There are many allures which may draw you to becoming a freelancer: the flexible hours, working from home, picking and choosing your clients, setting your own wages; it all seems very attractive… and it is! If you get it right. There has long been a debate among us freelancers between diversification and specialisation, but I say it is a strategic blend of the two which creates a successful freelancer. Firstly, to start you must have a clear idea of who you are, what you do, what you offer, and what makes you as a freelancer more appealing to customers than your corporate competitors.
Who are you? You need to build a portfolio of work, either physical or online to demonstrate your knowledge in your chosen field but moreover that you can apply that knowledge. This portfolio will be the basis of your brand elements; your personality as a freelancer in the same way people associate corporate brands with certain semiotics (Starbucks bad, Body Shop good etc.. Paramount to this, personality is your professional online presence, not only across social media but in mentions on other sites too. You need to completely separate your personal and professional personalities and ensure that personal profiles are still suitable to be viewed by potential clients should they hunt you down past your high security settings. Your brand needs to be established before you approach potential clients (logos, fonts, colour codes, tag lines etc.) this can obviously evolve, but you need to look as though you are serious about your freelance work.
What do you do and what do you offer? This will also be led by your portfolio because customers like to see that you have completed similar work before. This may sound like you will be restricted, but in the beginning this is a good thing, don’t attempt to walk before you can run or you will fall to the back of the business card wallet. So to begin with, you will be specialised; stick to what you are best at. Do not try and offer multiple services at once when starting up, get a feel for what people need and then tailor as appropriate when you get a grasp of the work load you can handle and how much people are willing to pay. Do your research on prices, check out competitors (freelance and corporate) and pitch yourself slightly below the average price, this gives you an edge and means people are more likely to go with you as a start up. Once you have a strong set of clients who you are happy with and who are happy with you, and you are settled into your new routine you can consider diversification and stretching your legs into new markets and new services.
Why should they use a freelancer? As a newbie freelance the advantage to customers is that you have more time to devote to them to get projects off the ground. All of the reasons you want to be a freelancer are also beneficial for your clients and this needs to be communicated as part of your brand image. You are flexible, you are self sufficient (no need for office space, computer, expenses etc.), you are selective in who you work with which makes a client feel proud that you have chosen to work with them, and you are able to be flexible with pricing and can tailor work to suit the cash flow of your clients. So in regards to the specialisation/diversification argument; when it comes to freelance it is dependent on the individual and the context. It is easier to start as a specialist and diversify as your client base broadens… there is no point in offering something people aren’t willing to pay for.
On deciding whether freelancing is for you, you must consider the aspects of self-management, organisation, time-management and discipline. Believe it or not it is hard to say no as a freelancer, you need to be sure you can get the balance right to ensure you don’t end up snowed under or with no clients at all. As with most endeavours, setting yourself up as a freelancer takes a great deal of time and effort at the outset, but as long as you do it right it should be an easy ride and an easy life once those first clients are happy; the rest will roll in.