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May
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So you decided to become a freelancer? To work for yourself? Great! You have a great deal of chance to fail! So now I got your attention? You will say: He does not know what he’s saying. And right you are. I do not need to know. I believe in statistics. And Statistics are quite harsh in this matter:
Take for instance Rent a Coder – The Mecca of Freelancing. (The best Freelancing site in my opinion). There are more then 210.000 Coders . Just 8000-9000 have landed more then 1-2 Jobs in their “career”, and just 27000 have completed at least 1 job.
So … around 14% did something , and just 33% from these can say they are at least on a path to become a freelancer. Sure, there are over 3000 that do really well, and at least 500 that are great and doing really, really well.
What does this tell us? That most of freelancing attempts fail.
Why is that? It’s hard to tell. Every case has its own reasons. I will try nonetheless to point out common mistakes and to help you improve your success rate.
First Steps
When you first sign up to a Freelancer site you mostly are enthusiast and heading out for the fast lane to making money. I have to burst your bubble: there is no fast lane. There is only work and quality work that brings you success and money. The first mistake one makes is to start to bid in expensive or large jobs. Never do that as a beginner. You do not have any credentials that recommend you, no experience to work with buyers and like any computer geek you lack communication skills. The right way is to start with a series of 5-10 small jobs that would take you up to 2-3 hours of work each. Go with jobs that do not cost more then 10-25 $. Nobody with a sane mind would risk bigger jobs with you not having a proper background to prove. DO NOT underbid for good projects. Do not aim for jobs that people bid 100-200$ and try to go with dumping prices like “I’ll do it for 20$” because it would show that you are or stupid or unrealistic or just plain desperate. As a buyer I wouldn’t place my confidence in neither these type of guy.
The biggest problem I see in bidding – and that is not even a “beginners only” mistake – is the lack of communication with the buyer. Even when you start bidding, DO NOT EVER post a bid without having an explanatory text. What I mean is: do not post bids like “100$ - I can do it”, “150$ I am the best” or “100$ can start today”. It shows lack of interest and laziness. And who wants to work with a lazy guy or with a moron. Make a good impression – your first bid must be love at first sight. Try to explain why you think you are up to this job. Try to give some examples from previous work. Show the buyer that you know what he talks about, and ALWAYS know what YOU talk about. The best strategy is to begin with some clever questions before you bid. Ask some questions that make sense (not moronic questions, that is a no-no). Try to get some details (not all, but at least some). That shows you are involved, you show interest and share the same common ground.
For instance take this first “bid” (no bid was :
Hello,
Or
Hello, How does these sound in comparison to “I can do it” , “lets start”
The buyer also needs to see that you have the language capabilities – most bidders are from non English speaking countries, so there is a need to see how they can communicate with you. Use words. Use phrases. Do not talk in slogans. Try to sell your skills. There are for sure A LOT of gifted programmers out there. Try to stick out with something. And in this Freelancing sites – you can have either an impressive completed jobs background, or at least some selling skills.
There is one very important thing that I advice against: working for another freelancer. There might be smart freelancers out there that will approach you into working for them since they have a loaded jobs background on their profile. BULLSHIT. Do not fall for it. That is plain stupid. You should build YOUR own profile and increase your quotation. NOT THEIRS! If so, you should better go out in the town and get a job. It’s better and more secure than this kind of deal.
For Freelance beginners I advice against relying only on freelancing. Get a job in the real world. Anything. That will increase your financial stability until you build your profile. Also a job in the real world will educate you to some discipline in your workplace.
To be continued…
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