Where to Begin? The First Steps Of Freelancing

Okay so I decided to go out solely on my own. Now what?

A few problems when first starting freelancing

I have no established clients. I have no clean and organized portfolio. I have little to no connections. I have no advertisements or way to attract customers.

I only have some mild experience.

How do you build yourself up from zero and take the first steps into freelancing fulltime?

How do you go from absolute zero to something?

Luckily, a service based business model is relatively easier and less risky to start. There is no large upfront investment needed besides some quality time and effort. No need to buy, design, and manufacture products in advance. You simply just need to find a client who is willing to pay for your services.

In order to attract clients, there are two things that we need to do first.

1. Establish a solid portfolio.
2. Create small advertisements and post them to various groups, in an attempt to reach those who are interested in your services.

Portfolio

In my case, I do have some experience modeling and have some photos that I may use. So I am not starting from absolute scratch. However, I must still organize them into a presentable manner.

Next, for personal training and teaching English, I have no solid content to showcase my expertise. So this is something I need to work on. I must take my camera to sessions that I have and ask the client for permission to film. Then I must take what I had filmed and edit it into a concise, advertisable video.

Advertisements

To my knowledge, the best place to start for freelancing is finding relevant Facebook groups. Simply search your desired market, enter the groups, and post to them. Do this for as many groups as you can find.

Try to find other professionals and ask them where they normally find clients. Often times they can recommend a business they cooperate with or they may be able to add you to a more exclusive group. For example, where I live in Taiwan, Line is a big thing, and there are many Line groups for modeling or teaching English. Enter these to find cases and clients.

My task now is build up my portfolio and post advertisements to Facebook groups to attract clients.

In the next episode I will post a case study of my experience. Let's see how long it will take to build up a solid and stable clientele.

Stay turned for next episode! Have a wonderful day, my fellow entrepreneurs.

Warm Regards,

Jacob Pugmire