Tips To Help You Build Successful Freelance Business

Building a successful freelance business can often seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. Whether you’re just starting out as a freelancer or looking to turn your side hustle into a full-time job, I wanted to share some of my tips on how to turn your passion into profit.

How To Find Freelance Clients

There a ton of opportunities out there for freelancers of all disciplines, you just need to go where the clients are. For my own personal business, I’ve found great success in nurturing existing clients and leveraging relationships other professionals in my industry. Always put a focus on building positive and impactful relationships with those around you and let them know that you are open to new opportunities. Word of mouth is a powerful thing!

Outside of existing relationships, you can also make quick connections through platforms like Facebook. Find out which groups your target clients belong to and then be active within those pages. Offering helpful advice, and your services when appropriate will start to build credibility within those channels and open a lot of doors for you. For more tips on how to find freelance clients, check out my blog 7 Tips To Help You Find Your Next Graphic Design Client. Don’t let the graphic design aspect scare you – the tips are adaptable to a variety of skill sets.

Starting A Small Business

Something that a lot of freelancers don’t think about is the business side of things. If your goal is to one day go solely freelance than you’re really an entrepreneur starting a small business. The admin and business development side of this can be less than glamorous but it’s pivotal to your success. Some things you will need to tackle include:

– Defining your goals and finding your niche
– Developing a website or online portfolio to showcase your skill set
– Building out your branding materials including a logo and business cards
– Putting together a listing of services and building out a corresponding pricing strategy
– Learning basic bookkeeping including how to invoice, accept payment and budget for business-related expenses

Be Confident In Marketing Yourself

I want to let you in on a little secret. You don’t need to be a marketer by trade to expand the reach of your freelance business. And you certainly don’t need to run a massive marketing campaign to find clients. There are a ton of low-cost ways to get yourself out there and reach potential clients.

Build up your Instagram channel with eye-catching graphics, clever captions and high performing hashtags. Be a thought leader and create informative blogs that educate people on your topics of expertise. Create freebies or downloadable templates that are geared towards helping people find solutions. Last but certainly not least, find a way to stand out from the crowd. Be you. Be unique and always, always, always find new and creative ways to promote yourself!

Freelancers Need To Be Committed To Continual Learning

Things are continually evolving, and at a faster rate than ever before so it’s critical that you keep on top of emerging trends. If you’re involved in web design, you’ll need to stay up-to-date on accessibility guidelines for both smaller, private companies and larger or public sector organizations. Or maybe you’re a copywriter, in that case, you’ll need to keep up with best practices based on the channels that you write for. Perhaps you’re a search specialist and need to keep current on changes to the algorithms affecting search engine optimization (SEO) are. I highly recommend that you find a mentor and forge close ties with other professionals within your community so that you can leverage and learn from one another.

Building a business can be incredibly challenging but you don’t have to go it alone! I’m here for you and want to mentor you through one of the most exciting endeavours of your career. Turn your side hustle into a successful freelance business, with my online course Passion To Profit! Each module is dedicated to helping you make strategic moves, avoid common mistakes and most importantly grow a successful business!

Sara Nagy is a web and graphic designer with a background in fine art and business. Her work is driven by her freelance clients as well as her own personal goals to support those wishing to achieve similar freelance freedom. Sara founded Sara Nagy Design 3 years ago and refers to the basics of creativity to infuse her work with clarity, originality, and authenticity. She aims to make a strong visual impact by combining her own personal style with that of the people she works with.

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