Steps to Launch Your Freelancing Career Full-Time: AMA Hosts Share Their Best Advice For Finding Success And Clients

So, you decided to throw yourself into a freelance business. The temptation to not get dressed at work can be huge when there’s no dress code to adhere to and no one to get dressed for. As a freelancer, you can burn your suit, briefcase and/or even your shoes. All you need now is a laptop, an endless supply of coffee and the same pajamas you slept in last night. Every day is casual Friday! Yeah, right. Freelancing may be a more common career choice than it used to be, but there are still people who don’t get it. You’ve seen a whole bunch of blogs that are describing freelancing as a dream job that will bring a lot of money without much sacrifice. Well, it’s time to talk about this honestly. it’s not easy. All that freedom comes at a price. If you’re going to be a freelancer you’ve got a lot of work to do.

Where to start? In today’s blog post, I will guide you exactly what you need to know and how to start your freelancing career. I hope you’re able to pick some value in the tips from AMA top freelancers who have shared his best advice, on our #FreelanceAMA channel, in order to help you get started, no matter where you’re at with your freelance career.

The freelance life sounds pretty great (no boss looking over your shoulder) but before you call your boss and put in your two weeks notice, make yourself aware of what the freelance job actually involves. Freelance work was once considered something you did on the side to make some extra cash, explore a new field, or develop a new skill. Today, it’s an opportunity to turn your passions into a long-term, lucrative career. I’m going to guide you (step-by-step) through some things that are basics for every freelance worker in the world — daily.

Your professional title matters.

The first big decision you make as a freelancer is choosing your specialization. You must choose a particular field that you are passionate about — an area where you can be an expert in — whether that is writing, graphic design, video editing, or anything else. According to freelance platform UpWork, the best title to get hired is simple and succinct. Highlighting your primary niche or area of expertise is definitely better than something vague or generic. Copywriting Ninja, Graphics Guru, Social Media Rockstar, and other fun names work great if you are able to use them in a creative manner. Still, be careful. You want to do your job seriously. Not to mention that terms “ninja” and “rockstar” were overused for a while. (There, I said it.) And at the end of the day, your client doesn’t care what you call yourself. They just want you to do a great job and provide great work.

Michelle S. — A Top Rated Freelancer at Upwork

If you’ve never done it before, you’re not a specialist.

Do not lie that you possess the skills you do not actually have. Like, come on, who are you trying to impress? Yourself? Your employer will surely not be impressed when he sees that you actually lie and that you don’t know how to do the job for which you signed up. Unfortunately, many freelancers base their specialization on wishful thinking rather than actual knowledge or experience. Too often, a new freelancer chooses a specialization based solely on his or her interests rather than on what is in demand. You may charge more for your services, but you won’t earn more money if you rarely get a client, so don’t do that. Plus, you will get a negative feedback, which you certainly do not want.

A profile picture is worth a thousand words.

Think about what a potential employer would be looking to hire and try to present yourself in that way. There is nothing wrong with taking your own profile picture. Just don’t make it look like you did. Photos that are obviously taken from your laptop or by holding your arm out and snapping a picture look hasty and unprofessional. Hire a photographer or use a timed setting on your camera to stand against a wall and snap one. I know it’s the easiest and fastest way, but just think: If you can’t take the time to present yourself in the best light, how can a business trust you to present them in the best light?

The magic of your overview.

Your profile overview is one of the most important parts of your profile. How well it is written could affect how many opportunities you get. Tell your future clients exactly what you will do to help their project succeed. After all, they all want to hear how you will help them in the business, so tell them — “sell yourself”.

Portfolios are critical marketing tools for every freelancer.

Clients care about the work you’ve done. This is very important because this is the place where the clients decide if you are qualified for the work. It’s a combination of your unique approach and your best work. Put together a gallery of images that showcases the most important aspects of each project, add a brief introduction for each project and tell potential employers what they’re looking at and why they should care. Keep your information up to date, and you’re in business (hopefully soon!).

Do you speak English?

By being honest about your language skills, clients can have an idea of what to expect from you. If you are a content writer and make your living creating content for international clients in English or a customer support representative — well, of course, you need excellent English to succeed. Any other type of profession, however, does not really require that much of fluency in English. As long as you are a professional in your field, working proficiency would be enough.

Build strong online presence.

• Behance — for designers, animators, video editors, mobile/web UI/UX developers, developers or even writers
• Dribble — exclusively for designers
• Evanto — for designers, WordPress programmers, or a mobile/web developers
• Medium — for writers

Nina Kolari — Online Freelancer / Sales Funnel Strategist

Billing your customers is very important.

A universal goal of freelancers and other business owners is to get paid for the work we do quickly and in full. There are several general payment options you can offer to your clients, each with their own positives and negatives.

Here are a few options you may have for getting paid:

PayPal — If you browse the internet regularly, you should have known about it. Perhaps, PayPal is the most popular online payment method around the world. PayPal offers a fast and clean user experience, but you need to link a bank account to withdraw money. After creating your PayPal account, you need verify it by linking your bank account, credit/debit card and/or confirming your social security number (SSN). This can provide instant payment and only requires the client to complete a short online process to send payment. The biggest downfall is the third-party transaction fees that get deducted from your payment. Also, PayPal is not available in all countries. For an example, if you are a freelancer from Bangladesh, you cannot register a PayPal account using your local credentials. But don’t worry, there are some other services for you to receive payments online.

Payoneer — If you don’t have PayPal, this US company offering global online money transfer and debit card services. The plastic debit card is sent to your address via postal service. Registering for a Payoneer account will get you a virtual US bank account (US payment service) and a prepaid MasterCard debit card. Firstly, you can register an account from your freelancing marketplace profile (Elance, Freelancer.com, Upwork etc.) with their affiliation. And secondly, you can register independently by visiting the Payoneer homepage. If you use a referral link, both you and the referrer will get $25 in bonus once you get $100 in payments. After receiving the card, can activate it and (the best part!) start using it.

Skrill (previously known as Moneybookers) — Skrill users also enjoy competitive charges, quick money transfers and card benefits (limited) as well. You can open a Skrill account for free. The service will then require you to provide your identity-related information like a scanned copy of national ID card/driving license/passport photo page, proof of your address, bank statement etc. These kinds of stuff are necessary to verify your Skrill account and increase the transaction limit.

Credit Card — If you have a merchant account and are set up to take credit card payments, this is a great option. It allows clients to pay via credit card and you can even process the payment yourself if you have a standing agreement with your client. Again, there are fees incurred for the benefit of instant payment.

Money Order — Paying via money order requires that the client goes to a third-party, such as a bank or post office, to purchase it and then it can be mailed to you. This is also not a very popular method, but it is a valid option for those without the ability to pay by check.

Price yourself and don’t negotiate (too much).

This is probably the most confusing bit of the profile because people tend to feel shy about what they think they are worth, while some just over do it. However, good businesspeople know how to negotiate and haggle. While there is no right hourly rate, ensure that your starting rate matches your experience and skills. Skrill also offers its co-branded prepaid MasterCard debit card which can be used in online transactions, POS locations, and ATMs. Of course, again… you can’t avoid charges fees for its facilities.

Njinju Kariuki — A topnotch bidder on Upwork

Hourly vs. Per Project

Pros & Cons of Hourly Rates:

• Ideal if you don’t know how long the job will take.
• Protects you when clients ask for above and beyond the needs of the job (which they often do).
• Can make it easier to estimate your own financial needs.
• Boosts your perceived value (“They must be good if they charge X!”)
• The high rate may also scare clients away.
• If you’re slow the sticker shock will freak your client out.
• If you work fast you’re robbing yourself of additional income.
• Clients might be turned off by the open-ended nature of an hourly rate and the potential cost.

Diana Kelly — A full-time freelance writer, consultant, editor, and freelance coach

Pros & Cons of Per Project Rates:

• A flat rate makes everything clear to everyone involved and makes negotiation easier.
• You can easily outsource work and mark up the cost.
• You can make substantially more money if you work fast.
• You can lose money a number of ways, from working too slow, to a project that gets out of hand to make a bad call on how long it will take.
• You have to spell out deliverables clearly and be able to draw the line with a client asking for more changes. This is absolutely critical.

Rona Cruz-Field — Freelance Writer and Editor

The art of the cover letter.

Your cover letter is the first point of contact with a client, so it is important that you nail down the skill of writing a great cover letter. It’s supposed to be the perfect snapshot of your work history, positioning you as an ideal candidate for that next gig. It demands perfection, originality and elegance and (in most of the cases) candidates are shortlisted on the basis of their cover letters. You will see many examples of it if you search on Google. However, my recommendation is to focus on being the solution to the problem. Why do they need you? Because they have a problem they need to solve. Your goal is to show why you’re the best person to provide that solution. And nobody knows better to explain why you are ideal for that position than… you. So, don’t copy anything from what you find on the Internet. Be honest and unique. After all, the employers have certainly heard some sentences too many times: “I am a team player” or “I work well under pressure”. (Yeah, right.)

EVOLVOR.COM — Freelancing in digital marketing AMA

Interview

So, he /she decided to send you an invitation to interview. What now? Usually, the freelance interview is conducted via Skype, Google Talk, Yahoo Messenger or other platforms for real-time communication. It can be chat, voice call or video conference. During the freelance interview, it’s accustomed to negotiating all conditions and requirements of the project — e.g. timeline, deadlines, working hours (if any), online availability (if needed), communication channels, reports, workflow, and so on.

Get researching. Just because it’s the last minute doesn’t mean the hiring manager will cut you any slack. If you have the names of the people who’ll be interviewing you, check out their LinkedIn profiles and other social media accounts, and look for common ground between you.

When interviewing freelancers (just as is the case with sending proposals) clients don’t need to worry about how you’ll fit into the corporate culture or where you want to be in five years. Instead, they expect answers geared toward results.

You can come in for an interview — tomorrow?

Good employers want to hire the best people, and if they’ve asked you to interview, they’re going to try to find a time that works on both sides. However, that does not mean you should be rude or irresponsible. Respect their time as you respect yours. Be on time. They may be in a different time zone than you, so make sure that you adjust to the client’s time zone and double-check it.

Punctuality matters. Be early for meetings and nail your deadlines. The world is moving faster all the time and nobody has time for a freelancer who shows up late or can’t meet a deadline. Plan to leave in plenty of time to be a few minutes early so that you’ll be cool and collected, not harried and frantic when you meet the interviewers.

Advantages of being a freelancer

• If you want to sleep in until noon, you can do that. If you want to take the weekend off so you can explore the city, by all means, go for it. As a freelancer, you can actually work during your most productive hours, and those hours don’t have to fall in during regular business hours.
• When you work for someone else, you don’t get a choice of who you work with. If you don’t mesh well with a client’s personality or business or payment philosophies, you can pass on the opportunity and wish them the best. It’s as easy as that.
• You are no longer stuck in an office or even in your home. You can find a place in which you work best. You could work in a park, at the library, or in your living room while you’re wearing your pajamas.
• No one is hanging over you or micromanaging you. You are free to do as you please when you please. Making all the tough decisions just became your responsibility; you have all the control.

Disadvantages of freelancing

• While flexibility is one of the biggest plusses of freelancing, loneliness has to be one of the most obvious downsides, and it’s something that every budding freelancer should be prepared for.
• You may be your own boss, but in the end, the clients who write the checks are in charge. Being a freelancer also means that you run the risk of not getting paid. This is fairly common in the freelance world. There are ways to protect yourself from non-paying clients, but sometimes you won’t realize you’re at risk until it’s too late.
• Remember how it feels to be the new person at a company? Well, you’ll be experiencing it a lot while you’re freelancing. Be prepared for some awkward moments in the lift and at the water cooler as you try to explain who you are and why you’re there.
• You have a lack of security. Your rent or mortgage needs to be paid each month, you have to buy food every week, the car payment needs to be made — unfortunately, none of these costs adjust themselves to your current cash flow. As an employee, you could count on getting a regular paycheck, but when you’re a freelancer unless you’re lucky enough to land a few clients with regular, consistent work for you, the cash you’ll have incoming won’t arrive in an evenly paced manner.

Congratulation, now you know the ins and outs. Don’t be scared. True, It’s a challenging job, full of ups and downs, but you can do it. Just be prepared, don’t be discouraged and always keep learning. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you. Now get to work!

Written by our genius blogger Tina based on advice from our great Hosts in www.FreelanceAMA.com and originally published on www.AMAfeed.com