What you need to know if you want to freelance

Today, a very large number of people are giving up their main job in favour of freelancing. There is nothing surprising in this. After all, a freelancer does not depend on anyone, he can choose his own projects and manage his own time. His own boss and employee, in a word. However, before you become a "professional" freelancer, you need to learn a few rules. We will talk about them in this article.

Allocate your time

You will mainly do five things:

• Work with clients
• Seeking new business
• Maintain relationships with customers and do networking
• Improve your skills
• Resolve business issues (with fees, etc.)

Try to automate as many tasks as possible, the rest can be broken down into smaller tasks.

At first it will be quite difficult to earn money because not many people know about you and you might not have some skills to ask for a lot of money for your services. You will have to spend more time looking for orders and learning rather than paying for work.

The best time to go freelance is when you have done enough work in your field. Art directors, experienced animators and developers from large companies often become very successful freelancers because of their reputation, portfolio and connections that help them attract clients. They can spend more time working on orders because they don't have to learn anything.

Determine a reasonable cost for your services

The abundance of performers on the freelance exchanges has had a negative impact on the average cost of services, but the situation is gradually improving and rates are increasing in many countries.

To calculate how much to charge for your services, you need to understand how much you want to earn per year. The amount should be such that you feel comfortable paying the costs and saving up.

Your hourly wage should be 1/1000 of your desired annual earnings. That is, if you want to earn $50,000 a year, you should charge $50 per hour of work. You will have about 2,000-2,500 working hours per year, but most of that time will be spent working on invoices, improving your skills and other unpaid work. This is especially true for first-time freelancers.

Determine your specialisation

There is stiff competition in many areas of freelancing - after all, everyone wants to make money. In addition, many large companies outsource their employees to contract work, thereby saving on maintenance, which makes there quite a few experienced professionals among freelancers.

So you need to stand out from the crowd and choose a specific specialisation. DevOps, hard surface modelling, fashion photography, travel blogging or you can provide people with essay writer help - the more specialised you are, the higher the chances you'll get noticed.

Specialising gives you four advantages:

• You can focus on becoming the best in your field and develop highly specialised skills.
• It is easier for you to understand what type of customer will be interested in you, where to find them and how to contact them.
• Your services are more accurately tailored to the needs of potential customers. For example, if a customer needs a Python developer, they will look for someone who lives in that language.
• You know your business better, so it is easier for you to estimate the cost of your services.

Make connections

Create a network of contacts to help you in your work. There should be three types of people in it:

Freelancers in your field: competitors are not always a bad thing. You can pass on some tasks to them if you're too busy, or share one project per team. They can also support you in times of need.

Freelancers from other fields: their skills can complement yours. A designer who knows good developers can team up with them to work on a big project. You can make a referral network - when a client asks you for services you don't do, you can recommend someone you know.

Clients: Obviously, you will need a network of clients with whom you will maintain a good relationship. Your potential clients may know each other. The better their opinion of you, the more likely they are to recommend someone to you.

Measure all metrics

Freelancing is a business. Keep track of your income, check if you have enough jobs, how big they usually are, how the time of year affects their numbers, what causes you to go over budget and what characteristics the ideal client should have.

To build a career as a freelancer you need to set goals and monitor your progress. If something isn't working, you need to examine the problem and find out what you need to change to move forward.

Don't forget yourself

As the politician Paul Tsongas said, "No one has ever complained before he died that he didn't spend enough time in the office.

Those who go to work in an office have a great opportunity to forget about it when the day is over (yes, not everyone manages this, but still). Freelancers, on the other hand, don't have it so easy.

So you need to train yourself to take your mind off work. Carve out time for running errands, dealing with business issues and most importantly, for yourself. Do exercise, travel, spend time with family and make friends who know nothing about your business. Always make time for these activities. They are very important.