What is freelancing? 5 steps to start your freelance journey

Table of Contents

Freelancing, in other words, self-employment is increasing with abrupt changes in the global job market. People are no longer content with their 9-to-5 jobs for various reasons. Therefore, the majority of them want to work for themselves but are not sure how to proceed. If you are one among them, read this blog which gives you a detailed picture of “ what is freelancing”, in addition to a few steps that will help you start your freelance journey.

What is Freelancing?

The term “ Freelancing” describes a way of earning money on a per-job basis instead of the usual monthly basis. To be precise, freelancers are self-employed. They do not work for a particular company. On the contrary, they work for different companies on various assignments in order to make money as per the task completed.

Let us know “What is freelancing and how does it work” in detail

Before starting the journey as a freelancer, it is essential to understand what is freelancing and how it works so you can begin the journey hassle-free. Hence, let me brief you on the concept of freelancing.

Why is Freelancing the future?

Primarily, the entire world business has paused since the Covid-19 pandemic, consequently, impacting the global job market. As a result, many lost their jobs, while some had salary cut-offs. Hence, most people opted for freelancing as means of survival. However, this trend appears to continue since people believe that freelancing is the future.

Although people have started freelancing to sustain themselves, they are getting to know the benefits of it. For instance, they earn more than a typical 9-to-5 in-house job besides working at home in their comfort. Additionally, freelancers have the freedom of choosing where to work, when to work and for whom to work. As a result, they find freelancing more comfortable than a regular job. Plenty of other benefits come along with freelancing, ultimately making it better than a full-time job.

Benefits of Freelancing:

First and foremost, freelancing allows you to choose your clients and collaborators. In short, as you are an autonomous entity, you are the boss who decides which projects to pursue.
Secondly, Freelancing permits you to work on diverse projects. As a result, you get to step out of your comfort zone in addition to enhancing your skill sets.
Thirdly and most importantly, as a freelancer, you can work on different projects concurrently, which gives you multiple streams of income. To elaborate, Freelancers do not have any hard and fast rules regarding the number of projects they can work on simultaneously. Hence, there is no upper limit to how much you can earn.
Furthermore, while a full-time job ensures a stable income, it is not without its drawbacks. For instance, there is a constant worry about your job being at risk. A freelancer, on the contrary, has no such worries as he will have many projects in hand. As a result, even if one fails he still has another to work on.
Additionally, freelancers have more global exposure compared to full-time employees. To be precise, freelancers are not bound to any geographical restrictions; hence they can get work from any part of the world. As a result, freelancers gain more knowledge about different cultures and languages.
In contrast to full-time employees, freelancers need not worry about being in the good books of their bosses for their salary hikes or promotions because it’s the quality of their work that decides their worth. In addition, as a freelancer, you can demand more pay by improving your skill sets in your spare time.
Above all, freelancing allows you to work according to your convenience, which improves the quality of your work.

How Does it Work?

As you have read about the benefits of freelancing, let me explain how it works.

Post Graduate Program in French Language by Henry Harvin®

Ranks Amongst Top #5 Upskilling Courses of all time in 2021 by India Today

View Course

Freelancing is considered a business rather than a job because you will receive payment in exchange for services you provide to a client. While some people work as full-time freelancers, others take this in addition to their job to earn extra income. Although most freelancers rely on online platforms to get projects, some of them directly associate with the clients to provide services. Some freelancers work for a specific niche or area of business, whereas others offer general services to their clients.

Most of the services required by companies are available on a freelance basis. As a result, freelancers will have plenty of projects to work on. After completing the project as per the client’s requirement, they receive the payment. However, the payment methods for freelancers differ, depending on the individual or the client. For instance, some charge clients based on the number of hours they work and receive the payment after submitting the work. Some, on the other hand, wait for the client’s approval before receiving the payment.

5 steps to start a freelance Journey:

Assuming that you broadly understood “What is freelancing and how does it work”? Let us look at a few tips to help you start a hassle-free freelance journey.

For many people, freelancing has been a great way to supplement their income. However, post-pandemic, with the drastic changes in the global job market, people started thinking to pursue full-time freelancing. Even though many people adore the idea of self-employment, the thought of quitting their full-time job scares them as they are unsure of how to proceed. Fortunately, following these guidelines will help you establish a successful freelancing career.

1. Start freelancing as a leisure activity:

A freelancing career is often established based on trust and relationships formed with clients. However, those relationships take time to strengthen. Hence, it is advisable to start freelancing part-time while continuing with your full-time job. Moreover, there will be less pressure on earning money instantly. Therefore, you can focus on the quality of work, which consequently brings more clients. In short, starting freelancing as a side hustle gives you time to nourish client relationships which is crucial for a full-time freelancing career.

2. Choose the right skill to establish a freelancing career:

Having a unique skill set is essential to set up a successful freelancing career. Therefore, identifying the right skill helps you go a long way in this field. Furthermore, many companies are outsourcing a lot of services; hence there is a high probability of having one or two skills in your resume that will give you freelancing opportunities.

Most importantly, you need to think out of the box because not all of us are graphic designers or web designers. Nevertheless, having secondary skills can also bag new opportunities for freelancing. For example, if writing is your strong suit, you must focus on developing that skill to grab freelancing projects rather than thinking of learning something new. Above all, never get intimidated by the thought that you lack skills or experience; once you start, you will realise how far belief alone can take you.

3. Find the target clients:

After you have determined the skills that will be more rewarding for you, it’s time to secure the right clients who would pay an appropriate amount. When you are freelancing part-time, try to make some time on weekdays or weekends in order to build a strong clientele for the future. Moreover, it is not essential to start full-time freelancing to find clients. Instead, you could ask for referrals from friends, family or colleagues, who could help you bring clients.

4. Build a portfolio that illustrates your skills:

Although many potential clients do not look at your qualifications to hire you, they, however, need to see the work you have done in the past. Hence, just being good at your skill is not sufficient. You must be able to showcase your talent through a well-designed portfolio. Likewise, including positive client testimonials will be an added advantage that helps clients judge if you are the right fit. Nevertheless, the actual difficulty is creating a portfolio without experience.

Therefore, you need to build a portfolio that features the services you provide. For example, if you are a content writer, your portfolio must include the best samples of your writing, organised in an easy-to-examine manner. Also, you must always prefer quality over quantity. In a nutshell, peg down your work to pieces that you are pleased with. As a result, your portfolio will include less, but impressive work.

5. Work on a strategy to target high-paying clients:

In case, you aim to make freelancing a full-time career, it is essential to find high-paying clients who can associate with you for a long time. To get such clients, you must collaborate with other freelancers in the industry besides posting valuable content. In addition, cold-emailing and networking with other people in the industry can also help to find high-paying clients. Most importantly, do thorough research before meeting the clients in order to confidently pitch your services to them.

Types of Freelancing Jobs:

As you have gone through what is freelancing along with the tips that will help you start a freelance journey, let me take you through the types of highest-paying freelancing jobs that might help you find your niche.

Although many companies do not consider freelancers as their employees, they still offer them various projects and assignments on a contract basis. However, having the right skill is essential to grab those opportunities. Therefore, to be a successful freelancer, you must regularly improve the skills which will help you go a long way. Highly skilled freelancers can easily find the best freelance jobs, which are remunerative. Below is the list of high-paying freelance jobs which will give you knowledge about the skills you need to improve/learn.

1. Freelance Content Writer:

The internet has information about everything, be it a product, medicine, disease, travel destination, or fashion, it has details related to anything. All that content available on the internet is designed and prepared by professionals, also known as content writers. Primarily, content writers create content for blog posts, websites, articles, and white papers in addition to social media posts. Most importantly, they aim to create content that engages the right audience.

Anyone with good writing skills along with a good vocabulary can excel in this career. However, to get the best freelance writing jobs, it’s essential to sharpen certain skills. Therefore, you can enrol in a content writing course to enhance your skills. Although several online platforms offer freelance content writing courses, only a few institutes like Henry Harvin provide the best writing courses.

Henry Harvin:

Rating: 9.89/10

Contact number: 9891953953

Henry Harvin is an online learning platform that provides training and advisory services. They offer more than 600 plus training programs in 27 different categories to reshape the growth of individuals and organisations. Henry Harvin Academy provides thoughtfully designed courses and state-of-the-art technology to enhance your skills. As a part of various training programs, Henry Harvin offers freelance content writing courses.

Benefits of Henry Harvin’s freelance content writing course:

Fundamentally, it’s a 9-in-1 course which includes training, projects, boot camps, internships, one-year gold membership, hackathons, and E-learning access, which will help you become a certified freelance content writer.
Secondly, They facilitate projects that will provide training in blog writing, business and communication writing, in addition to website making.
Thirdly, their E-learning access provides abundant tools and techniques along with video content, assessments and more.
In addition, you can get free access to their hackathons and competitions.
Most importantly, you can access their placement drives for one year after completing the course successfully.
Above all, during the course, you learn to write for blogs, newsletters, e-magazines, articles and many more.
Furthermore, you will gain knowledge about writing book reviews, press releases and product reviews, and product descriptions.
Besides offering training in writing, their course also helps you to secure some freelance projects.
Ultimately, join Henry Harvin’s academy to be a successful freelance content writer.

2. Freelance Digital Marketing:

In addition to content writing, digital marketing is also one of the lucrative freelancing jobs. Digital marketing, otherwise known as online marketing uses the internet to market products to potential customers. The various segments of digital marketing include Search-Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing, Marketing Analytics and Affiliate Marketing. Therefore, Digital marketing offers many freelancing options for content strategists, email marketing specialists, SEO and SEM specialists and Social media marketing specialists.

Since these are niche skills, they offer high payments to qualified talent. Moreover, if freelance digital marketers are good at handling multiple tasks simultaneously, they can constantly get projects in this field. In short, a freelance digital marketer should be able to handle various tasks ranging from creating social media posts to generating a successful digital plan. The recommended way to start a career in digital marketing is by enrolling in a digital marketing course that provides training in all the essential skills.

Are you interested in Digital Marketing Course?

Check out Henry Harvin’s Digital Marketing Course and learn the skills from experts.

3. Freelance Web Development:

Freelance web development is a perfect choice for people with a tech background. As most companies are digitalising, the demand for web developers is increasing. Most importantly, the salaries for web developers are very high, especially for developers who are well-versed in skills like Java, Python, PHP, JavasScript, etc.

Furthermore, web developers can choose to freelance or work in IT companies. Whatever the case, their primary job involves developing websites and maintaining them. The increased use of online tools by top companies in order to leverage their digital presence has increased the demand for freelance web developers. Although programming skills are the primary requirement for a web development career, knowing other skills such as debugging, testing and interpersonal skills will be an added advantage. If you are enthusiastic to enhance your programming language skills, enrol for online courses.

Are you interested in learning web development?

Check out Henry Harvin’s Web Development Course for Beginners

4. Freelance Blockchain Development:

Blockchain development is a field that relies on specialised skills like computer networking, cryptography, software development, data structures and algorithms. Every industry needs blockchain development to safeguard confidential data while protecting its operational website systems. Hence, the demand for blockchain developers is always high. Moreover, there is always a demand-supply gap since blockchain development is a new field. As a result, companies using blockchain development pay hefty remuneration to skilled blockchain developers. It is one of the most difficult freelancing careers as it demands the candidates to be knowledgeable about blockchain technology along with the current trends. Therefore, enrolling in a blockchain development course is beneficial to aspiring blockchain developers.

Are you Interested in the Blockchain Development course?

Check out Henry Harvin’s Blockchain Developer Course, Blockchain Professional Course, and Postgraduate Program in Blockchain

5. Freelance Graphic Design Jobs:

As a profession, graphic designing is the art of using words, pictures and skillfully crafted ideas to communicate specific information to the target audience. Therefore, graphic designers have expertise in designing and developing visual solutions to promote brands in the market. In addition, a graphic designer’s career allows specialisation in media and advertising, industrial design, public relations, etc. Graphic designers are also known as graphic artists as their main responsibility is to design spectacular visual concepts using technology and art. Skills like photoshop, adobe creative apps, and typography help freelance graphic designers to charge more.

Conclusion:

As you have read the blog, by now you must have understood what is freelancing and the tips that will help you start a freelancing journey. To sum up, never quit your full-time job until you have a strong clientele. Besides, knowing your skill, you must focus on enhancing it. Most importantly, building an attractive portfolio is essential to get trustworthy clients.

Therefore, if you are willing to take up full-time freelancing, you should research thoroughly, and find your niche. I hope this information helps you start your freelancing journey easily.

FAQ’s

1. What are the most common difficulties freelancers face?

Ans. Maintaining a continuous stream of work is extremely difficult for freelancers. In addition, finding good clients and quality work is equally challenging

2. What are the most essential skills required for a freelancer?

Ans. Hardworking nature, professionalism, good communication skills, passion and persistence will help in escalating a freelancing career.

3. Is it good to choose freelancing as a career?

Ans. Freelancing is a good career option. It has several benefits, but most importantly, it’s the freedom of working from anywhere.

4. Is it ok to quit a job to be a full-time freelancer?

Ans. It is better to start freelancing as a side hustle before making it full-time, as it takes time to establish a network and find good clients.