Freelancing exchange for beginners and 5 mistakes when starting to work on it

Elena Zaglyadkina EXPERT

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A freelancer is a person who works for himself. He carries out one-time or regular orders, providing services in various fields of activity: writing texts, programming, layout, design, and solving any other problems. And all this happens remotely, via the Internet. In this article we will talk about what is needed to start such an activity, and whether a beginner can become a successful freelancer.

What do you need for work?

Freelancing, like any other type of activity, requires preparation. It would seem that it is enough to have free time and a computer connected to the Internet, and money will flow like a river - this is not so.

Financial cushion

You need to think about the near future, and take care in advance of forming a cash reserve, which will be enough to live for at least six months, and ideally for a year.

It is best to start working as a freelancer with a regular and stable income. At first, you need to try to combine your main job and freelancing until you develop a customer base, portfolio and the necessary skills.

Once you are confidently “getting on your feet”, orders become regular and highly paid, you can think about freelancing as the main type of employment.

Prepare your workplace

The most necessary tools for work are a computer and a notebook, but this is not enough for comfortable and effective freelancing. Make sure that you always have high-speed Internet and the necessary peripheral devices at your disposal: a webcam, a headset with a microphone, possibly an MFP.

You must install all the necessary software on your computer. Firstly, instant messengers, Skype or any other applications necessary to communicate with customers. Secondly, specialized programs. For example, if you are a designer, then you need Photoshop or some other tools for working with images. If you plan to work as a copywriter, you will need text editors, etc.

An equally important point is the work environment. If you work from home, try to organize your workplace so that no one will distract you, so that household noises do not disturb you, and so on. In addition, the work must be physically comfortable. You won’t be able to sit on a hard stool all day; you need to buy some kind of office chair, preferably an orthopedic one.

Register the necessary accounts

So, you already have a financial cushion and a fully prepared workplace. It seems like it's time to get to work.

To do this, you need to register accounts on social networks and freelance exchanges. You should also create wallets in payment systems to carry out financial settlements with customers.

Create personal pages on social networks: Vkontakte, Facebook, Instagram. Your page is your business card, so try to fill it out correctly;
Register mailboxes for work. The best email services: Yandex and Gmail;
Create wallets in payment systems: WebMoney, Yandex.Money, Qiwi, Paypal;
Register on freelance exchanges: Workzilla, , Freelance, Freelancehunt. Fill in all the required information about yourself. These accounts are also your business cards.

Advantages and disadvantages of freelancing

Working as a freelancer is quite an exciting and profitable activity, which has its own advantages:

You can work from home;
The schedule is free;
No need to waste time traveling to and from work;
Work can be combined with personal affairs, for example, many mothers on maternity leave engage in freelancing;
There is no connection to a specific city; orders can come from all over the world.

But there are also disadvantages, by the way, very significant ones:

Finding customers is the job of the freelancer himself. I found a job and made money. If you don’t find it, there’s no money;
There are no guarantees. The customer can either pay for the work or refuse it because he is not satisfied with the result;
It’s hardest for a beginner freelancer. There are no developed skills, portfolio, or ratings on freelance exchanges. You will need to try to convince the customer that it is you who should give the order;
The rule “the customer is always right” is very clear. And even if it seems to you that you did an excellent job, and the customer does not agree with this, he will remain right;
A free schedule is not entirely free. More precisely, not free at all. Customers set deadlines, and they cannot be violated. Sometimes you have to work passionately, at night, just to get it done;
Unforeseen expenses arise. You took on an order, but during the process it turned out that some additional software, etc., will be required to complete it. It's your problems.

How much can you earn

This question cannot be answered definitely and confidently. The amount of income depends on many factors, for example, on the amount of time you are willing to devote to work, on your experience, skills, and reputation. Beginning freelancers do work for little money, while specialists with experience and high ratings on exchanges can charge a completely different price for the same work.

It is equally important to learn how to present yourself and your services. If you manage to prove to the customer that only you can do the work the way he wants, then you can raise the rate within reasonable limits.

Taking all factors into account, freelancer salaries vary widely. Beginners can expect an income from $100 to $300, average freelancers receive about $500, and highly qualified specialists can earn several thousand dollars monthly.

You need to understand that order is different from order. There may be a month when you take on several inexpensive orders and spend a lot of time on them without making much money. Or perhaps you will be lucky and you will receive one order that will provide you with high income for a long time.

Who is suitable for working as a freelancer?

Many people are interested in how to work as a freelancer, but this type of activity is not suitable for everyone, since each freelancer must meet a number of criteria:

Qualifications - to offer their services, a freelancer must have some in-demand skill. This could be knowledge of a programming language, the ability to write texts, make logos or process videos. Many novice network users spend a huge amount of time on microtask services, selling their time for a very modest reward. And although unskilled work is a good freelancing option for a beginner, every freelancer should strive to do well-paid work in a narrow field. For a specialist who is well versed in any field, the payment is higher and the search for orders is easier.
Inclination for entrepreneurship. Any freelancing option on the Internet requires the ability to sell your services.
A typical situation: after hearing about the opportunity to earn more than 1,000 rubles per hour as a freelancer, a programmer quits, but a month later he looks for a new job in the office, since his services are not in demand remotely. It is not enough to be a good specialist; you must have the basics of marketing, management and business negotiations. Remember: before you complete an order, you still need to find it, and the lion’s share of time is spent on searching, which is not paid for by anyone.
Resilience to stress is a popular character trait that is often found in employer requirements. You need to understand that freelancing is constant stress. It is difficult to find a freelancer who has not encountered fraud, inadequate employer requirements, and outright rudeness. Often, the customer’s opinion about the work depends on his own mood, and not on your knowledge and skills.

What qualities does a freelancer need?

In order for freelancing to bring pleasure and profit at the same time, you need to constantly improve yourself and work on your habits and character.

Having left a good impression of yourself in the eyes of the customer, you can count on him to contact you again, but if you show yourself not at your best, you risk being left without a job. In addition, word of mouth works well on the Internet, and rumors about your shortcomings can quickly spread among customers.

The main qualities a freelancer needs to work successfully:

loyalty to the customer;
responsibility and punctuality;
desire to work and develop;
diligence, desire to complete the job, the way the customer wants it;
mobility, constant presence on the Internet, in touch with the customer;
timely response to comments, patience;
perseverance in the workplace.

How to complete a project so that the client becomes a regular

What does the customer want first? A suitable portfolio of projects and a reasonable price based on the price-quality ratio. Wants you to be constantly in touch.

But the main thing that the customer wants is to be heard, to be understood correctly, to do what is needed. Look at the project through the eyes of the client. In practice, few people do this, although it is obvious. Always think from the perspective of what he needs. Why does the client need what he asks for? It’s not what you want to sell him, but what he needs and can offer.

When you interact with clients from this position, they will evaluate it and draw their own conclusion. That you want to understand their problem and offer the best solution. Then either the order brings you a regular customer, or it becomes several times more expensive. Because you showed expertise.

If your expertise allows, evaluate the customer’s positions. Think about how much work there can be if the customer has such a task? If the volume can be wider, contact him with a proposal where this option is taken into account. Think about the pain points and problems he solves with the order. Think this way more often.

An important point that freelancers underestimate is that the client needs to be kept informed of the dynamics of the task. This will prove your level as a real pro. Try to communicate only in writing. When you write, the answer comes out thoughtful and clear.

The alternative proposal should be that you provide something useful and necessary. What he doesn't know about. When competing, the client will choose the one who understands best and thinks with him. There are few thinking freelancers - customers grab hold of them.

Choosing services

You need to think in advance about what services you plan to provide. If a specific specialty is close to you, for example, designer or copywriter, and you plan to develop your skills in this narrow direction, then things will go much faster.

If you have not yet decided on your future job, then it is better to do this before the “start”, while freelancing is not yet the main source of income, but a hobby. In this case, try yourself in different directions to understand which type of activity suits you best.

Popular areas of freelance work include:

copywriting, rewriting;
SEO promotion;
programming;
creation and development of websites;
Application Development;
working with images, design;
filling and administering communities on social networks;
provision of simple services.

How to start making money as a beginner freelancing - step-by-step instructions

It is better to study options for freelancing on the Internet on the exchange - where customers and performers meet. But even before that, you should decide on the type of service provided.

Jacks of all trades are not very popular in freelancing; you must offer a specific service - efficiently and quickly. Let's say it's writing articles.

It’s best to start your practical study of freelancing with the Kwork exchange.

Step 1

Go to the main page and assess the demand for your specialization. Just expand the appropriate category:

As you can see, a copywriter should not think about how to start freelancing from scratch, since there is a demand for writing articles, and it is huge - here is copywriting, selling texts, scripts, and proofreading.

Step 2

Create an account. To do this, pay attention to the top panel, find the “Registration” and click on it:

Step 3

Select the “Seller” (since on this exchange, freelancers are sellers of services, and customers are buyers) and enter your email. You can also log in through your VK or Facebook account:

Step 4

Select your login and password. Be extremely careful: your login is a short name that every customer will see. This is not a forum or a social network, do not create meaningless nicknames. If you have an idea, click “Register” :

Step 5

Confirm your registration using your email. Simply open the email you receive and click on the link. Next, you should fill out your profile so that customers can become more familiar not only with your proposals, but also with you as a person (we won’t dwell on this).

Step 6

Click the green “+Quark” and go to the Quark creation menu (this is what the services you are ready to perform are called here):

Step 7

The most important thing left is to create a description of your service and indicate the cost. Create a title, select a category, add a description and set a price. It is best to initially target your quark at a cost of 500 rubles. If you are just figuring out how to start freelancing as a beginner, then don’t chase big rewards.

Keep in mind that the exchange will take 100 rubles as a commission, so your real reward will be 400 rubles. In total, if you agree to 80 rubles for 1000 characters, create the following description: “I will write an article for 5000 characters”

Step 8

After adding an image, description and choosing a price, publish the quorq and wait for the reaction of buyers.

As we discussed above, all types of freelancing activities require an entrepreneurial approach; a smart solution would be to send out a link to your work through social networks, a personal blog or other means so that as many potential customers as possible learn about your offer.

Don’t be modest, perhaps your classmate just needs to regularly fill the blog with quality articles and will be happy to collaborate with you.

Also read the article on the topic “Top freelancing exchanges for beginners and professionals”

Determining competitive advantages

So, the services have been selected, now you need to present them to customers in a high-quality manner. To do this, you should analyze your competitors, study their work results, portfolio, and see if you can do better. More precisely, how to make it work better.

When communicating with customers, you need to immediately talk about your advantages, citing specific facts and examples.

After completing each order, do not hesitate to ask the customer to leave feedback. And put the result of your work in a portfolio.

The more competitive you are, the higher your prices can be.

Making a portfolio

A portfolio is a list of your works, based on which a potential client decides to cooperate. Therefore, having a portfolio is a must!

What to do if you have no work experience and nothing to show clients? Either work for free with the condition that you add work for the client to your portfolio, or for a very low fee. As a rule, if the employee does not ask for much, the first clients are found quickly. And then, as your portfolio fills and your professionalism grows, you can increase your fees.

Related articles:

How to make a virtual portfolio Let's tell you with examples what a good freelancer's portfolio should look like and where it can be placed.

Where can I post my portfolio for free? Review of special sites for posting freelance portfolios on the Internet.

How and with what should a beginning freelancer fill out a portfolio? There are no works for the portfolio - what to do in this case? Read our article!

We set prices and fill out the portfolio

This is perhaps the most difficult stage in becoming a freelancer. Initially, you will have to work at low prices, and sometimes for free. The main goal is to fill out the portfolio and get feedback from customers.

Analyze your competitors: what prices they set for their respective services. Set the price of your services a little lower. Warn the customer that you are working on a portfolio, which is why the price is the same. Many customers agree to have the result of their work published in the copywriter’s portfolio. Some are against it. Sometimes you have to offer to do work for free in exchange for publishing it in your portfolio.

But all this is only at the initial stage. Once you understand that you have something to provide to potential customers, set the price of your services at an adequate level that corresponds to the market.

The main rule of pricing: you don’t work for pennies, and the customer doesn’t think that your work is expensive. We need to try to find this golden mean.

How to get a large order

Just like a small one: respond to offers with large orders, prove your advantages to the customer and convince him to give the work to you.

But you need to understand some points that arise when working with large orders. The customer will not become your regular client. Most likely, your work with him is one-time in nature. For example, if you were ordered to develop a website costing $1000 or more, then it is unlikely that the customer will create new websites every month.

In addition, a large order can be very annoying financially. For example, if you are used to receiving money in small amounts, but regularly, then you need to be prepared for the fact that you will not receive the next payment soon, but only after completing the work 100%.

Freelancer on the Internet: some more general but important information

I gave you some background information and told you what a freelancer is in simple words. It would seem that everything is ready, we can proceed to the main part of the “narration”. Yes, but... no! There is also some general information that will be useful to all beginners.

Qualities and skills

List of main qualities:

self-confidence, but not self-confidence;
enterprise;
hard work;
desire to achieve goals;
enterprise;
flexibility;
responsibility for your actions and decisions.

And one more extremely necessary quality is the ability to work in a unique “multitasking” mode. For what? Even if you work in one direction, you should still be prepared for the fact that sooner or later you will have to conduct several projects in parallel.

Advice for the future! We'll talk about the specifics of the work later. But I’ll note right away - try to plan your work in such a way that you always have at least one project in your queue. Otherwise, having finished the current project, you risk being left without work and “idling” until you find the next one.

You definitely need to be able to plan your time correctly so as not to miss the deadlines agreed with the customer. When planning your work, be sure to add at least 20% of the time to the actual deadlines. In case of force majeure situation.

How to set the right price for your services

Interestingly, this issue concerns not only novice freelancers.
They are often asked by experienced freelance workers. First of all, you need to understand the true value of your profession. After all, it is clear that the salary levels of an experienced programmer and a novice copywriter are different. (Watch the video for just 15 minutes and you will learn how to make money from texts)

By the way! To be fair, it’s worth saying that really good, qualified copywriters who have a command of words earn quite a lot of money!

The best way to understand the approximate price level is to look through specialized forums. It usually indicates how much they are willing to pay newcomers. Another method is to determine how much an hour of work of a hired office employee costs and add 20-30% to this figure. This allowance includes your expenses for organizing the labor process:

payment for electricity;
Internet payment;
creation of a workplace;
purchasing office supplies, etc.

Based on the cost of an hour of work, estimate the total fee for the entire project.

How to know if freelancing is right for you

Very simple.
You should conduct a kind of research that will give answers to all your questions. 1) What are your motives?

Think about why you started thinking about working as a freelancer. If you are committed to change, it makes you feel positive, you are ready to completely change your life and take responsibility for your career, feel free to say goodbye to the office.

2) Think about what qualities and skills you have?

This is necessary in order to choose the right direction of activity. The vast majority are doing the same thing they did in the office. Others are learning a new profession. Fortunately, this is easy to do without leaving your usual office work. But in addition to professional skills, the following qualities are also important for a freelancer:

hard work;
determination;
ability to communicate with people;
the desire to find a common language even in difficult situations;
love for your work;
scrupulousness.

And also a desire to constantly acquire new knowledge and skills. Without them, you will stop developing and will quickly remain on the sidelines - you will be overtaken by other freelancers. They will be the ones who will receive the most “delicious” orders.

Review of popular freelance exchanges

There are many specialized platforms on the Internet where freelancers and clients find each other. Let's look at the most popular of them.

Work-zilla.com

One of the most popular freelance exchanges, where different areas of work are available: design, working with texts, programming and layout, website development and modification, assistance with simple tasks, etc.

Anyone can register on the site, but to start working, you need to pass a test on your knowledge of the rules of the service and pay for a quarterly subscription, which costs around 500 rubles.

It's not difficult to get a rating. To begin with, you can take simple tasks: make a call, translate audio into text, find information on the Internet, etc. The cost of such tasks ranges from 100 to 300 rubles.

After a freelancer’s account reaches the required rating, he will more often receive larger orders, the cost of which can exceed $1000. If you're lucky, you can run into a large order right away.

FL.ru

Another popular freelance exchange where you can find work in many different areas: website development, texts, design, translations, marketing, etc.

Anyone can register, but getting orders is easier for those freelancers who already have a portfolio. Therefore, it is better to come to the exchange already with some existing results.

Freelancehunt.com

Ukrainian freelance exchange, which has a lot of customers and freelancers. Having an advanced account on this exchange with reviews and ratings, you can forget what it means to search for a job. There will always be orders.

The main myth of freelancing

But if freelancing is so popular, why, then, do many people, after reading reviews about freelancing, still hesitate to consider remote freelancing as their main job? It's all about the main myth of freelancing, which says: there are a lot of freelancers, but there are very few worthwhile orders, so there is not enough work for everyone.

Tell me honestly: this is all nonsense, nonsense and complete nonsense. Yes, today more and more people are trying to find freelancing work, but the quality of work of most of them is so unsatisfactory that next time customers will think three times before contacting such unfortunate performers. Therefore, if you really want to engage in remote freelancing, strive to learn something new every day, develop, and gain useful experience. Work on mistakes and analyze written texts. But, more importantly, become a real professional in 2-3 selected topics - and you will always have a job.

Another common myth associated with freelancing is that working remotely, you won’t earn good money, and customers, most often, turn out to be scammers.

With the second part, everything is clear - scammers are everywhere, but this problem is solved by prepayment. A freelancer’s earnings directly depend on his level of professionalism, as well as his ability to adequately assess the cost of his work. With the first, everything is very clear - the higher your reputation among customers, the higher your potential income, the more often customers will turn to you for help. But the second factor is much less obvious.

How to organize your workplace and manage time

Efficiency, and therefore the amount of income, depends on the organization of the workplace and the process.

Try to set working hours for yourself in advance, for example, from 10 am to 6 pm, or any other period convenient for you. The main thing is to try not to disturb this time. Don't work more and don't work less. This way, you will be able to develop a routine and get used to completing work on time.

Also, take care of your workspace. You shouldn’t believe pictures on the Internet of freelancers working on the seashore or near a panoramic window in the huge, bright kitchen of a rich mansion.

Designate a work area in your home that will be comfortable for you and protect you from distractions. Try to make your workplace comfortable.

When communicating with a client, record the agreements reached. Take screenshots of conversations. If questions arise, resolve them immediately. This will reduce the time spent working on one order.

Don't recycle. Take breaks, stretch, go for walks. If you throw yourself into work headlong, professional burnout may occur. This will complicate the work process and create unpleasant moments.

Plan your work day. For example, in the morning you work on some small tasks, and in the afternoon you work on a large order. This will allow you to combine several tasks at the same time and increase labor efficiency.

Advice for beginning freelancers

And finally, some advice for those who are just starting their freelance career.

Don't be afraid of difficulties. Remember: any work is done by people. Why are you worse? But at the same time, sensibly assess your capabilities. If you are not a programmer, then you should not take an order for software development.
You should not rely on a single customer. You should always have alternative contacts in stock. Unforeseen circumstances may arise for one person, but you cannot remain without work.
You need to be prepared for a period of downtime and unemployment - this happens in freelancing. Therefore, it is better to always have a financial airbag.
Learn to say no. Customers are different. And for sure, you will meet people on your way who will ask you to do a lot of work for a meager reward. Learn to say no.

Freelancer from scratch: brief description of the main platforms

If you already roughly understand how to become a freelancer from scratch, but have not yet decided where exactly to look for orders, here is a brief description of the main exchanges. They present tasks for different specialists. Programmers, designers, copywriters, and photographers can find work here...

How to become a freelancer: fl.ru

Perhaps one of the most famous sites. Almost everyone who wants to become a freelancer and works in the IT field finds work here. The best specialists gather at the exchange; expensive orders are presented here. However, the level of competition is quite high.

A fair rating system allows you to understand how qualified a particular specialist is.

Weblancer

Another great site. If you are a freelancer from scratch, I recommend starting your career here. The site provides tasks for any specialist and any qualification.

The site administration monitors compliance with the rules and promptly responds to requests.

How to become a freelancer: Freelance

One of the oldest exchanges in the Russian-speaking segment of the Internet. A clear interface, a large number of tasks, targeting specialists of various types. In general, everything you need for full-fledged work, both for a beginner and an experienced specialist.

Kwork

Perhaps the youngest, but certainly one of the most modern sites, attracting with its unique approach. There really is a special system of communication and relationship between the customer and the employee.

How to become a freelancer: Text.ru

This is a purely text exchange. That is, you need to apply here by writing, correcting, and editing texts. There is also its own service for checking the uniqueness of a written article.

And many, many, many more...

And this is not a complete list of exchanges and platforms where tasks are presented for beginners and experienced freelancers. I note that many such sites will require you to pay for access to tasks. Some provide the opportunity to leave several free responses under orders. In general, the size of the service fee is not high. And it more than pays off even for beginners.