Despite the good news about the end of the global pandemic being in sight with the rollout of the vaccines, the global economy is still dealing with the fallout. According to the World Bank, the global economy is predicted to contract by about 5.2 percent. Millions of people are currently unemployed or underemployed, and have fallen into poverty, putting basic needs like housing at risk. For many who are struggling, they’ve put their skills on the line in order to survive by turning to Part-time freelance work.
According to the Society for HR Management, there were about three times the number of new freelancers in June and July than in an average 6-month period. And now that we’re (hopefully) nearing the end of the pandemic, many of these new freelancers might want to continue freelancing full-time.
Making that change can be challenging, of course. If you’re looking to transition to full-time freelancing, here are a few tips to help you make that change successfully.
Find a Niche
Depending on the type of freelance work you do, it might be a good idea to specialize in an industry or type of potential client. Typically speaking, specialists earn more than generalists, especially as they build up a larger portfolio of work.
To that end, you need to…
Understand Your Target Clients
Freelancing is just like any business in that you have a service you’re selling to a target audience. If you want to win clients, though, you’re going to need to understand them. What does that mean exactly?
Well, for starters, you need to define who your target clients are. Are they in a specific industry (see above)? Are they a certain size (e.g. small businesses with under $1 million in revenue)? What are their main needs? What are their pain points? Answering all these questions will help you focus your time and energy on winning potential clients that are a good match for your skills and experience.
Refine Your Offerings
When freelancers often first start out, they feel like they need to offer every service under the sun. If someone is willing to pay for it, they’ll do the work.
But not everyone is good at everything. Too often, freelancers will accept work that they’re really not equipped to handle. The result is a lower-quality work product, which can have a negative impact on the freelancer’s overall business.
Instead, it’s generally better to offer fewer services and concentrate on what you do best.
Take Things Slowly and Don’t Panic
It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you’re freelancing. Sometimes, freelancers will take on more work than they can realistically handle. As with the above point, this can result in sub-par work, which ultimately will have a negative impact on your business.
The best way to avoid this is to know how much work you can get done in a day and then try to stick to that. For example, if you’re a freelance writer, you might be able to deliver 1,500 words/day of your best work. That could be split up into projects in any way needed, but it should give you a sense of what you can reasonably accomplish and then take on the right amount of work.
On caveat: If you’re making too little money while maxing out the amount of work you can perform, though, you may need to reconsider your pricing. Check out this post to get a better idea of how to determine your pricing model.
Most importantly: Don’t panic if you have too much or too little work. Freelancing typically comes with peaks and valleys, and it can take a while to get into a rhythm.
Are you new to freelancing and looking for new clients? CitronWorks can help! Sign up for a free freelancer account to start getting gigs on our global freelance marketplace.
