HOW TO BECOME A FREELANCER?
The freelancer market is growing with a good speed every day. Many stat-ups and companies are consulting freelancers to run their needs. This sector attracts a lot of people, while many find it attractive that freelance offer independence, others also see the scope for more money in it. It may sound difficult to those who prefer a normal job. The pathway to become a freelancer is quite easy if one knows how to navigate the initial steps.
DECIDE IF YOU WANT TO DO THIS
As any other job, freelancing also has pros and cons, so you should decide before opting for freelancing as your career. Being your own boss might sound good but it is hard to do everything on your own. You have to be ready to handle multiple works at a time. You will be working with multiple clients, and every client wants something different.
BUILD YOUR PROFILE AND PORTFOLIO
You don’t have to make a normal CV, as most of freelancing website have a predesigned template you need to fill out with your information. Take time to fill make your substantial profile that will inform your client about your education, skills, expertise and experience. Don’t overwrite it, just write all the relevant information and explain why you are the best person for the job.
Always provide portfolio with your profile to the clients. Your portfolio should illustrate your skills and experience. If you are a beginner, then you can create portfolio with sample works.
BE FLEXIBLE AND READY TO UPSKILL
You might have done best work for the client, but there will always be some chance that you will have to redo or improve something in your work. If you want to be a successful freelancer, always understand what your client needs and expect from you, always ask questions, try improving your work and take feedback graciously.
Upskill is one of the most important things one can do to face the challenges in this highly volatile market. With changing technology and demands, you need to be on the top of your game to stay relevant and to get higher fee for your work.
FINDING PROJECTS
For new freelancers it is very difficult to find clients, many don't get an idea on how to get the projects, you can try these ways to acquire clients you can try freelancing job posting platforms, you can leverage existing connection and networking, and you can also try marketing, advertising, and outreach.
DETERMINE YOUR PRICE
After you are done with everything you must decide your fees for the work you will be doing. Your hourly rate and project price completely depends on your skills and experience, but structure your fees in such a way that can cover your monthly expenses, of course if you are new you can't charge same as an experience freelancer. You can create you pricing structure according to the experience, industry, project duration, project complexity, location, deliverables and urgency.
