The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.
– Robert Greene
Are you also one of those who want to do freelancing work, make a side hustle but gave up because even after trying for days, you didn’t get a single job? Well, believe me, I was one of those as well. But as it is said, “When there is a will there’s a way.”
Well, the main issue is we want to get it all very quickly without even trying to learn the correct approach to it. I can say that one day you saw some video about freelancing or heard from someone about it and maybe just Googled about it and got started.
You might even have followed every step and in the end, got disappointed with the result.
You thought this freelancing is all about luck and it’s very difficult to do.
Well, that feeling is true. It is difficult, but nothing is easy in this world either. But with patience and hard work, anything is possible. Also, we need to believe that we can achieve anything. I am going to share with you guys what worked for me and how I got my first freelancing gig.
The first and the most important step is to recognize your skill. Freelancing is nothing but selling your skill at a negotiated price. And that can be done only when you have something to sell. And it’s not only necessary to recognize your skill but it is very important to hone it as well. You need to polish it till the point when it starts to shine.
Try to look for the kind of freelancing projects available in the market and try working on it just to know on which level do you stand. Practising on real-time projects prepares you to sharpen your skill.
The next step is to find the right platform. Nowadays there are multiple platforms for freelancers like Upwork, Fiverr, Toptal, People per hour and many more. All this platform works in different ways. Few of them charge you a fixed amount to use their platform whereas others might just take some percentage of your earning as a commission. You need to find the platforms that suit you the best. And you need to register on multiple websites to get more opportunities.
Nowadays even social media is providing scope for freelancing, like Facebook, Linked In and others, where they have many group pages. In these group pages, you can find many opportunities.
Once you have registered yourself in a few of the freelancing websites, the next step is to make a compelling profile. Your profile should showcase your skills and ability to take on challenging tasks and give a creative and unique solution. As I told you earlier it’s all about selling your skills. And to sell anything, your marketing strategy should be very strong. You should be able to convince your customer to buy your product instead of someone else’s. We already know there is too much competition nowadays, so you first need to understand the “Why” power. That is you need to explain to your customer Why they should trust you and give you a chance to work for them even though you don’t have any experience.
The real-time projects you took for practising can be shown as your experience too. Usually when you submit a proposal for any of the freelancing jobs or when you make a package of your service, you need to show some examples of the kind of work you can do. This gives the customer an idea of how well are you in your field and whether you will be able to provide the service they require.
Work for free. I know it sounds absurd. Why would anyone work for free? But in this case, working for free in starting might help you in the big picture. When you give your best and present the best result which customer is expecting then you might get a very good review on your profile. These reviews will attract more customers and get you more work. And then you can charge a good amount for your work and new jobs will keep flowing into your portfolio.
You can even ask for work within your known circle, like your old employer or a friend who has a small business. You can create a base for you to showcase them as your experience.
Patience.
Patience is very big in this process. You have to apply to many jobs daily and yet it might take months for you to get that first gig. The key is to not give up. Many times you will be approached and many times you will even get a gig. But even after submitting the work, you might not get paid and you might not hear from your customer again. But I would still suggest not to give up. You just need that first job. And to get that you just need to convince one person that you are good enough to do the job.
Last but not least. YOU GET THE FIRST GIG.
Once you get your first gig, make sure you give your best to this task. Make sure that the task is done as per the customer requirements and conditions so that you can get that Five-star rating on your portfolio. This is the only key to keep getting more jobs in the coming days.
Repetition is the mother of skill.
– Tony Robbins
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Thank You!
Have a great day ahead.
Sayonara!
Pratha Nayak