Newbie Guide to Freelancing: How to get started as a Freelancer?
Since their evolution on planet Earth, humans are seeking ways to survive. People living in the old era faced real problems regarding their survival. If you have money, then you will survive.
But what if you don’t have money? If that is the case then let’s figure out how to get money.
What is Freelancing? Why choose Freelancing?
In this modern era, the internet has played a vital role to make life much easier than before. If you use the internet for your benefit then you will come to learn a lot of new things that will increase your chances of survival.
Freelancing is the most popular and well-known method of making off a living. According to a recent report, it is believed that in the future, 2 out of 3 people will be self-employed. But, what does that mean?
Freelancing provides you freedom and independence, freedom that lets you be your own boss, work according to your capacity, and choose your working hours. It is the art of selling your passion/or skills.
If you are a night hawk, then start working by using a computer and good internet connection, offer your services to the clients and…
Start making money!
How to get started as a Freelancer?
If you want to make money as a freelancer then the process is simple and straightforward.
1. Understanding your passion and skills
As I mentioned earlier, freelancing is the art of selling your skills. So, if a person wants to start freelancing then the very first step is to identify your skills as per your passion.
Let’s take an example. If I like to do art and designing then this would be considered as my passion. I am capable of making art pieces that are marvelous, but if it is my passion then what would be my skill? How can I turn this passion into my profit? What skill should I choose?
If I have an interest in art and design then I will choose graphics designing for sure. But graphics designing is a vast field. I must’ve to choose a subcategory in graphics designing.
If I am good at making portraits and sketches then I should go for digital portraits and illustrations and that’s a subcategory of graphics designing.
Now let’s help you to select your skill as well. Grab a notepad and follow these instructions:
Step — 1: Start with asking yourself these questions:
- What do I love the most about my hobby/work?
- What things do I like to perform?
- What things do I enjoy when I have the opportunity to do nothing at all?
Step — 2: Once you have prepared the answer list for the above-mentioned questions then dig deep and confirm from yourself. “If it is true”.
Step — 3: Make an accurate list of your interests. Put them in a long list and point out differences between these and the above-mentioned answers. Now select one that you prefer from this list and note it down somewhere else.
Keep working like that until you find your top 3 priorities.
The bottom line.. If you want to work as a freelancer or an entrepreneur then you should accommodate these priorities/interests up to an extent and that extent should be a huge one for sure. And by doing this, you will find your work more interesting, exciting, motivating and most importantly… rewarding.
For example, there is nothing wrong to work as a freelance writer — but if you hate writing then your journey is going to be tough and soon you will lose interest.
If you are still unable to find the perfect skill from your areas of interests then make sure to read the “highly demanding freelancing skills” at the end of this article.
Now let’s move ahead towards our next step.
2. Sign up on a freelance marketplace
After choosing the right skill, the next step is to market yourself.
How to do that…?
To market yourself you need to join a freelance marketplace or a freelancing platform. Now, what’s that?
A freelance marketplace is a spot where you can buy services from other sellers as well as you can sell services to buyers as well.
There are several websites that work as freelancing platforms, such as Fiverr, Upwork, Guru, People Per Hour and much more. I have already written a detailed post explaining different freelance websites. If you haven’t read it yet then go check it now before moving ahead.
There is no fee or charge to sign up for these freelancing platforms. It is absolutely for free.
3. Set up your profile
After successfully sign in up to a freelancing platform, your next step should be “profile creation.” Create your profile wisely and make sure to add the relevant keywords in it.
4. Build your portfolio
The portfolio is a crucial factor for freelancers. A good portfolio showcases your work in an efficient way in front of your clients.
But how to create a portfolio while I am a beginner?
If you don’t have any previous experience or portfolio then, I would suggest you offer FREE services to people in your community.
Ask your friends or other people in your community that you will provide services to them, free of cost. But, how can I get benefited if I work for free?
Well, let’s be honest, it is difficult to offer your services for free. But, if you see from my perspective then you will get a lot of benefits.
- In this way, you can build a strong portfolio, showcasing some real clients.
- While providing free work make sure to ask that person for a review regarding your work. There are 90% chances that they will agree to provide a review as it will not cost them anything. So, you will get free reviews as well.
The bottom line… Whenever you start bidding on a job then you can highlight that review along with your portfolio as well. This will increase your chances to win that particular job.
This is a great investment towards a goal.
This is how you can get started as a freelancer!
Highly demanding freelancing skills:
As promised, I am mentioning some trending freelancing skills but these are only for those beginners who are stuck at selecting a particular skill.
- Web Development
- App Development
- Internet Research
- Data Entry
- Web Designing
- Accounting
- Graphics Designing
- Consultancy
- Recruiter
- Writing and Translation
- Editing and Proofreading
- Social Media Management
- Ethical Hacking
- Cyber Security
Make sure to take a look at the subcategories of these fields. You will get hundreds of options.
Final Words
I hope that this guide will help you to get started as a freelancer. So, this was your first step towards freelancing. In the next guide, we will discuss how to sell your services on different freelance platforms.
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