Freelancing — A Student’s Experience
You can learn anything from anywhere and get paid for it
The flow of this article is going to be such that I’m going to tell you guys about a few of my freelance projects till now, what I’m learning from this experience, prior information that could help anyone and why any student should at least try this.
1) Wagr — Web Development
This was my first freelance project where I revamped the website of Wagr, a smart location and fitness tracker for dogs along with the co-founder. I saw his message on one of the community-based WhatsApp groups to which I replied, had a few interviews based calls to discuss the work and see if I would be the right person to go ahead with and then we got to work.
The project took almost two months and was a great experience since I got introduced to many design and collaborative software which helped me later on. You can check it out here.
2) Ompsyram — Logo Design
Ompsyram was the photography account of the client whom I was working for and we got in touch through a common friend. He asked me for my previous work to decide whether I was a reliable freelancer and after discussing a few details regarding the logo and payment, I got to work.
The logo design took around eight hours after multiple iterations since I was making the logo for different resolutions, different color variants, and file formats but it was fun cause the client was very open to new ideas and suggestions regarding the work and gave me creative control.
3) DemandHelm — UI Design
I was working on this project after the client came across my LinkedIn profile and proposed the work. After seeing my resume and previous work, he decided to offer me work for a trial period inclusive of payment. This was a new experience for me as I was made to sign a Non Disclosure Agreement. This is when I came across how such agreements and contracts work and what terms like Intellectual Property mean.
I had some great experiences like the ones I mentioned above but there were some not so good experiences too:
4) Ucadd — Web Dev and UI Design
I started working here as a developer, as a part of the team and then later worked as the Head of Design but still felt like a freelancer because it was remote and there were no documents signed to maintain any kind of surety for the work being done and being paid. After 5 months, there was still no reciprocation for the work done and the founder started to behave rudely and target my professionalism. So I informed him I wanted to leave and get the payment for the work if possible but after not getting a supportive reply I just left without anything. It felt a bit disheartening but it was a learning experience on its own.
“Never regret. If it’s good, it’s wonderful. If it’s bad, it’s experience.”
― Victoria Holt
After all these experiences I just want to say that freelancing has taught me so many things beyond what I had expected. You can learn anything you want from anywhere and get paid for it! For all those still contemplating whether to give it a shot, let me share what’s in store for you. You learn to :
1. Control your outcome
You get to select the type of work you want to do, the effort you want to put in and the kind of reward you want. If the client agrees to your requirements too then you’re already in the process and if not, you gradually learn how to adjust such that both ends, your’s and the clients’ meet. You learn how to negotiate which brings me to the next point.
2. Communicate with people from different career paths
The process of freelancing makes you communicate with whoever is offering the work and that is great because you realize how important different fields are, some of which you might even be unaware of existing and this way you learn how to explain your skill set to anyone in the most simple way possible. It takes time, it gets annoying too but it helps in the long run as you get more patient with listening to them and explaining yourself to them in a professional manner.
3. Learn new software and workflows
Every client or team has a particular workflow and uses a certain set of software to maintain the proper functioning of their projects.
As a third person, you’re not aware of all these till you get introduced to them and the more often this happens, the more you expand your knowledge regarding what’s out there, what’s relevant and how to collaborate with people from different places and teams. I learned a lot from this.
4. Get a better understanding of what you want
After you’ve freelanced for a while, you get to know about different fields and what’s out there. You develop a sense of self-realization about how to go ahead in terms of your career. You end up making many contacts such that in case you feel like you want more guidance or recommendations, you know more people in the field to ask than your seniors.
Freelancing has its downsides too such that it can serve as a great interactive and learning opportunity but it’s not safe as a full-time career option till you get enough contacts and become good at it which takes a while. Also, the kind of work you do can get quite monotonous after a while if you don’t try to learn other skills and improve your skill set. Sometimes, you don’t even get work for a long time. However, these downsides can be easily converted to upsides too based on how you face them.
There are a few things I wish I was told beforehand to deal with the downsides or even prevent them and make the process better :
1. Build an online presence
Don’t limit yourself to freelance websites such as Upwork or 99designs only and don’t rely much on them since they don’t always work out and initially take a lot of time for verifying as a legitimate user looking for work.
Let the world know you’re out there, promote your skills and add value to them. Whether it’s on professional platforms such as LinkedIn and AngelList, or social media platforms such as Instagram, keep updating your profiles, set your status as looking for work and try posting about what you’re working on and where you want to get to. Even make a personal website if you want to !
2. Gradually increase your pay rate
For your initial projects, start with a minimal rate of $5 an hour and then scale up based on the amount of work you’re able to do and what you think you’re effort is worth. The reason I’m telling you to charge based on dollars is that it’s a global denomination that’s relatable almost anywhere in the world and if you’re working remotely, why not try for clients globally too?
3. Work is available everywhere
Anyone with no prior experience can get work. You just have to keep looking for it. If the orthodox process of using freelance websites doesn’t work, there are facebook and even WhatsApp groups with communities for this kind of stuff. I got my first freelance project from a WhatsApp group so at least I can say with surety that this works.
4. There’s nothing wrong in asking what you want
Just cause you’re working for a client doesn’t mean he or she has control over you or your work. You can negotiate politely and firmly and try to get on the same page because that’s how collaboration works and they understand that too.
5. Prevention is better than cure
There will be a lot of times when the client is not sure about the project or will try to get the work before making any payment. In that case, always try to get half the payment after 50% of the work is done and the other half after the completion of the project. If the client doesn’t agree or things are not looking in your favor, it’s better to withdraw as there are a lot of opportunities out there.
Sometimes the clients agree initially but back out later on or even stop communicating. To ensure this doesn’t happen, it’s better to learn about things like non-disclosure agreements, intellectual property, copyrights and to get a contract signed with the client before initiating any kind of work.
For those who don’t know how to draft a contract…
Contracts For Creators have made a clean and functional tool to empower young creatives in India or in our case freelancers, to understand the different ways of protecting their rights, negotiating better and maintain professionalism. You can download the draft from here.
So that’s all for this article, I hope I have inspired a few of you to give this a shot. Pick a skill or hobby and turn it into a career option or earn some cash on the side, only to boost your process and marvel at how far you’ve come.
Thanks for reading :)
