Where Do I Start As A Freelancer?
TL:DR ~ Start with understanding your intentions, discover what you’ll offer, package it well, and promote your personal brand.
The Long Answer
Establish & Commit To Your Freelancing Intent
Why are you freelancing (Purpose)? When you succeed as a freelancer, what will your work and personal life look like (Vision)? What is your strategy for getting there? (Mission) What values will you hold to during this journey (Core Values/Guidelines)?
These are the types of questions we’ll want to ask ourselves when we start the journey. Usually, we don’t do the discovery, so we’re forced to answer them later when it gets tough and life is chaotic.
The primary starting point for a successful freelancing career begins with establishing our intentions and fully committing to them. In this state we no longer wonder if we should continue freelancing when it gets hard, we instead figure out how we can overcome the obstacle in front of us to continue the path forward. The adoption of this problem-solving mindset is key to moving forward.
How well we do in these decision making steps will determine the strength of our freelancing foundation.
Click here to explore resources on how to discover your intentions.
Offerings In A Compelling Package
Once we’ve established intentions, we now need to specifically explore who we will help and how we will help them. The first step is defining how much income we want to earn and how much time we’ll spend earning it. We then explore our personality, strengths, experience, & skills.
What can you offer that businesses would be willing to pay you for? How will you execute these offerings? What tools will you use to supplement your craft?
There is no quick and easy answer and if you’re new to this, you may have to explore and test different services until you land on the best one.
When I started freelancing I had a larger set of services I offered. Over the last three years, I’ve narrowed it down. I now primarily work with business owners to help them overcome communication challenges. I work both strategically and tactically with them and their team to bring their company vision to life.
Once we know what we’ll offer, we need to package and publish it. Ideally, we mentally jump into the shoes of those we’re compelled to help and present it in a way that would directly appeal to them.
Once you’ve published it on your website, blog, Linkedin, and elsewhere, the next step is promoting your personal brand. Leverage email, social media, and other channels to expand your influence and the awareness of you and your offerings. This will become your personal platform to grow your business over time.
Your next step in getting started is finding and retaining paying clients. How well you do the steps above will determine how difficult this task will be for you.
Click here to explore resources on how to package your offerings in a compelling way.
Additional Resources
Photo by Goh Rhy Yan on Unsplash
Tags: 1. Fully Committed To Freelance, 2. Offerings In A Compelling Package
