Managing Freelancers and Contractors

I wasn’t lazy. I was just distracted. (And I didn’t even realize it.) Tasks that should’ve taken 30 minutes dragged on for hours. Blank screens. Zero motivation. Endless scrolling. The problem wasn’t Time management. It was 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. Then one day, I stumbled upon a 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘶𝘮 article that listed a few unusual focus hacks. I tried them. Tweaked them to fit my life. Soon, I started showing up better. With clarity, not chaos. Here’s what worked for me - (If focus has been a struggle lately, this might just help.) 1. 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗮 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 We often chase vague goals — deadlines, KPIs, praise. But real energy comes when your work feels personal. One day, I was stuck on a complex analysis. No motivation. Then I pictured telling my mom what I did at work today. Her smile. Her pride. That image changed everything. Suddenly, it wasn’t just a task. It was something to be proud of. ➡ Ask yourself: “Who would I be excited to share this with?” Picture their face. Then start the work. 2. 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗴. 𝗢𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗽. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗶𝘁. It sounds odd, but looping one instrumental track helps me zone in. I use Shri Hanuman Chalisa – Instrumental. No lyrics. Just rhythm. In no time, my brain quiets down. The repetition becomes an anchor: “You’re working now. Stay here.” ➡ Pick a calm, lyric-free track. Hit repeat. Let it ground your attention. 3. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 2-𝗠𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸 Before starting a task, I set a 2-minute timer. No typing. No scribbling. Just look at the task. It’s like a warm-up for the brain. You’re letting your mind settle into the work, not crash-land into it. ➡ Try this tomorrow. Just 2 min of stillness before starting. You’ll be surprised how much smoother the task feels. 4. 𝗜 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗮 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘆𝗮𝗿𝗱 (𝘆𝗲𝘀, 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆) Every time I get distracted during work hours, I don’t fight it. I note it down in my phone’s Notes app. • An unfinished Udemy course • A half-watched YouTube video on AI agents • The novel I abandoned after Chapter 7 • A call I owe to a childhood friend It’s not about guilt — it’s about awareness. A quiet system that tells me: “This is not urgent. It can wait.” ➡ Create a “Graveyard” note. Every time your mind wanders, log it. Then return to your core task. The Result? I’m still a work in progress. But I’m sharper. Quieter. Less reactive. The Biggest Shift? Not in my schedule, but in how I protect my attention. REMEMBER - You don’t need more hours. You need fewer attention leaks. P.S. Which of these 4 hacks would you try first? 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘧𝘶𝘭 → 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬. LinkedIn Guide to Creating #big4 #lifestyle #productivity #timemanagement

I’ve had 4 legal battles since starting my business. Could I have avoided them? Probably. But to be honest, I didn't have the funds to pay a proper lawyer, or the network of founders to ask the right questions to. I don't want that to happen to you. Here are 5 clauses I put in my contracts that might help you protect your work, your business and most importantly.. your sanity ↓ #1 Non-cancellable, non-refundable contracts. This shouldn’t even be an issue if you qualify your clients properly. BUT if someone signs, onboards, and then ghosts? We still get paid. And so should you 🤗 #2 Immediate or short payment terms Most businesses accept 30-to 90-day payment terms. I don’t. You wouldn’t work for 3 months without pay—so why should your business? Cash flow is your business’s lifeline. Protect it. #3 While we’re on payment terms… Your contract should include: → Interest on late invoices. → A clause that stops work if invoices aren’t cleared. → A guarantee that if a client delays the project, you still get paid. Your time isn’t free! #4 Your IP stays YOURS. Anything we bring into the agreement at Klowt stays ours. Anything we create for you is yours. Simple. I once ran a training session, and the client recorded it—then tried to sell it behind a paywall. Now, our contract states a £10,000 fine per breach. (And for that particular case, per breach = per view. 😅) #5 Don't work with d*ckheads. This isn't a legal clause, more legal... advice? 🤣 If someone is giving you red flags in any way at the beginning of your relationship, do not work with them. This could include but not limited to: - Focusing on immediate ROI. - Cost or discounts being a primary concern. - Pushing for work to kick off before contracts or payments. - Reaching out at inappropriate times - or in inappropriate ways. - Delaying initial payments. Legally binding contracts are a good insurance policy, but they're lengthy and expensive to implement if you actually have to go to court. So the best LEGAL advice I can give you as a 2x founder is, don't work with d*ckheads. And learn from my mistakes. It's a lot cheaper than learning from your own... trust me 😂. Was this helpful? 💜 I write a 2x weekly newsletter for founders and freelancers on topics like this. Join us here: https://lnkd.in/ejDbD94R

Dear freelancers, This year, I need you to run your strictest programme yet. No more “let’s just see how it goes” energy. We’re moving like strict businesses. okurrr. Start here: 1/ Have contracts in place. Every time. 2/ Set communication hours. You’re not a 24/7 helpline. 3/ Stick to your T&Cs. Boundaries are part of the service. 4/ Take deposits. Your calendar is not a free holding space. 5/ If a potential client is giving you the runaround, run away. 6/ Get clear on the scope before you start. “Can you just…” will finish you. 7/ Don’t undercharge yourself just to “secure the bag.” Cheap clients are rarely low stress. BUT. By doing all this, you also need to make sure your service is matching the standards you’re setting. Professionalism isn’t one-sided. So also: ✨ Deliver on time. Or communicate early. ✨ Make the process smooth, not stressful. ✨ Overcommunicate progress so clients feel secure. ✨ Take pride in the details; quality is your reputation. ✨ Leave clients feeling like they made the right investment. This isn’t just about helping yourself. It helps the whole freelance community. When you undercharge, overdeliver for free, ignore contracts, or move messy, it lowers the standard for everyone else trying to run a serious business. We can be kind. We can be flexible. But we cannot be unserious. Yours sincerely, A seasoned freelancer

If you're a freelancer who invoices client, read this. If you hire a freelancer who sends you invoices, also read this. When you hire a freelancer, generally they give you their all. That means turning away other paying work so that they can do your job, often going above and beyond to do your work, and sometimes doing the work before you've paid them very much at all (I would hope that you're paying your freelancers at least a deposit, but I know that not every freelancer works this way). And this is the time of year when freelancers also have to realise that they're probably taking one or two weeks off over Christmas which means THEY DON'T GET PAID FOR THEIR TIME and probably won't be invoicing either. So if you have an invoice from a freelancer sitting in your inbox, on its way to or with accounts, or maybe not even due until later this month, do a good thing. PAY IT NOW. Even if it's not quite due, or you think you could get away with not paying until after Christmas. It really is the best Christmas gift you could give them. Trust me on this one. 🎁🎁🎁 If you're a freelancer and an invoice is overdue (and you're in the UK) then PLEASE go and read up on Late Payment Fees. You are entitled to charge them from when an invoice is one day overdue, and also add an admin fee for doing so. It's simple to do, and there's a handy website to help you calculate the fees and help with the wording here https://lnkd.in/eSdaVqYQ If you have an invoice that is overdue, reissue that invoice including the fees, and resend it now. Explain that the interest is charged daily, so every time you have to send a new one, there are more fees being accrued.  I know it's hard to do, but so is having to spend Christmas worrying about overdue invoices. I know, I've done it.  I am extremely lucky that I've only had to do this once in the last few years, but it worked, and now is an integral part of my contracts. I don't often ask this, but as my reach on here has been awful the last few weeks, and I really do want as many freelancers as possible to see this, please could you comment and repost (if you think your audience would benefit) this post? Let's get as many freelancers as possible paid before Christmas!

Early Stage founder: “We need help NOW but can't afford full-time hires." Finding and managing the right freelancers is a common challenge at that stage. But after helping 50+ startups, I've identified a systematic way to de-risk it: 🎯 Start with strategy, not hiring: → Map your desired outcomes clearly → Document the specific steps needed to get there → Identify which skills are truly core vs. supportable → Leverage your network for referrals (still the best source) → If no referrals, go to platforms like Upwork and Fiverr ✅ Vet and validate: → Review portfolios and past startup work → Ask exactly how they might use LLMs in their workflow → Set crystal-clear deliverables and success metrics → Cap initial test assignments at £500 → Track which freelancers consistently deliver quality work → Document detailed feedback to improve collaboration 📈 Scale thoughtfully: → Begin with high-impact, low-product-knowledge tasks → Create repeatable processes for successful projects → Develop freelancers' understanding of your business → Focus your core team on strategic innovation → Build your trusted talent network gradually If you can't identify the right freelancers because your path to success isn't clear, a senior advisor or fractional C-level pro can help map your execution plan first. Savvy founders don't gamble on freelancers. They build clarity first, then choose the right experts. ♻️ Found this helpful? Repost to share with your network. ⚡️ Want more content like this? Hit follow Maya Moufarek.

Let's talk about the contract clauses that will either save your ass or completely screw you. I've signed contracts I shouldn't have and learned the hard way which terms are worth fighting for. Here's what you need to know: Work-for-hire vs. licensing: this is everything... Work-for-hire means you're signing away all rights. The client owns it forever, can use it however they want, can even feed it to AI. You have zero control. Licensing means you retain copyright and grant specific usage rights for a specific time and territory. This is what you want. If a contract says "work-for-hire," do everything you can to negotiate it out. Kill fees: protect yourself when projects die... If a project gets canceled after you've started work, you need to get paid. A kill fee should be 50-100% of your fee depending on how far in you are. If it's not in the contract, you're working for free the second they cancel. Payment terms: when you get paid matters... Net 30 is standard but not great. Negotiate for a 50% deposit upfront, payment on delivery, or Net 15. The faster you get paid, the less you're financing their project. Revision limits: because "one more tweak" never stops... If your contract doesn't specify revision rounds, clients will ask for changes forever. Include a limit (2-3 rounds) and specify that additional revisions are billed separately. Usage rights: be specific... Where can they use the work? For how long? In what territory? If it's not spelled out, they'll assume they can use it everywhere forever. Define it clearly. I'm not a lawyer, so make sure you're doing your own research, but understanding these clauses has saved me from getting screwed. An educated freelance workforce is a powerful freelance workforce. 🤍

Ya know, a few years ago, I had a client reach out and ask me to hop on a quick call to talk about a potential project. Cool, no problem! That first call led to a second call, which led to a third call, and then a fourth call. And before I knew it, I had spent hours on calls talking about this project, trying to figure out what they wanted. Then it hit me: I was basically working for free. 😅 If you’ve ever done freelance instructional design or eLearning work, you’ve probably had this happen too. A client asks you to scope a project, put together a proposal, or define a budget, but they don’t give you nearly enough details to do it accurately. Suddenly, you’re spending hours trying to figure out what the project actually is… often without getting paid for any of that time. 😩 Here’s the thing: You don’t have to work for free, and you shouldn’t. The solution I’ve found for projects like this…and what I recommend to every freelance instructional designer…is to break the project into two phases: 👉 Phase 1: A paid discovery or analysis phase…maybe 5 to 10 hours…where you’re simply gathering information, clarifying goals, and defining the scope. 👉 Phase 2: Once that’s done, then you put together a detailed proposal, timeline, and budget based on what you now know. This simple shift protects your time, keeps expectations clear, and drastically reduces the risk of scope creep. Plus, it positions you as a true partner, not just a vendor, which almost always leads to a better client relationship in the long run. So, I’m curious…how do you handle these situations? Do you charge for discovery? Have you run into issues with scope creep or working for free? Share your experience in the comments. I’d love to hear how you approach it! Have a great weekend, all! 👋 —Tim #eLearning #InstructionalDesign #LearningAndDevelopment

5 Priceless Freelancing Growth Tips I Wish I Knew Earlier ➊ The most underrated freelancing skill is reliability. Deliver on time, keep your word, and communicate well. Clients value freelancers they can depend on more than those with the flashiest portfolios. Reliability builds trust—and trust leads to repeat business. ➋ Charge for the value you create, not the hours you spend. Early on, I undervalued my work and billed only for time. The truth is, clients care about results, not how long it takes you to deliver them. Price your services based on the impact you bring to their business. ➌ Your network is your safety net. The best freelance gigs rarely come from job boards. They come from referrals, conversations, and relationships. Make networking a regular part of your workflow—it’s just as important as your deliverables. ➍ Treat every client like your most important one. Even small projects can lead to big opportunities. Go above and beyond for every client—they’ll remember, refer, and come back for more. ➎ Invest in skills that clients pay top dollar for. Identify high-value services in your industry and master them. Whether it’s a technical skill, communication, or strategy, clients will gladly pay a premium for expertise that solves big problems. Freelancing isn’t just about finding clients—it’s about building a sustainable, thriving business. What’s the best freelancing advice you’ve ever received?

Freelancing horror stories are everywhere, just check the Reddit thread for freelancers. Missed payments. Clients who disappear. Projects that expand far beyond the original scope. You cannot control everything, but you can control how you show up from the start to prevent or minimize many of these issues. The strongest freelancers present themselves as partners and owners, not as order takers. You bring expertise, a clear process, and accountability for the results you promise. When you lead with structure and clarity, you protect yourself, earn respect early, and set expectations that you are not someone to be pushed around or redirected without alignment. You run a business, and clients are expected to work within the guidelines of that business. This does not mean you are rigid. It means you adapt when appropriate without sacrificing your boundaries or your value. The foundation is simple. Explain your process. Share your packages. Outline how you typically collaborate, the steps you follow, the pricing, the timeline, and the who, what, when, where, and why of your work. Give clients clarity on what can be customized and make sure everyone understands how the project will unfold. You also need a contract that protects both sides. It should clarify deliverables, payment terms, revision limits, and all key legal considerations. A solid agreement keeps expectations aligned and prevents most problems before they begin. Finally, practice showing up with confidence. State your price without hesitation. Present your services clearly and directly. Confidence grows with repetition. Pitching yourself may feel uncomfortable at first, but like any skill, it becomes easier the more you do it. Your future self will be glad you put in the reps. #freelance #selfemployed #solopreneur #freelancertips

You end up building a “universal” product that fits everyone 70% - and satisfies no one 100%. Because product domination on marketing doesn’t come from being versatile. It comes from being irreplaceable. And when people don’t “get it,” it’s not their fault; it’s your lack of focus. When I left my job and started freelancing, I did the same thing. I tried to do everything. Content writing. SEO. Email marketing. Copywriting. LinkedIn branding. Designing. If a client needed it, I said yes. For months, I was working 14-hour days. On paper, it looked like growth. In reality, it was chaos. I was juggling five different types of projects and ten different expectations. I started missing calls, zoning out in meetings, and losing clients. Not because I was bad at my work; but because I had no direction. I hit creative block after creative block. The work stopped feeling exciting. And the stress? Constant. I decided to do the exact opposite of what everyone told me — I picked one vertical. LinkedIn Personal Branding. That’s it. No more SEO. No more email funnels. No more “I can do it all.” I went all in on one thing — and that single decision became the turning point. After a 2-month break, my impressions had dropped from 156,900 → 513. Within 14 days of returning with focus, they climbed to 41,890. Now? 50,880 impressions and 13,308 members reached - that’s a +782% jump in visibility and +4,500% increase in reach. No ads. No team. No hacks. Just direction. And it wasn’t just numbers. I started closing better clients. Focus isn’t about limiting opportunities. It’s about eliminating distractions. Busy doesn’t mean successful. It just means unfocused. Pick one vertical. Go deep. Build proof. You don’t need a bigger to-do list. You need better discipline around what actually moves the needle. That’s how you grow — not by doing everything, but by finally deciding what’s worth doing at all. LinkedIn LinkedIn News India