Congrats! You’ve decided to dive into the unpredictable world of freelancing and take care of your future with more control. You’re enthusiastic, excited, and bit scared – but, hey, you believe in your skills and know that you’re the right person for a decent and well-paid job!
Even though there are many reasons why you decided to start as a freelancer, becoming one isn’t actually a straight-line progress. In fact, many freelancers have their beginnings harder than they prepared for, and still a majority of them decide to quit before they even started any serious gig.
Remember: every beginning is hard. There will be many moments when you’ll be thinking to quit and return to the old "9 to 5" job. With that in mind, we wish to provide you some useful tips on how to keep your motivation high and how to persevere in those moments.
Choosing your niche
Although you’ve made a decision to become a freelancer, you still have to decide what services are you going to offer to your future clients. One of the best ways to start as a freelancer is to choose the niche according to your previous work experience. For example, if you worked for years in marketing department, it’s a good way to continue to offer the same type of services as a freelancer.
However, if you’re a rookie, you will have to go through a different process when finding the best (and most profitable) niche for you.
Tip #1 – List your strengths and skills
When you’re at the beginning of finding your niche, the very first step to take is – assessment. You need to list all the skills you have in order to figure out what services you can offer to the marketplace. Again, it’s not an easy task; many beginners are too excited to start freelacing they often list all the skills they obtained, including those they’re not very good at!
To avoid the typical mistake of being a „jack-of-all-trades“, you need to find top three skills your extraordinary at. Maybe at this moment it seems hard to distinguish only three skills, especially if you don’t have previous work experience or you’ve done some typical after-college work. But try to focus on the things you are really good at; maybe you can ask your peers or collegues to help you out?
However, you might want to try to offer as much as you can to your potential clients. There are some examples of successful freelancers who started as a „jack-of-all-trades“ but developed one or two specialites along the way.
Try out as many things as you can. You never know where your skills can lead you and what door will open for you.
Tip #2 – Nurture your passion(s)
Some of us know from the start what we’re passionate about and what inspires us; that helps a lot when finding a niche you’ll be freelancing in. Again, if you’re not so lucky to find your passion at this moment, don’t be disappointed – there are still ways to discover what inspires you the most, only it will take a while.
Try to remember the things you’re good at; it can be something completely unrelated, like drawing and maths or writing and engineering. But even if you like opposite things, there must be some connection between them.
When you find out what links your interests together and why are you drawn to certain things, try to imagine doing those things for the rest of your life. Are you getting excited just thinking about it? Can you imagine doing something else? That might be the right track to follow until you discover your passion.
Once you find what inspires you, nurture it. Be a student of your passions – it will help you to grow as an expert in your niche.
Tip #3 – Look for current trends on the market
It’s always good to know where the market is going in the next couple of years; anticipating the needs of the clients is one of the most valued skills among the top experts. However, when you’re just starting out, it’s not so simple to determine the market trends, especially if you’re completely new in the niche.
One of the great starting points for beginners is to look for the current trends and follow the path. It might help you to meet experts in your field or to establish a connection with one of your peers. In either cases, it will be helpful.
Another thing that’s important is to invest your time in learning about your niche as much as you can. That way, you’ll be on the curve of the industry, which will enable you to advance and grow. As you continue to grow your business, you will get the taste of what are the current needs of the market.
Do's and Don'ts
Tip #1 – Offer a value
Providing an excellent service is a must when you’re building up your freelancing career. That means that you have to be good at what you’re doing to be able to keep your clients for long.
On the other side, an excellent service gives no satisfaction if not followed by something else – and that’s a value. What determines a value for a client depends on his beliefs and expectations; every value is something unique and memorable.
Finding a value that will suit a client often requires analyzing the competition. Find out what other freelancers are offering and try to create an offer that’s different and more appealing to your clients.
Besides analyzing your competition, it’s always useful to talk to clients; find out more about their past collaborations and try to see what made them end such a collaboration. That way, you’ll gain an insight into what they really want – and if you find a way to provide it, they will respect you more.
Tip #2 – Communicate often
Comprehensive communication is the key to building a lasting and successful relationships with your clients. Besides specializing in your primary skills – which determine the service you’re offering – it’s useful to practice the communication skills, as well.
Not only that a clear and straightforward communication will allow you to understand the client’s needs more precisely but it will also help you to distance yourself from other freelancers. If you’re willing to learn more about how to present your solution to your potential client instead of selling them your services – as the most freelancers do – you will be able to see the results of such an approach very soon.
Again, don’t be afraid to disagree with your client or to suggest a solution that wasn’t even at the table in that particular moment. As long as you communicate clearly and respectfully, your clients will be able to see your worth, not only your knowledge or skill-set.
Tip #3 – Follow up
The golden rule of building a solid network is – to follow up. As a freelancer, it’s something that will help you to keep your clients updated and to create a more open relationship with them. On the other hand, freelancers who are willing to put that extra effort and do a follow up frequently can expect a better results in the terms of client retention and forming a lasting relationship.
Don’t hesitate to do a follow up even if something unexpected happened – for example, if you’re facing difficulties during the project or if a client changes the agreement and compromises the project.
Tip #4 – Don’t break your word
Not everything will go as smoothly as you’ve planned; there will be times when you will have to reschedule some projects or even cancel them in order to keep the clients satisfied. Freelancing comes with many uncertainties but try to make your promises kept for several reasons. Firstly, no one likes to be fooled around, especially a big client who can bring you the financial stability you need. If you’ve made a promise and agreed to a certain deadline, try to keep the agreement until you finish. That way, you will gain a client’s trust – and that’s another important asset for a freelancer who is just starting out.
