15 Useful Tips and Tricks for Freelance Beginners
Freelance attracts with its flexible schedule, the ability to travel freely, and more time spent with family and friends.
Where to start, how to act to become a successful, popular freelancer, to find the desired freedom and steadily growing earnings.
A few tips for novice freelancers:
1. Do not quit immediately
Initially, it is better to combine freelance with work. The transition from offline to online will be smooth and painless. There will be time to learn new skills, to gain experience. When the online income exceeds your salary, you can leave the office.
2. Choose an online profession you like
Before you go into “free sailing” you should define your niche and develop in the selected area.
You can become a successful specialist by doing what is interesting. And there will be mental comfort and good income.
3. Create a work environment
At home – something is always distracts you, on the other hand – the feeling of constant presence at work. A specially equipped place in the house or apartment, cozy and comfortable, will help to differentiate the situation. It is better to allocate a separate room for an work place. Or it is better to put a table, to work only behind it.
Does not help, there is a reading room library, cafe. If finances allow, you can rent a small room.
4. Don’t spare money on equipment and high-speed internet.
Computer, laptop, Internet are means of production and you should invest in them. It is good to have both a desktop and a laptop. Suddenly, something will fail you always a contingency. In the case of the Internet, too. Otherwise, broken terms and contracts will cost business reputation and will affect your earnings.
5. Schedule work and rest time
In the home environment it is difficult to understand where the work ends and rest begins. It disorganizes and relaxes. As a result, efficiency drops, any tasks are difficult to perform, orders are not completed on time.
To avoid such a thing, it is necessary:
- Learn to plan the day competently.
- Make a schedule and introduce it to your home.
- Determine the time to communicate with your family.
You can come up with a ritual that adjusts to work and start the morning with it. This will help you get into the working rhythm.
6. Make a task list daily
It is good to determine the tasks for the day before the evening. This will allow you to start the day smoothly, quietly, without abnormalities. It is already known and clear what to do and in what order.
There is a simple rule “3+2”. The essence of it is that of the 5 planned tasks, the first 3 must be the most complex and important, which must be done necessarily. To solve them, you need to allocate a maximum amount of time allocated for work. The remaining two are secondary. It is better to do, but if it does not work out, it is fine.
This method allows you to properly assess your strength, set priorities and achieve a balance between work and life.
7. Register on freelance exchanges
Beginners should look for their first customers on exchanges and special sites for freelancers. They will allow to pump up skills, gain experience and portfolio.
Another option is social networks. You can create your own questionnaire, respond to offers, and search for clients in thematic communities and groups.
The prices for services in social networks are slightly higher than on exchanges.
8. Do not wait for quick results
Do not hope that in a month or two the income will be hundreds of thousands of rubles.
The first time you have to work on the portfolio, the orders will be simple, the fee for them is a penny. Beginner rating depends on the quality, accuracy and adherence to the agreed deadlines. The more positive feedback, the more difficult the tasks will be and the higher your income.
9. Create a competent resume
To write on your resume, not only skills and abilities, but also benefits for the employer.
10. Do not let yourself be fooled.
If a client asks to transfer an amount of money to his account as a guarantee it is a fraud. Freelance rule – money is paid by the customer, not vice versa.
11. Search for regular customers
An important task is to find at the beginning two or three regular customers who will regularly pay money from month to month, give positive feedback and launch a sundress radio. This is the key to success in freelance work.
12. Get your portfolio in order
The portfolio shows the customer what a freelancer can do – its best works, training certificates, feedback from satisfied customers.
13. Collect reviews
In the first year of work it is the feedback that influences the employer’s decision to choose this or that employee. It is necessary to ask the client to leave the feedback right after the task.
14. Determine the adequate cost of services
Beginners may find it difficult to set a price for their work.
It is normal to execute orders for a minimum fee during the rating period. But you cannot work for a penny all the time. For a client, a low price is equivalent to poor quality. There will be no good profitable orders.
In order to establish the best rates for your work, it is necessary to conduct an intelligence survey and find out how much the competitors take.
Good payment is an excellent motivation to develop further. Growth of qualification is a reason to smoothly raise prices.
15. Continually improve the level of knowledge and skills
Schedule time for training. Free webinars, marathons, training courses, paid courses will help you to polish old skills and/or learn new ones, to become a high-class specialist. Along with professionalism, the level of income will also grow.
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