7 Ways to Build A Stable Freelancing Business
/Freelancing is a superb way to gain some much-needed autonomy in your professional life, whether you use it as a side hustle or want to do it full-time. However, many others are vying for the same slice of the industry, which can make your freelancing efforts feel unstable and make it challenging to establish a profitable living.
Still, it is not impossible to build a stable freelancing business, but you must understand how to do it. With the right support and approach, you will have no trouble establishing your freelancing business as the most attractive in your niche. Here are seven ideas to consider to help you get your bearings and enjoy all the benefits freelancing offers.
Photo by Daniel Thomas on Unsplash
Build Yourself a Platform
You won’t find any success if you do not have a platform to establish your stability. A freelancing website, which you can build on the likes of WordPress or Squarespace and social media profiles, is a great place to start. Dedicated freelancing websites, including Upwork or PeoplePerHour, are also ideal for entry-level freelancers to get started.
You can use these platforms to give yourself a crucial online presence and apply for projects. It can take a while to get your name out there, but as long as you have somewhere for clients to view your profile and learn about what you offer, you can consider yourself a freelancer.
Look for Passive Income Ideas
It will take some time to earn the type of money that will make your freelancing business viable, especially if you use freelancing resources that often take a percentage of your earnings. Because of this, you need to find some ways to earn money and keep yourself afloat as you establish your business.
If you are still working for another company and doing freelancing work on the side, stick with this for the time being and work on projects when you are available. Besides this, investing in and understanding easy ways to earn crypto, selling clothes or other unwanted items, can also help generate some funds, which you can then cash out on if it proves profitable. With crypto earnings, you also have a diverse way for clients to pay you if they prefer digital currency rather than traditional methods.
Don’t Be Afraid to Network
Networking is crucial for any business success, but as freelancing can often feel like a lonely endeavor, it feels even more important.
The more people you connect with, whether on LinkedIn or in person, the broader your reach. You can’t expect your inbox to be filled to the brim or have your phone ringing off the hook immediately, but it can give you a way to get your foot in the door and get your name out there to the people who may matter in the future.
Reach Out for Possible Opportunities
At the same time, freelancers must be proactive when looking for work, especially when getting started. You lack the reputation and recognition that other companies, including content creation or digital development businesses, offer.
So what can you do? You might feel uncomfortable cold emailing potential clients, and you’ll likely be ignored, but at least it offers something. Take some time to look over websites or posts from businesses within your niche and consider how you can do it better. Reaching out and offering your services to fix issues you have identified shows initiative, and it could present you with an opportunity to show off what you can do.
Establish Your Portfolio
How can you build a portfolio if you don’t have any clients? This is a common problem for many first-time freelancers. Without the proof you can do what you claim you can do, you won’t attract the clients you need to build your business.
While starting without a portfolio can make it challenging to attract clients, there are ways around it. Small projects for a local business could work, but you can’t always rely on this. Instead, create something to put on your portfolio to show what you can do, even if it is not for a specific client. This mostly applies to graphics design, but freelance writers can also consider writing a blog post to highlight their skills.
Understand What You’re Good At (And What You’re Not)
It’s tempting to offer services for whatever you can get your hands on when you’re desperate for freelance work. This might broaden your opportunities, but it also means you’re competing in niches where you may not be that familiar.
Choosing a specific industry, whether an industry you’re passionate about or know you have enough knowledge to deliver quality projects, will boost your enjoyment and eliminate a ticky learning curve that could lead to dissatisfied clients.
You should also consider things you are not so good at. Not only will this help you avoid getting in over your head when you start, but it will also give you something to work on. Once you establish your freelancing business, one of the best investments to make in the future is taking courses to improve your skills.
Know Your Value
Pricing your work is tricky when you begin your freelancing journey. You don’t have the experience to demand high rates, but entry-level rates are often too small to make a substantial living from.
Therefore, you must understand your value. Consider how much time it can take to complete a specific project and apply an appropriate price. You may want to offer introductory rates for new clients and raise the prices later on. Or you can set a respectable price that will help you establish and maintain stability for your fledgling freelancing business.
Stable
Building stability as a freelancer is not something that will happen overnight. You can expect to deal with a wide range of one-off clients before finding regular work that you can always rely on. This is why it is so important to go a step beyond what you would typically expect and have a robust plan in place to maintain income, which makes it easier to manage your finances and take on work as and when you’re available.
