Each of us has our unique quirks and foibles; however, common pitfalls exist that consistently trip up new contractors. In short, don’t do the following:
• Give up too soon
• Take rejection personally
• Send out boilerplate proposals in the hope someone will take pity on you
• Have only one proposal out at a time
• Be slack on the quality or speed of your responses
• Skip over client questions in the job posting or otherwise
• Forget to communicate clearly that you understand the project needs
• Underestimate the value of your life experiences