Managing Your First Freelance Project

It’s been a few months since you started showing up to UX meetups, and things are finally starting to pick up. One day, a friend of a colleague reaches out, connecting you with a small business that needs a website. You open the email, excited. They’re just getting started and can’t quite afford a full-rate project, but the work aligns perfectly with your niche. You see an opportunity for a strategic barter — a partial discount in exchange for a testimonial or referral.

You hop on a call to learn more. You ask about their business goals and deadlines and try to get a sense of how involved they want to be. Pulling from your pricing guide, you make sure that even a discounted project still feels fair. You sign the contract, set your plan, and get to work.

Then reality hits. Unlike your boot camp days, no mentor is checking your progress or confirming your decisions. Every unexpected client request or small mistake triggers self-doubt. Did you communicate clearly enough? Did you scope the project right? Are you giving the right guidance? Suddenly, every choice feels heavier than it should.

A few days in, communication becomes another challenge. You email the client with a question and then wait — and wait. Days pass before you hear back. The client, a new business owner themselves, is juggling ten other things, and your project naturally slips down their list. Meanwhile, your timeline starts falling apart.

That’s when it clicks. Part of managing a project is managing communication. You realize you need to set expectations early — things like a 48-hour response window or regular check-ins — so you’re not stuck waiting for answers you need to move forward.

As the project continues, you realize your initial timeline was too tight. Tasks take longer than expected, and small additions creep in. It’s frustrating, but it’s also a lesson learned. Even a barter project needs a defined scope, structured communication, and realistic deadlines. You start adjusting your process as you go — tracking your time, setting boundaries, and learning to lead conversations with clients instead of reacting to them.

Then another opportunity pops up in your network. This one is fully paid, but the scope is bigger and more complex than anything you’ve done before. You look it over carefully. There are pieces that stretch beyond your skill set — parts you’re not ready to handle on your own. You could try to figure it out as you go, but you don’t have anyone to collaborate with yet, and taking it on now could backfire. So you make the hard call to decline.

It’s not about turning work down. It’s about knowing where you are and protecting the quality of what you deliver.

By the end of the week, your first freelance project is officially underway. It hasn’t been smooth, but you’ve learned more in these few days than you ever did in a structured classroom. The challenges, missteps, and moments of doubt are shaping you into more than a designer. You’re becoming someone who can manage clients, set boundaries, and make strategic calls that keep a business moving forward.

Because freelancing isn’t just about designing the work — it’s about designing how you work.


Helping UX Designers bridge gaps and grow

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