Freelancing is a very rewarding career path – your time is yours, you choose your projects and you have no boss to tell you what you should and shouldn’t do. There are many benefits of being a freelancer; and with the economic down turn in the recent months, taking the reigns on your own career is a wise move in this time of pink slips and downsizing.

I have been freelancing since I graduated college. In fact, I have been taking small writing assignments and projects when I was in college to help me augment my allowance. I found freelancing very convenient and rewarding, and it’s just the path I want to take. It has been five years since I took my career in my own hands, and I would like to share with you a few things to help you get started as a freelancer.

Define Your Area of Expertise

Before marketing yourself in the freelancing and outsourcing niche, ask youself, “What do I do best?”  It is very important for you to define your area of expertise. Are you an excellent writer? An efficient link builder? An innovative graphic designer?

Carve a niche for your skill set. Don’t try to market yourself as an all-around freelancer, because let’s face it, everybody knows no one is great at everything. It is simply quite impossible to be able to perform every imaginable service or task for a client. That is, if you want to produce mediocre output for your clients.

I remember making that mistake a couple of years ago. I presented myself as an all-around, go-to gal. I wrote original articles, rewrote articles, designed blog templates, coded HTML and CSS. Yes, I was able to produce a good enough outcome, but not so great that I can be proud of my work. It was mediocrity at its finest, and my client was none too pleased with the output.

So don’t learn it the hard way. Pick certain areas that you can specialize in and perfect the skill set. Make it so that every client will always want to work with you again and again and again. Remember, when you specialize in a specific field, you can command more for your service.

Build Your Portfolio

There is nothing more of a turn-off to prospective clients than a freelancer bidding on a project and presenting no proof of his skills.  Sure, you are new at freelancing, but that does not excuse you for not having a portfolio. If you have yet to land your first project, you need to work hard and build your portfolio. Create sample articles or even mock designs and templates that showcase your talents and skills. Give it all you’ve got and make sure your samples will impress your prospective clients.

Have a Website or Blog

A website or blog works side-by-side with your portfolio.  I personally find it quite baffling when a freelancer, virtual assistant or graphic designer does not have a website or blog, especially if majority of his or her projects come from freelancing sites.

If you are a writer or a virtual assistant, a simple website showcasing your portfolio, your profile, your objectives and your contact information will do. If you are a graphic or website designer, it is imperative that you put your best foot forward and create the best possible design or website to present your skill and expertise.  Not having a website defeats the purpose of marketing your services online.

Join a Freelancing Website

Offshoring and outsourcing has boomed in the last decade. Along with this came freelancing websites and networks that connect businesses that are in need of help in some way and freelancers who are able to provide their services.

I am sure that you will find it very easy to join freelancing networks. After all, it’s only one Google search away. Once you have joined a network or two, make sure to fill your service provider profile and to showcase your best works to attract prospective clients.  Finding clients and landing projects is easy when you join a freelancing website, because everyone who would need your service is already there. You would only need to put your best foot forward.

These are just a few tips to help you jumpstart your freelancing career. But don’t forget, the most important qualities of a great freelancer – hardworking, patient, and able to manage time wisely. Add the tips you have just learned and you’re on your way to success.

article written by guest blogger:  thebloggermom

A project manager needs to work with freelancers to get the task at hand done, by coordinating and overseeing the freelancers’ work.

The project manager needs to have the knowledge about how to effectively deal with freelancers. This only comes with experience, but here are the main points which you can use to get the maximum results from hiring freelancers for your jobs:

Time Tracking

Freelancers can charge their clients either hourly or by the project. If the freelancer is billing by the hour, the project manager can ask them to send in timesheets to track their time. The timesheets can be sent daily or weekly basis, before claiming the payment. The hourly data can be perused by the project manager, to see if the freelancer really needs all the hours that are getting billed. This is fair to both parties because the freelancer gets paid for the time being tracked in the timesheet, and the project manager can be sure that he is paying for the actual hours of work done by the freelancer.

Achievement of project goals

Some freelancers work on project basis. In such cases, time tracking may not be needed, but the payment is based on the actual results achieved. The project manager can also define that a particular task needs to be completed within a set amount of time.

Reliability

Good freelancers can be difficult to get. Good freelancers are reliable, and they stand behind their work, for any support which may be required at a later date. You can ask to verify their feedbacks or testimonials if any, to ascertain how reliable they may turn out to be, before hiring a freelancer.

Organizational skills

A project manager will need to be organized than the freelancers whom he or she is working with. The project manager can choose to use some project organization tools like the open-source Redmine.

Technical skills

The project manager who deals with technical freelancing projects will need to possess the corresponding technical skills, like knowledge of the jargon, terminology, etc. Basic knowledge about the technologies involved in the freelance work, will be needed. Rather than say “I want this to look like so-and-so”, it is more effective to say “I need a flash component developed with 2 animations in 15 second interval”.

Communication skills

The project manager dealing with freelancers will need the ability to make things clear to the freelancers – both technically and non-technically, through the use of effective communication. If you speak and understand only English, and the freelancer speaks and understands a different language better, then that may cause gaps in communication and understanding.

Negotiation skills

Negotiation is an essential business skill, and not the sole purview of the project manager dealing with freelancers. Negotiation skills will be needed for negotiating fair pay rates with the freelancers performing the tasks.

If you would like to have deep-dive on any of the sections above, please let us know.

Consider hiring a freelancer with surefirehire, the next time you consider hiring a freelancer.

Thanks,

The surefirehire Team