When you first start freelancing, it might feel like launching yourself off a cliff with a homemade parachute. Exciting? Of course. Scary? You bet. However, if you plan ahead and have reasonable expectations, you’ll succeed.
This article covers everything you need to know if you’re in your first year of freelancing and are not sure if you’re doing everything right.
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Getting Started: Finding Your First Customers
Finding customers is the most daunting challenge for new freelancers. But everyone starts with zero customers at some point, so don’t worry too much. In fact, rather than waiting for the perfect portfolio to begin your search, focus on showcasing what you already know.
A straightforward portfolio with two to three good samples is better than a complex one that never launches. If you don’t have professional experience yet, create your own projects that demonstrate your abilities.
When your portfolio is ready, begin looking for customers locally. Inform family, friends, and former coworkers about what you offer. They or someone they know might need your services. Your first paid gigs often come from your network.
Online marketplaces like Fiverr and Upwork aren’t flawless. But they give you instant access to customers. The secret to standing out on these platforms? Be extremely specific when describing what you offer.
Rather than saying you’re a “graphic designer,” think about introducing yourself as a “logo designer for food trucks” or similar. This level of detail helps you stand out in crowded markets and brings in customers who are looking for exactly what you offer.
Don’t forget local companies, as they frequently need help with projects but aren’t sure where to turn. To turn them into paying customers, visit their premises and introduce yourself. Bring a one-page handout showing the problems you can solve. This straightforward approach works surprisingly well, especially when online channels seem oversaturated.
Determining Effective Prices
Pricing confuses most new freelancers who struggle to evaluate their work properly. Find out what other people in your field charge, and then make changes based on how much experience you have. As you build your experience, it makes sense to start a little below the market rate. However, you should stay away from rock-bottom prices because they bring in difficult customers and might give a bad impression of your work’s quality.
You can also experiment with different pricing models. While some customers prefer hourly rates, others prefer fixed project fees. Offer both and see which works better for your workflow and mental well-being.
Lastly, you can create service packages with specific deliverables. It seems more valuable to say, “Website audit with detailed report: $X” rather than, “I’ll look at your website for $X/hour.” Packages help customers make purchasing decisions, so test them as well.
Handling Uncertain Income
Every freelancer is affected by the ups and downs in their workflow and income. For this reason, if possible, build up a three-month expense buffer before starting a full-time freelancer job. You can keep a part-time job until your freelance income stabilizes if that isn’t feasible, or save some money before you quit your office job.
During your first year, keep a close eye on every penny. Tracking expenses will reveal your true hourly rate after taxes and help predict future income.
After receiving payments, set aside 25–30% for each tax, as a surprise tax bill can ruin the freelancer’s dream more quickly than anything else. If you want, you can talk to a tax expert about making estimated payments every three months and deductions that are specific to your situation.
During times of financial hardship, look online for ways to make free money. You can get paid by some programs to share your internet bandwidth, take part in research studies, or test websites. These won’t replace customer income, but they can help during slow times and don’t take much time to complete.
Bringing Order to Chaos
If you don’t have a boss to set deadlines, you’ll need systems. Get your brain to recognize “work time” by establishing a basic morning routine. This could be anything regular, like brewing coffee, going over your to-do list, or taking a short stroll.
Another thing you can do to ensure balance is to combine related tasks into batches. Answer emails and do administrative tasks when you’re feeling low. Set aside your most productive hours for billable tasks that call for concentration or creativity.
For most freelancers, time-blocking works better than to-do lists. Assign specific hours to projects rather than just listing them. This prevents overcommitting to every little task and forces realistic planning.
Lastly, make sure that every day ends with a plan for the next day. Prior to shutting down, decide which three things are most important. By doing this, prime working hours are not wasted on the morning “what should I work on?” paralysis.
Managing Isolation
Working alone is more difficult than most people realize. It’s for this reason that you can set up coffee dates with other freelancers or join online forums for your industry. These connections help each other out emotionally and can even lead to referrals.
On top of that, freelancing in coworking spaces should be considered, as it gives people structure without the need for office leases. Many of them offer free trials or memberships that you can use part-time. Additionally, some public libraries now have free coworking spaces with Wi-Fi, so check them out if you ever feel isolated or lonely.
Customer Management Basics
When you first start your job as a freelancer, it’s important to know the basics of customer management. Without clear boundaries, expectations, and payment terms, your freelancing career can fail before it even has a chance to grow.
By making sure everyone knows what to expect from the start, clear contracts will protect both you and your clients from miscommunication or dissatisfaction. So, even for small projects, use a simple agreement that outlines the deliverables, timeline, and payment terms. Also, decide on the number of times the agreement can be changed. Instead of making contracts from scratch, you can find free templates online for most types of industries.
Another thing to pay attention to is requiring deposits before starting work. A 50% upfront payment, for example, improves cash flow and weeds out non-serious customers.
Working with difficult clients can teach you a lot, but they can also tire you out. Be careful if you notice signs like too much price haggling, unclear project details, or constant requests that don’t respect your time.
Last but not least, remember to keep your privacy safe when you’re working with customers online. To keep your personal information off broker sites, you might want to look into data removal services. Such services keep customers from finding your home address or cell phone number, which is appropriate for a business setting. There are many affordable options that can remove your information from multiple databases. So, check Incogni vs. OneRep or other reviews to see which one would do its job more efficiently.
Developing Resilience
Although it is rare, customer rejections happen, and they can feel personal. But instead of focusing on specific numbers, keep an eye on your pitch-to-client conversion rate. This will give you a better idea of whether or not something is missing in your approach.
Working as a freelancer changes not only your work but also how you handle uncertainty. Eventually, your discomfort with inconsistency will become your competitive advantage because it will help you develop the kind of adaptability that people in traditional jobs rarely acquire.
Finally, have patience with yourself. It took the majority of prosperous freelancers 12 to 18 months to settle into a routine. Taking things like one customer at a time is exactly where new freelancers should be, so you’re not falling behind.
You’ve Got This, New Freelancer
Freelancing won’t be a flawless first year. It may not even turn a profit. However, you can lay the groundwork for long-term self-employment that can outlast any conventional job if you have realistic expectations, create systems that work for your life, and connect with people who are on similar paths.