Freelancing is a buzzword, both in developed and developing countries. People are increasingly choosing freelancing to make a living. Competition is going up in the freelance marketplaces like Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr, LinkedIn ProFinder, Hubstaff Talent, Outsourcely, and so on. At this stage, one must mark himself different than others in order to win a bid and achieve the ultimate success. But how?
Here I’m discussing 5 key points behind being a successful freelancer.
1. Know Yourself
There are three types of people in the world of freelancing. First, the full-time ones, who are totally professional in freelancing and don’t involved with traditional office-desk based jobs. The second group comprises those who are part-time freelancers. They continue fixed jobs and freelance projects simultaneously. The third type is confused guys. This group is in danger. If you cannot establish yourself in freelancing, you won’t be able to make a reasonable outcome from it. That’s a really really bad thing for an individual, a family and broadly, for an economy. So at first know yourself, evaluate your skills, discover your interest in learning new things frequently and adaptability. If you have confidence and determination, you can be successful in any field. So find your strengths and weaknesses and continue reading this article.
2. Keep Options
You may find some people saying like they would have only a single target and they must achieve that. Now listen to me. Forget the “single target” theory. Career is not a mission. It’s much more than a vision. I assume you know the difference between mission and vision. The earlier one is relatively short term and the later one is long term phenomenon. However, don’t try to be over smart. Always keep a backup option. If you do full-time freelancing, that’s great, but don’t rely on single marketplace or a single client. Your current client can be awesome, but I’ve heard several stories where clients ended contracts just because the freelancers asked to raise the rate. The virtual world is full of risk factors. Your marketplace profile may face limits, your project may be called off and many more can happen. So maintain more than one marketplace profiles (of course on different marketplaces, because one may not be allowed to have double account on a freelancing site at once). Create own portfolio site to get clients from outside marketplaces. Build network.
3. Better Manage Your Time
Time is the a prime resource to a freelancer. Plan and organize your time to utilize in the greatest extent. Time trackers (for client or personal) can play a good role in measuring freelancer productivity. Use note taking apps like Evernote, Google Keep etc. to schedule and complete your assignments timely. Punctuality and responsibility are weighted heavily in freelance jobs.
4. Go for the Right Project
There are bad guys in freelance marketplace too. Do some analysis before bidding for a project. Is the client reliable? What do the ratings and reviews tell about the buyer? Is the client’s payment method verified? There are many questions. There are some clients who post projects with high budget estimates but they get vanished after receiving works. Use advanced payment options of your freelance marketplace or only work for trusted clients. Failing to identify the right client is a miserable shortcoming of a freelancer, so beware of this.
5. Learn New Things
Skill, skill, skill… Everything has a room for development till death. Stay updated with the latest trends of your industry, learn new skills and connect with the community. Freelancing sites offer a number of skill tests. Take tests and add some brilliance to your profile. No skill can do alone. Learning relevant stuffs can provide huge advantage. Suppose you are a content developer. If you know how to manage contents in WordPress, Joomla and such other CMSs, that will help you perform your tasks with more ease. Improve communication skill to avoid misunderstandings. Keep studying and repeat.
Do you want to add some more words? Please comment here!
Leave a Reply