How To Start Freelancing From Scratch

You can monetize your hobby and start freelancing. Try to do what you like and what works. Then your hobby will help you make good money.

Freelancing is a remote way of earning money without official employment. You can take your laptop, work on the beach and get paid for it, or prepare quarterly reports using your home computer. In this article, we are figuring out what freelancing is, how to become a freelancer from scratch, and find clients. Moreover, you can also trust Detail Marketing in this regard.

Who is a freelancer?

A freelancer is a person who works remotely with one or more clients. A teacher, accountant, web developer, repairman, confectioner can become a freelancer. Freelancing replaces the main job in the company staff or is a way to earn extra money.

Unlike remote work, freelancers are not full-time employees. On the one hand, this is an advantage, since you can decide when and how much to work. But there are also disadvantages. For instance, there is no paid leave.

What do you need to start freelancing?

First of all, you need to create an electronic wallet and a card to receive payment from the client and withdraw funds from various freelance platforms. You also need to set up a separate mailbox. Otherwise, everything will get messed up, and there is a high probability of missing an important email.

Moreover, a good computer, phone, and a stable internet connection will help you achieve results in this business. Task managers are useful in the work process as well. By using such services, you can set tasks for yourself and monitor their performance.

Be sure to complete a profile on freelance exchanges, download several instant messengers, and fill your accounts as much as possible. Add your photo, so your profile will seem more reliable. Watch the quality of the photo — your face should be visible. Use Retoucher.Online if necessary.

What can you do freelancing?

Freelancing is self-employment, private practice. Most often, freelancers are called specialists in the IT field, advertising, and marketing, representatives of the creative spheres, who search for orders, fulfill them and earn money.

Decide what services you will provide. Dozens of professionals are in demand on the web, for instance, copywriters, architects, designers, coders, social media experts, contextual advertising enthusiasts, content writers, moderators, social media administrators, coaches, instructors, etc.

We recommend choosing a profession that will be of interest to you. To become a successful freelancer, you need to love what you do.

What skills do you need to freelance?

For freelancing, it’s ideal to have skills and knowledge for which people are willing to pay well, for instance, writing texts, programming, creating designs or illustrations, editing videos, making banners, managing social networks. If there are no skills, you can do work that doesn’t require special education or independently master a new profession from scratch.

You can take online courses and learn one of the in-demand professions. Today, you can get the necessary skills from the comfort of your home. Furthermore, numerous beginners start from simple projects. As their freelance experience and knowledge grow, they switch to more complex and monetary orders.

Since the freelancer is looking for orders himself, the skills of communication with people, services presentation, and sales will come in handy. It won’t be superfluous to understand psychology and to know business etiquette.

Do you need to make a portfolio?

You definitely need to have a portfolio to get a lot of orders. It’s a list of your completed projects, according to which a potential client decides on cooperation. Therefore, having a portfolio is a must!

What if there is no work experience and there is nothing to show? The answer is simple — either work for free on the condition that you add the project to the portfolio or cooperate for a very low price. As a rule, if the freelancer doesn’t set a high rate, the first clients are found quickly. And then, as the portfolio and professionalism grow, payments can be increased.

How to successfully perform tasks?

In the end, we decided to give some practical advice on how to complete orders, get paid, and grow your customer base.

1. Work hard. If you are a beginner, it’s essential to build up a customer base and portfolio and collect positive reviews. At first, you may have no orders due to lack of experience, but don’t give up. Be prepared to work hard, spend a lot of time looking for clients. At the very beginning, you will work 25 hours 8 days a week.
2. Evaluate yourself. Don’t take on large projects or complex orders that you are not sure about. Try to evaluate opportunities in advance. For instance, if a task requires additional equipment, time, or skills that you don’t have, consider how this will affect the outcome.
3. Meet the deadlines. You can accept as many tasks as you like, but remember to complete them on time — professionals and punctual freelancers are in high demand.
4. Perform it well. If you understand that you are not meeting the deadline, then there is no need to rush and do the work “just to get it done.” The quality of your work speaks of you as a specialist. Everyone has unforeseen situations, and sometimes the deadlines are missed. In this case, just contact the client and discuss.
5. Plan your time. You won’t have a boss and a strict work schedule. Freelancing gives freedom but requires a lot of responsibility and self-organization. Use the calendar on your phone or just a notepad, so you don’t forget anything and plan your work. Moreover, don’t forget about sleep.

Let’s summarize

Ideally, the decision to switch to freelancing should be balanced, and the transition to this work format should be gradual. You need to constantly learn and improve yourself. Your income directly depends on your professional development. Choose webinars, master classes, online courses carefully — those appreciated in the professional community.

Furthermore, freelancing requires excellent self-discipline and self-organization. When no one controls you, it’s a challenge to concentrate on work because of lots of distractions. And there are various options for procrastination — you want to check your Instagram, then turn on music, TV, have a snack, and have another snack. You should know how to organize your day!

We wish you good luck and numerous orders!