Today, in modern society, the word “freelance” is common. Freelancing is a remote way of earning without employment in the state. You can sit on a beach with a laptop and get paid for it or prepare quarterly reports on your home computer.
Being a freelancer is no longer an alternative but a job fit that seems to respond to the needs of a market that is moving away from work for life. Self-employment represents the perfect professional opportunity that is not exempt from obstacles or demands. Living without a boss, without schedules, and without offices. Beyond the mirage ‘without,’ there is a long-distance race in which dedication 24/7 and uncertainty will be trustworthy companies…
This article will tell you how to become a freelancer in 2023. What is freelance? And what does it means to be freelance? And what skills can we choose as a freelancer??
Let’s begin!
What is a freelancer?
A freelancer is engaged in project work without registration in the state. He does not have a strict schedule, workplace, or boss, but no fixed salary, paid vacation, or sick leave is available.
A freelancer independently finds customers on specialized exchanges or acquaintances, performs one-time tasks or project work, and receives piecework. The income level depends on the specialization, complexity, and number of tasks performed and can vary from a couple of tens to hundreds of thousands of rubles per month. Freelancing gives you more freedom than an office job, but you won’t succeed without hard work. You have to combine the roles of a performer, manager, and boss: plan your time, negotiate with customers and resolve conflict situations.
Freelance lifestyle: what does it mean to be freelance?
Freelancers who do their job without conventional subordination constraints. Also includes entrepreneurs, freelancers, self-employed workers, assistants in the company of a family member, cooperative members, collaborators, and occasional workers.
Therefore, living a life as a freelancer mainly means having the freedom to decide independently when, how, where, and with whom to work. While it may seem crazy cool at first glance (and in some ways, it is. As a freelance you can work on projects. This means carving out a lot of free time if we manage to organize our work meticulously, at least in theory.
It takes a lot of discipline to work constantly and carves outbreaks in which to rest in practice. Speaking with many colleagues, we all have the same problem: we never disconnect from work. Unlike an employee who can do whatever he wants when he leaves the workplace, freelancers do not leave the workplace, leading them to work continuously for many hours a day, more than any employee—but being freelance means, above all doing a job that we deeply love. For this reason, we often remain working even for 12 straight hours without realizing how much time has passed.
We move on to the instructions on “how to become a freelancer 2023.
Tips and Instructions to succeed when starting freelancing
Best jobs that you can do as freelancers
Starting a new role remotely can make it challenging to understand the company culture. After all, it’s hard to gauge team dynamics without the opportunity to visit the office or meet your co-workers in person physically. However, there are ways to gain this knowledge when working remotely, and the tips below will help prove it.
The main criterion for choosing a specialty is your interests. If you studied economics and worked as an accountant, and your soul always lay in texts, you have the opportunity to go the other way and become a self-employed copywriter. You can find orders for almost any academic specialty. The most popular areas among customers are marketing, SEO, design, translations, and development.
Consider the possibilities of starting a freelance career in these areas.
1. Copywriter.
You can write texts or rewrite articles without specialized training. It is enough to have a vast vocabulary, be literate and be able to use services to check the uniqueness of texts. In parallel with the search for orders, we recommend immersing yourself in the topic and reading books by professional copywriters.
2. Designer.
The easiest way to start making money on design is to create landing pages. You can learn the essential tools of the designer using free video tutorials on the Internet. To take on more complex projects in developing interface design or brand identity, you will need specialized training. To pump up graphic or web design knowledge, build a portfolio and increase the check.
3. A freelance marketer
To become a marketer, you need a solid theoretical foundation and the ability to apply knowledge in practice. A freelance marketer develops customer promotion strategies, sets up advertising campaigns, and evaluates their effectiveness in web analytics services. To not waste time searching for up-to-date information on marketing and get a guaranteed results.
4. Specialty in SEO-optimization
A specialist in traffic and SEO-optimization of sites will need knowledge of the basics of Internet marketing and technical skills: the ability to collect a semantic core, analyze traffic through web analytics services, compose web pages, etc. Read more about this field of activity in the article on how seo works. You can get training as an SEO specialist in online schools – choose a free or paid training program to select seo courses.
5. Developer.
Freelancers in the IT field develop websites; configure 1C corporate programs, mobile design applications, etc. If you are not new to programming, there should be no problems finding orders. If you are far from the IT sphere, studying in online schools will help you quickly start in the profession.
If the specializations listed above are not close to you, do not be afraid to choose another direction. If you enjoy creating illustrations or retouching photos, develop your favorite business. Customers need professionals in various fields. With the choice of specialty sorted out, we move on to the next point of the plan – preparation for freelancing.
6. Be confident with new technologies, so you are well prepared.
Before you have a chance to get acquainted with your freelancer client, you’ll likely need to get familiar with new technology first. If you’ve been provided a new computer to launch your new role remotely, try out the hardware and software beforehand to get more comfortable using the corresponding technology.
Also, familiarize yourself with new programs or tools you may use in your new workplace. The details can be in the job description. Ask your recruiter or your new manager for this information before the first day. It’s important to note that these technical issues should be resolved as soon as possible so they don’t get “locked” on your computer without immediate fixing.
Also, test your device’s audio and video settings before day one so it shows up on pitch calls. Being on the ground will help ease any anxieties or nerves around these meetings, showing your new clients that you’re proactive and prepared.
Remember that it’s essential to make sure you’re authentically portraying life through video conferencing during these introductory calls. However, we want to decide that many people are tempted to look at themselves on the screen or perhaps to look at the face of the person with whom they are speaking. However, the reality is that you have to move the focus to the camera. This will appear to be providing eye contact with the speaker/listener.
Make sure you give your full attention during video calls, even if they are extensive calls. Appearing involved and showing that you actively listen will help build an excellent personal brand in your new workplace.
Set your goals
After your first week or so, and after all the introductory meetings are over, you should start to feel comfortable with your primary responsibilities and areas of focus.
Next, you need to work to set some goals for what you would like to achieve in the short, medium, and long term. By “goals,” we mean specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and scaled over time.
Remember that your initial goals do not necessarily have to be significant. What is essential is that they are goals that will help you stay focused during your new role. This will allow you to avoid “slowing down” in the absence of colleagues physically around you and without those daily positive reinforcements you would receive if you were in the office, always keeping you on track.
These specific goals will also give you a stronger sense of direction, make you more organized, and help increase your productivity; they will give you more self-confidence at work and make a positive impression on your clients. Once you’ve set your goals, set up regular, routine updates to let your manager know your progress.
Create a Portfolio
Education, knowledge, experience: all this means nothing compared to the portfolio. Here’s what you need to work hard on from the first minutes after you decide to become a freelancer. A portfolio in the activities of a freelancer is the key to success in obtaining new orders by 90%. There is only one way to create a portfolio: you need to make and complete it yourself. There are several workarounds for getting other people’s work and passing it off as your own. But this is a road to go anywhere because after the order is received, you will need to prove your skills by doing the work.
And if it turns out that the level declared in the portfolio is higher than what you have, then it will not be an enjoyable situation. Therefore, before passing off someone else’s work as your own, think ten times whether the game is worth the candle.
Choose the Right Freelance Site
These are such thematic sites on the Internet where employers look for performers for their tasks. To work on foreign sites, you need to know English, at least at the level of everyday and professional slang, which is inherent in your chosen specialization.
List of the most advanced freelance sites
- Freelancer.com
- Upwork.com
- Fiverr.com
- Guru.com
- Peopleperhour.com
If you haven’t tried freelance work yet, do it in your free time, and if everything works out, you can radically change your life by switching to freelance work.
Find a customer
To find a customer, a freelancer must know his target audience. It can be parents of schoolchildren, newlyweds, business owners, or homemakers.
Look for specialized sites on the Internet for queries. There is a lot of competition on the freelance sites. The customer first collects feedback from those wishing to fulfill his order and then selects the contractor. At first, it is difficult to gain trust if there is little experience or no reviews, but gradually you will have regular customers.
You can run contextual advertising on the Internet. Please make a small promo page with examples of your work and contacts so that by clicking from advertisements, customers get to it. The tax office can conduct an audit against any person engaged in advertising on the Internet.
Communication with clients
Perhaps 99% of the work will take place online (unless, of course, you are a content writer), so it is essential to consider the issue of communication with clients carefully. It is important to remember the ethics of communication. It is worth conveying information correctly, listening to the client, and, if necessary, do not be shy to ask questions. The project you implement must fulfill the task set by the client.
Other golden instructions for all freelancers
- For all freelancers, regardless of their field of activity, there are golden rules that it is always essential to adhere to:
- Even if the job is stable, you need to have a “safety cushion,” the amount of which is 3-6 monthly earnings.
- Try to work on a schedule close to the office, and do not communicate with clients after hours.
- If the work cannot be handed over on time, it is worth warning the client.
- Keep updating your portfolio.
- Always learn which will help you become the best in your profession.
Last words
So, we have learned almost everything about “how to become a freelancer in 2022″—this is the advantage of becoming a freelancer you have complete freedom. When you want, you work; you relax and watch movies when you want. If you are an undisciplined person and cannot force yourself to work well, you will not succeed and become an outsider. You need to work constantly.