What’s one of the best ways to explore a potential career idea?
Talk to people who are already doing it!
Which is why, this article outlines some interviews with successful freelancers.
Talk to people who are already doing it!
Which is why, this article outlines some interviews with successful freelancers.
…enjoy!
 | Name: Zafira Rajan Freelancing Service(s): Conversion copywriting, brand messaging strategy Website: www.zafirarajan.com Instagram: instagram.com/zafira.rajan Facebook: facebook.com/zafirarajancreative |
How long have you been freelancing?
4 years.
How long did it take to earn a consistent full-time income from freelancing?
I started out cutting back my full-time job to 50% and building up my client list on the side. After about 1 year of that, I was able to go full-time!
What’s helped you to be successful as a freelancer?
A few things:
How do you typically find work?
Online, I’ve found work by participating in various groups and masterminds, having a social media presence, and being open to connecting with people just to see how I can help them in any way. Offline, I’ve found work just by getting to know the people in my city and scouting around—people are always looking for someone.
What do you love about freelancing?
Having a flexible schedule. I do my best work during certain times of the day and I like being able to cook at home or take a trip whenever I feel like it. I also love having the freedom to choose what I work on and what excites me—the fear of not knowing what’s around the corner has turned into excitement
What are the challenges you face as a freelancer?
Having to look for work constantly is a big one. Managing your books on top of that can be a challenge as well. Sometimes, I also feel a bit isolated and lonely, but I work out of a coworking space one day a week, which helps me build community.
The freelancing lifestyle isn’t for everyone. In your opinion, what kind of person is best suited to this type of work?
Someone who usually prefers to work alone, values managing their own schedule, is disciplined enough to manage their own time, and gets frustrated being in an office and sitting in meetings! It could be challenging for extroverts, unless they’re comfortable in a coworking space or office often.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out as a freelancer?
Have at least 6 months’ worth of savings in your bank account and a few clients lined up before going full-time with it. I see people dive into freelancing before they’re at that point and they struggle a lot! Also, talk to other freelancers and get the administrative side of your business sorted out early on. Most of all: believe in yourself!
4 years.
How long did it take to earn a consistent full-time income from freelancing?
I started out cutting back my full-time job to 50% and building up my client list on the side. After about 1 year of that, I was able to go full-time!
What’s helped you to be successful as a freelancer?
A few things:
- Working really hard—it’s not easy. You could be really good at your profession, but it takes another level of discipline because you are running your own business as well.
- Time management—it’s a careful balance between work, prospecting, bringing leads in, administrative tasks, and networking with people. I didn’t like the networking at first, but I’ve really become a different person as a result—I’m more confident and happy than I used to be.
- Having routine—such as doing yoga/meditation in the morning, making sure I feel healthy, getting out of the house, and not spending all day in my pajamas!
- Delivering good work—I don’t have to look that hard for business now like I did in the beginning, thanks to referrals.
- Having a really strong network—I got 5 projects last year from just a single connection in my network.
How do you typically find work?
Online, I’ve found work by participating in various groups and masterminds, having a social media presence, and being open to connecting with people just to see how I can help them in any way. Offline, I’ve found work just by getting to know the people in my city and scouting around—people are always looking for someone.
What do you love about freelancing?
Having a flexible schedule. I do my best work during certain times of the day and I like being able to cook at home or take a trip whenever I feel like it. I also love having the freedom to choose what I work on and what excites me—the fear of not knowing what’s around the corner has turned into excitement
What are the challenges you face as a freelancer?
Having to look for work constantly is a big one. Managing your books on top of that can be a challenge as well. Sometimes, I also feel a bit isolated and lonely, but I work out of a coworking space one day a week, which helps me build community.
The freelancing lifestyle isn’t for everyone. In your opinion, what kind of person is best suited to this type of work?
Someone who usually prefers to work alone, values managing their own schedule, is disciplined enough to manage their own time, and gets frustrated being in an office and sitting in meetings! It could be challenging for extroverts, unless they’re comfortable in a coworking space or office often.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out as a freelancer?
Have at least 6 months’ worth of savings in your bank account and a few clients lined up before going full-time with it. I see people dive into freelancing before they’re at that point and they struggle a lot! Also, talk to other freelancers and get the administrative side of your business sorted out early on. Most of all: believe in yourself!
 | Name: Alicia Carvalho Freelancing Service(s): Graphic design Website: www.alicia-carvalho.com Instagram: instagram.com/alicia_carvalh0 Facebook: facebook.com/AliciaCarvalhoDesign |
How long have you been freelancing?
5 years.
How long did it take to earn a consistent full-time income from freelancing?
Even in my first year, I made enough money to cover my living expenses.
What’s helped you to be successful as a freelancer?
Learning from as many blogs, books, and courses as possible. Also, building a community around me of other freelancers, by attending conferences and joining online groups.
How do you typically find work?
Mostly through referrals from past clients and people who know me and know that I do design work. Early on, I also got some work through freelance websites.
How do you like to network?
I do most of my networking online because I don’t like in-person networking. Being specific about the type of work I want to do helps a lot with the networking, too. For example, if I want to be designing publications, or packaging, this is a lot easier to communicate to people and find work than just saying that I do graphic design, which is more general.
What do you love about freelancing?
A lot of things. One thing I think about a lot is the flexibility–that I can make my own schedule and I can technically work from wherever. I have a few larger corporate clients and whenever I go to their office, I’m so happy I don’t have to sit in an office for 8 hours a day. I love being able to take a vacation whenever I want and go for groceries in the middle of the day.
The freelancing lifestyle isn’t for everyone. In your opinion, what kind of person is best suited to this type of work?
First and foremost, you need to be self-disciplined. You also need to have excellent time management skills. I used to think you couldn’t freelance if you were an introvert and that you have to go out and talk to people to find clients, but I’ve learned that’s not true. Being an extrovert is definitely not a requirement.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out as a freelancer?
Treat yourself as a business—it’s easy when something goes wrong to take everything personally. Also – do your research! Figure out all the different pieces of what might come up in your business, what you need to prepare for, what’s involved and most of all, learn from any mistakes you make.
So there you have it!
I hope this gives you some insight into if and how to start your own freelancing business.
-Rebecca
5 years.
How long did it take to earn a consistent full-time income from freelancing?
Even in my first year, I made enough money to cover my living expenses.
What’s helped you to be successful as a freelancer?
Learning from as many blogs, books, and courses as possible. Also, building a community around me of other freelancers, by attending conferences and joining online groups.
How do you typically find work?
Mostly through referrals from past clients and people who know me and know that I do design work. Early on, I also got some work through freelance websites.
How do you like to network?
I do most of my networking online because I don’t like in-person networking. Being specific about the type of work I want to do helps a lot with the networking, too. For example, if I want to be designing publications, or packaging, this is a lot easier to communicate to people and find work than just saying that I do graphic design, which is more general.
What do you love about freelancing?
A lot of things. One thing I think about a lot is the flexibility–that I can make my own schedule and I can technically work from wherever. I have a few larger corporate clients and whenever I go to their office, I’m so happy I don’t have to sit in an office for 8 hours a day. I love being able to take a vacation whenever I want and go for groceries in the middle of the day.
The freelancing lifestyle isn’t for everyone. In your opinion, what kind of person is best suited to this type of work?
First and foremost, you need to be self-disciplined. You also need to have excellent time management skills. I used to think you couldn’t freelance if you were an introvert and that you have to go out and talk to people to find clients, but I’ve learned that’s not true. Being an extrovert is definitely not a requirement.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out as a freelancer?
Treat yourself as a business—it’s easy when something goes wrong to take everything personally. Also – do your research! Figure out all the different pieces of what might come up in your business, what you need to prepare for, what’s involved and most of all, learn from any mistakes you make.
So there you have it!
I hope this gives you some insight into if and how to start your own freelancing business.
-Rebecca
