How to Freelance Course (How To)

One of the many ways you can make money off your technical skills is to branch off on your own and freelance. Freelancing and running your own business can be a very rewarding and fulfilling life with exciting projects and great clients but there are lots of things to learn. In this project we are going to look at how you can get started, where you can find clients, what you should be charging, and how to manage your first project.

What you'll learn

• How to start a freelancing business
• How to find work, write proposals and pitch to clients
• How to price work and get paid on time
• How to manage projects and time by communicating effectively with clients
• How to build your brand

Starting a Freelance Career

Starting your freelance career can be a daunting task with plenty of uncertainty. While technical skills are certainly required to freelance, understanding what is involved will help ease the transition. In this stage, we're going to go over the pros and cons of freelancing, what to expect of yourself and how you can get started.

Chevron 5 steps

• Introduction

  1:08

• Pros and Cons of Freelancing

  3:44

• Initial Considerations

  3:34

• Self Assessment

  4:04

• Starting a Freelance Career

  5 questions

Finding Your First Project

For first time freelancers, finding that initial job can be both an emotional and financial mountain to climb. Don't worry, there’s always work to be found and in this stage we're going to cover how you can find your first job, and how to approach a project once you've found a client.

Chevron 6 steps

• Finding Your First Job

  4:35

• Understanding Client Goals

  4:49

• Finding Your First Job & Understanding Your Client

  5 questions

• Target Audience & Feature Requests

  4:19

• Administrative Details

  3:09

• The Rest of the Questionnaire

  5 questions

Pricing and Project Proposals

Convincing a client to hire you for a project means delivering a proper project proposal and quote. In this stage we go over how you can put together a good proposal and quote. We also answer one of the most common freelance questions: What should you charge for your work?

Chevron 8 steps

• Freelance Pricing Models

  6:46

• Establishing a Baseline Price

  4:02

• Pricing Models & Baseline Prices

  5 questions

• Pricing Mistakes

  4:50

• Writing a Project Proposal

  5:04

• Project Specifics and Quote

  4:06

• Crafting an Effective Pitch

  2:32

• Project Proposals

  5 questions

Establishing a Proper Workflow

As a freelancer it is up to you to handle all aspects of your business. You not only have to work on your projects, but you also have to set aside time for non project related work. In this set of videos, we’ll take a look at how you can effectively manage your time, how to plan for future work, and how to get administrative tasks like invoicing done efficiently.

Chevron 8 steps

• Breaking Down a Project: Part 1

  6:40

• Breaking Down a Project: Part 2

  6:13

• Managing Your Time

  5:40

• Breaking Down a Project and Managing Your Time

  5 questions

• Non Project Activities

  6:30

• Review and Approval

  4:20

• Basic Invoicing

  7:36

• Establishing a Proper Workflow

  6 questions

Protecting Yourself With Contracts

Throughout your freelance career, you will come across many situations where you need to enforce or protect your interests and work. Contracts are a useful and necessary tool in helping achieve these objectives and in this stage, we’re going to understand what contracts mean and the different types of contracts out there. We’ll also look at what are the most important sections we should be including in our contracts so we can protect ourselves to the best of our abilities.

Chevron 7 steps

• The Importance of Contracts

  4:00

• Different Types of Contracts

  2:28

• Key Sections of a Contract

  2:20

• Clauses Regarding Payment

  6:21

• Copyright & Other Legal Issues

  5:02

• Loose Ends

  2:39

• Contracts

  8 questions

Creating a Long Term Business

Once you have mastered the basics, it's time to plan for the future. It is very important to protect yourself as a freelancer and to make sure your books are in order. In this final stage, we will cover how to create a basic company to protect yourself, and take a look at how to plan for your taxes.

Chevron 5 steps

• Forming a Company

  2:15

• Business Entity Choices

  7:16

• Bookkeeping & Taxes

  7:51

• Wrap Up

  1:16

• Forming a Company & Business Entities

  5 questions