Getting Started as a Freelancer in 2024
So, why be a Freelancer?
Freelancing is an amazing way to take control of when you work, where you work, what you work on and who you work with. For the right kind of person, it really can open the door to an amazing lifestyle, becoming a digital nomad, owning your own business, it can all start from that first freelancing job.
I first started freelancing whilst at University and my years both independent and working as part of larger businesses have given me a view of both sides of the industry.
My 15 years across different creative disciplines have given me the opportunity to work with dream clients like Nike, The United Nations, Meta and many more.
So the big question is, if I was going to start over and begin my Freelance career again, where would I start and how would I do it?
My first freelancing desk setup in our tiny flat in London
Step 1: Designing Your Freelancer Portfolio
The first place to begin your journey is with a portfolio of projects tackling all of the different services you plan to offer.
When creating your first portfolio, you’ll need an absolute minimum of 3 different projects.
Make sure when you’re creating these projects that they reflect the kind of work you want to do for clients. Prospective clients will judge the work they’re commissioning you on by what’s in your portfolio. There’s no use creating a portfolio of work you hate as when a client asks you to create more, you’re going to have a baaaaaad time.
As you start to pick up clients and create more ’real’ work, ask for permission to show these in your portfolio and place them right at the front, they demonstrate your ability to be professional and most importantly deliver.
Step 2: Where to Find Your First Jobs
Fiverr, Upwork and other freelancing sites are a perfect way to begin your freelancing career. They take prospective clients and match them with professionals all over the world. You don’t need to have any prior experience to start, just a great portfolio and a solid attitude.
The strategy you need to employ when you start out on these sites is pretty simple:
• Price yourself a little lower to start.
• Gain good reviews and get experience.
• Develop recurring client relationships.
There will always be someone cheaper than you on these sites. Work to be more consistent, give better service and you’ll start to build recurring clients. As someone who has hired freelancers, a consistent and hardworking freelancer is worth paying more than someone who rushes and produces poor quality work.
My current office, with plenty of room to make what I need to for any project.
Step 3: Growing Your Business
To grow your business, you’ll need to start moving your clients to a direct relationship. A quick warning before I explain why this step is necessary, doing this is often explicitly against the ToS of these sites as you’re moving the relationship with your client under yourself and therefore taking revenue away from these services.
The reason it’s important to do this though is that you need to own the relationship with your clients 100%. By interacting directly, not only are you making a bit more money as the site isn’t taking a cut, you can also branch out and offer them other services. It also makes it easier for them to refer you to other people as you can be approached directly rather than having to do everything through another company. All of these things offer you routes to expanding your business and relationships with your clients. I cannot stress how important this step is!
Step 4: Get Those Referrals!
Referrals! referrals! referrals! Word of mouth is hands down the best marketing.
A friend telling you ‘I know this great designer’ is far more convincing than an advert saying ‘I am a great designer’. So ask clients who are happy with your services for a referral to their network. Then once you’ve done a great job for them, repeat the process.
If you’re consistent with this, you can build up a good size client base with very little extra effort.
Finally, you’ve made it, you have a great pool of regular clients. So now is the time to start to ask yourself these questions:
• Who do you want to work for?
Having an ideal client in mind is really helpful as this is your north star when it comes to the freelance work you want to produce. You aren’t going to be able to pick and choose your clients when you start out, but as time goes on and you become more established, this will start to become a real option for you. Picking the right clients is a big part of building a sustainable freelance business.
• How much do you want to be paid?
While everyone will answer ‘absolutely shitloads’, this is at heart a serious question. Have a number in mind and work your way towards it. This will also help you judge how successful you are and guide your decisions on which clients to take on. Sometimes, less money for a better client is absolutely the way to go.
• How many hours do you want to work?
Again, if you don’t need to work all of the time, you absolutely don’t have to, it’s one of the biggest perks of the position. The freedom to set your own hours though can be a blessing or a curse, some people find it hard to switch off while others have no problem closing the lid on their laptop and not thinking about it until they open it again the next morning. I have been both at various times.
Hope this guide was useful to you, I could have used it when I was starting out!
Liam