How to Jump Start your Freelance Career

Skipping out on your 9-5 job and starting a freelance career is a dream for many. What you have to realize is that this dream can become a reality if you know what to do and if you have a lot of motivation and good work ethics. With so many things that you can do as a freelancer, here are some steps that you can take to help jump start your freelance career:

Build an Identity

The first thing that you have to understand is what exactly you want to do with your freelancing career. Are you going to write? Are you going to design graphics? No matter what it is, it’s best to have some sort of blueprint, because you don’t want to be all over the table.

Build a Name

Even though you’re a freelancer, it’s still best to build a business name for yourself. Your business name could be as simple as your first and last name. For instance, it could be “Bob Smith Graphics.” When choosing a name, you want to keep the following in mind:

• Is it easy to remember? If I told you this, would you remember it?
• Is it easy to spell? Don’t have a foreign name that is 20 characters long.
• Is it descriptive? If your name is Bob Smith, I don’t know what you’re about. Instead, choose something such as Bob Smith Graphics.
• Is it available? Always make sure that your name is available. You don’t want to choose something that is already being used.

You Need an Online Presence

As a freelancer today, you need a website to showcase your talents. No matter who you’re going to work for, they are going to want to know about your previous work and what you can do for their business. Whether you want to hire someone to create your website or build it yourself, just create something simple that has a portfolio, a resume and simple contact information. This is a must!

Know How to Find Work

Finding freelance work in the beginning may be hard, but if you have the right work ethic, you will find that you could have clients up to your eyeballs. Remember, if you do good work, what you’re going to find is that it isn’t that hard to find people via word of mouth. To find jobs online as a freelancer, consider major sites such as Elance, ODesk, FreelanceSwitch and more. There are literally hundreds of job boards out there that can help you find a job.

Landing that First Job

One of the hardest things is landing your first gig. In order to land that first gig, you may find that you may have to either give away your work for free or to it at a discounted rate. If you’re going to go that route, just remember that you should ask the client to leave a review for you. If the review is good, this should help you draw in newer business. Be creative when you’re searching for that first job.

Build your Quote

When you’re ready to get your first batch of jobs, make sure that you know how you’re going to quote your work. So if you’re an article writer, build a formula. You will either want to charge by the word or by the difficulty. With that information, you can then be prepared to offer a quote to those that come to you.

As you go further with your career, you should be able to learn the ropes of the business. By starting off with these steps, there’s no reason you can’t become successful and bail on your 9-5. Work hard, become motivated, set goals and see where it takes you. Good luck!

About Author: Hannah runs How Much Is It? Her website helps consumers find the prices on just about everything [information hide on author’s request]