Getting Your First Project
As mentioned prior, the best bet for getting your first project will be online on Freelancing communities, where thousands of potential clients are lurking for the services of freelancers.
Often, the problem with these communities is that competition is stiff. Many freelancers are often willing to perform services at very low rates. In fact, many offer their services at such a low rate, that you will not be in a position to compete as these rates may not be worth your while.
Despite this fact, it is still recommended that your start off within these communities. Here are some recommendations for getting that first project:
- Ensure that your website, containing your portfolio is ready. You will need to refer potential clients here where they can view the quality of your work.
- Be prepared to work cheap initially. You should be prepared to offer cheap rates to clients in the initial stages. As clients start making use of your services, they will later prefer working with you permanently. You will then be in a position to systematically raise your fees.
- Be prepared when you bid on a project. Ensure that you have sufficient experience in the area your services is required.
- Once chosen, ask questions to the client. Make sure that you understand your clients’ requirements clearly.
- Offer a place on your server where the client can view the progress of the project. This should be a place where they can request changes to be made to the project as you proceed.
- Be on time. Do not fall behind with your scheduled when busy with projects. Ensure that you offer a fast and efficient service and deliver projects on time.
- Sell yourself. Do not be afraid to sell yourself to clients. Show your portfolio and place stress on your experience, capabilities and experience.
Another method of obtaining work is by posting your services free of charge on webmaster forums at few occasions. This might be a great opportunity to get your name into the market and an influx of clients. By posting on these communities also offer a great way of promoting your freelancing services.
Another great advantage of joining these webmaster forums are that a number of webmasters are constantly looking for technical assistance and are willing to pay. Although not a lot of money, these small tasks may contribute towards your general income.
Webmaster forums generally have what is called signatures. You can place various advertisements in your signature which will act as a passive advertisement for your business. Here are some recommended webmaster forums where you can gain a head start in your business:
DigitalPoint – www.digitalpoint.com
Namepros – www.namepros.com
Dnforum – www.dnforum.com
Ozzu – www.ozzu.com
Ddboard – www.ddboard.com
Sitepoint – www.sitepoint.com
WebmasterTalk – www.webmaster-talk.com
Breaking Away from Routine
As a freelancer you can not commit yourself to projects 24/7. You need some time away from the routine. In fact, this time away from routine may just help you to stay up to date with news and market trends in your area of expertise.
It is highly recommended that you spend some time on a daily basis on joining chat rooms or forums dedicated to your area of expertise. This will assist you in making new friends who might become useful at a later stage in your career as freelancer.
You may want to subscribe to magazines, which are a great source of information as to what is new in your area of expertise. You will also find information on events to be held, which can be attended by you.
Search the Internet for websites related to your expertise and read up on information contained on these websites. Visit your competitor’s websites. They can often be a good indication as to when you need to amend your business strategies.
Breaking away from routine is a great way of relieving stress in your day-to-day freelancing activities and is highly recommended.
Your Business Premises
Your next decision you need to take is the location of your business premises. Will you be working from home or set up an office away from home. We will take a closer look at the two different options.
Working from home
Working from home is a very cost-effective opportunity as you will have no additional expenses related to renting office space. This also provides some calming effect to one’s working day, knowing that you will be working in familiar environments.
However, working from home is not always good for the appearance of your business. This might always be perceived negatively by certain larger clients knowing that you are operating from home.
Often, working from home simply clutters your home and there are no separation from your work and personal life. This could, at later stages, negatively impact your business activities.
By working from home you will rarely stick to operating hours and will continuously visit your workspace for work. This in itself may impact negatively on your family environment.
If you do decide to work from home, here are some recommendations:
- Always attempt to create an area specifically for purposes of your work. This area must not form part of your normal living space.
- It is advisable that you consider building a temporary structure outside your home for the purposes of acting as your office.
- Keep your working space tidy.
- Create working hours you intend to operate within and stick to them. Attempt to create space between your personal and work environments.
Renting office space
In setting up an office may proof to be quite an expensive exercise. However, having a rented office in town might appear to be more professional. You also have the additional advantage that your personal and work lives are totally separated.
Some negative aspects may include the expenses in renting the premises and traveling back and forth to work each day, something you wanted to get away from when you decided to take on freelancing on a fulltime basis.
If you, however, decide upon renting a business premises, here are some recommendations:
- Rent premises close to your home. This will limit traveling time and expenses to and from home and work.
- Keep the premises small, as this will limit your initial expenses.
Setting Up Your Freelancing Business
Before jumping into freelancing, there are various legal and business requirements you need to pay attention to. You should remember that in doing freelancing, you are conducting a proper business and should ensure that your I’s are dotted and T’s are crossed.
Your Business Plan
No business venture will bear fruitful results if you are not in possession of a proper business plan against which progress can be monitored. With a business plan you will we drawing up guidelines against which the growth of your business is monitored. By utilizing a business plan you can always monitor of your business is on track to achieve its goals or heading towards failure.
A general business plan often consists of an organizational structure which sets out the guidelines of the services you plan to offer and how you will succeed in offering these services. It will indicate what your services will cost you and what you need to charge client to recuperate losses and make an additional profit.
The business plan also consists of a marketing section outlaying the steps you will take in marketing your business. It describes the steps you will take in ensuring that you enlist new clients, what the costs will be and how you plan to cover these costs.
Lastly your business plan should consist of a financial section outlaying the costs involved in starting your freelancing business. The costs of all products and marketing should be included in this section. This section will outline your process of charging client, how and when money will be received, how much you plan to spend on the business, etc.
The type of business
You should decide on the type of business you plan to manage. There are a number of different types of businesses that can be registered, which include a sole proprietor, a partnership, a corporation, etc.
It is advised that you conduct research into the types of business structures available for registration in your area and ensure that you have a legitimately registered business practice up and running before you start off with freelancing.
It is suggested that you seek legal assistance when deciding upon your business structure and every structure may hold different implications for your business in future.
Tax
Without saying much on this topic, we strongly urge you to register your businesses for taxing purposes. You do not want to run a business and not declare your income to your local revenue services. In omitting to declare your income you will face lengthy imprisonment sentences and face loosing your business.
Banking Accounts
You may need to open a business banking account in the name of your company. This is always recommended as larger companies find you more trustworthy if payment is made into your business banking account. This will also ensure that your business transactions remain apart from your personal bank account.
You may also want to consider obtaining a credit card for your business. This may often proof to be difficult as your business is newly established with absolutely no credit history. If this application is declined, you may want to attempt to obtain a credit card in your personal name. This card will often be used for online payments and acquisition of goods and services needed to run your business.
It is also highly recommended that you sign up for a business account with Paypal.com. Paypal is the world’s leading online payment gateway service provider and the majority of online buyers and sellers conduct business by means of Paypal. In opening a Paypal account you will prevent loosing any smaller business projects.
Accounting
As with any business, you need to pay attention to your accounting affairs. You need to keep proper track of your business activities as your progress in building your business.
It is suggested that you utilize the services of external accountants to assist you in proper financing affairs. This may be an additional expense, but highly recommended.
As for your day-to-day financial affairs it is recommended that you acquire software, such as QuickBooks, to assist you in proper bookkeeping activities.
Branding your business
You need to decide upon a name for your business. It is highly recommended that you adopt a name, as with domain names, which is easy to pronounce, spell and memorable. Attempt to keep your name unique and do not base it upon current similar businesses, which may become confusing to clients.
Branding your business is of utmost importance. You should always ensure that you have an attractive logo generated for your business. This logo will appear on your website, your letterheads, your invoices, your emails, etc. This is logo is by what your clients will associate you with and unique to your business and your services. Your logo will often resemble your professionalism, your experience, your quality of work, your values and services. Spend some time in creating the logo that will be your distinctive means of identification.
Create a website for your business. This is of utmost importance as this is where you can showcase samples of your work conducted. It is often much easier for clients to make a decision when they visually can see samples of your work. An additional advantage is that your website may even attract additional clients all by itself. Again, always ensure that your website is professional, easy to navigate, search engine friendly and appealing to visitors.
Freelancing – Online or Offline
Freelancing is a service which may be conducted online on the Internet or a physical service to businesses in your local area. In becoming a freelancer you will need to decide which method of service delivery, online or offline, will best suite your needs.
In performing freelancing on a fulltime basis it is highly recommended that you explore the possibilities of providing your services online and offline, as both avenues may lead to supplemental income to your monthly budget. Both avenues should at all times be treated as your main source of income.
Online Freelancing
Over a period of time online freelancing has increasingly become a more profitable business venture. The rise of the Internet opened the doorways for freelancing website services where buyer and provider are brought together in one centralized area. These websites often consists of tens of thousands of potential buyers utilizing the services of freelancers and thousands of freelancers offering their services in a variety of areas of expertise.
Freelancers joining online communities have been reported to have earned a constant income exceeding tens of thousands of Dollars on a monthly basis. A large number of these freelancers turned to fulltime freelancing offering their services only online.
There are a number of online freelancing communities which are all highly recommended to be joined. By joining one or more such community increases the opportunity for generating unlimited income.
Some of the largest freelancing communities include:
Get A Freelancer.com – www.getafreelancer.com
Scriptlance – www.scriptlance.com
eLance – www.elance.com
Often in joining these communities you might be expected to pay a small annual fee in becoming a member. You will also be charged a percentage fee of projects you win and are assigned. This, however, is worth the fees since there is no easier method online in obtaining clients.
Generally online freelancing communities has built-in programs whereby clients can pay freelancers on the website once work has been completed. Freelancers are then free to withdraw the funds to services such as Paypal or in certain instances to their banking accounts where allowed. One such example is a cooperation agreement between Scriptlance.com and Payoneer.com, where buyers and service providers may apply for a pre-paid debit card from Payoneer and withdraw their funds from their Scriptlance account directly into their debit cards.
A number of online freelancing communities have teamed up with banking institutions and offer freelancers the opportunity to apply online for international pre-paid debit cards. These are often useful facilities where freelancers are located in areas in the world where funds can not be withdrawn by means of Paypal or banking institutions. Freelancers can then use their prepaid debit cards in order to withdraw their funds locally from an ATM machine.
The Internet also narrowed the gap between the various countries in the world, making it possible for an American freelancer to provide his services, in real time, to an Australian national. This factor breached the gap of international communication problems and brought potential clients from around the world to your doorstep.
Online freelancing is also ideal for part-time freelancers as you are afforded the opportunity to bid on the number of projects you wish. You may take on work as and when you have the opportunity in doing so.
The type of freelancing work available from these online communities may include, but are not limited to: Web Design, Internet marketing, Graphic Design, Presentations, Multimedia, Illustration, Cartooning, Painting, Sculpting, Marketing, Advertising, Sales, PR, Engineering, CAD, Architecture, Networking, Hardware, Legal Services, Fashion, Interior, Landscape, ERP, CRM Implementation, Programming, Software, Database Development, Writing, Editing, Translation, Sales, Telemarketing, Management consulting, Photography, Videography, Finance and Accounting, Broadcasting, data capturing
Offline freelancing
Offline freelancing may prove to be a very difficult quest. In itself, offline freelancing is normal business practice where the freelancer must spend time, finances and effort in establishing his business, market himself to businesses and afford continuous expenses in advertising in order to ensure a flow of projects from within his community.
Offline freelancing also bears the disadvantage that work is limited to the area in which, and around, the freelancer operates. In expanding to neighboring areas the freelancer will increase his expenses in marketing and advertising and may find that this is not always a profitable avenue.
Again, as stated previously, many businesses may need to remain in contact with the freelancer in office hours and expect the work to be completed in same time frames. In conducting part-time freelancing, the freelancer will not be in a position to attend to freelancing activities in office hours due to normal employment commitments, making offline freelancing, an almost impossible venue for the freelancer.
Offline freelancing is recommended to the fulltime freelancer who has time and resources available to market his business to his community and can spend time to attend to projects assigned to him.
Freelancing – Part-time or Fulltime
You may be interested in freelancing, but first you need to make a decision on whether you will be entering this area in a part-time or fulltime capacity. Whatever your decision may be will directly impact on the income you will generate from freelancing.
Fulltime freelancing
Being a fulltime freelancer will afford you the opportunity of building a much larger clientele basis, taking on more tasks at any specific given point in time and generate larger income.
Many people may want to leave their current employment with the aim of becoming a fulltime freelancer. Often this move is discouraged. Although there are a number of reasons by fulltime freelancing is better than part-time freelancing there are a number of factors that need to be taken into consideration before this drastic step is taken. These factors are:
- Many people will suffer an effect, known as the culture shock, when leaving their employment permanently. Various emotions will start playing a role on an individual now realizing that he/she has no longer that security of an income. Often a feeling of desertedness and loneliness may overcome the person leaving his work and now operating alone.
- In starting out as a permanent freelancer you will need to have access to money. Money is needed in order to carry you through the initial stages while you build a customer base. It will also be needed initially as getting work might proof to be difficult if you come into the market as an unknown freelancer. It is commonly suggested that you should have, at least, 6 months of cash flow equaled to your current monthly income to assist you financially.
- You need to be highly skilled in your area of skills and knowledge before attempting freelancing on a permanent basis. If you are not confident in your skills, ability and knowledge in your area of expertise you should not attempt freelancing on a fulltime basis.
Part-time freelancing
In contrast, freelancing on a part-time basis will be the direct cause of you not able to take on specific tasks, overseeing potential clients and generating less income. In this instance your main source of income, your current employment, will at all time need to get the majority of your attention, time and energy.
Entering this market on a part-time basis does have certain advantages for newcomers though. Here are some advantages of starting freelancing on a part-time basis:
- In the event of failure as a freelancer you will still have your main source of income.
- While on leave you are at least ensured of a definite income from your current employer.
- You will be in a position to research the possibilities of making a success of freelancing. You will have sufficient time to explore all avenues in this venture.
- You will have the time and opportunity of slowly building a portfolio of clients. These clients can later be approached should you decide on taking on freelancing on a permanent basis.
- You will have a monthly cash flow, which may assist you in your part-time business of marketing yourself and building a client base.
- You will generate a great and helpful source of additional income to your monthly paycheck.
To the flip side of the coin, there are some negative aspects of freelancing on a part-time basis. Here are some negative aspects identified:
- You have very little time in office hours to attend to freelancing. This might just be the time that the majority of your clients would want to communicate with you.
- You will have less time for yourself and your family. By conducting two jobs at the same time is bound to limit time for your private life.
- Taking the above two factors into consideration, it is natural that you incur additional stress upon yourself, which may affect your health negatively in the long run.
An Introduction to Freelancing
In short, Freelancing is a self-employed individual, often referred to as an entrepreneur, who provides a service to another person or business on a part-time basis. These individuals are called freelancers.
Being self-employed a freelancer often bases its services upon a certain set of skills or knowledge obtained by such freelancer. In general a freelancer also determines his/her own set of rules in terms of customer base, pricing and projects he/she will be involved in.
Freelancers take on short-term projects from clients and are not being employed on a permanent basis with any client. Freelancers are often known to perform tasks for a number of clients, completing these tasks in a manner that would achieve the deadlines set in agreements.
Pros and cons
Being a freelancer affords an individual the freedom to decide upon where he works, when he works, who he works for, how he works and what fees to charge. The advantages of being a freelancer is boundless, however one need to keep in mind that you are in fact still running a business – a one man business.
In running a business it is a fact that growth opportunities are endless. The more a freelancer becomes in demand the need may arise to expand the business and employ additional staff, acquire more sophisticated equipment and software, etc.
As with any business, being a freelancer also has its downturns. The majority of freelancers are continuously faced with questions that need urgent answers, such as: Where will I find work? Will I get paid? What will I do if there is no work? How will I handle an influx in work?
Conclusion
At the end of the day, freelancing can be compared with starting any new business. There are decisions that need be taken, which will influence the future of the business as well as your future as freelancer.
In working as a freelancer, it has to be stated, is much more rewarding than working for one employer. Being in a position where you can relax in your own work environment, making your own decisions is invaluable!
