Starting to Freelance. What are your lessons learned and advice?

Hello,

Recently started trying out Elance and Odesk to generate some income but I have not seen much success yet. I would love to have a discussion about people experience with freelancing and how it was like for them their first couple months of working online?

 

The most important lesson - DELIVER YOUR CUSTOMER EXACTLY WHAT THEY NEED & PRICE SHOULD BE VERY VERY COMPETITIVE!

 

The number factor I decide to hire a freelancer is that He/she has the sample I need !
Example: I am looking for a sales page for a product
There would be many freelancers sending their proposals but I only choose the one who has much experience in MY niche and he is familiar to my requirement, yes I'll look at his sample work an click the Hire buttom right away!

Through this case, you know the important of "sample work"
Donot hesitate to send your "sample" that meets the boss's criteria

 

From what I have seen over the last month or so of trying to get jobs the issue is showing that you do have experience because sites like Elancer have you set up only displaying the amount of jobs that you have done through elancer therefore when you are new you have 0 jobs which appears as 0 experience. How do you suggest breaking through this period?

 

Much depends on your reputation, so do your best to provide the same quality every time. You should remember that it's almost impossible to rebuild your tarnished reputation

 

Do your best to build a good profile, apply into many jobs you see yourself fit to do and make sure to deliver.

 

Spot on. The other comments are helpful, but if you're like most freelancer's starting out, getting your first few jobs to help build your status is important.

Make sure you've padded your profile out with good content; Good intro's, good sales pitches, show off your previous work. You'll find once you get a few jobs and you start to get your ratings up, jobs will become easier to come by. Having a bullet proof profile to start out with helps. Perception is key.

 

I will offer a good price and deliver what the customer need at the beginning stage. Once i build up the reputation, then only i increase the price

 

Competition on Freelancing sites is getting tougher and tougher. For one to be successful in this field he needs to have a killer portfolio. If you are going to start fresh I'd advice you to go with an entry level rate at first and build your reputation - as you build your reputation you can eventually raise it.

 

Any advice for getting local clients? I usually have to make calls and advertise on Craigslist if I want local clients, but still, I find it harder to land local projects in comparison to getting projects on Elance, oDesk, etc.

 

Don't turn away the little jobs, the rapport can you get bigger business later on.

 

I wouldn't say that, no. First of all deliver your customer MORE than what they need/asked is a sure method to gain reputation quicker and subsequently - land better jobs. Perfectionism is key, even if its not required by you, it should be a standard in your work.

As for the price, its a tricky matter and I guess it works differently for different types of people. But most importantly you have to know your value. If freelancing would not be your main source of income you can try and start with lower rates and as you gain experience you will steadily raise them. That doesn't mean that you have to accept all jobs or always be flexible for negotiations. Customer wants 10 unique and grammar-checked articles, 700 words each for a grand total of 20 bucks? Good luck with that! And you will find MANY clients that try to exploit you for the lowest possible price. With time you will just learn to recognize them while you're reading their job posting and avoid them accordingly

 

It is like a sea with boat once new it is tough you will face tough times but long run you will be ok any trade any market you see this i have no complaints

 

I'm not sure about ODesk and other freelancing sites. Honestly, I think bidding is very time consuming. I found my clients mostly in forums and social media. And classified ads as well.

 

As a person who does buy services from those sites, I can see why it can be hard for newcomers. Businesses using freelance sites want to see experience and history -- obviously difficult for those new on those sites. Probably the best tip is to have really low prices to build up history and a portfolio, then increase prices as experience grows.

 

I would like to thank you all for your responses. I can see the value in delivering not only what my customers want but MORE!! This openness is one of the things I love most about digital point. I am interested to hear more about some of the alternative ways of getting jobs such as forums and locals. In regards to freelancing sites I will stick to the plan of offering cheap deals then build a reputation before I raise prices.

 

Best advice i got from someone who is very experienced as freelancer from odesk is to take an hourly job. Avoid fixed price jobs if you don't want to be scammed. I have to emphasize this for all freelancers..

Take this advice seriously!

 

What service are you providing?

 

No offense meant to you or anyone but I'm not sure this is the best place to ask this. This forum seems too skewed to people just looking for the cheapest labor possible. I don't find that selling cheap to build a reputation works, at least not with these types of people -- when you raise your prices they'll just move on to the next beginner who isn't familiar with the market and is undervaluing their services.

Trying to compete on sites like Odesk and Elance as your first experience might also give you a skewed idea about your value since they're so flooded with people in developing countries selling their services for peanuts.

What is it you do, exactly?

 

My advice: DON'T GIVE UP! You will get in the situation where you will think that giving up is the only reasonable option. That is when it really gets tough.