Heard about the great resignation? In the UK almost a third of workers are looking to start a new career. Some of these workers looking for a new career are turning to freelancing.
Switching to freelancing as they’ve learned they can work from home and get a better work-life balance.
If you’re considering a move to start freelancing then keep reading to learn what freelancing is and how it works.
What is a freelancer?
Investopedia defines a freelancer as
A freelancer is an individual who earns money on a per-job or per-task basis, usually for short-term work.
Investopedia
Essentially freelancers are self-employed individuals who can work either online or offline and make money for each task or job they complete.
For example, freelancers can be your hairdresser and other tradespeople who primarily work offline. These offline freelancers can also be defined as sole trader.
Sole traders in the UK is a business structure that’s different to online freelancers.
Online freelancers are working also per task or a job. These freelancers work online primarily (but could also be working in the office too) such as virtual assistants, writers, and marketers.
For this blog, we focus on freelancers who work online, so if you want to start a hairdressing business this is not for you.
But if you want to be able to use your skills and start making money online from them, stick around. Stick around and you’ll learn how to start freelancing and how freelance jobs work.
How do I start freelancing?
More and more people are choosing to start freelancing. This was already a rising trend, but with the pandemic of 2020 that growth was accelerated.
Currently, there are 2.2 million freelancers in the UK. Even with this vast amount of freelancers in the UK, don’t think that it’s too saturated. Not saturated because every freelancer can only handle so much work, work with different clients, and provide clients with different services.
If you’re thinking about starting a freelancing business, now is a great time as businesses are using freelancers more to support their businesses.
To get started with freelancing you need to consider these 3 things
- What services you can offer
- Your unique selling point for your offer
- Who your niche is
When you understand these 3 things then you know exactly which clients you want to attract, where to find clients, and how you can help support them.
Setting up a freelance business
If you’re thinking I’ve just got no skills to start up a business, how can I start a freelancing business? I hear you because when I started freelancing I was in exactly the same boat.
Even though I got a University degree in business management, it still doesn’t prepare you for the reality of starting an online business. Especially when the degree I did was more for traditional bricks and mortar businesses, not an online business.
After setting up a basic virtual assistant business and putting my business on LinkedIn, I was approached by Michelle Dale. Not taking this message at face value, I did my research on this person.
Learning more about Michelle, I took up her freelancing course. On completion, I was more confident in getting clients and setting rates so I could make a living from freelancing online.
If you’re concerned about the cost of starting a freelancing business and learning about freelancing, you can start working with clients straight away. Start working with clients straight away using these freelancing websites.
Sign up to these sites, create a profile, and start pitching for jobs that fit your skills. Whilst you get work doing this, you’re building your credibility, confidence, and can start to make money freelancing.
In A Nutshell,
Due to the great resignation, there is a rise of new freelancers. Before starting a freelancing career you need to learn exactly what freelancing is and how it works. To start your freelancing career and get clients straight away sign up to these freelancing websites, create a profile, and start pitching for jobs that meet your freelancing skills.
