Not having a regular paycheck though isn’t for everyone, but working as a full-time freelancer is much more doable than many people think.

But before you start your freelance business, you need to get very clear on why you want to start freelancing, what are your goals and how you plan to utilize your time. Read on to discover our top tips for first-time freelancers.

1. Define Your Goals

Without clearly defined, easily measurable goals, you’re going to have a very difficult time getting to where you want to go. Regardless of what your ultimate goal is, you need to make it abundantly clear. This is something that all of the world’s top entrepreneurs agree upon when it comes to successfully starting a business.

Make sure this decision is the right move in your progression toward achieving your bigger picture goals. Only after you have the clarity around where you want freelancing to take you, can you start backing into your shorter-term goals and benchmarks that’ll help your freelance business become a success.

2. Choose a Niche

If you’re new to freelancing, you might feel ready to take ANY paid work you can get your hands on. But as you get deeper into your freelancing career, you’ll need to start being more strategic about the types of work you do and the clients you take on.

There are likely to be a lot of competitors in your industry that’ll be willing to charge much lower rates than you, no matter what you do. There are people from all around the world with lower costs of living that’ll always be willing to accept lesser-paid gigs than you. It’s not worth racing other people to the bottom for work from home jobs on a freelance basis, especially when sites like Fiverr, Upwork or other freelance jobs sites already have countless options for low-priced freelancers. 

Instead specialize, become an expert in your field, and then you can charge more for your specialized services. Take the time to find a profitable niche for your freelance business. When you’re in a space that competes on quality, you’ll completely change the ways in which you sell your services. You’ll be competing on value, not price.

3. Identify your Target Clients

Just as important as finding a profitable niche, you’ll need to develop a clear picture of who you’re going to work best with. As you’re just starting your freelance business, it’s fine to take a bit more of a shotgun approach to landing a few clients. Make some initial assumptions about who you want to work with, target them first, and after working with a few of them, you’ll develop a very clear understanding of the type of clients you want to work for. 

To define exactly who your ideal freelance clients should be (and how to start finding them), ask yourself these questions:

• Which businesses will find my services useful?
• Can the business I want to work with afford to hire me?
• What demographic trends can I identify about the decision-makers in the types of businesses I’m targeting? 

4. Create a High-Quality Portfolio

It goes without saying that one of the best ways to demonstrate your technical skills is by having an amazing portfolio of your own. If you want to be taken seriously as a new freelancer, you’re going to need a portfolio that:

• Communicate your specialty & display examples of your work.
• List your contact information & show off your personality.
• Highlight your relevant skills, education, and accomplishments.

An impressive stellar portfolio can really help you out if you don’t have a lot of job experience to prove that you know your stuff. The purpose of your portfolio is to educate, spark interest, and convince potential clients that they’ll want to choose you for their technical needs. That’s why it’s worth investing time into deciding what to feature on your portfolio and how it’s being displayed.

5. Level Up Your Skills

One of the best ways to justify higher rates is to make sure you have impressive skills that are in high demand. Practice using your new skills by building the types of projects that you want to eventually be paid to work on. And remember that while highly trained freelancers can get paid much more for their work, taking online classes can get you on the right track and put you in charge of your education.

6. Determine Your Pricing

Before deciding how much to charge for your freelance services, you need to make sure your rates are enough to make a comfortable living. Most clients won’t hesitate to pay higher rates for a freelancer that gives them an incredible first impression and sells them on the ability to deliver high-quality results.

Always consider the actual value you’d be creating for your potential clients and make sure you’re not leaving money on the table. You can always increase your rates in the future and hope your client stays on board, but if you start at a price point you’re already excited about, you’ll be that much more likely to over-deliver and continue increasing your value moving forward.