If you are reading this, chances are that you want to make money as a freelancer. This is great! I want you to succeed! Because I know what kind of freedom it gives you over working as an employee for someone else.
However, it's not going to be easy. In fact, it requires a lot of hard work and dedication in the beginning before any results start showing up. So if you're ready for that challenge then let's get started!
1. Pick A Skill & Niche
You need to follow your passion when deciding on a niche. This will make you happy as well as give you a competitive advantage over other freelancers in the same field.
There’s no point in picking something that doesn't interest you or that doesn't pay well, because it would be hard for you to stay motivated and keep working on it. I picked social media marketing because it was easy for me, but also because there’s always work available for us and we make good money.
2. Dedicate 6 Months Of Your Life To Learning
If you want to become a freelancer, I'm afraid you have a lot of work ahead of you. You'll need to dedicate six months or more of your life to learning about your industry and improving your skills. It may seem like a long time now, but trust me: it'll fly by!
I know what it's like when the going gets tough. Sometimes it feels like all those hours spent working on something aren't paying off as quickly as we'd hoped. In those moments, we need to remind ourselves that everyone makes mistakes and that our hard work makes us better at what we do every day.
Some people think that being good at something only comes with experience—that there is no shortcut around this process—but this isn't true! I have seen plenty of examples where people learned new skills much faster than others simply because they were willing to put in their time and effort into learning them properly first rather than just guessing how things worked.
3. Start Finding Clients Within First Two Months
We often learn from our mistakes. Don't be afraid to get into your first call with half-ass knowledge and skills. First, get the job and you can figure it out later. Your should start reaching out to clients as soon as you start learning the new skills.
Otherwise, you will never be ready and stuck in a learning loop. The best way to learn is by actually doing it, making mistakes, and correcting them. The evolution from a rookie to a pro freelancer will not happen in one day. And it is definitely not happening if you don't put your learnings to the test.
How To Find Clients?
There are several ways to find clients, and I will highlight some of them below:
Friends & Family: The best way to find clients is by word-of-mouth. That means asking your friends, family, and acquaintances if they know of anyone who could use your services. This may not work always and you are better off without them but it never hurts to try during your initial days.
Freelancing Websites: The most obvious way of finding clients is through freelancing websites like Upwork, Freelancer and Fiverr. These sites have a large pool of employers who are looking to hire freelancers for their projects. But it's tough to get your first gig for a high price because there's too much competition.
You can also use these websites if you have no idea about what kind of work you want to do or where you want your career path to go in the future. Just start by taking on small jobs until your portfolio grows enough that it becomes easier for employers and clients to see how good you really are at this sort of thing (and then negotiate bigger pay).
Cold Emailing: It's 2022 and cold emailing works. I have found some of the biggest clients from sending emails to the people I want to work with even if we never talked before. Find out which companies or businesses need your skills and send them a mail to get on a call. You can get free templates from the internet and start personalizing them for your potential clients.
Social Media: Content creation is the best way to get clients. You can teach others what you know and even charge from them for exclusive information. When you have a large following, let's say 10k or 50k or 100k followers, the client knows that you mean business. It increases your credibility as a highly skilled professional. Once you achieve that mark, clients will come to you automatically and they will be ready to pay top dollar.
To make things easier all around, consider finding a mentor: someone who's already successfully done freelancing in your industry and has good working relationships with other professionals in it. You can even work as an intern to gain knowledge and build credibility.
Freelancing Is Rewarding
Freelancing is a great way to make money, but it takes a lot of hard work to become successful. You'll need to learn new skills, like how to market yourself and manage your client relationships, so you can sell more services. You'll also need to find clients and get them through the door. If you can successfully do all that, then freelancing will be very rewarding!
