When you first start freelancing, your income is defined by your experience, location, and output. Often you’ll start with a client for a lower hourly rate to get started and then renegotiate once you’re further into the collaboration and have created the trust and shown your output. This is a tactic I’ve used which has worked very well.
When you start freelancing as a beginner, you can expect to earn anywhere from USD 50 to USD 2000 per month. Often more in the lower end as you’ll start with one client and slowly expand as you get more clients. When I started freelancing, I earned USD 800 in my first month, which slowly increased.
Now as this for many is a great start, we want to grow to a level where we can make a living freelancing without worrying about if our income can cover all of our expenses and still leave room for growth.
How To Make A Living Of Freelancing
When you reach this point, you’ve started freelancing, you’ve maybe been freelancing for a couple of months now, and you want to take it to the next step to either quit your full-time job or just be comfortable in your freelance job.
This is an exciting phase because you have a portfolio of a client or multiple clients, from which you can ask for testimonials and write some case stories to show other potential clients what you’re capable of.
Now just remember the clients don’t come to you. You still have to find your clients, but all this material you’ve built you can now use to support your case while pursuing new clients.
I usually say there are 2 types of clients. Project clients, where you get a fixed fee for solving a project or task. Then there are the long-term clients where you agree on an hourly rate, and your collaboration is ongoing for a more extended period.
Depending on who you are, you will go with the client type you like. Based on my experience, I mostly like to work with long-term clients with whom we agree on an hourly rate. That said, I still take in project clients who, after the project has ended, turns into hourly-rate client with whom we continue to work together.
To sum up, this point, to grow, then you need to find more clients. That’s what it’s all about, but be careful not to take in too many clients and be careful not to set your hourly rate too low. There are a couple of mistakes you need to avoid when growing your freelancing career.
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Avoid These Mistakes While Growing Your Freelancing
As mentioned, there are some mistakes you want to avoid and trust me, and I speak of experience when I elaborate on all these points. Take the advice you need and want, and stick to it. It will help you in the long run. I have made all these mistakes, so let’s get into them.
Don’t take in assignments you can’t solve
It can be tempting in the beginning to take any assignment you can come near but resist the urge. It’s so important you stick to the niche you’ve chosen and build authority within that niche by helping clients.
If you start solving assignments in other niches, your future clients will be confused by your portfolio and will doubt whether you’re an expert within your field or just want to earn a buck. Clients instead want an expert within one specific niche or skill than someone who can do everything 20%. This is why they’re looking for a freelancer, and they want an expert.
Don’t take in clients where your gut tells you no
This is such an important mistake that I see freelancers make over and over again. You are a freelancer, and you need to create a certain amount of income to pay your bills, but it’s never worth taking in a client you don’t align with.
You will find yourself spending more time explaining your invoices, time spent and solutions than solving assignments for the clients.
What I’m trying to say here is: Listen to your gut. My gut has got me out of so many potential bad collaborations, but yes, I have been in bad collaborations with clients, and it’s simply a waste of time for both you and the client.
Don’t take in more clients than you can handle
When you start to grow, you will see that it gets easier and easier for you to find new clients. It’s obvious, and you’re starting to have an impressive portfolio of clients as solved projects to show off. Clients want to work with you.
But be careful here. It can be tempting to say yes to all, but it will turn out bad for you and your clients. By taking in more clients than you can handle, you will lose the time you had before, you will fall behind on deadlines, and your clients will have a bad experience working with you. This is the last thing you want.
So remember to say no. And don’t be afraid to. You don’t have to say no forever, just not right now. I’ve often scheduled clients into the future and told them we can start working together in 3-4 months because I don’t have time now.
And if they want to work with you, which they often want, they will wait for you. It’s really that simple. By doing this, everyone gets a great experience, both you and the client.
Don’t set your lowest hourly rate
When you start your initial meeting with your client, and they ask you about your hourly rate, don’t be afraid to say the hourly rate you want. This is a negotiation. If your hourly rate doesn’t fit your potential client’s budget, they will tell you, and together, you’ll find a solution.
You might decrease your hourly rate against the client promising you a certain amount of weekly hours. This is why it’s super important you don’t start negotiating with your lowest hourly rate. Otherwise, you won’t have any leverage.
The clients won’t come to you
Even though you start to grow, and you might get some clients via word-of-mouth, then never stop pursuing new clients. You might have a backlog of projects and clients for the next 6 months, but who knows what happens after those 6 months?
Always be on the hunt for new clients that you can collaborate with. This will ensure you always have work and you stay up to date on what is happening for clients in the industry.
Don’t be inactive
This is super important. A client is hiring you because they want an expert. They want your skillset, but also your opinion. You’ve worked in the industry and know what works and what doesn’t so be proactive.
If you see something your client is doing that you disagree with, tell them, but respectively tell them.
For example, I had a client who was using Umbraco for their website, and even though it was a huge decision, I told them I would recommend changing to WordPress as it’s a more agile CMS. They listened, and in the end, we changed their entire website. The client was happy, and they now save so much time and economy on their website.
Conclusion
So, to sum up, as a new freelancer, you can earn anywhere between USD 50 and USD 2000. It depends on numerous factors. Your location, industry and most importantly, your experience.
When you get started freelancing, you want to grow your income to a stage where you can make a living freelancing. This you do by continuing to find new clients to work with and slowly increasing your hourly rate.
But while you grow, be careful not to grow too fast. Taking in new clients is time-consuming, and you want them to get a tremendous first-hand impression of you and your work.
But the most important thing overall is that you get started. Just get started and take one step at a time. Brick by brick, you’ll get forward and realise your freelance dream.
FAQ
Can a beginner do freelancing?
Absolutely yes, you have to start somewhere. Anyone doing freelancing started as a beginner. The most important thing is just that you get started and start building your freelancing career and experience.
How much money can I make as a freelancer?
Only your imagination sets the limit. The better you get as a freelancer, the more you can charge for your hours. You can easily make USD 20.000 a month if you’re good enough at your niche. Set goals and keep growing. That’s the way to get to where you want to be.