Starting a freelancing journey as a newbie is not a weird status, but a stage awaiting transformation.
The big question is to why are the majority of new entrants with huge hopes shut down almost immediately?
Your appetite to join the online freelancing world is insatiable. That is great. The truth is, I have not yet seen any satisfying job that gives you freedom like working online.
Now, before we proceed, I believe you have satisfied several requirements that determine your proper success on this side of the world.
Although, many have defied the odds fighting for space and recognition. I advise if you are working 9 to 5 job and about to switch to online one, ensure you exhaust the list below first.
Drafting A Solid Workable Plan Towards a Successful Freelancing Journey
Before we observe the seven answers, let us first figure out how prepared you should be as a newbie to qualify the mentioned steps.
Below, are three stages you must exhaust before advancing to the highway you are about to start your freelancing journey.
Once you do that, chances of quitting are minimal.
So, let’s do this:
STEP 1: Never quit your 9 to 5 desk to freelancer jobs without an affirmation that you can confidently pay your bills.
It is dangerous if you dive into the online boat from a mere whim.
If no approach accepts your input
You will spend the last penny, and you have not yet secured even a good flow of clients to help you stay afloat financially.
What this does to you is to castigate working online, stop your chase to pursue the earlier intended plan, and kill your dream of ever consider working online again.
Now that you are left broke and back to the drawing board to your used traditional job of 9 to 5 I don’t see anything good that can persuade you to even preach the good news about online jobs.
That is a story of thousands who have given up, but that does not mean the encounter was the one to blame.
What they did not have is someone to hold their hands give them direction.
For your information, working online as a freelancer is a proven fact by millions around the globe, and their lives depend on it. I am a living example and don’t know when some achievements would have come if not working online.
Is It Doable?
If I could do it then you can. My English was bad and spent a whole year without securing a single client, but my persistent paid at last. I can pay bills, support my family, and be left with extra for vacation.
So, what is your excuse? The steps I am taking you through is to help you avoid some common mistakes many newbies make.
They say “mistakes strengthen us even the more” but you see some do not have the patience and enough stamina to hold the pressure of a new platform.
Note: The reason you should not hang your job yet before making a real crossover to online freelancing is to avoid you going dry pocket-wise.
At least you dip one leg inside until you are sure and comfortable before you let your other one join.
STEP 2: Invest in equipment’s
These are the tools you require to start your online experience.
- Comfortable chair
- Desk/table
- Laptop/ Desktop
- Internet
The four items are enough investment to start you with your online freelancing office in the comfort of your home.
You do not have to worry about what to wear, or expenses to commute no no no…
I have seen in the past people hire laptops and pay back once they have been sorted by clients depending on what was agreed.
It is a good option, and you can later buy yours.
But when starting it sometimes can weigh on you having first to fix the laptop “guy” and you taking the remaining as your pay.
The good thing is once you start with your first client, encouragement, and motivation helps you to continue. That first taste of the $$$ makes all the difference.
You can purchase all the four required stuff and run towards your dream or take the other option of ‘hiring’ until you can stand on your two financially.
The fact is, if your passion is hotly burning within you then nothing can hold you back no matter what. Write your online experience beginners journey by taking the bull by its horns.
How?
Trying every doable way to experience breakthrough during your online journey. It doesn’t matter as such how you begin and how you get the tools to get the job done. What matters is getting results at the end of the day.
Why?
My story may inspire you but does not mean you have to replicate how I started for you to see results. All that matters is following the general procedure wisely and creating a path that works for you.
Step 3: Avoid this disease: Paralysis by analysis
I urge you please not to be frozen by the unfolding of events when your online experience opens a new chapter every day. It is true, and you will open many chapters you have never imagined.
So, what is Paralysis by analysis: By definition, is analyzing a situation time and again without taking any step.
I have seen many individuals with burning desire wanting to know how to become best writers/marketers and they end up hopping from one course to another, and the following year they are still investing in their career waiting to become professionals.
Just how?
Seriously, you will never become anything without applying what you learn into practice. It is true and has always been “practice makes perfect.”
The fear syndrome you carry of not wanting to fail is your greatest enemy to why online freelancing to you seems like a fairy tale.
Yes, you are reading and learning daily a new method that you find on the web. When will you apply it? Fail and be rectified. Success is moving from one failure to another without loss of enthusiasm.
Read stories of many successful guys and you will realize they were just normal people like you with no online experience, but determination and passion paved way for them.
Let me tell you, no force that can stop a decided mind. Nothing.
These are the reason that resists most of the newbies from proceeding from one stage of growth to another.
a) Fear of clients failing to accept your work
b) Fear of failing to produce high-quality work as expected
c) Fear of starting out something you have no idea whether it is the right thing to do
d) Fear of getting rejected and facing criticism
From the list above, it is not what is said that restrains you from getting started, but out of all there is one consistent word, “FEAR.“
Deal With Fear As Early As Possible
If you entertain fear to hang with you along your online freelancing journey, then you will become a writer/marketer by name and not by experience. It will eat on you, cripple you, and leave you empty with nothing to show.
Fear has killed great dreams, and I will not dwell much on it as we will be dealing with it on another post.
From point A to D, as a freelance writer, get it from me, it is an experience every freelancer undergoes, and only the focused can overcome.
For instance, getting rejected is the order of the day for every living writer whether you are a newbie or a professional. And you will taste it along with your online freelancing journey.
I have been rejected numerous times, and in fact, I have lost count.
Did that kill my dream? No, it instead fired me up to keep my wheels running tirelessly.
One time I submitted my idea to various clients which got rejected ten times. And on the 11th one, it was accepted.
What was wrong with my idea? Nothing
What was wrong with the ten clients? Nothing
We are all humans and seems to see things differently. My idea was not tasty enough for the 10 clients, but the 11th one seemed to click with my train of thought.
Now, what if I stopped at the ten clients and decided to give up? I would have hated myself and considered my work unworthy. But, I said no, I would keep going and if everything else failed I change my game to see what works.
You know, ‘success is a process, and you keep pushing because you can see the outcome of it from a distance.’ So, if it meant to keep trying up to a thousand times, then let it be.
Keep trying even if what you are presenting does not make sense. You will be corrected time and again until you are accustomed to the system.
You can never become a professional working it all by yourself. Professionals are made in the process, while on the playing ground.
Push hard until you can play by the rules. Resist the urge to read and learn to become ‘the best’ let those clients say loud and more precise ” this is it.”
To become successful online is work, understand you are competing with millions and therefore focus on quality rather than quantity and when you do that, be sure to get the big stamp that qualifies sooner than you know it.
Having said that, let us now identify the tips that help you to rise speedily along your freelancing journey:
1. Believe In Yourself
A successful freelancing journey is like sleeping on a chocolate bed while you savor the tastiest type of all “Chocs. And on the contrary, is like “Denatonium” or “Bitrex” which are worldly known to be the most bitter chemical compound ever.
The chocolate part comes when you beat all the odds that stand against you along the journey of your online experience.
The bitter part is you hitting all the walls every path you turn to and finally dropping out of the race because you feel online freelancing is not your call.
The latter is the “Killer dose” you avoid because it voices to you negative excuses to make you quit.
Here you are, young in online matters, and at crossroad whether you stay put or take a U-turn.
Have faith, and believe in yourself. Keep your eyes focused until you find that huge post that reads. SUCCESSFULLY DECLARED
You cannot win as a freelancer if you do not believe in yourself. No clients will hire doubters and individuals carrying tags displaying ‘failure’ all over them.
Let me surprise you, or refreshen your mind if you already know. The top freelancers you have known on the web were at the beginning ‘damn’ individuals than you are.
What does it mean?
They were a nobody, failures, knew not a single thing, and worst at almost everything they tried. But, today, they are the bright gold most of us learned from and admire.
So, if you think you were a failure before and not sure whether entering a freelancing boat is the right thing for you? Let me assure you, it is the best path you have chosen and never will you regret.
Why?
The world is heading in this direction, my brother/sister. That means even if you don’t fall at 99% area, you will at least drop around 80%.
Believe you can do it, and affirm your clients that you are the real deal they are looking for. Real clients look for bold and confident freelancers like you, not Ph.D. holders who are confident of their papers rather than what they can do.
Related: Best Beginners Freelance Sites You Can Start Building Career
2. Fill Your Basket Fast
Do you want to be successful in your freelancing journey? Yeah, right, now combine that with multiple categories or niches to attract more dollars.
You know, most newbies jump on freelancing boat to chase the dollar. A thing majority of us did when beginning, and how you do that is by learning fast to juggle different areas of your expertise.
If you are good at health articles, why not research what business guys are doing and start writing about business. Do not stop at one area especially if you are green in the field.
Accumulate as many categories as fast as you can and exchange your skills for money. Later, when you are sure about your strongest area of expertise, then you can drop the rest and specialize as an authority/expert.
Through that, you are no longer a newbie anymore, but a freelancer who has several badges to show and to specialize will now command clients to come to you instead of you looking for them.
Here is the thing: Are you a newbie? Fill your skills basket and drop one by one as you rise. When you reach the last step of the ladder, tell the world what you are best at, and everyone will see you, know you, and follow you. Your online freelancing journey will be evident.
3. Network With Friends and Enemies
Somebody said, “life is short where there time to hate each other” and it is true. If you keep pouring on peoples lap bad venom whenever you meet them, what good are you willing to achieve. In your freelancing journey, you will require connecting with as many people as possible.
Your connections highly determine online success. And here your friends and daily strangers that you meet are the ones that will help to tell the world about you. So, share with them what you do and also don’t be selfish, try to find out what you can do in return, not a must but we are human, and appreciation is enough to spark more energy for your friends to shout out loud on your behalf.
Networking can start with members of your family, close friends, acquaintances, fellow writers/bloggers and many more.
Do not be afraid to share with people about what you do.
I once got a client from my friend who I least expected could do even a single thing. You see, just sharing even when it seems stupid to those you are telling. One day you may be surprised what that link can bring you back.
Share some love for others and in return; they will do the honors and drop their love for you too. “You do me; I do you” sometimes applies. After all, you gain in the process, so nothing to lose.
4. Join Forums To Make Your Online Freelancing Journey Worth Traveling
When you are new, you are a total stranger to everyone regardless of your expertise in producing the best content.
Exposure makes trusting easy, and when two or three people learn about you in one Forum or another, your word slowly catches up like a bushfire.
You will not realize it. Time will come when clients will instead be knocking on your doorstep. On that day you will forget old days of going dry every now and then.
On forums, learn to be active by commenting on other members post and sharing your content. If they like it, count yourself lucky as you will get clients from there as well.
Most bloggers and huge website owners hang around those forum joints to find answers and to fish for the best content writers. So, be careful what you post because potential clients could be eyeing you from a distant. Negative posting will influence your freelancing journey in the wrong way.
To emphasize this, always ensure whatever you contribute, comment, or post is of quality and no grammar mistakes. The quality of your content is the one that markets you, therefore, make it right.
5. Learn the Art of Proposal Creation
This is the pith/ epic/ core of every freelancer willing to experience a massive breakthrough.
This art is for those who want to take their portion from the source and not grabbing the leftovers down the tree.
Newbies struggle a lot to climb up the ladder of freelancing journey because big guys make it opaque for them.
I tell you, experts in this industry are doing this and raking big money. Probably, what I am talking about is not so much clear to you, but I will break it down for you.
For me, I do not advocate for joining content mills that ask you to bid to get clients to respond to you. These sites are good, and millions of freelancers look up to them as the only source.
This is for me. I cannot take you to the route I am not so comfortable with.
Yes, some will tell you these freelancers sites are there to help you master the art. I say a big NO. Once you join, you start chasing projects posted there with other million freelancers hungry as you are, and it becomes a norm.
If one day those sites shut down and God forbid, you lose because it does not build you. Whether they put stars to rank you depending on how many projects you have completed and positive responses threw at you by clients. That does not change a thing.
For me, I want you to focus on building yourself, your business, your company, your brand. With this, you are unstoppable, and with the same experience as a freelancer working on freelancing sites, you can command even $30,000 while they take $1000 at the end of the month.
Creating a beautiful proposal to reach out to business owners through cold pitching is one of a proven method I have seen big guys engage and win big. You should know as well.
Hang on this thought, I will deeply dwell on the topic to show you how to Pitch professionally and command high rates while still new on the block.
You will learn how to connect the dots fast along with your freelancing journey to a real professional.
Forget the stories you have been told online it is only applicable to those who have accumulated enough experience.
So, in the meantime let your focus be on how to persuade a client to accept your lyrical tune. Once they do that, you are the King and only you calling the shots.
6. Spread Your Freelancing Journey Map On Social Media
Never ignore to utilize social media, as today all superhighways lead the masses there. Therefore, you have to tap into this great source to build your online freelancing journey.
You can never follow this path and go wrong. So, build a platform on those different social media and let your work shout the loudest from there. After that, the other thing you will do is make your effort to reach out consistent.
Don’t stop at doing it for 1, 2, or 3 months. Continue telling everyone what you do and why you do it, and before long you will see a bunch of them following you.
Consistency sharing and linking your published work is irresistible. Though it happens if you give them quality content to digest. Building a strong and lasting online freelancing journey which has a focused destiny will attract a serious audience that sees a visionary person in you.
Everyday be committed to be better, improve your writing, be consistent, and share your all with social media. That is the best and fastest way to have your name out there without paying anybody to help you do that.
7. Take a Course
I know this makes you feel like you want to stop reading ahead. You can invest in a course if you think online freelancing is your call.
You know, many people wonder, why would you ask a newbie to spend money, yet they are looking for that cash. You cannot do this the other way round. Some will say, “Why don’t you let me earn first then pay for a course” please never buy this lie.
Many are stuck because of a cycle of lies they entangle themselves with. Right now, my freelancing journey stretch, I have accumulated several courses, and that is not to say, I am not a qualified freelancer. It means I want to be the best every day and therefore, I must stay fresh with the latest stuff I am not very good at.
It is advisable even as the dollars come in; you take courses to make you the best freelancer ever. You can do this after every six months or yearly.
Learning never ends, so, take a course to stay fresh and ahead of others. Take care of your freelancing, and it will take care of you.
I can’t stress out further; if you follow the list above step by step, no one will even believe that someday you were a newbie. Write your freelancing journey history today.
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