For a lot of people, freelancing represents freedom from the daily grind of a 9 to 5 office job. While in many cases that is true, freelancing is by no means an easy path. Freelancing has plenty of challenges, like always being on the hunt for clients so you can pay for bills and other essentials.
If you’ve decided to freelance but have no idea how to meet those challenges, don’t fret. Here are a few tips to help you kickstart your freelancing career.
Identify your ideal client
To start, you must identify the type of client that you want to work with as a freelancer. Remember, not all customers will be friendly and patient with you. Just because they hire you doesn’t mean you will get along with them.
To identify your ideal client, start by listing traits or characteristics of the person you would most enjoy working alongside. For example, is the client well-experienced working with freelancers? Do they look at the value of your service instead of the price of your service? Do they already know what they want? And most importantly, can they pay you fairly? Those are some questions you’ll need to answer as you pinpoint your target client base.
Identify the skills you can offer to your ideal client
The next thing you should do is determine what skills you can offer to your ideal client. For example, what freelancing skills are you familiar with already? Proofreading? Video editing? Email marketing? Digital marketing?
After that, anticipate your client’s needs. That’s what you offer to them. Identify the skill or service that will help you solve your client’s problems. For example, do they lack time in creating content for leads? Then maybe you can offer video editing or social media management. Use your skillset to attract clients who’d benefit most from your help.
Market yourself accordingly
Freelancing involves a lot of marketing yourself. Make sure that when people visit your profile online, they recognize the specific skills you’ve chosen to provide. If you select to be an email marketer, optimize your profiles to say that. It would be highly unclear to say you’re an email marketer, but none of your posts or service descriptions mentions email marketing. Prominently advertise your niche, and don’t shy away from posting related information or articles either. That helps establish you as an authority in that skill.
Practice for interviews
You may not be going for an office job, but you still need to practice interviews. Why? Because when you pitch your services to potential clients, they’re probably not going to hire you immediately. You may or may not have to provide your resume, but they’ll definitely want to get to know you and your work more. Before hiring you, clients will need to buy into your abilities. Make sure to research how to prepare for an interview. Then, practice beforehand with a friend or relative.
Fund yourself with various kinds of work
As mentioned above, freelancing is not easy. While looking for work, you may still have to seek out other ways to make money. After all, bills won’t wait for you to earn – they need paying. And if that means you have to get entry-level business administration jobs, then do it. Know that you are only doing it temporarily, so don’t feel discouraged. It is just a means to make sure you survive for the time being. Think of it as a money-now opportunity to support your true passion.
Conclusion
Remember that it’s crucial not to limit yourself. You may have a specific freelance career path in mind, but be flexible if it needs changing. When it comes to career paths, there is no right or wrong step to take. Work on marketing yourself, your online presence, and finding the freelancing opportunities that you want most. The important thing is that you’re getting closer and closer to your dream job.
Are you looking for a job in the United Kingdom? The UK Career Fairs is a virtual platform that helps you connect with potential employers. We hold a variety of recruitment events or career fairs to help you in your search. Check out our website for upcoming schedules!
