Beginner guide for freelancing
Becoming self-employed and working from anywhere in the world is becoming more and more common. The more technology advances the more it enables us to work anywhere and complete a wider range of tasks from our computers via remote working. This has opened up a lot of opportunities for those who want to work on a self-employed basis, we are now able to communicate successfully with clients with skype and emails, work on projects through applications, manage out the workload and many more. There are however certain things that you need to consider when working as a self-employed person in order to be successful.
If you want to learn more about to begin freelancing, Here is the complete guide...
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Let’s have a look at a 5 of these below:
1. HAVE A GOOD TRANSITION PLAN
The report that we looked at above, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), also revealed that in October 2018, 3.5 million people—or 2.3% of the total workforce in the United States —left their jobs voluntarily.
And if you are about to be a part of that statistic by planning to quit your job to go into freelancing, then you need to craft your transition plans adequately before quitting your job.
Becoming a freelancer needs a lot of planning, and you need to begin months before you make the move.
For example, It’s important to have enough financial resources to see you through the early stages of your freelancing career, as the amount of money you will be making may not be enough to pay your bills.
At this stage, you also need to do a lot of research on the market for your freelancing skills. Do a Google search to find freelancing websites as well as research on how much start-up freelancers in your desired niche-earn. This will brace you for the uncertainties ahead.
Take some time to develop your marketing skills. You will be marketing yourself to your prospective clients, so you need to know how to communicate with your prospects. Practice and perfect how to write stellar pitches and proposals.
Freelancing is quite competitive and many freelancers will be pitching to the same client you are aiming for, so it’s important that you develop your marketing and communication skills as your success as a freelancer is heavily dependent on this.
Now, while putting your transition plan in place, try to make valuable connections with people relevant to your freelance niche outside your workplace. Establish a relationship with them as they may be your potential clients tomorrow, and could even be instrumental in referring you to your clients.
Here’s some candid advice – Try to avoid telling anyone—especially your colleagues—about your plan to quit until you are ready to leave; it may jeopardize your current position. But be sure to let them know after you have resigned and started your freelancing career so that they can refer you to their friends who might be interested in your offer.
2. KNOW YOUR NICHE
Identify what makes you worth hiring.
There are lots of freelancing opportunities available, but you need to discover which niche you will function well in. Don’t pick a niche solely because the pay is plenty—your niche should be determined by where you can add the most value. To identify this, you will need to do a lot of self-reflection as well as to conduct freelance market research.
Make a list of things you can do. The list should not be limited to skills that apply to freelance alone. This will enable you to know how diverse your abilities are as well as allow you to fit into diverse freelancing services.
You can also ask your colleagues and family members to help you identify your strengths and skills. They may be aware of certain skills you might have overlooked.
Ensure that the skills you have are relevant and marketable in the niche that you want to work in. You can go the extra mile by checking job openings in your niche to discover what skills clients are looking for. This will help you to focus on those areas and develop them.
3. BUILD A PORTFOLIO AND CREATE A WEB PRESENCE
Many freelancers always make the mistake of not having a good portfolio before jumping into freelancing. You need to build your portfolio while you’re planning on how to start freelancing as it will help tremendously with getting jobs.
Building your portfolio entails building a body of work that will attract clients. When you pitch to clients, most of them will want to see a sample of the previous works you have done.
The samples will help them to access your skills to know if you are a good fit for the job. If you don’t have a portfolio, the client will most likely award the job to another freelancer who has some measure of proof of their capabilities.
An easy way to build your portfolio is to offer your services free of charge or at a low price to clients.
Your major focus at this point shouldn’t be how much you can make. You can start doing this while you still have your job, so when you are ready to take on freelance jobs full-time, you will have good samples that you can show to your clients.
The quality of your portfolio plays a huge role in determining how much you will be paid, so ensure that your true worth is reflected in the quality of the samples you have in your portfolio.
You will also need to build your web presence. The web plays a key role in the freelancing industry, which is why most freelancers look for jobs online.
Data supports this:
“According to Payoneer research, 73% of freelancers are now turning to the web to find clients.”
For you to succeed in freelancing, you will need to build a web presence. If you do not have marketable computer skills, you will need to get additional training, because it’ll certainly come in handy. This is probably why 33% of freelancers are interested in getting additional training to improve their computer skills.
You may need to create a website to be able to establish your online presence. You can also build your web presence through different social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, by displaying your freelancing skills on such platforms.
However, don’t rely solely on social media to establish your web presence. Try to build and nurture your personal network as this prevents you from getting lost in the crowd of millions of freelancers. Clients tend to give projects to freelancers who have been referred by trusted sources in their network. In fact, 33% of freelancers find clients through referrals.
4. FIND OUT HOW YOU WILL GET CLIENTS
You should know how and where to find clients specific to your chosen niche before venturing into freelancing full-time.
In freelancing, you go hunting for clients and jobs because they rarely just locate you, especially as a newbie. In fact, no matter how long you have been freelancing, you will always be required to reach out to clients to get jobs.
Finding clients can be fun and a bit frustrating at the same time. You need to have good marketing and entrepreneurial skills to get new clients as well as understand that in freelancing, clients don’t last forever.
You may have a long-term contract with a client but that’s as far as it goes, at some point the client will leave and you will have to look for new prospects.
This is why you need to know how to get and retain clients.
You should have a website where you highlight your services. You also need to promote yourself across various social media platforms, through word of mouth and through freelancer networks.
An easy way to start is to search on online freelance marketplaces like Freelancer and Upwork where clients advertise jobs. Get registered on these platforms and perfect how to write pitches.
5. GET READY TO EMBRACE CHANGE
Change is constant in freelancing. You need to be ready to think outside the box and embrace changes even when it is not convenient. You’ll also have to constantly work on improving your skills. Always research to discover new trends in your niche and equip yourself with the relevant skill per time.
The consistent changes in the industry are behind the statistics below:
“7 in 10 fulltime Freelancers improved their skills in 6 months more than fulltime employees did in the same timeframe.”
Your skills may not always be in demand or could become obsolete, so if there appears to be no future in the skill you have, be ready to jump into something new. A great way to do this is to take training in a particular field that clients are starting to look for which many freelancers aren’t yet aware of, as this will increase the demand for your service.
This is why 66% of full-time freelancers constantly update their skills in order to stay marketable in a constantly evolving market.
So stay abreast of the change, as it’ll help you remain relevant in your niche.
Having known what you need to have in place before becoming a Freelancer, let’s look at some things you should know about freelancing. First-time freelancers usually have a lot of regrets in the early stages because they were not aware of these things.
dependent on how much work you can put in.
In freelancing, time is a tangible currency and you trade your skills and time for money. You, therefore, need to know how to use it effectively. You do not have the luxury of time to go on vacation or sick leave; some days there may be no lunch-break.
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