video1.0<iframe src="https://www.loom.com/embed/70b0a3e5834244a0b94ccdf6b3fc49d3" frameborder="0" width="1152" height="864" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>8641152Loomhttps://www.loom.com8641152https://cdn.loom.com/sessions/thumbnails/70b0a3e5834244a0b94ccdf6b3fc49d3-1656090772603.gif189Welcome to Pangea Academy. Once you've landed your first freelance client, here's some tips for actually working with them. First, don't start working until you have a contract in place. The word contract tends to send shivers down freelancers' spines, but just know that if you're freelancing on Pangea contracts are already set up for you, so you don't have to worry about them. Now, if you are finding clients outside of Pangea, you will need to set up contracts on your own, but you should be very, very, very careful about how you do this. Be careful about how you set up your contracts, where you get them from, and what you include in them. They are legal documents, so you need to be very careful about how you create them. Then schedule a kickoff meeting with your client. The purpose of a kickoff meeting is to provide space for you and your client to review the deliverables and project goals. Use this time to get clear on the client's expectations and how the project will run. You may want to talk about the following topic: the project goals (What is the client hoping to get?), communication (How are you going to communicate with the client?), feedback (How will the client provide feedback? Are they emailing you their thoughts? Are they leaving comments on a Google doc?), submitting work (How is the work going to be submitted? How were you going to notify the client that the work is complete?), and the timeline for work (When is work due, and when are you checking in on that as well?) Then you want to make sure you're getting yourself organized. Develop systems you can grow into. So, think long-term when you're setting up systems for yourself. For example, if you know that week one, you only have five tasks for your client and you can easily fit that on a sticky note, great. But if you know that week two, you're probably going to have 10 tasks, maybe managing your tasks on a sticky note isn't the best decision. Make sure you create systems that you can grow into as you expand and take on more work Then schedule check-in time with yourself. It's important to check in with your client, but it's equally as important to check in with yourself so you can reflect on where you're at and where you need to go. You might ask yourself questions like: What is going well? What isn't? How can I make adjustments? Am I meeting the client's expectations? Scheduling check-in time with yourself will help you evaluate where you are and what you need to change so you can continue to grow in your freelance career. Then you're ready to start work. At this point in the process, you can just start chipping away on the project ahead of you. Make sure that you check in with your client when necessary. Some clients may prefer to be checked in with more often. And others may say, "reach out to me when it's done." Make sure you ask the client what their preferences are and check in with them as they prefer. So, to recap, use this beginning period to get yourself in a position where you're able to start delivering work. Take time to get clear on the tasks ahead and develop systems that will support managing the project tasks and grow with you and your freelancing career.