HOW TO BECOME AN INDEPENDENT PROFESSIONAL (II)

The first thing you need to become a freelancer is make the decision to do so. You may have to give up the security of a steady waged job and work hard to start and grow your own business. Like any major choice and change, you may encounter difficulties as well as great satisfaction and benefits. The only way to know is by doing it.

In my previous post, HOW TO BECOME AN INDEPENDENT PROFESSIONAL (I), I explained the first steps to follow when starting a business. Once the initial giddiness overcomes, you need to get down to work.

What are the benefits of being a freelancer?

Freelancing is not just a way of working; it is a lifestyle and a very good one. Freelancers can work part-time or full-time. As they are not exclusive employees of a company, they can work at their own pace, as long as the client's requirements and established deadlines are met. This gives them more freedom than the average worker has. For this reason, many professionals who obtained self-employment do not want to be a wage earner again. On the other hand, becoming a freelancer is one of the fastest and easiest ways to get work and experience in your field. More and more companies tend to hire freelancers to carry out their work. In this way, they can save money without having to make a permanent commitment, as they would with an employee of their own. In a previous post, FREELANCER, PROS AND CONS I explain it in more detail.

How can I promote myself as a freelancer?

The first thing you should do is know what services you are going to offer. Once this is done, you will have to work on your portfolio and collect all the samples of previous work or create them directly. Define your own personal brand (you can also create your own logo or signature) and open your profile on social networks. Remember to provide all the information as completely as possible and put a professional photo. All of this is important, as many clients have started searching for freelancers on social media before accessing a browser to find a website. Your online profile will be their first contact with you. After completing all the steps above, it is better to start the sales process with natural markets and referrals to increase your leads gradually.

On the other hand, you need to register on some independent platform and start bidding there. An important part of sending offers on and off the platform is knowing how to provide professional services. In your offer, you must not only indicate the price, but also explain everything that accompanies your service so that your clients know that you are the best they can choose. Talk about your experiences with other customers, tell them about similar work you have done, and some random ideas about what you can definitely offer if hired. Specify the delivery date and the format of the offer. Once submitted, follow up for feedback or queries.

Set a work schedule

In a previous post, I mentioned the freedom of schedules among the advantages of being a freelancer, do you remember? This is true, but it is also true that if you want to work long-term on this, you need to set a schedule to work. Individual discipline is very important because if you do not set a plan, you can end up finding one excuse after another to avoid getting to work. This is called procrastination, and you should know how to avoid it. Observe what time of the day you are most productive and determine a period when you can dedicate yourself completely to developing your activity and serving your customers. Of course, you can modify and adjust that schedule on the fly. If at first your workload does not fill the schedule you have arranged, spend the remaining time looking for offers and potential clients.

Prepare a suitable workspace

We have also said that you can work anywhere you want in the world, as long as you have a job that you can do using the Internet, remotely. However, just as having a pre-established schedule will help you organize and be productive, it is important that you have a specific place where you work regularly, such as your home office, which allows you to carry out your activity comfortably and without interruptions.

An environment without much noise, a table and a chair that allow you to spend several hours sitting comfortably, lighting according to your needs and other details, are essential elements to maintain the quality of your work.

Set a fair price for your work

One of the most common mistakes that professionals make when they start working as freelancers, is to set a low price to their work.

I know that the pressure of not receiving a fixed income every month can be overwhelming and that there are expenses to cover, but determining a price that is below the market value will not only devalue you, but also the rest of the professionals who work independently in the same sector.

If in doubt, think and set a value that is fair to both you and your customer.

How to get a job as a freelancer

This is really the cornerstone of this whole thing.

There are many platforms where you can offer your services and apply to work on specific projects. Likewise, those looking for freelancers can find you on these same platforms.

If you search the internet, there are hundreds of articles and blogs that link to pages where they advertise freelance jobs. You can open a profile on several of them and check back often to see what jobs are you interested in. Distribution on social networks is also an important tool. Any network can be good to promote yourself, but I especially recommend LinkedIn, for its professional nature.

You can also send proposals directly to companies in your field of expertise.

To finish, some general advice on good practices, which I hope will be useful to start on the right foot:

- Organize yourself. Clutter is the worst enemy of a freelancer, so if you really want to be successful, you must learn to organize yourself very well. Get used to scheduling your projects, plan your work day by day, set short-term goals and never accept more work than you can do without losing quality.

- Be transparent with your customers. Sincerity is one of the fundamental pillars of a good working relationship between freelancer and client. When necessary, do not be afraid to say that you do not know how to do something or that you cannot meet the deadline they set. With good communication, it will be possible to reach a satisfactory agreement for both parties.

- Send attractive proposals. While it is true that freelancers search is increasing, we also know that it is very important that you prepare attractive proposals that will make you stand out from the rest of the candidates and help you get the job.

- Find your niche and specialize. This will help you find better clients and opportunities. Think about the work areas or categories in which you perform best and, above all, that you are most passionate about. Working as a freelancer can be an excellent way to earn money and dedicate yourself to what you like the most.