How to Start Freelancing SOON

This post originally appeared at www.freelancingwahmmy.wordpress.com on February 23, 2012

This blog has been up for almost a month now, but this will be the first time that I'll be writing on it. I have been very busy with many things-- Bunch landed a new job and we have to adjust to the changes in our schedule and routines, Isha's beginning to learn a lot of things (and they're making me crazy!), lots of cleaning up to do around our new apartment and I'm studying Social Media for a couple of projects on the subject. It was really difficult to find time to blog, but I have to. I promised my friends that I'll blog about working from home. I also promised myself that I'm going to commit to a one-post-per-week schedule on this blog. So, here I am; typing my way to my first blog post on this page and completely forgetting about the typical 'welcome post' aka 'hello world'.

Welcome to my blog. I am Clarisse and I am a 'freelancing mommy'. I'll craft an About Me page soon but while that's not ready yet; let me just say that I am happy work-at-home-mom. That's me and that's what this blog is going to be all about.

A couple of friends asked me to guide them in jumpstarting their freelance careers. I really want to help them, but my schedule won't allow me to so instead of waiting for my schedule to loosen a bit; I decided to write a blog post on how to start freelancing. This post is just a brief guide to give readers an overview about freelancing. I'll be writing a series of posts about this in the future so I hope you can come back to this page to read them, too.

Enough of my storytelling. You're here because you're looking for a great resource that can help you start a career from home soon. Let me give you exactly what you came here for. Below is a step-by-step guide to help you start freelancing soon;

1. List down your skills and determine the services that you can offer

Freelancing is a significant improvement on how people work today and how they will work in the future. You can offer all sorts of services to clients from around the globe provided that you're really qualified to offer these services. Therefore, you have to examine your skills and determine your strengths. Are you good at writing? Do you have strong customer service skills? Can you sell a pen to someone who has the same kind of pen that you're selling? If you're good at writing, then you can be a freelance writer. If you're good at customer service then you can be a customer support associate who works from home. If you're good at selling stuff then telemarketing may be for you. Different people have different skills. Your skills will determine what you'll do as a freelancer.

2. Use freelance bidding sites

Freelance bidding sites like oDesk, Elance and Guru can help jumpstart your freelance career. Employers visit these sites to post job ads for freelancers to see, review and place bids on. Employers decide who to pick and when to pick to get the job done. These sites help you find your market while you're not yet ready to search for clients on your own. They also offer tools like payment systems, automated reports, time tracking, etc.

3. Prepare a work portfolio

I find this to be a must-have as a freelance writer. This is one of the reasons I blog. Clients would want to know if you're really a good fit for a job before they hire you so there's a big chance that they'll ask for work samples. Be prepared. Freelance writers can start writing a blog to showcase their writing skills to clients. Freelance Web Designers can show samples of sites they've designed. Managers can craft an online resume that will detail their work experiences. They can even use LinkedIn for this purpose! No matter what you decide to do, make sure to prepare proof to your claims. This is what your work portfolio is for.

4. Just do it

Signing up with freelance bidding sites can be a bit scary especially if you're not sure of what you're doing. You may also be clueless on how to create your work portfolio-- these should not stop you. It need not be perfect the first time. If you'd like to be a freelancer, then just take the plunge. When I started, I didn't have anyone to guide me. I just decided that I want it and so I started doing it. I just learned everything along the way. I am not suggesting that you do the same though. There are tons of resources about this on the Web; you can read them. You may also visit this blog next week for a post about how to become an oDesk provider.

Finally, keep in mind that freelancing takes work. If you want to learn it; you have got to study it. You have to remember this all throughout your freelance career. You'll find out why soon.

I hope you learned something from this post. If you have questions or if you're a fellow freelancer who'd like to share your thoughts, please leave your comments. I'll be happy to respond to them.

Happy Freelancing!