Essential Tips for You to the Freelance Space
So you’ve decided to finally make the jump. You’ve watched all the silly videos you could lay your eyes on YouTube… And you haven’t made a lick of progress on applying to that first freelancing gig of your life.
Don’t worry! I am not here to point fingers at you. Instead, I will point you down the right path to getting started as a freelancer for the rest of life. Working on each of the following tips will dramatically increase your chances (maybe).
All right, here you have access to a vast and constantly expanding flow of project offers, but let’s be honest and self-aware: you’ll also be facing some stiff competition. Often, from more experienced freelancers. But do not worry about yourself - they, too, should start from somewhere.
So first focus on building your reputation step by step.
✳️ Build a ‘Top-Notch’ portfolio
Your reliable works might not be enough in today’s visible world. So take some time to create a blog, a project which showcases what you can do (strengthen your personal brand). These will be the avatars of the professional you. If you have the alternative, spend a little bit in your blog by hiring a designer or writer to present a unique look to your brand. That way, you will also put yourself in the role of a client. It will give you a valuable perspective from the other side of the river.
⚙ Develop your application
If you ever hire a freelancer to do a job for you, you will also learn to differentiate between the variety of offers on the market.
You see, all client handles their projects as if they were their own kids. You have to reveal to them that you know that and reach out from the rest — the majority will send generic proposals. Yours will be personalized, and it will express directly to the client’s requirements. You will specify how exactly you will go about working on his needs. Show with your words that you care for his project.
🔆 Work free or volunteer
It’s possible that you haven’t done any projects and no work bears your name. In that case, in the name of building up a portfolio, be prepared to offer your services free of charge for a couple of gigs.
Step aside from the professional platforms for the time being. Instead, approach your social and family networks. Chit-Chat to the small business owner, friends or free-lancing relative. Someone in your network can positively make use of your expertise.
⚠️ Pricing is tricky — price vs. quality
On many marketplaces, the common tradition is for freelancers to outbid each other in a competition to the bottom for who can offer the cheapest price. And that works for many clients for whom budget limitations are an issue. But not for all, there are clients who look for the quality product over price.
Ultimately it is up to you how you would like to develop your profile. You could be low-cost, adequate and reliable, or you could promote yourself as a refined expert. Do bear in mind that eventually, the choice you make will also reflect on your future opportunities for work.
It won’t be simple to switch from a low-cost profile to a specialist one because your portfolio will everywhere reflect the kind of work you have done already. A piece of good advice for that is: deliver a polished work even when the pay is not inspiring. It will help develop your portfolio and will act as a reference to your experience.
✔️ Pick small projects first
You are still new to this. Keep it in mind and try not to bite more than you can chew. Don’t be fast to dismiss tiny projects which might take a few hours or a couple of days to complete. Yes, probably they won’t spew rivers of gold onto you but stay focused on the essence here. At first, it’s all about building up your brand. Handle them with the same attention you would give for a bigger client.
➡️ Choose a niche (& focus on it)
This one is not necessarily easy to decide and it might take some time of being in the field before it becomes clearer which route to take. What’s important here is that whichever one you choose, when bidding for contracts you still have to play up the relevant experience that gives you an edge over the others.
Remember, clients only care about how you will best solve their particular problem.
