How to Become a Successful Freelancer

How to Become a Successful Freelancer Freelancing has become very common in recent years. So many jobs are digital, its easy to create your own brand and to manage multiple projects from your home office or even 1. Organisation First of all,  to make your freelance career work, you need to be organised. You need to keep on top of your work, your finances and your time. There are lots of different ways you can keep on top of it all. You could try using an online calendar such as Google Calendar  or there are more advanced tools such as Trello. Trello and  alternative sites,  enable you to log project time and to  upload work to share with others. These are great places to communicate and to transfer work with your clients. Paypal is also a great tool for managing your finances, you can receive and send money through Paypal and withdraw directly to your bank or it might even be worth hiring an accountant. Its important to dedicate days for admin, so if there any tax forms you need to fill out or anyone you need to chase for an invoice, you can tick it all off at once avoid leaving it all until the end of the month or even the year! Furthermore, make sure wherever you decide to work is tidy and you keep all of your files and work neatly stored. In terms of time, make sure you dont overdo it and that you give yourself a schedule so you dont end up working 24 hours a day. 2.  Research If you are leaving your current job to take on a freelance career, make sure its definitely the right decision. Although we dont know until we try, its probably best to test it out part time whilst you are still earning money, this way you can judge how good you are at managing your workload, time and finances as a freelancer. If you feel ready to just go for it, make sure you have some savings as a backup, just in case. It may take a couple of months before your business kicks off so its important to take rent and other costs into consideration beforehand. Doing lots of research and planning before you begin will help you avoid any unexpected problems along the way. You will get a good idea of what to expect within your freelance career in terms of salary, admin and other factors. You can also see what other freelancers charge within your sector to make sure that your costs arent too high or low. Familiarising yourself with all of these different factors before you start will help you make a better judgement about whether a  freelance career is right for you. 3.  Marketing In order to sell your services, you need to have a product to show to potential customers. Showcase your creativity online Its so important to make sure your online presence is active and that you regularly engage with your followers. Failure to engage and to update your profiles can make your business appear inactive, essentially losing you clients. Network, network network whether its face-to-face attending conferences and exchanging business cards or just simply participating in a Business Twitter Hour make sure you get your name out there! Good luck! If you are interested in starting a Freelance Web Developer career, read what your day might consist of here.