5 Reasons You May Not Be Ready to Student Freelance
Debating on whether or not you should venture into the world of freelancing while going to school? Wondering if you have what it takes to make it as a student freelancer? Well, below are five reasons why you may not be ready to start that venture after all. But, since I don’t like when people tell me I’m not cut out for something and then give me no pointers on how to become better, I will also explain how you can rectify the issue.
1. Your portfolio could use some work.
This one is a big one. Clients like to hire freelancers who have some work to show. Unfortunately with most student freelancers, we don’t have a vast, fancy portfolio like other veteran freelancers. If you don’t have the proper portfolio–or a portfolio at all– then chances are you won’t get hired.
A few ways to resolve this range from taking on pro-bono (free) work for charities, churches or other such organizations to taking an internship/class/job that will allow you hands-on experience with working with actual projects.
Taking pro-bono work is a good way to help develop work in your portfolio, but make sure you work with organizations in which you already have close relationships with, like your church, high school or your younger brother’s football team just to name a few. Friends and family can also help provide you with some work if they own their own business or are about to set up shop themselves.
On the other end of that, you could seek out internships or part-time jobs in your field that will give you experience and work to show in your portfolio. Make sure you have permission from the employer to show the work in your portfolio, and state exactly what your role was in the project–especially if you worked with others on the project.
2. You haven’t dealt with real clients.
This can be an issue for some student freelancers who have yet to deal with clients one-on-one before–and I don’t mean in a retail situation. In a professional environment, you have clients that you have to help solve their problems. No matter what profession you are in–accounting, web design, finance, consulting, legal, insurance, etc.– clients hire professionals to help solve their issues, be it a tax return, a legal issue, bankruptcy, or a new website design. If you don’t know how to work with clients and provide them with a solution, chances are you should rectify this before pursuing your freelancing career.
Luckily I was able to work at two different jobs in a professional environment before and during my freelancing where I received interaction with clients on the regular basis, and was able to learn from others as well. That experience helped me take the freelance jump more gracefully as I knew how to communicate with clients and treat them as a professional would.
As you may have guessed, the best way to prepare yourself for dealing with real clients is taking a job where you will work with them on the regular basis. Taking a job in your field of freelancing (or one closely related) is ideal, however, this isn’t always possible. Look for any type of job that will allow for you to solve client’s issues and work with clients one-on-one.
3. You don’t own your own equipment, software, etc.
Students aren’t made of money that is for sure. When I talk to fellow classmates about their desires to pursue freelancing, many of them aren’t even equipped to do what they need to do. The lack of a trustworthy computer, professional software, and other such materials will hold you back from completing jobs successfully and to a client’s satisfaction.
It may be worth taking a job that will allow you to build up some money to make such purchases. Some purchases you will need to make as a freelancer can wait until after you get started, but those, such as computers and software, are quite expensive, and you really can’t open up shop until you have the essentials.
4. You hate doing paperwork, finances and administrative work.
If you didn’t already know what you are in for when you start freelancing, let me clue you in a bit. You wear all the hats in your business, including being the secretary, accounts receivable and payable and project manager, just to name a few. Can’t stand balancing your checkbook or keeping a record of things? Well, maybe it isn’t the right time for you to start freelancing.
When approaching administrative work, it helps to be organized in your everyday life–keeping up with your checkbook, a record of bills you pay, and knowing exactly where last year’s tax return is. So if you aren’t already doing these things, you will have even more difficult time doing all of that plus all of your business’s paperwork and housekeeping. Invoicing, contracts, time sheets, separate checking accounts, and taxes are other fun things to look forward to when you start freelancing.
I personally love these types of activities, so it wasn’t very hard for me to carry over those skills into my freelancing. But the best way to rectify this before you start freelancing is to learn from someone who does it, be it your parents, professors, or other students. Hook up with someone that can show you a thing or two.
5. You simply just realistically don’t have the time to devote to it.
Last, but not least, if you don’t have much time to eat or sleep, chances are you are too busy to start your freelancing endeavor. Freelancing, no matter if you are a student or a veteran, is a big black hole when it comes to your time, at least when you first start. I know when I started, I spent two hours of non-billable time doing stuff for my business for every one-hour of billable work–if I was lucky. Some weeks I even worked a full 40 hours doing stuff for my business, and could barely bill five of those.
It goes worth stating that everyone’s time requirements are different. If you are a student, you have to go to class and put in the time to do homework and studying. But beyond that, it is a trade game. What are you willing to give up to start freelancing? This is different for everyone, and it might not even have a clear-cut answer. Chances are if you can’t spend at least 15-20 hours a week freelancing–like you would any other part-time job–then you shouldn’t start your freelance career just yet.
Great article, thanks for that!
Coincidentally I AM currently a student freelancer and luckily none of those points above apply to me
Best wishes
Me either!!
Full time student….stay-at-home dad of three….FREELANCE DESIGNER!!
It’s all about personal drive and self motivation!!!
i have been freelancing for 7 months now… its kinda hard but i like it
I’m a freelance web application developer and full-time student. Luckily for me, my study is very closely related to my work, so combining is easier. I already had a notebook (school requirement) and since I’m a developer and not a designer, most software I use is open source. Finding time is usually not too hard, I mostly work in the evening or in between courses. Freelancing is much more flexible than any other job when it comes to working hours. As a developer I can work pretty much everywhere, even in public transport.
For me the hardest part in freelancing is still motivation. It can be tough to force yourself to get some work done, especially when its not all about the money (I could live without it). Also I’ve realized that I really need to plan better and take notes. My brain is a black hole when it comes to appointments.
For starting student freelancers I can only suggest to keep your business organised (including the paperwork) and keep in mind you have to pay taxes in the end (about 25% of revenue in my case). Also, if you want to make real money, don’t do projects for friends and family (that’s only allowed in your first year, to get started). For developers, a portfolio isn’t the most important thing, just make sure you can convince the client of your skills in other ways. I’ve done (and still do) development work for an open source content management system. Such experience can be very valuable, also when you decide to get a regular job in the end.
That is so true, it is hard to be good at both. Focus on school – pay off in the long run.
I started part time freelancing as a student and this is all great stuff. But one thing I want to add is that I didn’t do pro bono work to create a portfolio. Instead, I made up clients. I created brochures, press releases and other pieces for nonexistent clients. If anyone asked, I explained that yes I did create these pieces but no these clients are not real. I explained that I was just trying to show examples of what I could do. But almost no one asked and the only people that did ask were really impressed that I had taken the initiative to do it. Of course, that wouldn’t have helped me if they were looking for someone who had experience working with clients because I had none.
I think other freelancers who started when they were a student might have also made up their own clients and produced work for these made up clients as well. But as you mentioned, clients tend to want to know how you helped other clients. In my opinion, it is always easier to make up your own work to show, but it is harder to show how you solved the client’s issues. Also for practice sake, you can kill two birds with one stone by working with real clients to develop a portfolio and gain that experience of working with them to help solve their issues.
I built a portfolio by doing really cheap work for clients–so I didn’t work pro-bono. I gained a bit of pocket change (which I also had a part-time job on top of going to school full time at the time) but it sure felt great working with other clients!
some good points, i didn’t start doing freelance work until i was out of school and had a development job for a year.
I started freelancing as a senior in high school and continued all throughout college. My studies, though, are entirely unrelated to my web development work: linguistics. I feel that studying a vastly different area than your freelance work can be extremely helpful. It helps to prevent burnouts.
Being a full-time student and freelancing is very tough. There are some times when my education comes before my business and my business takes a toll. Nonetheless, it’s still possible as long as you dedicate enough time to it.
I’ve just finished university, so am spending the free time i have now adding to my portfolio. The time issue is a valid one, the past year in particular has been busy when combined with the hours spent at my part time job. I put alot work into my work this past year and has resulted in a good grade for my degree, which i will have for the rest of my life. Freelancing and portfolio building has been put on hold untill i finished but I would definitely advise to start working on this in the early years of being a student, which i now regret not doing.
Yeah, a portfolio is a big issue, especially for designers, web developers, photographers, writers, and other such fields. Developing a solid portfolio is one of the best things that can really help you start your freelancing career off on the right foot. It isn’t easy building a portfolio–that is for certain–but it is so worth all that hard work!
Unfortunately I agree with all of this.
I decided to spend my third year at university trying this out and found all of these points out the hard way. I just didn’t have the time to try and get freelance off the road.
Now I’m more prepared, but I learnt the hard way. You need to sacrifice more than you may think to get through it.
I never wanted to be a freelancer, just wanted to be guy with some knowledge about everything.
Nicely put thoughts, but I would start freelancing precisely for this reason. Of course it takes effort, but there are numerous instances of people making a killing during their school or college years during freelance work.
Well, i have grown almost all my portfolio with contests in sites like 99designs, i have had some clients but they weren’t that great even when I tried to help them having the best choice, i have some clients now and still making my way to get more and make a name around my city.
I got my girlfriend making calls to get costumers, a lot of tips around here work pretty well.
another good thing that some freelancers need to know is how will their cbrand work and what USP will they offer to costumers, there is a lot of non billable hours of work that may payoff very well, if they are spent properly.
Here in Tucson, a University of Arizona student (now a UA alum) founded a computer consulting company. He hires students to go out and work with clients, and I’ve had them here to do my computer support.
They’re good, fast, and reasonable.
So, instead of struggling along on your own, why not band together and sell your services as a group? Or do like the young man above did and form a company that hires students.
Ha ha, funny enough, my main goal for my freelancing is to be able to turn it into an agency, and give students the opportunity to have a paying job, get hands on experience doing what they want to do, and build a portfolio. One day soon that will be a reality!
I am a student in the UK and I find that freelancing is easily accomplishable if you do the following:
1. Prepare well – A good portfolio, workspace, business card…
2. Start small – Speak to close friends and local businesses first and don’t charge to much – gives you experience whilst making you an attractive cheap prospect
3. Be economic with the truth – Don’t lie to clients about your age, if they ask tell them however it should not be a factor if you can produce good work so don’t open with “Im only 18″…
4. Know your limits (skills and time wise) – you are probably not that great. I certainly wasn’t when I started but try and go back to projects tidy up the code and iterate them continuously so that you can be proud of them and they can sell your services.
I will have to blog about my experiences when I have more time but the above are some good considerations.
@Prydie
I think the best way to go about doing freelance work as a student is to work on your own projects but not just small things, shoot for the moon.
Work on projects that constantly make you try out a new skill or program. Want to eventually freelance web design for ecommerce? Start your own ecommerce site!
So and and so on.
The more you can put yourself out of your comfort zone, the easier you’ll be able to pick up the great habits.
I’m a student freelancer at currently at University. I first started freelancing about 4 years ago one of the first things I aimed to do was get professional experience. So I hunted around for a web design studio that fit in with my style (I’m picky) and did some free work there for a while until my skills got to where they’re at now and I’m in a position where i’m being a pretty decent, consistent amount of money.
Another thing I did was ‘make up’ clients. Not only was it good practise to brush up my skills, but it was more entries in my portfolio for people to see. Now, I’m in a fortunate position, aged 18, and have a really good portfolio full of *real* clients.
There are too many ‘freelance web designers’ out there who own photoshop and think they can design websites. When, quite frankly and pardon my french, they can’t design for s***.
I’ve been freelancing part-time for a few years now, but I’ll have to agree with a lot of what you said – school comes first (unfortunately don’t have the time to devote to work as much as you want to… school almost always has to come first), and I know I don’t want to deal with with the paperwork myself. I feel like it can have its benefits though – you get experience other students don’t get in dealing with certain business or clients, and it’s a great resume padder.
I just graduated from college with a Bachelor’s Degree in Web Design and Interactive Media. This article is hitting close to home with me.
While I was in school, I did some work for close friends and relatives. I made a portfolio website for my boyfriend, and my dad started a new business, so I created his logo, business card, brochure and website.
The work that I did for those two have gotten a lot of attention, and led to other work. One of my dad’s colleagues liked my work and asked me to create a site for his company. Instead of being up front and letting him know that I don’t know anything about business, and I’ve only ever done work on a “pay as you can” basis, I scrambled to find a contract and invoice template without even thinking about taxes and reporting my earnings. When tax season rolled around, and he started asking me for the taxpayer’s identification number for my ‘business’ I freaked.
Long story short… everything turned out okay in the end. I was embarrassed, but didn’t get in trouble. I decided that since I’m out of school, I’m going to look for a full-time position to continue my learning and experience before I focus on true freelance again.
I started freelancing about 3 years ago being student, anyone can do both at the same time
It sure takes a unique breed of student though to manage being a student AND freelancer, because it ain’t easy, but it is so rewarding to tell your classmates that you are self-employed!
I love the article. I think I’m turning into an Amber Leigh Turner fan? Is there a fanclub?
Can’t you also use your Social for a tax ID # in the united states if you don’t have a registered business tax ID #?