Income Generation and Side Hustles
How To Start Freelancing With No Experience
You should learn tips on how to start freelancing with no experience. A lot so that you just always daydream about it — the additional time you’d should spend with family and friends. The enjoyment you’d feel with being your individual boss. The extra cash you’d should accomplish your financial goals.
Well, you’re in luck because I used to be once in your shoes, working a job that paid $32,000 a 12 months with no technique to work my technique to the highest. Desperate to interrupt free, I learned tips on how to grow to be a freelancer with no experience. So, today I’m going to indicate you exactly how I did it. Plus, I’ll cover 28 freelancing ideas to provide help to start.
The best way to grow to be a freelancer with no experience
I’m living proof that you may learn tips on how to start freelancing with no experience. After I began freelance writing, in only six months I used to be earning enough money to interchange my 9 to five income after which some.
These are the precise steps I used to make it occur:
1. Pick which sort of freelancing you would like to do
There are one million other ways to “freelance”. Step one is to discover your passions so you may determine what sort of freelancing you would like to do.
If you happen to’re more of a creative type, chances are you’ll select freelance copywriting or video editing. If you happen to’re technical, chances are you’ll go along with freelance web developing or coding. We’ve over 28 freelancing ideas at the top of this text, so use those in the event you need some inspiration.
If you happen to feel paralyzed by all of your options, try our suggestions for overcoming indecisiveness. The secret’s to decide on whichever idea resonates with you essentially the most, then take motion on it immediately. You possibly can all the time change it up later.
2. Get into the proper mindset as you learn tips on how to start freelancing with no experience
Anytime you embark on a brand new journey, imposter syndrome can rear its ugly head and inform you you’re unfit, smart, or talented enough to make it occur.
But guess what? Your inner critic is a liar. And silencing it could possibly provide help to develop an abundant and wealthy mindset that empowers you to make real changes in your life.
So, in the event you’re just now learning tips on how to start freelancing with no experience, give this mindset work a try to see if it helps you get in the proper headspace:
Practicing these three habits on daily basis can provide help to stay focused and grounded as you construct your profitable freelancing business.
3. Create an internet site
Lots of freelancers get hung up on creating the proper website after they’re just getting began. But remember this: your website doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s merely a spot for potential clients to view your portfolio and learn more about who you might be.
So, arrange a basic site and get it live as quickly as possible. You possibly can all the time return and tweak it as you gain experience. Here’s what I like to recommend doing:
- Arrange a basic website with Squarespace. (It’s the best platform for those without web site design experience.)
- Create web pages on your portfolio, rates, and about me.
- Add a contact page where they’ll schedule a discovery call with you.
- Add a Calendly link to your website in order that they can schedule a call directly with you without having to email you or submit a form first. (Optional)
4. Construct your initial portfolio
The following step is to create a portfolio of three to 5 pieces you may showcase to potential clients. Now chances are you’ll be considering, “But I’m attempting to learn tips on how to start freelancing with no experience! How do I construct a portfolio when nobody desires to hire a newbie?!”
Let me allow you to in on a bit secret… Are you ready? Here it’s: You don’t should have real clients to create your portfolio. You possibly can do all of the work as if someone hired you to do it.
So, in the event you’re a logo designer, this will mean creating some logo packages for hypothetical, ideal clients in your area of interest. If you happen to’re an internet site designer, it means creating a number of web sites that showcase your best skills. So long as potential clients like your finished product, it doesn’t matter in the event that they were for made-up corporations.
Necessary: This tip may not work for any freelancing that relies heavily on experience (corresponding to financial coaching, fitness training, or pet-sitting, for instance). So, if that is you, chances are you’ll need to forego constructing a hypothetical portfolio and jump straight to this next step:
5. Find your first few clients
Finding clients as a freelancing newbie could seem daunting, but trust me. There are surefire ways to get those first few customers. Listed here are three places to look:
Look on job boards
Upwork and Fiverr are great places to get some fast wins if you’re first learning tips on how to grow to be a freelancer with no experience. But you’ll typically need to move off these sites when you’ve gained some experience.
Not only do they take a big cut of your earnings, but numerous the businesses that use them are in search of the most cost effective work possible.
Tap into your network
Reach out to family and friends and see if any of them are inquisitive about free or discounted work. (You would even ask them for a testimonial in exchange!)
This is strictly what our CEO, Bola, did when she began her photography side hustle years before launching Clever Girl Finance. She began by taking photos at her best friend’s wedding. Then, she asked others in her social circle to be her “test subjects” as she developed her skills. They didn’t say no to free photography!
In brief, in the event you’re wanting to learn tips on how to start freelancing with no experience, reach out to people you already know! It just might surprise you.
Cold email corporations you admire
This last one could seem super scary, but trust me! Cold emailing is the best way to get new clients. Lots of corporations are completely overwhelmed with work and are juggling multiple projects without delay. Due to this fact, one good cold email could land you a stellar freelancing opportunity.
But here’s a catch though — you want to have a portfolio before you begin cold emailing. It’s because corporations have to know you may produce the standard of labor they’re in search of. So, in the event you don’t have a portfolio yet, construct that first before you begin reaching out.
Once you’ve gotten your portfolio in hand, use these cold email tricks to grow your client roster:
- Create a chilly email template that’s personalized, establishes your credibility, and focuses on the recipient’s needs above all else.
- Add an email signature that provokes trust. (Hubspot has a free signature generator.)
- Follow-up after five business days in the event you don’t get a response. (Nevertheless, stop emailing them after your second follow-up. You don’t want to bother them or get marked as spam.)
- Understand that it’s a numbers game. (For instance, chances are you’ll only get one response for each 20 emails you send. That’s okay! Keep at it, and the outcomes will follow.)
6. Raise your rates and keep going!
Once you’ve gotten three to 5 portfolio pieces under your belt, it’s time to lift your rates and keep going!
How do you price freelance work, you ask? One common method is to discover how much money you would like to make every month, then work backward to create your hourly or per-project rate.
For instance, suppose you would like to start freelance writing as a side hustle. Your goal is to make an additional $1,000 a month.
If you happen to’re charging per project and have time to write down five articles a month, then your rate can be $200 per article (1000 / 5 = 200). If you happen to’re charging per hour and estimate it’d take you about 12.5 hours per 30 days to write down five articles, then your hourly rate can be $80 (1000 / 12.5 = 80).
7. Buy a course that teaches you tips on how to start freelancing with no experience
Need to supercharge your success? Find an internet course that teaches you tips on how to grow to be a freelancer with no experience.
This is strictly what I did after I began freelance copywriting. I had absolutely no experience, but I discovered a copywriting course that was created by a seasoned pro who had already made all of the mistakes and learned to do it the proper way. Inside six months of shopping for her course, I had replaced my full-time income with freelancing and had quit my 9 to five.
Could I even have built a profitable freelancing profession without the course? Yes. But would it not have taken me a for much longer time to do it? Absolutely. So, if it suits your budget and learning style, consider investing in a freelancing course that may provide help to jumpstart your success.
28 Freelancing ideas to try if you would like to learn tips on how to start freelancing with no experience
There are a lot of ways to earn money as a freelancer — even when you’ve gotten no experience. Below is an inventory of 28 freelancing ideas, broken down by category, so you’ll find a job that suits your skills best. Read through the list below and select the freelancing concept that jumps out at you essentially the most.
Creative freelancing ideas
Firstly, if you’ve gotten a knack for writing, editing, illustrating, or some other creative endeavor, give one in every of these creative freelancing ideas a try:
- Freelance author
- Copy editor
- Freelance marketer
- Social media manager
- Photographer
- Video editor
- Graphic designer
- Logo designer
- Illustrator
- Animator
- Voice artist
- Website designer
- App designer
- Web developer or coder
- Ux/UI designer
- website positioning expert
Administrative freelancing ideas
Then again, in the event you’re more of a data-driven type, chances are you’ll like one in every of these administrative freelancing ideas a bit more:
- Virtual assistant
- Data entry specialist
- Bookkeeper
- Transcriptionist
- Translator
- Tax consultant
- Fundraising consultant
- Management consultant
People-based freelancing ideas
Lastly, if helping people is more your thing, listed below are some freelancing ideas that may get you connected with others:
- Coaching (financial, wellness, general life, or business coach)
- Tutor
- Nutritionist or fitness trainer
- Pet sitter or house sitter
Which of those freelancing ideas will you are trying first?
In brief, it’s totally possible to learn tips on how to start freelancing with no experience. The secret’s to decide on a freelancing idea you’re enthusiastic about, construct your initial portfolio, and go after clients who pays what you’re price.
One in all my favorite self-love affirmations is: My fears don’t hold me back from going after the things I like. I possess the ability I want to create my future. Above all, remember this as you learn tips on how to grow to be a freelancer with no experience: You will have what it takes to construct your dream life.
Also, in the event you want help staying organized as you embark on this latest journey, try our Clever Girl Finance 6 Month Business Planner. It’s designed to provide help to create the lifetime of your dreams with intentional planning. Plus, it’s undated so you should use it at any time.
For more incredible tips about earning more cash, constructing your corporation, and becoming wealthy tune in to the Clever Girls Know podcast and YouTube channel!
