Getting Started as a Freelancer
It may feel intimidating to launch your freelance business from scratch. Reaching out to a community of freelance professionals certainly helps get you started in the right direction.
Learn from seasoned professionals about the common pitfalls to watch out for when beginning as a freelancer and the essential strategies you’ll need for success.
Whether you’re in the process of setting up the basics of your freelancing business or are still weighing up your options, these articles will help you get started with your first steps in freelancing.
A Comprehensive Guide to Starting Your Freelance Career
This is the article that started it all. Before we even thought about launching FreelanceSwitch, Collis wrote an article about what he’d learned during his freelancing career. This article will give you the basics of branding your freelancing business, finding work, quoting and estimating, getting paid, and client liaison. If you’re right at the start of your freelancing journey then start with this article!
On the Side or All the Way?
Should you freelance full-time, or just for some extra income? A big decision for would-be freelancers is whether to pack their job in or begin by freelancing on the side. This article offers the pros and cons so you can make a more informed choice.
Freelancing 101 – The Basics
In this article, Mathias, German (developer extraordinaire) discusses what he sees as the most important issues for a new freelancer. In this article he covers the subjects of finances, working environment, holidays, your portfolio and the fear you’ll doubtless feel when you first go out on your own.
Naming Your Freelancing Business
What’s in a name? One of the fun things all new freelancers get to do is to come up with a name for their business. In this article, you can find out whether personalizing your business name (eg. John Smith Design Agency) is right for you.
Getting Started: The First Steps to Freelance Freedom
A few of us hit the ground running as freelancers, but for most the transition can be full of worry, stress and anxiety. A bit of planning, preparing with part-time projects, as well as sensible investing, and you’ll be ready to run the freelance marathon.
5 Tips for Freelance Mentor Relationships
Mentors can be generous, wonderful, and helpful people. They can give you much needed advice that will assist you in progressing at crucial moments in your freelance career. It’s important to find mentors you click with, handle your communication with them professionally, and learn to filter advice through your own experience. Learn more tips for establishing a fruitful mentor relationship.
Kick Starting a Freelance Business… When You Can’t Afford to Fail
Starting a freelance business isn’t easy, but it’s absolutely possible for anyone with a genuinely marketable skill. Some preparation before taking the leap into the deep end of the freelancing pool is a good idea. Keep in mind though, you don’t need a giant loan or an MBA… just confidence, talent, and a determination to get started right now.
Start Out Right: Avoid These 3 New Freelancer Blunders
Starting out as a freelancer can be an exhilarating ride, but those first few miles can be littered with frustrating potholes if you don’t know what to watch out for. Three major hurdles to be wary of are scope creep, burnout from overwork, and protecting yourself from non-paying clients. Learn how to navigate through these difficult issues.
Like Pulling Teeth: 5 Steps to Freelancing Success
Many use the phrase, “like pulling teeth” to describe a very difficult process. If you’re just starting out as a freelancer, chances are good that you’ve not yet encountered the tooth-pulling part of the gig. Seth Simonds vividly recounts a gritty moment from his childhood when he pulled out two of his teeth, then connects this experience to the mental preparedness fresh freelancers need for the road ahead.
9 Tips for Brand New Freelancers
Raj Dash shares nine essential tips for new freelancers that he’s learned sweating away in the freelance trenches. Some of these are money related, such as building an emergency fund and setting a suitable rate. Others are productivity based, and offer tracking performance and outsourcing suggestions. There are also tips on networking, broadening your services, and more.
From the Community: Advice for New Freelancers
We asked the FreelanceSwitch community what simple, one-line advice would they give newly minted freelancers. The result was a diverse mix of quality responses, humor, and wisdom. Learn about topics, such as working with clients, making money, marketing your services, and keeping one’s sanity. Read on for the best advice from the FreelanceSwitch community!.
