If you dream of being a freelancing entrepreneur and leaving an office job behind, you may also be very familiar with feeling overwhelmed. Overwhelmed at all the things that a business owner has to handle. Overwhelmed at the cost of assistants, programs, coaches, services, products that your business may need. Overwhelmed at the thought that it’s a risk and everything has to be done perfectly from day one.

First, my friend, BREATHE. I’ve been there and totally understand!

So where should you start if you’re starting your freelancing career from absolute zero? Let’s talk it through.

Nothin’ in Life is Free

Let’s assume that your business idea is just that - an idea. This means you haven’t been freelancing on the side yet, and you’re looking to start.

Once you begin charging money for your services, you’ll need to have your business set up properly. Before starting to charge for your services, you’ll want to build a bit of a portfolio so that potential clients feel comfortable trusting you with their hard-earned bucks. Yes, nobody wants to do free work, but this is not just free work; it’s strategic alignment. What do I mean by this? I mean that you seek out people to serve that are aligned with your ideal clientele so that you build portfolio samples that will draw that ideal client to you. You should never just do all work requests that come your way because not everyone is a good fit! You’ll be very selective about who to serve at no charge because you need to be able to leverage the effort into income potential for your business. Also, it’s a good idea to set a limit to how many clients you’ll serve at no charge. This way, once you reach that limit you can confidently know that you’ve got enough portfolio pieces to start seeking paying clientele. One final note on portfolio-building projects: be clear from the start that you expect honest and constructive feedback and reviews from them after the project is complete. This means that you’ll not only get portfolio pieces to share, but you’ll get reviews to share, too!

So for example, let’s say you want to be a marketing coach for local vegan chefs. You’ll want to seek out vegan chefs that you notice could use your expertise and you offer to help them free of charge, asking only that they leave an honest review after completing a few sessions with you. You wouldn’t, however, accept a request from your neighbor’s son to help him with marketing his new auto shop in town. The first example is strategic collaboration, while the other example is simply doing someone a favor with free work. You want to make sure that any non-paying projects are aligned with your future goals so that they can be leveraged into potential new clients.

Talk It Up

While you’re seeking out the perfect opportunities, you’ll also want to constantly talk about what you’re launching! This will do a few things for you. First, it’ll hold you accountable by putting a little pressure on you to follow through with whatever you announce. Once other people know about your venture, there will be some pressure to deliver on that announcement. Second, it lets people know that you’re now offering this service, which can lead to new clients down the line! Word of mouth is typically the slowest form of marketing, but it’s also the best marketing for long-term success. Since it does take a good while for word of mouth to gain traction, talking up your new venture is something you’ll want to start right away!

If you're like most new entrepreneurs, you cringe at the thought of announcing your new business for fear of sounding pompous. Consider that talking about your new business doesn't mean you force it into conversation or throw a sales pitch at every willing human. It does, however, mean that you mention it when a related topic comes up, you include it in your response when people ask about your life, and you are filled with enthusiasm when it does get talked about! 

Research, Research Some More, and Then Do a Bit More Research

Once you get into a rhythm with your clients and your calendar gets hectic, you’ll wish you had time to research tactics, resources, software, marketing outlets, client event opportunities… So take advantage of this slow time and research the hell out of everything. Become a wealth of knowledge so that when the time comes, you’ll have a starting point for any need that comes up. Don’t need a designer to do your logo yet? That’s ok! Look into local designers that you like, browse larger resources like Fiverr to get a feel for the possibilities…. The idea is to just soak in as much as you can while you have the free time. This is also a great opportunity to get crystal clear on your brand avatar and your ideal client avatar.

Another benefit to using your down time to soak in knowledge is that you become a valuable resource for clients and your community. Suddenly, you're not just the portrait photographer that someone knows; you're the photographer that clued Sally in on a great local hair salon and helped Ted discover Canva for creating easy graphics for his social media. Becoming a resource for others helps to build trust and ensures that you come to mind when people need more than just the service you offer. 

Play

Often, the projects we do just for fun are the ones that get the most attention! So while you're waiting for clients to start knocking on your door, take the opportunity to create projects for yourself just for kicks. Passion projects say a lot about you personally since they're often related to topics you hold near and dear. It makes sense, then, that passion projects speak volumes to your social media audience and potential clients! Creating that personal connection will go a long way in building a relationship with your audience, which eventually draws clients to you that are a good match for not only your business, but for you as a person. I mean, who wants to buy from a boring faceless brand?! Nobody, that's who. So make sure to add in a bit of play time for yourself.

xo

Natalia