Fun and Fantastic Ways to Start Freelancing
Freelancing is an exciting career path that lets you be your own boss. You can decide on what projects to work on, what to charge, the hours to work, and when to take a day off. However, this also means that it is your job to look for clients, convince them to give you work, and deliver high-quality work within the agreed time. That is why most people shy away from starting freelancing even when they find it enticing.
What most people don’t know is that, while it may seem scary, starting freelancing is easier and exciting than they think. You only need to use the right strategies to kick-start your freelancing journey. If you have been wondering how to go about it, here are 4 tips to get you started.
1. Find a niche
Your odds for success increase when you do something that you are good at. Almost every skill that you have can be turned into a freelancing career, but you are better off building on the skill that sets you apart.
List all your skills and identify the ones that can work in a freelancing setup. Among these skills, select the one that you are best at since it will be easier to convert that into an income. In addition, identify whether there are gaps in your knowledge and what is industry-accepted, and start working on bridging this gap. You can also think of offering this service for free so that you can have a platform to build your skills and experience.
2. Build a portfolio
The hardest part of freelancing isn’t finding clients, it is convincing them to hire you. When it comes to freelancing, your word of mouth isn’t enough to convince people to work with you. You will need to back what you are saying with samples that showcase your excellence in that niche.
Start building a portfolio way before you quit your job to join freelancing. This is because building a good portfolio takes time. If you postpone it until the last minute, you will be risking staying without an income longer. If you are a graphic designer, check out your previous work to select projects that you think will sell you better and include them in your portfolio. If you are a writer, start putting together samples of your best pieces. The idea is to have your work that best represents your skills ready to send to clients as soon as you start your freelancing journey.
3. Have your tools ready
Every job requires a set of tools to complete. It is only right that you start gathering what you will need for your work in preparation for your freelancing career.
For starters, you will need a dedicated space for your work and good furniture that will support a healthy posture. After that, you will need equipment and technology suitable for your work such as a computer, printer, camera and the like. In addition, you need smart tools to make your job easier. As a freelancer, you will be required to be highly organized. Think of tools that can help you organize your projects and manage your time. You will also be dealing with files a lot. You must find a way to ensure that they can’t be altered, especially when you have to send them back and forth. To do so, you will need to convert your documents from word to PDF. You will need to be equipped with a PDF converter for this purpose.
4. Advertise yourself
Just as it is in business, potential clients will not know what services you are offering unless you tell them. Don’t assume that clients will come to you and start working on getting the word about your services out there.
You can start by building a professional website, and make sure that you optimize it with the right keywords so that people looking for services in your niche can find you easily. In addition, create a profile on major social media platforms. Again, optimize these profiles as well so that you appear as a brand in your niche. For instance, ensure that you add your main keyword to your username, and include what you do in your Bio on all your profiles. On top of that, join groups of other freelancers in your niche on these platforms.
Moreover, don’t just be a member, make people notice you by being active in sharing valuable content as well as commenting on other peoples’ posts. This way, you will be positioning yourself as an authority in your niche. Additionally, you can find job boards online for almost every freelancing job. Just research the ones that best suit what you do and create a profile in each of them. Most importantly, ensure that you share your portfolio across all the platforms where you have a profile.
Conclusion
One thing that is common with freelancing is that you will not always have a regular check. It is up to you to work hard and determine your pay every single month. You will also be required to be a self-starter and be self-disciplined. On top of using the above tips to get started, ensure that you have what it takes to succeed as a freelancer.
