Freelance traps. How a beginner freelancer can become a top specialist without connections and experience

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

A guest article by an experienced freelancer on how to succeed in the freelance field, correctly prioritize at each stage of your professional development and what typical mistakes should be avoided.

Today, freelancing has become the embodiment of freedom in its most diverse meanings - creativity, self-expression, movement, finance, lifestyle and daily routine. More and more professionals see freelancing as a seductive alternative to traditional office work, while companies are enthusiastic about outsourcing projects and even functions.

Interestingly, most aspiring freelancers go through similar stages of professional development, despite the diversity of industries and specializations open to freelancing. Understanding the specifics of these stages allows you to correctly prioritize and avoid dangerous pitfalls, achieving success even without connections, experience or formal education.

Let's try to figure out what these stages are and how to successfully overcome them.

Stage 1. Unrecognized genius

Nobody knows you, nobody trusts you, you apply for hundreds of projects and you don't even receive rejection emails. You just don't exist in the freelancing world.

The goal of this step is to create a trustworthy profile.

What to do

Sign up on the leading freelance platform in your industry, one is enough to get started. Next - fake it until you make it. Clearly and concisely indicate your skills and specialized education or certificates, add your photo with a cheerful smile and write a friendly message with a desire to work together.

Don't worry if you don't have an education that matches your specialization, this can be easily replenished with the help of portfolios and testimonials.

The portfolio is the most important element of your profile. If you do not have a portfolio and you hope to create one by starting to work on the platform, then this stage will be much longer than necessary for you and will probably lead to depression.

A portfolio of examples of projects that you ideally count on should be ready in advance. These can be imaginary projects or projects that you have made for friends. The main thing is that they demonstrate the quality of your work. If applicable, attach examples before and after your intervention; this is one of the most effective means of getting a prospect's attention.

Once you've built your portfolio, start writing reviews of yourself. Bring in friends or family, create multiple projects, and hire yourself for those projects. As a rule, after 5-7 reviews and a beautiful portfolio appear in the profile, potential clients start responding to emails.

What not to do

Don't quit your job. Creation and promotion of a profile and portfolio from scratch will take a lot of time, and you will need a parallel stable source of income.

Stage 2. Hopeful

You were hired for the first projects, you are paid little, checked often and meticulously interrogated for interviews. You get a response to 25% of the emails sent out.

The purpose of the stage is to confirm the declared reputation.

What to do

Work hard and develop communication

Desperately fight for projects, recycle, be in touch at any time of the day or night (thanks to the current exchange rate, the best projects come from abroad), listen to the client and fulfill his wishes, be polite and correct.

When applying for a project, be sure to indicate several ways of contacting you (phone, Skype, email). Monitor the prices for the services of your closest competitors and dump; at this stage, the price and speed of communications are your best friends in the fight for the customer. Develop your telephone and business communication skills, especially if your main market speaks a different language.

If your foreign language is not good enough, invite the client to conduct all discussions by email under the pretext of saving all the details and wishes. As a rule, the majority perceives this approach positively and even distinguishes you from the rest as the most responsible executor.

To plan

Since each new client still seems like a miracle and extraordinary luck to you, it is tempting to agree to all the proposed projects. The monitor is overgrown with files with unfinished tasks, coffee cups are spilling out on the table, and email tinkles with letters from customers with bewildered "When will I see the new version?"

You need to start planning time and prioritizing projects, learning to say "no" or at least adequately assessing employment ("I can start in two weeks").

Maintain a customer base

Be sure to start compiling a file with a client base: include contact information, data on the work done, the specifics of communication with this client, his personal or professional interests. Start building relationships with clients, the completion of a project should not mean a complete cessation of communication between you.

Feel free to remind yourself from time to time, for example, if you change your contact information or add new services. You can also wish the client a happy birthday or a significant holiday (do not get carried away, one or two congratulations a year is more than enough) or share information (introduce the right people, send an important article, and so on) that would be useful for the client's business.

At this stage, you will longingly remember lazy lunches in the corporate office and fun evenings with friends over a glass of wine. The main thing is to realize that it is not endless and after 30, 80 or 150 projects (depending on your specialization) you will be recognized as a professional worthy of respect and decent pay. Of course, only if the reviews about your profile are impeccable and speak of high quality work, adherence to deadlines and budget, and, importantly, your pleasant personal qualities.

What not to do

Don't give up on heavy clients.

They are often the ones who become your most ardent supporters and lead a reliable flow of projects through friends and colleagues. Yes, you may lose time (= money) or some nerve cells in the beginning, but in the long run you will be in the black.

Stage 3. Top specialist

You receive dozens of invitations to new projects, you have a stream of regular customers, you are recommended in professional circles as a specialist with a good reputation. You get paid enough and you can choose which of the projects you subscribe to.

The goal of the stage is to follow the strategy.

What to do

Choose projects that will bring you the best results over the long term. For example, between a small project of a corporate giant and a highly paid one-off project, choose the former. If successful, you have a high chance of becoming a permanent freelancer in the green field of corporate projects.

Also try to establish friendships with talent managers on freelance platforms. They are constantly looking for reliable freelancers with great references for corporate clients of the platform. A carefully selected pool of talent gains direct access to Fortune 500 companies and projects with unlimited budgets.

What not to do

Don't think that you are irreplaceable. You will be forgiven a couple of missed calls or unanswered emails, perhaps a couple of delayed deadlines, before hiring a determined and reliable freelancer for you.

So freedom is freedom, but suddenly you shouldn't go traveling for a month with unfinished projects.

Stage 4. What's next

In principle, top specialists are already free enough to live where they want, work in their own style, and grow professionally and creatively. For some, this stage becomes the norm for a happy life and ideal work for many years.

Someone gets tired and takes a job with one of their clients or their partners (which is much easier if you maintain a long-term relationship with your client file). Others will try to translate personal success into starting their own company and developing as a manager. There are many options, and the decision is yours.

The steps outlined give a rough idea of what awaits a novice freelancer on the path to success, how best to prepare for this, and what mistakes should be avoided.

Despite the fact that it is easy to become a freelancer today, only a few reach the level of top specialists. Understanding the steps and following basic advice will help you achieve your goals faster and with minimal waste. If you have already gone this way or are still halfway there, share with us your impressions, experience and advice on the stages in the comments to the article.