SUCCESSFUL ONLINE "FREELANCING” MASTERY Making a Living

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Freelancing – 21st Century Way of Making a Living

Freelancing exposed! Discover the latest way of earning more bang for

the buck for your talent, skill and expertise!

Cool Benefits & Drawbacks

The advantages and disadvantages, pros and cons of living the lifestyle of

a freelancer!

How to Get Into The Freelancing Business

Want to convert your skills into cash? Strongly desire to be renowned for

your expertise? 

Here’s how in a “step by step” fashion.

Where To Look For Customers In Masses

Discover the “hiding places” and large pools of TARGETED prospects that

are looking for expert services from you!

In Closing: Is Freelancing Really The Way To Go?

Is freelancing really for you? Read on to learn why and how..

Freelancing – 21st Century Way of

Making a Living

When you think of freelancing, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?

You probably think of a Making a Living, novelist or journalist right off hand.

That is primarily because for centuries, the only real job you could have as a

freelancer had to do with your mastery of the written word.

But we are not still stuck back in the early nineteen hundreds – no we are in the

twenty first century, a time that appreciates freelancers in hundreds of different

jobs.

Sure, you have probably heard of Freelancer photographers too, you may have

even met one or two in your life, but what about freelance software designers,

freelance medical billing specialists, or even freelance scientific researchers?

There are all jobs that have recently begun to see massive growth in their

respective fields because more and more people are realizing that they can

make far more money working for themselves as freelancers than they ever

could solely from working under the wing of their previous employer.

So it sounds pretty good doesn’t it? You work in some field for quite a few years,

get a lot of practical experience in your chosen area of employment and then

gradually make the switch from working the nine to five to becoming your own

boss as a freelancer.But is it really as easy as it sounds to become a freelancer and actually make a

living doing work on a freelance basis?

We have to keep in mind that there are quite a few freelancers out there who are

only doing work part time.

Not because they make a ton of money and only have to work a couple of days

per week but because they actually have had some trouble finding work in the

past and need a much more solid career option in order to make sure that they

do not find themselves facing bankruptcy.

However, such a scenario does not have to happen to you if you are willing to do

whatever it takes to become a freelancer. Your career switch may not happen

overnight – but eventually you will become highly successful at what you do.

It’s a guarantee.

The first step in making that jump from office work to freelance is to decide

whether or not you have what it takes to become a freelancer.

We all want to be our own boss, but do we all have the drive and dedication that

it takes to be successful without the watchful eye of our supervisors?

Sadly, we don’t.

Therefore, you have to really sit down and think about what makes you so

special in the world of freelancers.

Do you have a large enough skill set to make you stand out amongst the hoards

of different people all seeking the same work as you?

Do you have the time management skills necessary to run your own freelancing

operation and meet all of the deadlines set upon you by your clients?

If you have even the slightest doubt in your mind about freelancing, then maybe

there are other career paths that are better for you in the long run.

Now, provided that you are willing to jump in to your freelancing business with

both feet, you need to start off on the freelance path slowly before you can really

start raking in the cash.

Don’t quit your job just yet! Instead, you need to begin your hunt for freelance

work in your area of expertise on the internet and see what you can come up

with.

Some skills, such as the ability to write coherently or do software design for

clients of all types, are highly marketable and you should really have no difficulty

whatsoever finding a goldmine of work.

On the other hand, if you are only able to do tasks that are not as easily

marketable on a freelance basis, you will have much more difficulty finding work

for your freelance operation.

Currently some of the most popular fields for freelancing include writing, editing,

photography, web and graphic design, software design, and architecture or

drafting.

Once you have settled on a field that you want to freelance in, you will need to

start finding your first clients. Whatever you do, do not start your hunt with any of

the clients that you may have dealt with in your current job.

There are all kinds of laws against this practice and it may get you into serious

trouble if you are caught.

Instead, turn to your favorite search engine and search for some forums and

databases specifically designed for freelancers seeking work in a particular field. There are tons of different places for you to visit, so within an hour or so you will

probably have at least ten or fifteen bookmarks of places online where you can

find employment as a freelancer.

When you find you have some free time, all you have to do is search around on

each one of these bookmarked websites to find the freelance positions that

sound good to you.

When you start out as a freelancer, you will probably have to take a few jobs that

do not pay very well at all. That’s fine because these jobs help you build your skill

set.

They will help you learn how to more effectively manage your time, speed up

your workflow, and even help you get more used to using a computer and the

internet to search for answers to any questions that may pop up while you are

doing work for your client.

The low paying jobs will probably last for awhile, as until you have assembled a

massive list of satisfied clients you will have to primarily compete with all of the

other freelancers in your field entirely on how low your rates and fees are.

Eventually though you will graduate into higher and higher paying jobs until you

will find that you have practically doubled your current income with income from freelancing.

At this point you should feel confident enough to possibly start thinking about

reducing the number of hours you work at your current job to part time status or

even quit your job all together and make your fortunes solely through freelancing

in your selected field.

Cool Benefits & Drawbacks

After a long day at the office, you decide to stop by your local Barnes & Noble

bookstore to pick up a copy of your favorite magazine.

When you open it up to a story that you find fascinating, you look at the author’s

name and see that in his biography it says that he is a professional freelance

writer.

Looking at the selected photographs, drawings and diagrams quickly makes you

realize that all of the artwork for the story was also done by freelance

photographers and graphic designers.

Returning home from the bookstore, you decide to start up your computer and

log online to check out the news for the day that you might have missed.

Topping the list on your favorite tech news website is a brand new program that

looks like it could be a lot of use to you.

Visiting the software programmer’s website shows that he is also a freelancer –

and seems to be doing rather well at his chosen trade.

Realizing that so much is created by freelancers, you decide to dedicate the rest

of your evening to researching the freelance databases to see if you have what it

takes to join this growing world of self employed individuals.

Before you begin your hunt to be a freelancer though, you need to know the

benefits and the drawbacks of working for yourself on a per client basis.A lot of people will tell you that setting foot outside of the office was the best thing

they ever could have done while others will tell you that they could not wait for

each of their freelance projects to be over because they simply could not stand

the stress of their assignments.

In order to be a successful freelancer you really have to weigh all of the pros and

cons and be absolutely sure that the career path is right for you.

So, without further ado, here are some of the most common benefits and

drawbacks you will face as a freelancer.

Benefits

The moment you decide to become a freelancer, everyone you talk to will

probably tell you how cool it is to be your own boss.

You are in control of your work and nobody else (except for your clients) can tell

you what to do. If you don’t want to work on Fridays – you don’t have to.

Take any days off that you want, but make sure that you finish your projects by

the deadline. By being your own boss, you really have the freedom to steer your

life where you want it to go.

You get to plan your own schedules, choose the projects that you find enjoyable,

charge any rate you please, and be almost totally self sufficient – 

a major bonus of being a freelancer for many people looking to escape the daily grind.

Another of the big benefits you will always hear people talking about when it

comes to freelancing is that you can set your own dress code. If you find all of

your freelance work online, who is to say that you don’t have to just hang around

in your pajamas or underwear all day long?No sense in getting all dressed up when you can just get out of bed, enjoy a nice

cup of hot coffee, watch the news for a few minutes and then plop yourself down

at your computer to start your workday.

Freelancing gives you the ability to work in your own style and in total comfort no

matter who or what you are doing work for.

By working freelance you can also spend a lot more time with your family and

friends.

Because you do not have to go to work on a strict schedule, you can spend time

with your children when they get home from school and with your friends and

your spouse whenever they have off work.

The flexibility of having a freelance career is second to none and there is

practically no other job in the world that gives you both the spare time and the

financial freedom to do what you want to do when you want to do it.

Finally, with freelancing you have a near limitless income potential. Because you

work for yourself, you get to keep all of what you earn. Not a penny goes to

anyone else (aside from the government in the form of taxes).

All of the profits belong to you so you get to spend it how you please.

Furthermore, because you work on a per project basis, you can accept as many

projects as you want to earn as much money as you see fit.

You are not salaried, so the more work you do, the more you get paid.

Drawbacks

As with anything in the world, there are drawbacks to becoming a freelancer in

any field you choose. 

The predominant drawback is that you are not as financially stable as you are when you are working for someone else.

You have to take care of all of your money management, 

you have to work on project after project if you want to have enough money to stay financially afloat,

and you have to provide for your own healthcare.

These three factors all add up to create a feeling of fiscal insecurity for many

people, and because of the major financial risk involved, many people feel that

freelancing is not for them.

There is also heavy competition in the world of freelancing. The internet has

been both a blessing and a curse to freelancers from around the world.

On one hand it has opened the doors to make the world of freelancing much

more accessible to anyone who has ever thought about setting out on their own

and becoming their own boss.

On the other hand though, the internet makes it very easy for freelancers to get

in touch with potential clients and possibly steal jobs right out from under you.

Because of the heavy competition as a result of the internet, you may have to

start out with very low pay for each project you do as a novice freelancer.

When your client list expands however, you will be able to make more in the long

term.

How to Get Into The Freelancing
Business

We have all read an article, seen a photograph, tinkered around with some

software, or visited a website that was designed by some type of freelancer.

Chances are that at some point or another we have all wanted to go out on our

own – away from our current jobs – and start a new career path as a freelancer

in our field of specialization.

But why don’t we?

What holds so much of us back from going out and doing what it is that we want

to do with our lives?

Why do we allow ourselves to be tied to our employer as if some invisible

shackles enslave us?

What types of skills do we need in order to finally break free from the nine to five

shifts and start out on our own as a freelancer?

You should ask yourself all of these questions before you even think about

quitting your current occupation in pursuit of a freelance job.

Each and every year, far too many people believe that they can simply quit their

jobs and pursue a career as a freelancer in whatever their specific field may be –

and far too many of them fail, only to go crawling back to their previous employer

in hopes that he will give the destitute freelancer his former job back.

This unfortunate circumstance happens for one reason and one reason alone –

the person who wanted to branch out on his own as a freelancer had no idea

what to expect.

People told him that he could be free, have as many days off as he wanted and

retain all of the profits from his work.

But nobody ever told him that he may have to work long and hard to meet

deadlines, manage his finances himself, and compete with thousands of others

for the same clients.

Before you begin any ventures into the world of freelancing, you should know

that it is not all fun and games – a lot of serious thought must go into your actions

if you are to be successful.

Now that you have thought it over and you are absolutely sure that freelancing is

right for you, it is time to set foot into your new career path and start looking for

some work.

Whatever you do, do not quit your current job right now, as you will not have a

livable source of income for at least a few months while you search for well

paying projects.

Quitting your job will come in due time, but only after you have managed to net a

few illustrious contracts first.

With your passion and desire in hand, the first step of your new life as a

freelancer should be to log onto your computer, pull open your web browser of

choice, head over to one of the top three search engines, and look for work Use specific keywords that can describe what you want to do with your life and 

sooner or later you will wind up with a massive database of different websites 

that cater to the freelance community in your specific field.

After all, if you are a freelance writer why would you look for work at the software 

programming freelance directories?

Once you have constructed a list of the top websites in your field where you think 

you will be able to find clients, visit the sites daily (or subscribe to their RSS 

feeds) to find projects that would not only be interesting to you but will also pay 

the bills.

Chances are that when you start out down the road of a freelancer in any field 

you will find that you can only get small time, low pay contracts and projects that 

really do not require much skill at all.

This is because you are new and relatively unknown to the freelance community.

As time passes though, and you get client after client, more and more people will 

start to know who you are and the kind of work you will do.

You can then net the higher paying projects that will allow you to really start 

supplementing your income greatly.

Eventually you may even find that some potential clients may start coming to you 

with their work, hearing how much you can accomplish or how good you are at 

meeting deadlines from the people who hired you previously.

Upon becoming a freelancer for the first time, it is also important that you create 

a mass of different items that can show off the kind of work you do.

Making this portfolio may be one of the most important things you can do if you

want to succeed as a freelancer, as it will help you move up in the world of

freelance work.

Only include projects that you have all of the rights to, as if someone thinks that

you may have stolen pieces of your portfolio from others, the word may get out

and you risk not being hired for freelance work by anyone – ever.

Furthermore, only add items to your portfolio that make you look good in

whatever particular field you are trying to find freelance work in.

Sure, if you are looking for freelance work as a web designer you could include

an article you wrote on chemistry, but why would someone looking for a skilled

web designer really care about something you wrote for a chemistry website –

unless your client was also hiring you to write his web copy.

Finally, your competition from around the globe will be another major barrier in

your pursuit to become a self sufficient freelancer.

People from all walks of life and from just about every country in the world will be

competing for the same projects as you, so you had better be prepared to offer

something that other people simply cannot compete with.

For example, if you are a freelance writer or editor, the best way to compete is to

explain to your clients that you are a native English speaker.

Graphic and web designers as well as software programmers should take plenty

of extra college courses to show how well they are educated in their craft.

Finally, no matter field you are freelancing in, you should always take some time

as an unpaid worker to create some examples for your portfolio that really

highlight your strong points