Check out how to become a freelancer and get more income or career opportunities
Especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, people begin to embrace a freelance and remote working model. There are lots of pros of freelance working, such as being able to arrange your schedule and choosing specifically which projects to work on. If you get tired of the traditional working system and wish to work as a freelancer, check below to see how to become a freelancer in 8 steps!
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Establish Your Goals
When you start freelancing, you should state your goals in terms of your expected income, what kind of projects you want to be involved in, and what is your ultimate motive behind becoming a freelancer. By doing that, you would know where you are heading and take the necessary steps to reach your goals. If you need to train for an interview, check our content to rock it.
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Choose Your Area
You can specialize in multiple areas while working as a freelancer. Here are the most popular freelance occupations in 2022;
Þ Software/Web/Mobile development
Þ Content writing
Þ Graphic design
Þ Digital marketing
You should choose the area that you want to work in concerning your skills, interests, educational background, and work experience. If you want to specialize in a novel area that you have no experience or educational background in, you can benefit from online courses. To find the most suitable niche for you as a freelancer, you should analyze your strengths, weaknesses, and interests. After doing that, you would probably come up with several occupations; and you can evaluate them individually whether it is a good fit for you or not. To make a final decision, you can make market research to examine which occupation is more profitable, or if there is a surplus or lack of freelancers in that area. In addition, you can search for the pros and cons of that area. You should evaluate all the parameters to make your ultimate decision.
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Identify Your Target Audience
To be able to work as a freelancer, you should determine who would benefit from your services. You should specify the common characteristics and problems of your target audience so that you can improve your services in that direction. Since you are an incipient freelancer, you should build yourself a network to reach your future clients. To find clients, you can search through your already existing network. Also, you can reach your potential clients by using digital marketing and advertising. In addition, there are multiple freelance job posting platforms, like Remotify; so you could benefit from their services.
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Improve Your Profile
To work as a freelancer, you should have a detailed and up-to-date resume. You should give the specifics of every previous job experience, and do not forget to include any certificates and voluntary work in addition to your skills and abilities, contact information, educational background, and work experience. You can start with a summary of your core qualifications as an employee; what are your goals, and which area you want to improve yourself. In addition, you should specify your level of expertise in all of your skills and abilities.
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Create a Portfolio
A portfolio consists of the pieces of your previous work in that area. It serves as proof that you utilize the skills and abilities to make a tangible product. By looking at your portfolio, your future clients can have a sense of your working style, your strengths, and weaknesses, the quality of your work, your level of creativity, and in which area you have specialized. To make an impressive portfolio, you should include examples of your best work. Also, you can add client testimonials to support these examples. Take your time building a portfolio if you’re a beginner in the mentioned area, or take on a few lower-paying projects to gain experience instead. You can check our content about how to create a portfolio here.
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Find a Platform
Finding a platform that meets your needs as a freelancer could offer you a great deal of help. To begin with, they would help you to reach your potential clients. In many freelance job posting platforms, you can see the project details, the information about the firm, and which skills are needed to be a part of that project. Also, you would be able to arrange a meeting with your potential client via that platform; thus, you would be saving time and energy to a large extent. Many of that platforms, like Remotify, offer you invoicing services and customized contracts; so they would save you from the burden of doing them on your own. To find the platform that meets your needs the best, you can search for their fees, offered services, the network of clients and freelancers, and user reviews. After you find out the platform that suits you the best, sign in and begin to create your profile!
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Determine Your Rates
You should be realistic while deciding on your rates if you are a beginner in the industry. You can do a market search to get a general idea of beginner freelancer rates. Also, you should decide whether you charge your clients on an hourly or project-based format; or which currency you wish to get your payment. Do not forget to open up a bank account for your business-related expenses. Besides your rates, you should develop a pricing structure to charge your client. In your pricing structure, you should include the deadlines for the payment, and late fees if you have any.
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Find Your Clients
Congratulations! You completed the previous steps and now, all you need to do is find your clients. To find your clients, you can search your already existing network; or you can look up job postings on LinkedIn. You already found the freelance job posting platform that suits you the best in the previous steps and signed up. Now, you can start to look at the current projects and apply for the ones that are suitable for you. Do not jump into every project; even if it would be your first project as a freelancer, it should be in line with your expectations. Keep your goals as a freelancer in mind while choosing your very first project.
