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As of 2022, there are just under ten million U.S. adults who are self-employed. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) expects this number to reach at least 10.6 million self-employed workers by 2026.
This movement towards flexible, remote work and freedom is evident in the rising numbers of freelancers throughout the country. If you’re curious about how to become a freelancer, keep reading. In this post, we’ll share some real freelancing tips to help jumpstart your freelance journey.
Build Your Skills
People might tell you to follow your dreams, but without an action plan, it’s more like jumping off a bridge.
Before you take the leap to become a freelancer, develop some marketable skills such as video editing, writing, organizing and scheduling, or accounting. What work do people need that you can offer?
It takes time to build these skills. Give yourself enough time to learn and become proficient at it.
Show Your Work
If you’re a beginner freelancer and you’re stuck in the cycle of, “I can’t get work because I don’t have any experience” and “I don’t have any experience because I can’t find work,” you’re not alone. Many beginner freelancers find themselves in this dilemma, but the good news is that you’re not doomed to fail.
Potential clients want to see if you could do the job–not that you have to have done the job before. Put some time into developing sample work you would submit to a client and throw it into a portfolio for clients to browse. Some work is better than none.
Find Work
After you’ve put together a portfolio of your best work, it’s time to hunt for jobs.
There are many freelancing platforms that allow you to create a portfolio and browse through current and open freelance gigs. Be careful though, as some freelancing platforms charge fees–a percentage of your earnings.
For freelance platform alternatives that don’t try to take a cut of your pie, check out: freeup.net.
Market Yourself
You can continue to look for work, but at some point, you’ll likely want your clients to come to you. It saves you time, energy, and money.
How do you achieve this?
Learn to market yourself and network. People have to know that you exist and they have to know what you do if they are to seek you out for your services. You might hate the idea, but an inbound marketing strategy that brings clients to you might be worth the effort.
Find a Good CPA
Are taxes what’s stopping you from becoming a freelancer? That’s understandable. It’s complicated and it can be scary.
The good news is that you don’t have to worry about taxes if you find a good CPA. People go to school to learn about tax law and how to do taxes. People don’t expect you to know.
The general rule of thumb is to save 30% of your total earnings for taxes. Keep good books and be mindful of quarterly self-employment taxes. Your CPA should take the rest of the burden off of you.
Become a Freelancer Today
Making the leap from a regular W-2 job or with no work experience can be quite intimidating. How do you find freelance work? Where do you look? How do you do your taxes?
Hopefully, this post has shed some light on how to become a freelancer. It’s not a step-by-step guide as everyone’s freelance journey looks different. However, these core steps can help guide you towards greater success as a freelance worker.
To learn how to run your freelance services as a business, check out more from our business section!
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