How to be a freelancer without any prior experience

How to be a freelancer is one of the most frequently asked questions that someone working online has to hear. You might find the content of this post is going out of topic. But beleive me these are the important things you should follow.Like every other business freelancing is a complete business. There are some solid steps that should be taken before choosing this as your full time career. I encourage web developers and other people working in IT field to choose freelancing. You do not have to immediately quit your job this is an insane and very risky step.  You have to think like a freelancer while doing full time job. I have discussed this in my previous post that you should read if you are doing full time job. I expect that you know what is freelancer.  You should plan to be a freelancer before actual action. How to be a freelancer is not important but how to plan to become a freelancer is much important. So lets discuss the steps.

How to be a freelancer if you are doing job

If you are doing full time job in a company you should focus on learning new skills. When you start freelancing you have to face different type of projects. Sometimes you will see that there is half part that you are expert at. But the other part could not be done easily. Consider a web developer who is a good back-end programmer. But he is not a good at front-end web development. He will face hard times starting as a full stack developer and will lose some projects. I have discussed this thing in detail in one of my previous post that explains when to quit your job to start freelance business. In short, You should have enough skills related to your field of freelancing before you join this. Try to learn from your seniors as much as you can. Try to learn from other departments also. How to be a freelancer involves many skills and steps. Like being a freelancer you are managing different roles as a Project manager, Developer, Hr, Sales,Marketing etc etc. See and learn how your company is doing those works. Lacking in a single field would make you lose in future. Once you know that you have enough skills you can move towards next step.

How to be a freelancer step 1: Plan

You should plan your freelancing career wisely. The competition is very high these days at freelancing sites. Freelancing has many perks. But it is not easy and it is not impossible. In fact i believe it is a very very exact process. If followed correctly anyone can be a freelancer in less than 2 months. I have done that. I have seen people doing that. But with a plan. Think about your expertise and what services would you offer. Narrow down your niche. Means if you are a web developer. Start with offering services as a php developer first. But there are so many php developers already. So start with a php framework. Choose something that has less competition. Once you establish yourself as an expert in smaller niche. You can expand your services easily. No one would hire a new person who do not have a high rated profile at freelancing sites. If you are a content writer write for some smaller category at the beginning. This is very important step and should never be compromised.

How to be a freelancer Step 2: Announce

Being a freelancer does not mean you have to get projects from online portals only. You do not know from where you can get the projects. Tell your friends that you are doing working as a freelancer. I remember when i started freelancing i informed each and every connection i know of that i am working as a freelance web developer. So whenever they or their connection needed a web app they referred them towards me.I got so many web development projects this way. So first answer to the question “how to be a freelancer” is to tell others that you can do these things. You should be the first person who they think about when someone discuss their need related to your field with them. This is an easy method to start your freelancing career. Most of the people feel shy and hesitate to announce their business. This is worst mistake. You have to get rid of your fears and hesitations. Why most of the people fail? They have a fear that what others would think about me.

How to be a freelancer Step 3:  Finding work

There are many ways to find freelance work. That i will discuss in the later posts. This post is just to build your solid base. If base is strong you will outrank many others in competition with you. The first mistake people do when they hear about freelancing, They search how to be a freelancer? and immediately create profiles at some top freelancing sites. Competition is high friend. I am not saying it is impossible that you will get a project. But why would you follow a difficult and dangerous path? First 2 months when you start freelancing are very crucial either you will rise or you will fall so badly that you will never think again about this. So, follow proper steps. Plan, Announce and then find work from small sites and forums. There are many webmasters forums and other such forums that have a dedicated blocks where you can find work. Go and find all forums related to your field. Sign up there and regularly follow the job posts there. Find remote job postings at different job sites like indeed.com.  There are many freelancers who have established profiles and when they have bulk work they need some other freelancers who can do their small projects. This is the best method that you can follow to find the freelancing work. I regularly outsource my small projects to some fresh freelancers. I know this is something a new freelancer can use. Do not reserve yourself to freelancing sites only. Think better think big think differently. You will succeed for sure. How to be a freelancer is a very easy step people make it complicated. Some want to get rich quickly and some want a miracle to happen.

How to be a freelancer Step 4: Stay focused

Big things come in small packages. Select small at the beginning. Have realistic and short term goals but plan for long term. Do not lose hope. Because easy things can be done by everyone. Look how many people around you are doing jobs, but only some were brave enough to stay focused and achieve something big. Why you need to focus and stay brave? Because it can happen in your freelancing career that you might not get even a single project at the start. That is your actual test. This is one of the most important steps if you want to know how to become a freelancer. Many people quit in their second month because they planned incorrectly and now they are not getting projects. So their is no second option. Trust me only those win who do not lose hope:

Here are some beautiful motivational quotations for you:

“Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me. ”

“Good, better, best. Never let it rest. ‘Til your good is better and your better is best.”

“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.”

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

Make habit of reading such quotes they will help you alot

Final Words:

Do not listen to those who say you cannot do something. Instead write their name on the paper and get ready to show them when you have achieved something. I am a freelance web developer and i teach people how to be a freelancer.If you have any question or want to discuss something about your career with me you can inform me in comments