Freelancing Might Be The Future. Here's How To Get Started

• Author: Shaun Jerde
• Posted: 2024-07-23

Change is the only real constant in the world and while it used to be that having a consistent 9 to 5 job for decades was the norm, it appears freelancing is the wave of the future.

With the internet at their disposal, millions of people have decided to work remotely for companies instead of becoming dedicated employees and have reaped substantial personal and monetary benefits as a result.

This trend only appears to be increasing and if the idea of freelancing appeals to you, here's how you can get started.

 

Why Freelancing?

Freelancing let's you be your own boss, provides a tremendous degree of freedom, and allows you to work at your own pace.

It's also perfect for today's environment.

While there used to be a lot of limitations related to communication and distance, many of these issues have been solved with the development of online infrastructure. Nowadays, a lot of work can be done solely on the internet and with most businesses no longer offering good employee benefits, there's little incentive for many workers to stick with corporate operations long-term.

 

Pick A Focus

The first step you're going to want to take is figuring out what your specialty is going to be. It's not enough to just pick a generalized profession or industry, to be successful you have to pick something highly specific.

This serves to help you build your knowledge base and most useful skill sets while also providing you with a more linear way to build your reputation and where to look for clients.

 

Develop Your Portfolio

While it's always possible you'll get a client right out the gate, more realistically you'll have to demonstrate how good your skills are first.

This is where portfolios come into play.

Your portfolio is essentially a collection of your best work that you'll show to potential clients in order to get them interested in hiring you. Ideally it will be work that's been purchased by previous clients, although if you're just starting out then you can just create content from scratch.

 

Engage With Your Network

Networking is one of the most important things you can do to further your career in the business world and freelancing is no exception.

It's a good idea to leverage connections you made with other people in the specific industry you're interested in. These connections can be the result of in-person interactions or if you're more internet-inclined, you can develop relationships with other people throughout major social media sites like LinkedIn.

You can always directly ask individuals or businesses who might be in need of freelance help if they need your services, but most opportunities are likely to come from people you know who can give you crucial information that's not open to the public.

 

Decide If you're Going to Use A Platform or Not

There are a ton of sites out there that can connect clients to freelancing talent, which makes them pretty obvious places for finding freelance work. However, the competition is also incredibly steep, meaning that even though you'll likely get access to jobs, actually getting hired is another matter entirely.

Alternatively, you can act completely independently by directly asking people if they're in need of freelancing help and skip the middleman. The biggest downside here is that nothing is guaranteed. You'll have to spend a lot of time chasing ghosts before you catch a viable lead that might not pan out in the end anyway.

The choice is ultimately up to you, but before you start doing dedicated freelancing it's a good idea to choose whether or not you're going to use a freelancing platform, since it's going to determine what strategies you use to get clients.

 

Getting Started

Freelancing can seem like a daunting challenge for a lot of people and it's certainly different from the usual 9 to 5 configuration most workers are used to in their day to day lives.

Ultimately though, freelancing has never been easier and the rewards of becoming a freelancer are very appealing to most people.

Despite how difficult it may seem, it's definitely worth it and looks to be an increasingly popular way commerce will be facilitated in the future.