What is Freelancing? How to Start Freelancing?

How to Start Your Freelancing Journey?

Introduction to Freelancing

Before starting, ask yourself some questions.

 

1. Why do I want to start Freelancing?

2. Do I have the skills to Freelance?

3. Am I going to enjoy Freelancing?

What is Freelancing?

Do you know that, as of 2023, there are an estimated 73.3 million freelancers in the United States. This figure has grown year-over-year by at least 2 million since 2017. By 2028, the latest data suggests there will be over 90 million US freelancers.

 

Freelancing is one of the most popular career choices for individuals who are experts in their own fields. Freelancer means that you are self-employed or an independent contractor. It means you do contracted-work for individual clients or a company. Freelancing has grown over time because of the numerous benefits that it offers.

 

For more about: Top 5 High-paying Freelancing Platforms

Why choose freelancing? Why does everyone want to do freelancing?

 

Do you know anybody who does freelancing? Do you wonder why freelancing is a popular career choice? Well, it is because freelancing offers numerous benefits and diverse projects to work on.

 

• Freelancers can work from anywhere, such as their home or while traveling, as long as they have a stable internet connection and a laptop. It gives freelancers more flexibility when working.

• Unlike traditional employees, freelancers are their own bosses. This is one of the best thing about freelancing. Freelancers don't work under anyone or a company. They get to set their own working hours, which projects to work on, and the pay rates for projects.

• Another advantage is that while working, freelancers can expand and learn more skills for a better path to a successful freelancing journey. Marketing, Sales, Management, Client relations, are examples.

• Freelancing is becoming more popular, and companies are hiring Freelancers rather than in-house-trained employees. This way, companies can hire freelancers for a few hours and save money. This means that there are always jobs available for Freelancers.

• Freelancing allows you to grow and expand at your own pace. You are the one who can decide what type of work you want to do and how many clients you take on. This allows you to grow slowly or rapidly, depending on how you want your freelancing journey to be. You can also decide when to add new services, increase prices or work on new projects.

• By continuously working with many clients and working on different projects, you gain experience. Experience is one of the most important factors in becoming a professional freelancer and attracting more clients. Freelancing allows you to gain unlimited experience.

 

• Most of us don't work 8-5. We spend time with family members, friends, hobbies, and many more. Freelancing allows you to create a work-life balance that is suitable for your lifestyle.

• Millions of people build their own businesses by freelancing. Say a person is interested and skilled at app development, so based on his skills freelancing opportunities can include native app development, mobile game development, web development, and chatbot developer or designer. So this is just one; there are thousands of industries for freelance opportunities. It depends on you which industries you want to work in.

Identifying your skills

So you have learnt about the basics of freelancing, But what are you skilled at to start freelancing? Remember I didn't say expert, experts are very rare and takes a lot of time to become one.

You have to list what skills you are good at, whether they are related to your previous job, educational background or your hobby. The examples can be graphic designing, app development, content writing, project management etc. Remember focus on those skills where you not only good at but also enjoy working with.

If you don't have any skills to freelance, don't lose hope. This internet world is huge. You can do free courses or paid courses. If you were to start then I would recommend you not to take paid courses. When you've gained much knowledge, you can take paid courses for more knowledge. You should watch free videos in youtube to learn the skills you want to learn. Millions and millions of people are making videos in youtube, so there is unlimited resources in the internet to learn about a skill. Invest your time for learning.

Remember skills are very important for a successful freelancing career you want to build.

• Once you've identified or learned the skills, You should research for freelance niches. Freelancing niches are specific areas of expertise to offer services to your clients looking for specialized solutions.

• For example if you're skilled at writing, there are niches like content marketing, copywriting or technical writing. Say if you're skilled in web development, you might explore niches like building e-commerce websites, creating custom plugins, or developing mobile applications.

• Explore more about freelancing niches. Research the market trends and demands for specific skills. By understanding, it will help you choose which freelance niche to work on.

• Additionally think about the industries or topics you are skilled and interested in. The topic that genuinely interests you,  you can enjoy your working and stay motivated at the same time.

By identifying your skills and exploring freelancing niches can make a better path for a successful and a professional freelancing career, making it easier to attract new clients in your chosen niches. So take time to identify and explore different freelancing niches for a better path for successful freelancing career.

Build an attractive portfolio

Now the next important step is to make an attractive portfolio to showcase your past projects and highlight your skills. Portfolio acts a a powerful marketing tool to attract future clients.

• Choose the right platform to host your portfolio. There are some options like creating your own personal website, portfolio-specific websites or social media.

• Organize your portfolio into different sections or projects for a more good-looking portfolio. Consider creating sections based on your freelancing niches to make it easier for clients to find the specific service they need.

• Quality over quantity matters when it comes to your portfolio. Choose the best projects to include in your portfolio. If you're a beginner freelancer, showcase the personal projects you have done during your education to highlight what you can do.

• Provide short but informative descriptions for each project. Explain the problems you faced, the solutions for it and the results achieved. Clients will definitely like seeing the full process of your work.

• If your freelancing niche involves visual work or photography make sure to include high-quality images or samples. Visuals play an important role leaving a lasting impression on clients.

How to include past projects and highlight your capabilities:

If you've worked on various, different types of projects, try to include a diverse range of projects that shows you can handle different types of projects. By this, clients who are looking for various solutions will come to you.

• If possible, consider showcase "before and after" examples of your work. This can be particularly effective for fields like web-design, interior-design. By this, clients could see the improvement of your work.

• Including clients feedback can add credibility to your portfolio. Reach out to previous clients to ask for testimonial (a formal written description or statement about the abilities, character and qualities of a person, often given by a previous employer; a formal written statement about the quality of a product, service, etc) about their experience working with you. Positive feedback from previous clients can build trust with potential clients.

• If you've created complex projects, consider making case studies that shows the detailed process and impact of your work. A case study provide in-depth detailed examination of how you approach projects and solve problems, further strengthening your knowledge.

• I have mentioned it before. As a beginner you have limited freelance work to showcase, don't hesitate to include the personal projects that showcases your skills and dedication.

Remember, Portfolio is a tool that helps you make a representation of you and your work.

As you gain knowledge and experience, update your portfolio regularly to showcase your latest works. An attractive portfolio increases the chances of attracting potential clients and building a path for a successful freelancing career.

Image by storyset on Freepik

Setting Up Your Freelancer Profile

Next, setting up your freelancer profile is an important step. To start Freelancing you would ofcourse need a freelancing profile. Setting up a good freelancing profile is important to become a successful freelancer. Remember I said good not professional.

Professionals are same as experts, which means as a beginner freelancer, you don't need to set a professional freelancer profile already. As you gain experience and knowledge you can keep updating your profile.

Choosing the Right Freelancing Platforms/Websites:

Start by researching different platforms. It would be much better if you research for platforms that align with your freelancing niches. Say you are skilled at writing, Writers.work is one of the best platforms for freelancers who have good writing skills. Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr these platforms offer a more variety of options.

Even though, after researching platforms, It completely depends on you which platform or website to choose.

If you know somebody who does freelancing in a platform. Ask him about the platforms feature and feedback from him, is the platform beginner friendly? is he happy about the platform etc. Well, if you don't know somebody who does freelancing, ofcourse here is the internet to help. Ask in quora or see reviews from different freelancers in the internet.

Creating an Attractive Freelancer Profile:

As i mentioned before. This is an guide to make an Attractive freelancing profile not a fully professional freelancing profile.

• Use a high-quality and professional profile picture. Yes, I am telling you to use a professional picture. To use a professional picture you don't need any experience or knowledge. Set a picture of clear image of yourself for being trustworthy with potential clients.

• Write an engaging bio that showcases your skills, experience and what is different about you. Highlight your freelancing niches and the value you can provide to potential clients.

• If you have previous client testimonials, include them in your profile. Positive feedback from previous clients can boost your credibility and attract more clients.

• Set your pricing based on your skills and experience. Consider starting with a reasonable rates ro build reputation, and adjust them as you have more skills and experience.

• Show your communication skills in your profile. Clients value freelancers who can effectively communicate throughout the project.

• Use important keywords and tags in your profile to improve its visibility in search results.
• Use keywords based on your niches and skill. Clients search for freelancers based on specific skills or niches.

Remember that your freelancer profile is a representation of your brand and updating it regularly is important. A well created profile that showcases your skills will help you attract future clients and set a path for a successful freelancing career.

Understanding Freelance Pricing and Rates

One important aspect is deciding the right and reasonable pricing and rates for your freelancing services. It involves having a balance being competitive in the market and ensuring your pricing values the services you offer. Having strategies for setting pricing and rates and negotiating with clients will help you make a mutually beneficial relationship with your client.

Deciding on Competitive and Fair Pricing:

Start by researching the market rates and demands for freelancers offering similar services in your niche. By researching, you will get an idea of your niches and services pricing and rates. This will help you position yourself in the market effectively.

Your knowledge and experience matters when setting your rates. As a beginner, don't start with high pricing. You should start with lower rates to attract clients. When you build your portfolio professionally and gain experience you can start increasing your pricing and rates.

• Calculate the expenses for your work, such as software subscriptions, equipments and taxes to set a pricing over these costs so you can make a profit.

• Consider setting a value-based pricing, where you charge based on the value your service brings to the client. If your work has a great impact on a client's buisness, you can justify higher rates.

• Decide whether to charge clients on hourly basis or project-based rates. If you're working with a project with uncertain timelines, you should charge the client on hourly basis, while project-based rates work well for a defined task.

Image by macrovector on Freepik

Conclusion

If you're just starting with freelancing, before entering the world of freelance this post  helped you to know the basics of freelancing. 

I hope it provided you the basics for starting a freelancing journey. Now, this post covers  just the basics. It is not a complete guide, because if it was a complete guide the post would be 8,000-10,000 words. Covering every details and tips of freelancing in one post is impossible. So explore more posts on my website or any other's it doesn't matter. The one thing matter is to learn more about Freelancing, becoming a successful freelancer.