Freelance work has become more and more popular in today’s age as a way to generate sustainable income versus the traditional job. With the growing ease of remote work and the increasing urge to work for oneself, it makes sense. This is especially the case given that skills like software engineering and design are so valued in building companies for the future. Transition. One large challenge for people that freelance is in how to make the transition to full-time remote work. It is not as easy as one would suppose. It is a scary prospect to quit one’s job or head into the working world without secure income. It is tempting, though, due to all the benefits that freelancing offers. Keep your day job. The helpful reality is that to start, you do not need to quit your job to begin freelance work. Instead, you can begin gainly your clients slowly. Once you are comfortable with your income levels, you can drop other revenue streams. You can learn from those that have come before you, and follow pre-defined steps to maximize success . Here are six specific tips that the best freelancers follow to get you off the ground and making sustainable income within your first year freelancing: 1. Develop a personal brand from the onset. While it might be tempting just to get to work, especially if you have a project on hand, it is equally (or more) important to also begin establishing your personal brand. As a freelancer, you have to convince others to hire you as opposed to anyone else out there. This is particularly challenging when you are in a crowded space. That makes it critical to build your personal brand. Create a website to showcase yourself and your work. The site should be a direct reflection of yourself, as well as something clean and creative to attract customers. On your site, you can also begin to collect client testimonials. After finishing projects, even your first ones, you should ask for testimonials. These will establish more faith in your work and help attract future customers. 2. Do good work at a fair price. In hand with your personal brand is your quality of work and the price you set. While it can be tempting to slack on projects or charge extra because your client is uninformed, doing so will hurt you in the long run. Great work and honesty. The best freelancers succeed because they do great work and are honest. Otherwise, it will catch up with you. Even one bad review can damage your reputation significantly. Plus, you never know who is paying attention to your work and the opportunities that could arise in the blink of an eye. In a world that is increasingly public and easy to share information, your brand is infinitely more important. Doing good work for your clients will lead to positive reviews, can give you high-quality work to showcase and will increase the likelihood that you get referrals […]
