Things I've learned from freelance projects

Few of my side projects in the last two years have been managed without an office.
As most of them were small, web based projects, management overhead was more than simple.

Other than the initial 'sale' meeting, all communication with the client was via mail, phone or even web tools. One project didn't even have a face to face meeting with the customer, just phone, contract via mail, and follow up calls and mails - And that project even needed a backend integration with a medical database!

Things I've learned from such projects:

- Listen, listen, listen. When communication is limited, you need to make SURE you 100% understand what the customer needs. Repeat it in your own words, make sure they agree and know EXACTLY what to expect from you.

- Contract signing. Make sure you are covered. Make sure that scope is 100% agreed upon, and changes cost more money. Payment milestones are REALLY important these days. Make sure that after an agreed certain 'live' period, project goes into maintenance mode - You don't want that phone call after 6 months, when you're already knee deep on something else. A contract is also the best way to see the way your project is going to shape, for better or worse.

- Sandbox communications. The best way to show a project underway is letting your customer see the work in progress. Set up a place where you can share your ideas with your customer, make milestone demos and receive feedback. Make sure it doesn't cause too much overhead - If the customer likes to make lots of 'pebble size' comments and corrections, space out your demos, so you can handle them in bulks, rather than in an annoying, fluid, ongoing dialog.

- If you can, get help with QA. Your friends, your wife, whoever can help. Sometimes you miss out on obvious things, even typos.

- It's a known cliche, that your best reference are your successful projects, however, if you see that a project is headed to a clash with the customer, remember that word gets around - Try to resolve issues, even if it means biting your tongue, and losing some money. Remember that the best protection you have is your contract...

Good luck!