How to start freelancing with no experience

A freelancer, freelance worker ,
or freelance is a person who is
self-employed and is not
committed to a particular
employer long-term. These
workers are sometimes
represented by a company or an
agency that resells their labor
and that of others to its clients
with or without project
management and labor
contributed by its regular
employees. Others are
completely independent.

The freelancing industry enjoyed
impressive growth in the past
several years.
In 2011, the Financial Times (UK)
reported a 12% growth in the
number of freelancers from 2008.
Popular freelance broker site
Elance enjoyed consistent growth in
past years, with the number of jobs
posted rising from around 200,000
in the first quarter of 2012 to
300,000 in the same period in
2013.
In addition to a more flexible work
schedule, freelancers tend to be
happy. According to the 2012
Freelance Industry Report , 90% of
freelancers are happier now than
they were before going solo, and
nearly half felt no impact from the
economic downturn. Perhaps most
tellingly, 77% of freelancers were
optimistic about their business
prospects over the following 12
months.
With freelance work being such an
enticing prospect, no one would
blame you for giving it some
serious thought. However, a
common issue is simply not
knowing how to start. Fortunately,
building a successful freelancing
career is easier than it seems —
just follow the steps below.

1. Choose Your Craft
Just about everything can be
outsourced these days. That's why
there's a strong likelihood that the
skills on your résumé contain one
or more freelancing opportunities.
You may be required to think
outside of the box — we're not all
graphic designers or programmers.
However, you may find that your
"secondary" skills can offer up
freelancing opportunities. For
instance, if you are a strong writer,
then you have the potential to
develop a freelance writing
business.
Don't be paralyzed by a
preconception that you do not
have the necessary skills or
experience — you would be
surprised how little experience you
need in order to get started. A little
faith in your abilities will take you
a long way.

2. Create a Brand
If you plan to succeed in the world
of freelancing, you will need to
create a strong brand that sets you
apart from the competition. Your
brand is your identity (i.e. your
website, blog and social media
accounts) and it should clearly
communicate your unique selling
proposition — what you do that
makes you special.
With that in mind, you should
narrow down your focus to a
specific industry. For instance, as a
graphic designer you might choose
to do branding work for digital
startup businesses only. This form
of specialization will make you far
more attractive to a specific set of
prospective clients and give you a
greater chance of success. You can
try to cater to all and sundry, but
you will probably only provoke
indifference.

3. Build a Portfolio and
Source Testimonials
The world of freelancing lacks the
red tape of the corporate world.
Many prospective clients are not
concerned with qualifications; they
simply want to see what you have
done in the past and judge whether
it is the right fit for them.
Therefore, if you are good at what
you do and can demonstrate your
skill through a quality portfolio and
positive client testimonials, you
have every chance of success. The
conundrum, however, is in building
a portfolio without experience.
Many freelancers will react to this
by picking up the smallest and least
lucrative jobs around, but that puts
them into a vicious cycle of
bargain-basement work. To work
for high-paying clients, you need
to demonstrate that you are worth
big money by doing good work.
So don't be afraid to do pro bono
work for the right clients when you
are first starting out. The free work
you do at this stage can ultimately
be priceless when it clearly
communicates your worth to future
potential clients via an extensive
portfolio and glowing testimonials.
Also, offering your services at no
cost is a gentle introduction into
the world of freelancing where you
do not feel the pressure of having
to deliver a service of requisite
value.

4. Start Pitching
You should only seek paying clients
when you are able to demonstrate
your abilities (and your reputation)
with a quality portfolio and
testimonials. Once you have done
so by working on pro bono jobs,
it's time to start pitching.
But whom should you pitch? Well,
if you branded yourself correctly
then you should know exactly
whom to pitch. By having such a
narrow focus, potential clients are
far more likely to take you
seriously than if you offered a
generic service. Businesses want to
work with freelancers who
seemingly came into existence to
serve them specifically — you can
create this illusion through
specialization.
Potential clients can be found
everywhere: from Google to social
media to your doorstep. The
possibilities are endless.
The two keys to successful pitching
are relevance and volume. Only
pitch those clients who fit the
mold of your brand and pitch a lot
of them. Ruth Zive of Marketing
Wise, a content marketing firm
based in Canada, had a "ten before
ten" rule when she first started out
as a freelance writer — she would
make sure to pitch ten prospective
clients before 10 a.m. every
working day. Those numbers add
up quickly.

5. Play the Odds
Ultimately, securing freelance work
is a numbers game — the more
prospective clients you contact, the
more likely you are to find work.
That is the equation you should
keep in mind. If you have a
reasonable skill set and create a
quality brand, there is no reason
why you cannot succeed in the
world of freelancing like so many
others have before you.