Freelancing is a rapidly expanding business in the present world not only for the younger generation but also for the adults. People now look beyond traditional career opportunities and earn extra money by working from home. According to the yearly survey conducted by Upwork.com in 2018, the number of freelance workers has increased to 56.7 million and is expected to continue further in the upcoming years.
Freelancing is an Art
Freelancing has not only attracted the attention of individuals but also the business firms. With the inception of technology, there has been an unprecedented shift in the functioning of businesses across the world. Several firms now aim at hiring online freelancers rather than employees because it requires fewer healthcare facilities, office space, and employee-related expenses.
What is freelancing?
Freelancers are the individuals who offer their services for a fee to various clients through an ongoing working relationship. It is a form of self-employment, relying on working from home instead of telecommuting. What makes this job important and attracts the attention of people around the globe is that you can work flexible hours such as during off-business hours. Moreover, you can have better control over your job and create your own career.
How to start with the freelancing?
Starting as a freelancer is not that difficult as many people believe it to be. Without any age barrier or prior experience, you can start freelancing even today as a side business or full-time job. All you need is confidence, continuous learning, and commitment to the job. The article summons up the step to step guide and few tips as mentioned below to start as a freelancer which will help you start up your freelancing business.
Essential steps to start the freelancing business:
Before you start with the business, ask yourself an important question that why are you choosing this? Once you have made your mind ready for this only then you can achieve the determined level of success within the available time and resources
1. Clearly define your goals
Without defining your goals you cannot flourish much in this business and will have a difficult time succeeding. Before starting to make sure that what you want to end up with, do you want to become a freelance writer, developer or designer? Making the right decision will help you accomplishing bigger aims. Apart from that, also decide whether you want to pursue this career as a side business or a full-time job. Once decided, start working on that!
2. Look for a profitable niche
If you are mastering your skills in various niches that might be helpful for succeeding in flourished freelancing business but not for the startup. The social networks are replete with various freelancing sites where other freelancers offer the same services at low prices. So, what makes you stand out from other freelancers? Find a profitable niche for your freelancing. This will help you focus on the quality and seek out the industries and clients that value the quality of work rather than price.
3. Reach out the target clients
As mentioned above, the freelancing business is growing fast and business firms now look for freelancers to get their work done. If you are new to this business, no need to worry about it. You can find clients on various freelancing sites such as Fiverr.com, Upwork.com, and freelancer.com, etc. Apart from that, social media networking can help you find potential clients. Sign up for Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts and connect to the writers and businesses looking for freelancers.
4. Create a portfolio
Most of the clients and job ads ask to see your published work. If you are new in freelancing business you might not have any published work unless you own a blog of your own. This is the time to polish your skills. Practice writing! Draft out some creating writing and publish them on Medium.com. Apart from that, you can create your samples with guest posting. These are the blogs that accept guest writers. After posting on these blogs you will get a link that you can show to the clients that your work has been published before.
5. Set strategic prices of your services
Setting up the right price of your work will help you gather many clients. If you are charging too high for your services, it is a likelihood that the clients may leave. It is thus advisable to price the work you deliver on the basis of work you deliver rather than what your competitors are charging. If you start with low earnings and focus majorly on the quality of the services you are offering, you might attract potential clients that are ready to work with you for a longer time period.
6. Mention potential clients in your content
Nothing comes easy! If you are new into this business it might take several months to create a name of your own. However, mentioning the names of the companies and clients in your content will help in getting your name in front of the right people and industries. Moreover, after mentioning their name take a moment to let the companies and individuals know about it. This helps them to remember you and your work easily.
7. Start pitching yourself
If you want to start freelancing and become a successful freelancer you need to learn that how to pitch yourself. You need to have a good communication skills so that you can communicate your skills and strengths with you clients and convert them into paying clients. Strategize your proposals and present it to clients through emails. Moreover, choose an appealing layout of your proposals with a tinge of your past projects and expertise.
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