Lately, millions and millions of people are beginning to work online and start their own businesses but, starting is a huge struggle and most of them give up thinking that they will never succeed and that they are "too late to the party".

Those people miss out on some of the most important factors in being a successful freelancer.

Show others who you are (Build your portfolio)

Being a freelancer is way more different than being an employed worker at a physical place/company since in order to get employed you either need a school certificate, degree, or a history of work and experience before you get hired but, as a freelancer, you are able to get your dream job by building your portfolio and presenting it to your future clients.

Knowing that, you need to focus on making your portfolio the best it can possibly be in order to stand out from the competition and show your clients that you are what they need.

A great place for building a portfolio can be your social media or website.

Using your social media as a portfolio can be a great way to attract your future clients and build an audience.

If you have a large following, it's easier to seem more trusted and reliable than someone who has a small following.

For Graphic designers and creatives, Instagram is the go-to platform, because Instagram is visual-based, where beautiful and catchy pictures win the game.

For Text-based creators (bloggers, writers, etc.) Facebook and Linkedin could be their preferred platforms since Linkedin offers options like article posts, PDFs, etc. and on Facebook (unlike Instagram), you can write long articles and posts without a need for any pictures.

A website can also be a great way to showcase your portfolio of work and be professional.

But unlike social media, in most cases, a website is not free, and it requires a lot of work to make it look good and attractive.

Make a proper strategy

Making a good business strategy is not always easy, and can take a long time before you know what actually works for your business but, it cannot be ignored! And because the business strategy is so important, we wrote an entire article called: "How to Create a Successful Business Strategy?".

Business strategy is made by writing a set of goals that you want to accomplish in a certain period and figuring out the best and cheapest ways to accomplish them.

Example: I want to have 10k followers on Instagram by the end of the year.

After setting a goal, your steps may be: Increasing the quality of your content, posting daily, engaging with your audience, commenting, advertising, etc.

You need to be stubborn about your ideas and dreams, but flexible on the details. Your dreams are something you should take seriously and never give up on, but the details need to be flexible in order to succeed because there will always be some part of your strategy that won't bring the best results.

Don't ignore the competition!

Observing what others in your niche are doing is a great way to know your competition, set your prices, and grow your business.

Example: If you are a Logo designer or web designer on Upwork, you need to observe what the top freelancers are doing that makes them successful. Some might be using their Top Rated tag to seem more reliable, some use high-quality video introductions, keywords, etc.

While monitoring what others are doing, avoid making the mistake of copying their work word by word. That can negatively affect your reputation since people always notice a copy🐱.

Be patient

Being patient is not always easy... We all make the mistake of thinking that our services are bad and that we won't succeed because we are not being successful right at this moment.

Working smart and being patient never failed anyone, so don't rush, and focus on the long-term goals.

Conclusion:

- You don't need to go to any fancy school or have years of experience to get your dream job as a freelancer, just focus on your portfolio and present your skills the best way you can.

- Making a strong and realistic growth strategy is crucial to achieving your dreams, and always standing back to observe what works and what needs to be changed.

- Monitoring what others are doing can help you immensely when setting a price, searching for ideas, and planning your strategy but, don't copy their work. Be original.

- Lastly, be patient! Never give up on your dreams but, know that everything good takes time and effort.