How to Start Freelancing
One of the questions I get most often as a freelancer is “how do you actually begin?”
It makes sense, given it was definitely one of the first questions I myself had two years ago when I first joined this strange section of the workforce. Most of the advice I could find was encouraging but wildly vague. Very little of it was actionable or gave clear steps.
Now that I’m actually doing it, I can see why it’s so hard to explain. Any job is unique, but freelancers have to be one of the categories with the widest range between what their job title is to what they actually do every day. One “freelance writer” could have a fundamentally different pay scale, niche, and daily schedule than another. However, there are still a few common things to figure out no matter where you’re heading (and especially if you’re not yet sure).
Figure Out Your Finances
Do not—I repeat, DO NOT—assume that you will make money from Day 1 unless you’ve done the work first. If you have already followed the steps below and built out your business part time, then great. You’re probably ready, or at least nearly. However, if reading this post is one of your first steps then do me a favor and stop, think, and don’t quit your day job just yet. Freelancing is very much not for everyone as appealing as it may sound.
A new business of any sort has to be prepared to exist months—or even years—without turning a substantial profit. I say this realizing the sort of wild privilege that comes along with that statement, but it doesn’t make it any less true. Before jumping into the freelance pool:
Figure out how much you need to live (and then, how much long term you need to live comfortably).
Consider how much you have in savings now and how long you can go without a paycheck before you’re going to run into trouble. Being paid late and chasing down clients is an unfortunate part of the process for most of us, and if you’re living paycheck to paycheck, it can lead to some hugely harmful results if you’re not prepared.
Do the math to figure out how much you’d need to get paid for each project/hour/etc (depending on your preference in billing).
Reach Out to Your Connections
Honestly, I’ll probably do a whole post on this sometime. This was one of the top pieces of advice that I got when I first set out, and also one of the most difficult to do anything with. The truth is, I don’t really have connections. My family and friends are about as broke as I am. However, I did end up using connections to secure some of my best clients—just not the way I expected. People like former coworkers, neighbors, former classmates, community members, and more are all great places to start if you’re like me and don’t have the obvious connection points. For me, I reached out to places where I’d gotten interviews for full-time jobs in the past (but didn’t ultimately get the job) to see if they could use any freelance writing help. I ended up getting on with both places long term, so that strange one-off connection proved lucrative to my career overall.
Determine Your Niche
If you’re anything like me, you hate being told this. One of the things I didn’t understand starting out was that you may not know your niche just yet, and that’s okay! If it’s your first time trying this freelance thing, you’ll probably need time to figure out what sort of freelancing you actually want to do. One way to test this is to take on lower paying assignments or build up your portfolio with practice work. While I personally don’t recommend working for free or too terribly cheap, particularly for large companies that can and should be paying you, if there’s a proven track record of this work leading to paying gigs at this companies it can be worth it for some.
While no one can make you have a niche, it will make pitching easier and writing faster to figure one out. Starting out I didn’t have any idea what I wanted to do, but as I’ve refined my work, I now stick mostly to two areas and get a much higher response rate as a result.
Pitch, Pitch, Pitch
Much like job applications, freelancing is often a number game. Assuming that you’re like me and don’t have high paying clients seeking freelancers already in your phone contacts, pitching is often the only way to get new work. While taking your time and focusing each pitch is important, you can’t be so precious with one that you get no others accomplished.
Editors are busier than ever, and it’s safe to assume that in cold pitching less than 10% of people will respond to you, let alone hire you. I’ve been freelancing for two years now and am making a pretty decent living overall, but even now breaking into a new client’s list is tough and requires a lot of perseverance.
Get Comfortable With Rejection
You’re going to get rejected.
A lot.
Your current clients will reject your pitches. Your potential clients may reject you. Rejection is an integral part of a lot of freelancing, and if you have a particularly thin skin when it comes to your work, this is gonna be a rough transition for you.
My advice? Remember that you’re not being rejected as a human being or that any rejection means you’re any less talented or qualified. Hitting that perfect target of suggesting what someone needs right when they need it (and when they have the budget) is a tricky business.