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Getting into the freelance business may seem easy at first, but it is not; it is difficult and scary experience. If you dive straight into the industry, you may end up getting work that is out of your league and which will definitely result in negative reviews on your profile. After a while, you will stop getting orders. There is a lot of information out there regarding starting a successful freelance business.

Freelance business involves minimum investment. If you are skilled in anything like MS Excel or Adobe Photoshop, then you can run a business in little time and with zero investment if you already have the computer and applications installed. I am a professional freelancer and I do data analysis, data normalization and any excel work. I can earn anywhere from $1,000 to $1,500 depending on the time I spend working, my average freelance time is about 3 hours a day. Now imagine that If I can earn about $1500 by working from home for only 3 hours, how much can you earn? Before getting into freelance industry I did work for a watch company. The profit in the watch industry is crazy, but do require a lot of investment which most of us cannot commit. I remember on my first week with the watch company, a colleague sold Rolex GMT Master II 116710 BLNR for $18,300. From one sale profit was about $2,000 but the cost of the product is way too much, so it’s a business for the riches.

As a freelancer who made my way into freelance industry between jobs myself, I know how experimenting on what is best for you can take valuable time and energy that could be spent elsewhere. Follow the below steps to be successful at doing what you will love.

1. FIND YOUR NICHE

The very first step to start good and successful is to carefully select a niche. For example, in the writing category, you can find copy, book writing, and editing. In graphics, you can find tasks related to ads, letterheads, business cards, and photo editing. So, the first step is to find the niche with which you are comfortable and have the necessary skills.

By finding one thing you want to work in, you’re easier to see as an expert. You will get work related to your knowledge base.

2. DEFINE YOUR SERVICES AND PRICING

After determining your area of expertise, you need to outline the service or services you will be providing to your potential clients and the cost at which you will be delivering. You should not make a standard brief package for your clients because every client will have customized needs. So spend a little time with the client and explain how and when you will deliver the required service. Let him know your work hours and your fees.

3. LEARN TO ORGANIZE YOURSELF

Before you get started, you need to calculate time. How much time will a project or individual parts of projects be needed.? From there you will have a timeline to work with. How many hours will you be spending on freelancing every day?

4. START WORKING ON YOUR PERSONAL BRANDING

Before you jump into the freelance industry, create a professional social media presence and if possible, a web portfolio. The most challenging task for a freelancer is to market himself and get the jobs. As you complete orders, word of mouth will start bringing people to your direction.

5. FIND YOUR FIRST CLIENTS

Now it’s time to find some clients. They will not come to you, you need to target them and sell them your service. Make a client list, people you will want to work with or companies you can work for. Get their email addresses from there websites, social media channels or listing sites.

Start reaching out, cold emailing and pitching. If you do this successfully, people will start to know you in these companies and your chances to get work from them will increase. Be short and brief; make it all about the client and how you can help them.

Also, list your service on platforms like “peopleperhour” and “fiverr.” These are good sources of getting work, millions of freelancers around the globe get work from these platforms.

6. KEEP YOUR DEADLINES

You must keep your deadline. If you cannot deliver in time, then your chance of getting rehire is close to zero. You can ask for more time if you need it, but you need to justify it to your client. You should not do this very often. The more you delay a work project more credibility you will lose.

Author: Jasmine Angeli

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