Before you look for clients, be clear about what freelancing really involves. People who start with the wrong picture often give up early, or fall for schemes that only look like work.
What freelancing is
A freelancer sells a specific service to clients, usually one project at a time or for a fixed number of hours each month. You might design a logo for a school, manage a church's Facebook page for three months, or type up an NGO's survey forms. When the work ends, the arrangement ends, unless the client hires you again.
Because nobody employs you, every business task falls on you:
- Finding work. No manager hands you tasks. You look for clients and convince them to hire you.
- Agreeing terms. You and the client decide what will be done, by when and for how much.
- Delivering. You manage your own time and meet your own deadlines.
- Getting paid. You send invoices, check payments arrive and follow up when they do not.
- Records and tax. You keep track of income and costs and deal with the tax office yourself.
How it differs from a salaried job
In a salaried job, someone pays you every month as long as you keep the job, and the employer handles things like tax deductions. As a freelancer, income can be uneven: a busy month can be followed by a quiet one. In return you choose your clients, can work for several at once and can build your own name.