Freelancers are growing all around the world, especially after the pandemic. It already had an appeal, but many people were still on the fence. However, forced working from homemade we all realize all the perks and privileges that come with it. Not only can you work without any added pressures, but it is also great for work-life balance. And even if you don’t pursue freelancing work full-time, it can still be great for some extra income.
Freelance Forward 2020 showed that the freelancing and independent workforce brought in a whopping $1.2 trillion of revenue. So, making enough money to take care of major expenses like rent and minor ones like Spectrum bill pay shouldn’t be a problem. All you need to do is start the journey of freelancing now rather than later. Many in-demand professionals would rather freelance than get a full-time and “regular” job.
Overcoming the Challenges of Freelancing
There are many challenges that freelancers have to overcome daily. But most of them don’t matter if you are consistent and disciplined with your work. One of the biggest problems is distractions that can hinder your concentration. Then, the next thing you will have to overcome daily is the urge for procrastination. However, there are some things you need to do to enhance your freelancing career into a profitable business.
1. Choose Your Expertise
The first thing that you need to do is to know what your strengths and skills are. If you know what you’re good at, that is what you should be building a freelancing career around. If you think you are great at writing, develop a portfolio that showcases your skills. This is important because when clients want to hire someone, they look for someone who has prior experience and the right skillset. If you have the right background, make sure that your potential clients know about it.
2. Always Keep Learning
The best thing that a freelancer can do is to never stop acquiring new skills. While experience is necessary, it won’t matter if all of it is outdated. You always need to learn new skills that can build on your existing experience and portfolio. For instance, an SEO copywriter should always keep learning about the latest Google Updates because that will help them enhance their content optimization skills. If you stop learning, your clients will start drifting towards people who have more relevant skills for the job.
3. Set Competitive Prices
Pricing can be an important thing to consider when you are just starting out. You don’t want to oversell or undersell yourself from the onset. How you set up your hourly rate can hint to your clients about how much you know about the subject matter or what qualifications you have. You may be tempted to reduce your prices to attract more clients. However, it can backfire if you are charging a rate too low. Your potential clients could have trust issues regarding your quality of work. So, the best thing to do is to conduct a market survey and then decide on an hourly rate.
Moreover, it can be important to adjust your hourly rate according to your experience. As you continue to grow in your career, you should increase your pricing. Consider how many hours you have put in and the number of similar projects you have delivered before bidding for a job.
4. Build a Community
It is important to increase your social circle to get more clients. When you are part of a like-minded society, you should be able to get more leads. Moreover, use your social media presence to talk about your skills and new experiences as well. The more you talk about your freelancing journey with people, the more engaged they will be. As a result, when someone wants to get something done, they can immediately think about you as an expert.
Moreover, your community and social media presence can also get you stellar reviews and referrals. You will realize that most of your clients come to you through a good review or a referral. So, surround yourself with people from the same niche as you.
5. Always Draw Out Contracts
Contracts can be important to make sure you don’t end up spending too much time and effort on one project. As a freelancer, your most important asset is your time. So, make sure that you specify the number of hours you are likely to spend on a project. You should also specify the hourly rate for any additional time that you spent. Moreover, make a note of all the specifications that your client gave you when the project began. If they change anything midway, it could take more time to revise the whole project.
