HOW TO START WORKING AS A FREELANCER
Freelancing has become a growing trend in recent years. Whether college going students or working professionals, everyone is looking for a way to showcase their skills in a more productive way. While having the right skills is the most important factor to be a freelancer, what equally holds importance is how you display your talent. Below are the important tips to become a successful freelancer.
Discover your talent
The freelancing industry is gaining constant popularity in India. More and more youths are looking for secondary options to earn some extra money and recognition for their hidden talents. No matter how much people tell us to follow our passion, not everyone of us can choose that as a career option. And that is when working as a freelancer comes to the fore.
Now the first step to begin your career as a freelancer is to identify your talent. If you have a flare for words, you could become a freelance writer, if you are good at teaching you could start your own educational channel and if you are smart with computers, you could work as a freelance software developer.
Options are aplenty. What is required is to discover and channelize your hidden talent.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT FIELD OF WORK
Just like any normal job, you too have to decide upon your area of work. There are many industries which are flourishing with freelancers. Below are some of the sectors which offer a lucrative future as a freelancer :
- Writing
- Education
- Research
- Photography
- Web Designing
- Modeling
- Computer and IT
- Graphics Designing
- Software Development
- Education and Training
BUILD A STRONG PORTFOLIO
A skill is of no use if it is not displayed properly. Showcase your talent! Build a portfolio. To begin with select a dummy project. Work on that project for free. This will be used to display your skills to your future clients. A well-built portfolio with multiply your profits manifold. If you wish to be a writer, write articles with some substance in them. Select topics which are relevant and help you to put forward your writing skills. If you wish to be a model, do a photoshoot and build your portfolio.
Your portfolio will be the first thing your clients will judge you on. So try and make a good portfolio.
START LOOKING FOR JOBS
Begin with a lesser known client. You may have to work for free in the beginning. This is just to build a good rapport across the industry. The more youll work, the more people will get to know about you. To look for jobs, you can create your profile on any one of the following websites. These are some of the most famous sites for freelancers.
- Freelancer
- Upwork
- PeoplePerHour
- Guru
- Elance
You need to follow three simple steps :
- Start by creating a unique and eye-catching profile.
- Create your portfolio and showcase your talent.
- Send job requests to employers.
- Build a client base.
CREATE SOCIAL CONTACTS
Everyone lives in the digital world more than the actual world. For helping more clients to reach out to you, you need to make your online presence felt. Start update your social networking sites. Mention your freelancing career on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook etc. Let more people know about your freelancing stint. And if the need be, work for free for some people to demonstrate your skills. You could also create business cards. Instagram is also a great platform to create a strong base. You should inform your friends and colleagues about your venture and tell them to pass on the word with other people as well.
NURTURE YOUR SKILLS
What matters the most in a freelancing job is your talent. No matter how good you think you are, there is no harm in polishing your skills. You can only specialize in your area of interest by pursuing courses which help you in building your skills. Select certificate or diploma courses to sharpen your skills. If you are a writer, take up courses on improving your writing skills. If you are a web designer, take up a course which teaches you the advanced skills related to web designing.
Never stop learning. Keep working towards making yourself better and better. Knowledge never goes to waste.
And the most important question :
What is the qualification required to be a freelancer?
Anyone can become a freelancer. Sometimes a bachelors degree in any course is sufficient. You dont require degrees to make you a freelancer. What you require is to be passionate about something. All you got to do is keep polishing your skills and you are good to go. And yes, some marketing skills to make people aware of your freelancing stint would help too.
Working as a freelancer lets you to be your own boss. There is nothing better than being independent. But dont take your freelancing career lightly. A freelancer has to work tirelessly to be successful in this competitive world. There will always be someone who has the same talent as you. All you have to do is be better than the rest. Keep working and you will surely be successful in your venture.
