The world in 2020 has definitely changed forever. The coronavirus pandemic has destroyed businesses and now a whole new wave of people are looking to become self employed freelancers. So, how easy is it to start working as a freelancer in 2020?
In this blog, we’ll take a look at some of your options to set up your own business and work from home, and explain how to get started.
Find your talent
Maybe you already know what you want to do? Maybe you need to do some training first? Whatever you do, identify something that you’re good at or have a passion for.
Many people choose to train as software developers as it is a high paying job with lots of potential for the future. If you’re less technical, maybe you’d rather be a writer, an accountant, a remote business advisor or something else.
The general rule is, if you have some experience or skill, work at improving yourself to a professional level and then offering your services. You’d be surprised what you can do online.
If you need some inspiration, you can find plenty of lists of the best jobs for freelancers.
Training
Getting to a professional standard doesn’t mean a university degree. What you can usually do is find a course online, sometimes for free.
Some of the best places to get training are:
- YouTube
- Udemy.com
- Alison.com
- MOOC.org
- KhanAcademy
Many of these offer affordable courses, or some of them are totally free.
Some jobs will need some degree of training before you get started, others you can start to do right now.
Whatever you do, make sure that you are always developing your skills. You could start offering your services today, but with additional study you can become an expert in no time.
Finding clients online
One of the major hurdles to anyone starting out as a freelancer is finding clients. How do you find high paying clients for your business?
Some of the best options are:
Asking for personal recommendations from friends and family. This is often how people get started, so ask around and see who you know who can help you.
Using Linkedin to network and build a client list is increasingly important to freelancers. However, be aware there is a right and a wrong way to use Linkedin (try to avoid spamming people as this doesn’t work so well).
Job search sites also offer plenty of potential for freelancers. Traditional sites like Indeed, TotalJobs and Monster often have options for ‘work from home’ or ‘remote working’ jobs. Get hunting and see what you can find.
Freelance platforms like Fiverr and Upwork can be useful, but they often have very low paying jobs. When you’re starting out, they can be a useful crutch to support you, but as you develop in your career you’ll likely want to use other methods.
Have a plan
As a final word, this is something I always recommend to people starting out as freelancers.
Build a plan to help you succeed as a freelancer in whatever you’re doing.
Your plan might look like this:
- Research my industry so I understand who is looking for what
- Set up profiles on job sites and search daily
- Train on a free course until I have finished
- Secure first paying client in one month
This is a very rough version of the plan that I would advise you to build, but it gives you an idea.
So, if you’re looking to start as a freelancer, I wish you the best of luck!
