As per Future Forum research group, CEO of Slack mentioned that 79% of professionals expressed their will for flexibility in work. Freelance and work flexibility goes hand in hand. If you are someone wondering how to start freelancing with no experience, keep reading on how to begin your journey.
What is Freelancing all about?
Freelancing is a working environment where freelancers are self-employed and can work with different projects or clients at the same time. Freelancers take the whole responsibility of their career. It depends on the individual if they want to:
- work part-time or full-time,
- work from any part of the world,
- Which project to choose,
- Which client to choose,
- Set their pay rates and
- Decide if clients need to be charged on project basis or milestone basis.
The whole and sole responsibility to get potential clients or projects is theirs. Some projects are short-term and some are long terms which might require more hours. Few projects demand less than 30 hours and few more than that. Flexibility is not a problem as long as the projects are completed on time. Basically, the gig economy is favourable for freelancers as they work from anywhere.
There are some popular jobs in a freelancing career a freelancer should look at. Have a look here. If you wish to explore the jobs, UpTecHunt has created endless opportunities for the freelancers.
Developing a career in freelancing is quite interesting and exciting. To begin with, start looking for the in-demand skills in the market.
Got no experience? Don’t worry, you need to know the most important skill which is marketing yourself. Being marketable will build confidence and help you to make good money.
Build your profile
Make your resume ready highlighting what a client can expect out of you if they outsource their project to you. An easy way to do this is to ask yourself “Why should someone work with you?”
This includes your credibility- your education qualification, work experience (does not matter even if it is for few months or none)
Consider, you have no experience,but you can still impress the clients by showing you are keen to learn and are upskilling yourself continuously. List the webinars, workshops, events, conferences or any other certifications/courses you have completed. That increases your value and shows how dedicated you are at your job. Platforms like Udemy, PluralSight and Udemy are few of the top certification providers.
Recommendations/Testimonials
If this is your first time freelancing, then what better than featuring a brief about their experience of working with you on your page. Ask for a small quote and upload it on your profile page. This would boost the confidence of
the client looking to interview you. Nothing to be awkward about as this is a common practice in freelancing industry
Look for a project
UpTecHunt is a freelancing platform that has plenty of opportunities for highly skilled freelancers. If you’re just starting, this is the right time and perfect platform to understand the market. You might as well, look at the project requirements and get an idea of what kind of skills you need to have.
Look for a niche skill you have and broaden your search to find the right job for your skill.
Set your pay rate
This is the time you identify your potential and decide how much you should get paid. Keep in mind, your skillset, number of years of experience, cost of living and the kind of project you’re working on. Skills such as development/programming get paid higher. Analyze these factors and set your pay rate. You can always revise the pay rates as the market changes.
Here’s a tip for those who are a newbie freelancer:
Something is better than nothing. Initially, you might consider working at a lesser rate. This is because the client is also experimenting for the first time with your work and you’re exploring too. Once you’re established, revise your pay rate accordingly.
Portfolio.
It’s extremely important to showcase your work to prospective clients. Let the clients see what they are investing into. It’s a two-way street- both the client and the freelancer should be excited to partner. Keep updating your portfolio
to showcase your recent work. Create a website which includes your portfolio, contact information, resume, testimonials and a photo to make it more personalised as well as credible. Link your social media accounts to your website and further circulate it within your circle. Don’t forget to ask for the testimonials.
If you have years of job experience, then half the battle is won as you have built an expertise in some skills or many or one. Moreover, you are aware of organisational skills such as communication and professionalism. That’s why it is extremely easy for you to become over confident and expect a lot from freelancing in the initial stage. Sometimes, it is easy for the newbies (with no experience) as they come with fresh minds and don’t mind change or working at lesser pay rates in the beginning. Depending on your approach, you’ll be able to get a project. It might happen you’ll find an opportunity within a week or sometimes even more than a week.
Here’s an upside if you have years of experience,
- Testimonials from your subordinates
- Building your portfolio
- Strong CV
- Range of skill set
- Knowing how to negotiate with the client is a bonus
Get started right away to create a profile and start your freelancing journey with UpTecHunt.
Final Words:
With experience or with years of experience, freelancing is for both. Just the approach has to be different. Freelancing has endless opportunities and comes with lots of benefits. Learn the do’s and don’t of freelancing to become a pro.
