8 steps on the path to freelancing

1. 1 Define your Goal
2. Find your niche and identify your target clients
3. Set (strategic) prices for your services
4. Build a high quality portfolio website and LinkedIn Profile
5. Create examples of what you can deliver
6. Choosing your first clients
7. Mention potential clients in your content
8. Learn how to pitch yourself

All over the world more and more people are quitting their jobs and trying their luck and skills as freelancers. In the United States alone more than 54 million people are working as freelancers. The reasons can be varied: more freedom, doing something you love, more money, having multiple income streams and not having to rely solely on one employer. Or you loathe working within the constraints of a major corporation.

For me it was a combination of wanting more freedom, a better income and not ever wanting to take one step voluntarily into the office of a major corporation. Don’t get me wrong, I learned a lot while working a normal job and had a good relationship with both my coworkers and managers. I’m grateful for that. But having to follow rules and procedures that don’t make any sense or have any benefits for neither me nor my clients is not my cup of tea.  

Whatever your own personal reasons for starting as a freelancer may be, from the perspective of a business it is becoming more and more profitable to hire a freelancer. No more extra health costs, office space or paying for the pension benefits of an employee. And hiring and firing a freelancer is also much easier than trying to fire an employee with a solid contract.

I’ve interviewed a lot of freelancers this year and combined with my own experience I can say to regard with You thinking about starting out with your own business: JUST DO IT! ☺

But I also realize that having some pointers on where to begin can be really helpful. When I set up shop I had the luxury that both my father and little brother already had extensive experience with building their own business. That way they could give me some very welcome advice on how to begin as a freelancer. 

So in order to make it far easier to get started I give you 8 steps on the path to freelancing

Define your goals

I recently spoke with a web developer who got into freelancing more by chance than by making a clear choice. He was working for a major IT company, but started doing small coding jobs on the side. The quality of his work was so good he became more and more in demand and finally had to quit his job to focus 100% on building apps as a freelancer. He hasn’t looked back once, but admitted this development was somewhat by chance.

Now, this sounds a very comfortable, easy going way of getting into starting your own business. But for the most of us, it isn’t going to happen that way.

I myself came to the conclusion working as freelancer or business owner was best for me after I took a week off. I had planned to go to a music festival in Germany with friends that week. But I used the time to do some serious soul-searching instead. Reevaluate what I wanted to do with my life, both professional and personal.  I wrote down what I wanted to as a freelancer, if I wanted to have a staff of employees or not (I don’t to this day).

And that’s the first step you have to take: Define your goals

Take at least an afternoon for yourself. Make sure you don’t have any distractions nearby, turn of your phone, computer, Netflix, whatever. Buy an A4 legal pad and a good pen and start writing down a couple of goals:

• What skills do you have that you can use to start a business? This can be basically anything
• What kind of freelance business you want to start? You can start either a product business, service business of information business. A product business is easy; you build a web shop selling products in your niche, or start a bakery. A service business is offering your service to a client. For instance SEO Consulting or house painting. And an information business means offering advice or information on any topic. A dating blog is an example of an information type of business.
• Will freelancing be a side hustle to make some extra money or do you want to become a full time business owner?
• Do you want to hire and maintain a staff of employees in your business or are you planning to remain a company of 1?
• How much time do you have at the moment to invest in building your freelancing business and how much time do you will have in future?
• How much money do you want to make every month? Don’t get stuck on if the amount is reasonable and achievable. But write the amount down YOU want and need to make.
• What kind of tools do I need at the minimum to get started? Think software, a laptop or maybe actual tools.
• Do I need money to invest in my business or can I get started for free?
• When do I make enough money to quit my current job? There are 2 rules of thumb regarding this: either make at least 75% of your current salary through freelancing. Or have at least 6 months in salary saved up in a bank account.

For some, knowing which skills you have to sell or use as a freelancer can be somewhat difficult. But EVERYONE OVER THE AGE OF 18 does have a MARKETABLE SKILL! I bet that if I spoke to you for 1 or 2 hours I could identify at least 1 skill you can use to start a business with. In this article I offer a couple of exercises to find your niche market. You can use these exercises to find your strong points as well. 

Look at this way, even if you have worked at a lowly customer service job for years on end you have acquired some excellent skills in commutation, listening, finding and fixing problems. These are skills that can earn you a lot of money if combined with a good product or service.

Find your niche market and clients

Aside from just beginning and doing the work the most important key to success for your freelance business is finding the right niche market. 

A niche is a specific segment of a certain market. You can find more information on niches in this article.

Why is that? Well, whatever service or product you as a freelancer will be offering, chances are that there will be a lot of competition. So you need to stand out. For that try to focus on a specific segment or niche of your potential market. 

For example, if you’re a copywriter, target lifestyle blogs as potential clients or writing technical manuals. Or if you’re a business consultant only target IT companies with between 10 or 50 employees. 

Focusing on a specific niche or certain type of client will make you into a specialist. Which in turn will get you more in tune with your clients’ needs and so make you more valuable.

When I began my first clients where a couple of programmers and web developers. This was more by chance then by choice I must admit. But having worked some time for this type of client I learned what their needs were, about their daily struggles and very important: the needs of their clients. 

So, programmers and web developers are an important niche on which part of my business is focused. During a sales pitch I almost immediately know which needs I must target.

Freelance copywriter Jeffrey Weller had this to say about niches and specialization:

The future in copywriting is in specialization. Being a specialist makes you much more interesting for any potential client

Can you find a niche for every type of business? You could ask. Yes, you can. Just think a little bit creative. Look, if you’re a freelance house painter you would pick any client that comes across your path. I can understand that. But there would still be ways to distance yourself from you competition. Maybe only take painting jobs from offices. Or focus on a certain high class type of client. 

Defining your goals is important, but also take some time to think about choosing the right niche and setting yourself apart from the competition.

I’ll give you another example how you can find the perfect type of clients as freelancer: You’re a Social Media consultant, but with only a couple of clients. Spend some time on Google researching small businesses in your area which don’t have a very strong Social Media presence. They lack a Google My Business for instance. Those are the type of clients you should be aiming for. And if you’re living in a large, metropolitan area, like Los Angeles, Londen or de Randstad you can focus further on a certain type of small business: restaurants, dentist, bike shops, tattoo artist. 

Set your prices

One of the biggest mistakes even experienced business owners make is setting their price too low. They think that asking a competitive rate is better for getting clients. It actually is not. My advice for setting your price is: Don’t be afraid to set a high rate right from the start whatever your level of expertise!

Of course, do some research on the going rate in your field of expertise by using Google. Asking $1000 an hour as a copywriter who just left college maybe show your clients that you don’t lack confidence. But will you get many jobs at that rate? So research the average, top and minimum rate within your market and ask for a high price within that margin.

 That way I found out that in my region the absolute minimum rate for a beginning copywriter is €30 an hour which is about $33. But don’t be afraid to ask €50 an hour right from the start. 

And with copywriting most experienced writers don’t do jobs being paid by the word, but either by the hour. Or, if it’s a short project a one-time fixed rate.

It’s not so much about how much you cost, but that you unburden your client

Why is this? First, you’re offering a service your client either doesn’t have the expertise for or the time to do it himself. And expertise costs money. Make your client see that the value of your service lies not in how much it will cost him. But on how much it will offer him. Depending on the type of service you’re offering this can be in more sales, more efficient staff or a beautiful painted house that is also weatherproof for years on end.

The second reason to set your rate high from the start is because this will give you a good bargaining position. When you’re negotiating with a new client about the price it’s quite easy to lower your price a little. But this is hardly possible when you already are asking a very low price.  

With a high price you can lower it at least to a rate that is reasonable to both you and your client. With a low price you can only reach the bottom. And you still have to eat!

Low Paying Clients also give you the most hassle

A third reason is one that isn’t always spoken about. But one I and other freelancers know from experience: a low paying client will often be somewhat of a nuisance compared to a high paying client. A client paying a high rate to you is also showing his trust with that money. With the high price he or she also pays a piece of mind and he will trust you to do the job right. 

With a low paying client much of the time this trust is lacking. You will get feedback that doesn’t make any sense, demands that aren’t warranted compared to how much you’re getting paid. I for example had a client who had the annoying habit of calling me during the weekend or of late in the evening. I had to let him go after a time. 

Shouldn’t you ever take on low paying gigs? Well, of course this isn’t written into stone, there are exceptions. When a certain job is quite fun to do or will give your business prestige. Or when you have a good connection and rapport with the client. And finally, when you’re just getting your feet wet you may need to give your first 2 or 3 clients a discount in order to get them aboard.

Build a website and LinkedIn profile

If you want to be found and be taken seriously by potential clients, build a professional looking website. Or update your LinkedIn profile. 

Almost every service or products nowadays are found through searching online. So if a client is searching for your information the first thing you want him to see is your nice looking website. A website which within a short glance highlights what you have to offer and how you can be contacted. And which shows a nice looking portfolio. Still to this day business owners make the mistake of not investing some time or money in a good website. I myself was guilty of this. I bought a domain name, started building a website in WordPress, but went really half assed about it. At first this wasn’t a problem, since I met most of my clients face to face at parties, symposiums etcetera. But when I tried to acquire new clients by approaching them online they would come across my partly finished site. Not a good look for an Online Marketer.

So, build a good, professional looking site as soon as possible!

If you haven’t got the time or time to do that, update your LinkedIn profile to a very professional level at the very least. I know a couple of freelancers who are very successful with just an excellent LinkedIn Profile. 

The text in your profile should excite your potential clients, show that you know what you’re doing. But that their interests are most important in your mind. Your profile picture should also be of the highest quality. Maybe spend an afternoon with a friend taking a load of pictures and pick the best one. Just a quick look around LinkedIn will show a lot of examples of how not to take a professional profile picture. Most are just plain boring and others are more suited to a Tinder profile. Yours should be both professional looking but also attractive or charming.

Apart from that, add a portfolio of examples of your work (or clients you’ve worked for) as soon as possible.

Give examples of your services

It should be obvious what you have to offer the moment someone visits your site or LinkedIn profile. But you also need to add a portfolio. Having examples of previous and ongoing work will give you an aura of trust and expertise. People are much more inclined to hire you if they know you’ve built up a certain level of experience.

The sort of portfolio depends on your business of course. If you own a bakery, put up some pictures of baked goods which make the mouth water. If you’re a video editor, show some of the videos you’ve worked on.  Do ask your clients if you can use provided services for them in your portfolio. Most of them will be flattered to have their work showcased. 

And also don’t wait to ask your clients for a testimonial. A couple of testimonials on your website will increase your credibility.

How can you create a portfolio if you didn’t have any clients yet? Then you need to be a little bit creative. You can either do a couple of smaller jobs for free in order to get your portfolio set up. Or put some work you did in your spare time. For instance, when you’re a freelance writer, but don’t have any previous work, start a blog. Write 2-3 articles at least every week. You can use the best articles in your portfolio. And as soon as you had a couple paying writing assignments you put those in your portfolio.

Choosing your first clients

In an ideal world your first client will give a job for at least 32 hours a week at the highest rate right of the bat. But this perfect client doesn’t exist.

However, that’s not a problem. Working with your first clients is all about getting your feet wet. Learning on how to negotiate, on how to work in the most efficient manner possible and on how to maintain a friendly and professional relationship. 

Your first 2 or 3 clients should be about that. Don’t worry too much if they will provide you with enough hours and money to quit your day job all together. These clients are an opportunity for you to learn the ropes of freelancing. For that reason, be prepared to give a big discount to your first clients. This may sound counter intuitive to my advice on setting a high price. But every new gig is another step on your way to success. These first gigs are just the necessary steps you need to make.

Learn how to Pitch yourself

You probably have heard about the phrase ‘elevator pitch’. This basically is a sales pitch where you describe your business or product in only two or three sentences. The length of a short elevator ride. Whatever your business is, this is one skill you need to master. 

There are so many entrepreneurs out there with a brilliant product, but hardly any customers, because they don’t know how to pitch it in a few sentences that can be understood by almost anyone. This was actually one skill I had to master myself. When people asked me what I did I would give an extensive explanation of my activities, what I did, how I did it and how long it took me. Nobody is interested in that. I really had to train myself to keep it short and simple.

Also teach yourself to make it about the client. A well-known proverb among online marketers reads:

Nobody cares about you or your product.

This means that you should switch the focus to the needs and problems of your client and how you are the solution to those problems. 

And finally, make sure to get a personal connection with your potential client. There’s a Dutch saying on selling: ‘Kopen is gunnen.’

Loosely translated this means: ’I wil buy from you because I like you.’

While you don’t have to become blood brothers with a client, be friendly and genuinely interested in the person in front of you. Do some research beforehand: where is this person from, what does he like or cares about I got my first job the following way: I talked about the business of my client for about 30 minutes and after that we talked for more than 2 hours about Rock music, a passion we both shared. On the carried home I received an email: ‘Let’s do this!’

How do you learn to pitch yourself? Practice, practice, practice. 

The funny thing about practicing your sales pitch, you don’t necessarily have to do this only with potential clients. You can practice improving your sales pitch and conversation skills in general with anybody you meet and talk to. I myself have introverted personality, so talking to strangers in a charming way isn’t something that came naturally. But I made it part of my routine to actively seek out opportunities to seek out strangers and talk to them. And not having a conversation about how amazing I am. But I try to really understand what kind of person I’m dealing with, by asking the right type of questions. Questions that show a genuine interest. And don’t worry, I don’t mean going out on the street and accosting random strangers. No, when you’re at  a party or gathering of friends or family make it a habit to talk to people you don’t yet. You’l be amazed how many interesting people there are in your vicinity.