravana Kumar

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September 3, 2013

Freelancing Projects – Breaking up the tasks in your project

Breaking up projects into simpler tasks will enable one to finish the tasks at hand efficiently. How do we go about breaking up the tasks? It is necessary to identify the specific goals, for the project first, to know how to go about breaking up the tasks. Some of the important tasks in your project will be as mentioned under.

Time schedules: Time schedules needs identification and compliance. Time bound activities are marked off and highlighted. Those subtasks will get priority over others. A project will have specific dates as time lines and a project sheet would clearly demarcate these time lines indicating when and how each tasks needs completion.

Management of the project is the next step. This has to have the predefined objectives mentioned clearly. In short, project management will include all those tasks or steps that we are discussing here. It includes planning and control techniques of the project aiming at efficient completion. There are various tools one can use to achieve their goals, depending on the ability to manage the complexity of the project in hand.

Budgeting is the most important step in a project that will take up most of the time, during the initial stages of a project. A freelancer has to pay careful attention to budgeting. All the tasks involved in the project need accurate measurement while budgeting. Unless the budgeting planned and controlled, the project cost may become too high and unaffordable. Then the project becomes ambitious in nature and may end up shelved.

Process oriented and project oriented reporting structure is worked out to enable the project to run like well oiled machine. All functions needs separation into manageable tasks and sub-tasks and reported on for a project cannot run effectively. The breakdown of tasks provides a structure to the project which builds into small definable goals to achieve end result. Only controlled reporting can give control and insight on how well a project is faring.

Execution of the processes identified for execution needs monitoring as per requirements. This will involve collaborating with every individual involved in the project. Deliverables are monitored to ensure that the project on time lines. This includes acquiring and distributing information required for the project. Direction is required while executing the project.

Monitoring the project is another aspect that needs ample time. This includes measuring an ongoing activity against the baseline that was determined for the project. Identifying error and putting the effort back into bringing the corrective measure also is involved. Where ever there is, a flaw, they need identification and change after approval. This again should not affect the basic goal of the project.

Risks involved in a project needs assessment as well. This is possible by monitoring each of the tasks and the reporting in details. Hence, it is important for a freelancer to have exposure to all these simultaneously.

It is common to come across gaps wile doing a particular project. How do we identify such gaps? Some of them may not be gaping and will require an expert to identify them. So while on a project it is advisable to have continuing updates on the progress from all quarter. This will enable a person to easily identify his flaws, which will in turn affect his work and the project at the end.

Once the project nears completion, many other aspects will determine the value of the work. One such is the effectiveness of the design. The deployment of the project for operations purposes of the business needs attention. The lesser the hiccups in this stage the better.

Closing of the project also involves a lot work. Training to people involved in operations is given. Any error that is noted is worked upon on a regular basis to ensure that the capability of the project is enhanced at every possible step.

K Saravana Kumar

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