If you’re here, this means you have probably decided to take the leap into the world of freelancing.

Either, you have already honed and mastered skills in a particular niche that you’re excited to offer to your future freelance clients or you might still be in the process of figuring out what type of freelancing jobs to get.

Or maybe you have decided a while ago you want to become your own boss, but selling digital products is going slooow, and you want to get more financial security and stability.

Either way, you’re in the right place, my friend. Because in this blog post, I’ll take your hand and guide you through the very first steps to start off your freelance career.

If you’re still on the fence about whether freelancing is the right route to take for you, let’s talk about the most important pros and cons of freelance jobs from home.

Related Reads:

• How To Avoid Busy Work & Be Truly Productive
• How To Stop Procrastination And Start Achieving Your Goals
• Everything You Need To Know About Outsourcing Content Creation
• Cultivating A Success Mindset As A Solopreneur
• Tips For A Healthy Work Life Balance

How to Become a Freelancer: Start Freelance Jobs From Home & Earn More Money

The Pros

• You have the complete freedom to work from anywhere you want (as long as you have an internet connection): from your hotel on a tropical island, from your bed, a cute coffee bar, an amazing coworking space, from your favorite beach with a mojito in your hand, you name it.

• Time is always in your hands and you can work whenever you want. If you feel more productive in the early mornings, you can work during those hours. Or if you’re a night owl, then you have the option to work mainly in the late evenings. You can finally organize your work around your life and not the other way around.

• No more office politics, no more awkward conversations next to the coffee machine, no more useless meetings with colleagues you don’t even like, no more “feeling stuck”. You are an independent freelancer, so you decide your own working conditions and standards.

• You get to choose who you want to work with. If a client is not satisfactory, you can always opt out and find another. Let’s say you’re a writer but don’t want to write for a company whose goals are kinda sketchy even though the pay is good, Then don’t. It’s not worth your time… So, choose clients you feel aligned with, and have a similar purpose like you, so you genuinely resonate with them.

• With the right clients, you’re going to learn so much more than you ever thought you could. With several freelance jobs, you’re exposed to different environments, different kinds of managers, and different kinds of challenges. Your experience with one client might teach you something that you can apply with a second client and the other way around. So, it goes without saying that you’re learning at an increased rate.

• Once you start to get the hang of it, you’ll have more offers piling in than you can handle. You get to choose the best of the bunch and be absolutely satisfied because of the type of work you can deliver. In addition, you will be rewarded more and earn further down the line. As you work with more clients and you improve your freelance skills, you can systematically increase your rate and scale your freelance business.

The Cons

Yes, there are challenges to consider as well when getting freelance jobs from home. These are:

• One of the obvious reasons is the lack of benefits. You’re not ‘protected’ as a normal employee would. Clients are not going to pay you when you’re sick or on vacation. Also, if you have set deadlines with clients and don’t deliver because something came up, your clients might be less “patient” with you and decide to work with another freelancer.

• In most cases, you don’t have any “fixed hours”. You must learn to manage different workloads and deadlines. For instance, a client might reach out to you at night to get something done ASAP, especially if serving them in different time zones. It’s all in your hands to set boundaries.

• As a freelancer, you’re also responsible for your own marketing, administration, taxes, billing, and a whole lot more. This can be quite complicated and stressful and can take up a lot of your time.

• You need to continuously put yourself out there by promoting your business and services to acquire new clients, which when you’re an introvert like me, isn’t the most comfortable thing to do.

So now that you know all of the above, you might have more clarity to decide if you’re willing to cope with the “ugly” and celebrate the “good” of freelancing.

Can I Be a Freelancer With No Experience?

Yes, you totally can!

Whatever skills you might have acquired in your university, jobs as an employee, voluntary work, or even in your hobbies can be transformed into a freelance service.

So definitely think out of the box when brainstorming about which services you can offer in the next section!

Let’s explore together some key steps to start off your freelance career:

How do I begin freelancing?

Step 1

If you haven’t figured out where you want to specialize as a freelancer, the famous Japanese concept “IKIGAI” can help you to find out what your “purpose” and “true why” is.

IKIGAI means “a reason for being”. Basically, it stems from within and beckons us to question every day “What is it that I am meant to do?”

The technique behind finding your IKIGAI is simple but powerful.

There are 4 questions you need to answer:

• What do you love?
• What are you good at?
• What does the world need?
• What can you be paid for?

And as you have written down your answers to these questions, try to find certain services that would tick all of these boxes.

What is it that you genuinely love to do, are you good at it, does the world need it and can you actually be paid for it?

The coming together of the four elements will help you find your “IKIGAI”.

And you probably might think “why do I need a niche? Can’t I be a VA and do a bit of everything?” And yes, you of course can, but to make it in the freelance world you need to distinguish yourself from all the other freelancers out there, so becoming an expert in something very niche really helps to stand out from the crowd. (Also the more specialist and “niched” you are, the more you can charge your clients as well!) #bonuspoint!

Which freelance Jobs From Home are best for beginners?

Here are some popular freelance services that are ideal if you’re just starting out.

• Copywriting / creative writing (possible niches: newsletters, social media captions, newsletters, sales pages, website copy)
• Graphic designer (possible niches: Workbooks, social media graphics, Pinterest Pins, slide decks, logos, brand guidelines…)
• Virtual Assistant (possible niches: VA for bloggers, VA for e-commerce, VA for coaches,…)
• SEO Specialist (Possible niches: SEO manager specialized in on-page SEO, SEO manager specialized in backlinks and off-page SEO, …)
• HR (possible niches: specialized in recruitment, specialized in improving onboarding,… specialized in training & development,…)

Step 2

Once you have decided what your niche is, you need to calculate your availability to do your freelance jobs from home. Try to estimate how many hours per week/month you are willing to spend on freelancing. Let’s say you’re still working your full-time job, so you probably need to make room either in the early mornings or later after work. Or maybe you’re at school and probably need to make yourself available for your class projects as well as client work. Keep experimenting until you find a schedule that works for you.

Step 3

Determine how much you ideally want to earn each month, when you start freelancing. (keep it challenging, but realistic!)

Now all you have to do is divide that amount by the number of hours you’re available to work for a month.

This is your ideal hourly rate. Now I know there may be more factors to consider, but in the beginning, this method would at least give you an idea of your earning potential.

Step 4

Create a template for a cover letter where you talk about your skills, past experiences, and relevant information that you think is necessary for potential clients to know. The key here is to emphasize your unique set of skills and what makes you different from the rest. It is ok to look at other similar profiles to get an idea of what to mention. But it is VERY important that you don’t just copy-paste stuff. Put your own twist on it. This cover letter template can now be used for applying to different freelance jobs from home with the necessary adjustments to be made for specific positions.

How do I get my first freelancing client?

With all the formalities out of the way, you can go ahead and create profiles on websites like Upwork, Fiverr, and Outsourcely. This will be time-consuming at first and requires a bit of a learning curve. There are several other websites apart from the ones I mentioned and each of them has its own way of dealing with freelancers and clients. Make sure you always go through the terms and conditions, to find out the rules, fees that the platform charges,… etc.

Start applying to jobs that you find interesting. Make sure the requirements mentioned are relevant to your skills and you know for sure you can get the job done. Don’t hesitate to ask for more information about the job offer if something isn’t totally clear, to make an informed decision. Choose wisely! 🙂

And finally, of course, DON’T GIVE UP! Your first application, interview, and first workday with your new client might be difficult and a bit scary, but trust me, you will get used to it, and it’s worth it.

I hope this thorough guide on how to become a freelancer will make it a bit easier for you to navigate this new world.

All the best of luck <3

Related Reads:

• How To Avoid Busy Work & Be Truly Productive
• How To Stop Procrastination And Start Achieving Your Goals
• Everything You Need To Know About Outsourcing Content Creation
• Cultivating A Success Mindset As A Solopreneur
• Tips For A Healthy Work Life Balance

So, are you a freelancer or haven’t decided yet? If you are, what steps did you take to become a freelancer? Why don’t you share some of your tips in the comments down below? 🙂