If you are someone who is finding that their 9-5 is either unfulfilling or not quite hitting the financial highs they want, you are going to join the back of a very long queue.
As the pandemic shifted the world towards a hyper-speed train to digital and online, the world of remote work and freelancers also grew exponentially. Almost 12 months after the pandemic hit the world, Upwork saw an increase of 30% on their platform of freelancers looking for work.
There is a hugely growing trend of people determined to exceed their 9-5 lifestyle and use an online side hustle to be financially free. If you have a skill, ability, or talent that can be used to provide value for businesses digitally, you are the perfect fit for a digital freelancing career.
A recent study has gone on to find that by 2027, almost half of the entire workforce of the United States will be people freelancing - it feels like this is the inevitable future as freelancing provides people ways to get paid more for the work they want to do, whilst allowing them to work on their terms and from wherever they want.
All you need to start a successful freelancing career is a laptop, an internet connection, some free online tools to carry out your work and track clients, and a VPN that allows you to work safely, as it can route you to VPN servers in Canada for example.
Here is how to kick-start your freelancing career today:
Know What You Can Offer
This is the building block to any successful freelancer - knowing how they can provide value for a client.
This could be anything from writing and editing to graphic design and programming. Take some time to reflect on your skills and experiences, and think about how they could be applied to a remote work setting.
For example, some online businesses struggle with sales - if you are very talented at lead generation and sales, you could take their sales outreach over and even work on a high commission rate to get started.
Build A Body Of Work
You are only as good as the work you have done - promises mean very little in the freelancing world.
Businesses will want to see a portfolio of successful work before they sign you on, whether that is via retainer or commissioning work for you to do and pay you by invoice later. A portfolio of your successful work with clients, boosted by metrics and numbers and the ways you provided value.
You will have to maybe do pro-bono work to build up a portfolio, but it would be a great aid in working yourself to a point where you get pre-paid before you work.
Create Your Marketing Channels
To have a pipeline of clients ready to do work with you, you’ll need to market yourself effectively.
This can be done through having solid brand awareness, building out a strong website, creating a brand through social media channels, and also putting yourself on freelancing websites to get started.
Once you have built your website, you should have this as the focal point to highlight your services, testimonials, portfolio, and a place to post content. In your social media channels, you should post content centered around your industry, positioning yourself at the top of thought leadership in your niche.
Build A Strong Network
Having led and pipeline generation is the lifeblood of your freelancing career. One of the most important things you can do as a freelancer is to build a network with other agencies and freelancers in your niche - not only will you get the opportunity to work when they need support, but you can also learn how to become the best in your industry.
The best way to do this is to join freelancer groups on social media, reach out to people on sites like LinkedIn, and also promoting yourself through your social media to find like-minded people.
Create Your Rates
Once you have got your feet under the freelancer desk and understand your proposition, you should start researching how much people get paid to do your service. You can work from this and qualify yourself to determine your rates.
After your research, you should have a clear idea of how you work with your clients and what platforms you use to communicate with them - from here, you can kick on your freelancing career and create some fantastic work!
Career Conclusion
Starting a freelance side hustle can be the best decision you make - not only will it supplement your income, but it can be something that becomes your primary form of work and allows you to work wherever and whenever you want. Once you know your valuable skills and market yourself, you can sign clients and source work to begin getting paid and growing your freelance career.
