Getting started freelancing isn’t easy.
I’ve been there and got the t-shirt, and it is not a comfortable t-shirt. In fact, it’s incredibly daunting, especially when you have no idea what to do or where to even start.
When I quit my full-time job back in 2014, I had no idea what it meant to be freelance. I didn’t know any freelancers and I literally had no clue how I was going to make money. To say it was a scary time is a major understatement.
But I knew I wanted to work for myself.
I’d read up on a few freelancer stories and I knew it was possible to make a living without selling my soul to a full-time position.
However – caveat incoming – if anyone ever tells you getting started freelancing is easy, they are wrong. So, so wrong.
It is by far one of the hardest and most stressful things I’ve ever done, but the pay off has been worth it.
I get a lot of questions from students and readers asking me what they need to get started freelancing. The thing is, while having a website and a portfolio and contacts is all well and good, there are things that are more important.
I know a number of freelancers that have wildly successful careers and they’ve never had a website. These assets are often flung around as “must-haves”, but in reality all they do is delay us getting started freelancing even more.
So, this isn’t a blog post about the assets you need to get started as a freelancer. Instead, it covers the attributes you need to make a success of your career. These are the things you need if you want to create a long-term, sustainable freelance business that makes you happy for years to come.
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Without further ado…
1. Commitment
If I’d have given up every time I hit a bump in the road, there’s absolutely no way I’d still be freelancing today.
There’s this myth that you can become a freelance success overnight, but I’ve never seen that happen.
The successful freelancers you see around have worked hard behind the scenes to get where they are today and, most importantly, they haven’t given up.
It took me 1-1.5 years until I made a comfortable and stable monthly income that I was happy with. I certainly wasn’t earning six-figures after six months by any stretch of the imagination.
If you aren’t getting any traction on your cold emails, don’t give up. Rework them and send out even more (check out my signature program, Pitch & Prosper for help with writing conversion-powered cold emails).
If you can’t get a client to hire you, figure out why and fix it. Network more, engage with more brands online, and put yourself out there.
Consistent commitment is the ultimate “strategy” for building a successful business. Consistently doing the little tasks will lead to bigger and better things.
2. A Plan
Flailing around in the dark with no sense of which way is up or gown is no way to get started as a freelancer.
This will only lead to disaster.
So, before you take the plunge, make sure you have a plan – and not just a vague idea of where you want to be in a year’s time, but something concrete.
Set income goals, like “I want to earn £1,000 over the next two months from freelancing” or “I want to earn £2,000 a month at the year mark”, and then figure out how you’re going to get there.
How many clients do you need to make £2,000 a month? Start reaching out to them!
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The one thing I will say is do not quit your day job until you’ve found a client or two. I
was lucky in that I’d had experience writing for brands through my full-time job and my hobby blog had racked up a following over the years so I had a bit of an online presence already – not to mention, I had a number of samples straight off the bat.
If I didn’t have these things, there’s no way I would have quite my full-time job without a single prospect lined up. Sure, it can be draining working evenings and weekends around your job, but if this is what you want, then you have to put the hours in.
3. A Backup Plan
As well as having the “ultimate plan” (a.k.a. the plan we just spoke about that helps you set income goals and be strategic about what you need to achieve), you should always have a backup plan.
Usually, this means some kind of money cushion for you to fall back on. When I quit my job, I had about £5,000 in savings.
It’s not much in the great scheme of things, but it meant I could live for a few months without earning anything at all. Luckily it didn’t come to that, but I had that safety net if I needed it and knew I’d still be able to put a roof over my head.
Why Getting Started Freelancing Isn’t About Choosing a Niche and Having a Pretty Website
Notice here how I haven’t included things like a website, a portfolio, or a niche in this list.
This is because these can come later.
Before you even think about whether you want to be a SaaS writer or create landing pages for non-profit charities, you need to have the basics in place otherwise nothing you do will work.
Instead of spending weeks choosing a niche, really consider whether you have the commitment that’s needed to become a successful freelancer.
It’s not a walk in the park.
It’s really hard and having that commitment, perseverance, and consistency will go a loooong way when you’re getting started freelancing.
Then, you need a plan and a backup plan.
Don’t jump in the deep end blind; that just makes it so much harder than it needs to be. Sit down and figure out a realistic and attainable plan and map it out week-by-week if you need to.
Finally, make sure you have options to fall back on.
I will never tell anyone to go freelance if they don’t have financial support from somewhere or a bit of cash saved up. It’s impossible to build a business while struggling to put a roof over your head, so get your ducks in order first.
This post might feel like it’s full of cold hard truths that hurt, but I really just want you to succeed. And, without these major things, you’re going to find it much harder than it needs to be.
But I believe in you; you’ve got this!
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