How to Start Freelancing with No Experience

Freelancers are self-employed professionals. They’re generally classed as independent contractors, which means that they usually set their own working hours, have clients rather than full-time employers, and have to pay self-employment taxes.

Freelancers can work for multiple clients, who can include individuals as well as companies. They may work for their clients on either a short-term or long-term basis.

Types of freelancers

When people think of freelancing, certain professions often come to mind—in particular, creative ones. For instance, many people dream of becoming freelance writers or illustrators.

However, you can also find freelancers in many different industries, including:

• Accounting/bookkeeping
• Consulting (various fields)
• Customer service
• Data entry
• Design
• Graphic design
• Marketing
• Photography
• Proofreading
• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• Social media management
• Software development / programming
• Teaching/tutoring
• Transcription
• Translation
• Virtual assisting
• Web design

This is a non-exhaustive list. Virtually any job can be done on a freelance basis, although remote-friendly work is particularly well represented in this space because many freelancers are people who want to make money from home.

Becoming a freelancer can be hard if you don’t know where to start. You’ll need to know how to set fair but competitive rates, create a portfolio, and pitch to potential clients.

Follow these steps to put yourself on the right track as a new freelancer:

1. Determine your freelancing goals

The first step is to consider whether you want to keep freelancing as a side hustle or eventually turn it into a full-time job. Your answer will affect how you should approach it.

For instance, if you plan to build a full-time freelancing business, you can’t just settle for a few occasional clients—you need a strategy that will eventually allow you to scale up your business. You’ll also want to set a target for how much you want to earn from your freelancing gig (either a total number or a yearly income) before you let yourself quit your full-time job.

On the other hand, if you’re happy with your current career and plan on keeping your freelance work as a side hustle, your plans probably don’t have to be as definite. You can dive into freelancing and work as much or as little as you want.

2. Choose what service you want to provide

Whether you want to freelance part-time or full-time, you need to figure out what type of work you want to do. Think about how to turn your skills into a service that addresses people’s needs.

If you love words and you’re constantly spotting errors in books and magazines that you read, you could become a freelance proofreader or copyeditor. If you’re a hobbyist photographer, you might want to start up a freelance photography side hustle.

Consider your talents, skills, and interests. There’s probably a way to monetize them.

If you’re doing a freelance side hustle, it makes sense to choose a line of work that maximizes the professional skills you already have and complements your full-time job. For example, you can explore side hustles for teachers or side hustles for lawyers.

When to specialize

Eventually, once you have a little experience as a freelancer, you might want to specialize even further. For example, if you’re a writer, you could focus on medical or legal writing. If you’re a freelance tutor or babysitter, you could specialize in a particular age range, and so on.

This step isn’t absolutely necessary—it’s fine if you decide you’d rather just be a generalist—but it can be easier to pitch yourself to clients if you have a strong track record in a particular niche.

3. Identify your target clients

Think about who your prospective clients are given the type of work you decided to do in steps 1 and 2.

Targeting a few types of clients (small businesses, independent creators, corporations, etc.) is a good business strategy. You’ll get more familiar with their needs and the way they do business, and you can build your reputation in their circles.

4. Set your rates

Setting the right rates can be tricky, especially when you’re just starting out. The easiest way is to research how much other freelancers in your niche are charging.

Pay attention to their experience levels and qualifications. You might not be able to command quite as much money as your peers do when you’re getting your start, but you can increase your rates once you’ve gained more experience.

Note that while you shouldn’t set your rates too high, you shouldn’t undersell yourself either. Setting your rates too low will obviously make it harder for you to make ends meet, and may damage your reputation (because clients will assume you’d charge more if you were any good). Moreover, undercutting everyone else too severely can contribute to lowering the rates that clients are willing to pay across your whole industry, making it harder for everyone to earn a fair wage.

5. Create a portfolio

Having a good portfolio that showcases your work to potential clients is crucial to your success.

In your portfolio, clearly state the services you provide. Include any relevant certifications or licenses, and only display your best work.

Consider creating a personal website to serve as your portfolio and make you stand out. Journo Portfolio is a widely recognized platform that many freelancers use. It has both free and paid versions.

You can also create a website very cheaply (and sometimes even for free) using services like:

• Wix
• Squarespace
• WordPress

If you’re still early in your career and have little or no work experience, think about whether you have any hobby or school projects that you can clean up and showcase. If not, you could also just create something from scratch. Depending on your field, there may be paying gigs out there you can get with no experience whatsoever, so this isn’t absolutely necessary, but it can help.

6. Land your first client (and do a great job)

Many people start their freelance careers by finding clients on popular freelance platforms, such as:

• Upwork
• Fiverr
• Freelancer

Unfortunately, you’ll have to sort through a lot of low-paying jobs on these platforms. Once you’re established, you’ll probably be able to earn more elsewhere. However, you can use these sites temporarily to build your client base.

We chatted with one experienced freelancer, Jacqueline Samaroo, who mainly lands jobs through Upwork. She recommended putting extra effort into your profile to stand out from the crowd of freelancers who are willing to work for very little money.

“Focus on how you present yourself—skills, experience, offerings—in your profile,” she said. “Make use of all of the different ways in which you can showcase these. Some freelancers add a video … be sure to check out other freelancers’ profiles and the Upwork Community boards for ideas and suggestions on how to improve your profile.”

In addition to finding work on freelance platforms, you can also advertise your services to family members and friends and send personalized cold emails to companies.

Remember that freelancing for a client isn’t always a one-off gig. Many of the best clients are repeat clients. In addition to providing ongoing work, they might also recommend you to other people in their industry.

“It may be slow going (and likely disheartening) at first, but stick with it,” Samaroo told us. “My top tip is to provide top-quality work every time and back it up with stellar customer service by being polite, professional, and adaptable.”

7. Continue to hone your skills

Once you’ve landed a few clients, give yourself a pat on the back. Getting a freelance career off the ground is a significant accomplishment.

It’s important not to rest on your laurels, though. Make sure to keep on improving your skills and educating yourself on the latest trends in your field. Only by consistently improving can you keep yourself in the game.

In some fields, it can be helpful to take courses or obtain certifications related to your job. For instance, many proofreaders earn online proofreading certificates from institutions like Proofread Anywhere.

In addition to working on your hard skills, it’s also important to develop your soft skills. Some of the most important skills to master as a freelancer are communication, critical thinking, adaptability, time management, and attention to detail.

As a freelancer, you’re essentially managing a one-person business. While being your own boss can be liberating, the stress of running a business can gradually creep up on you.

Before you commit to freelancing, take a moment to learn about the advantages and disadvantages of this type of work to see if it’s for you.

Pros of being a freelancer

As you can imagine, being a freelancer will give you a lot more independence. You can set your own hours, decide how much work you want to take on, and do your job from anywhere you want.

Being a freelancer also means there are no limits on how big you can grow your business. That’s entirely up to you and how much time and effort you want to sink into it.

Cons of being a freelancer

Being a freelancer means you won’t get employee benefits, which often include paid time off, health and life insurance, and retirement benefits.

Moreover, being a freelancer is a lot more work than being an employee. You’ll have to handle every aspect of your business yourself, including meeting deadlines, invoicing clients, and negotiating your rates. If you’re a graphic designer, for instance, you can’t just put your head down and focus on your design work—entire days and even weeks may go by when you have to focus more on administrative tasks.

You’ll need to ensure you can land consistent work and are making a reliable income. You’ll also be responsible for paying both income tax and any self-employment taxes that apply to you (for example, you’ll have to pay a 15.3% Social Security and Medicare tax). 1

The bottom line is that while freelancing is a dream for many people, it isn’t completely idyllic. Starting a freelance gig and keeping it going is hard work. However, if you’re willing to put in enough time and energy, it’s a great way to earn extra money or take control of your career.