If you’ve ever wanted to make your first dollar on your own, I have a treat for you my friend.
My book has been turned into a course!
You don’t have to go to Amazon to spend your hard-earned money. You can grab the course by just reading below. How sweet is that?
This is for those of you that are low on money, cheap, or just don’t feel like paying.
This is for anyone that wants to make an extra $100, $50 , $1000, or even $5,000 per month from freelancing.
This isn’t for those that like to make excuses or don’t want to put the work in. Sorry!
This is my best material out there on freelancing. You get this report for free! Let’s get started with some questions.
What do you need to start freelancing right now?
Where do I start?
What do I do?
How do I make money from freelancing?
How do I finally get some more money?
That’s what’s likely on your mind. I understand. The whole point of this book is to help you make your first dollar from freelancing.
Let’s start off by simplifying this whole freelancing thing.
All you need to start making money through freelancing right now:
Your product or service.
You need to offer something that you’re going to sell to your potential target market. This could be a physical product or a digital item. This can also be a service (freelance writing or personal training).
It also helps to put together a juicy offer based on what you’re selling. Maybe tell a story around it or make the offer so enticing that readers just can’t refuse it.
Customers.
Who’s going to pay you?
You need someone to offer your product or service to. If you have a service but nobody to sell to, then you don’t have much of a chance making any money through freelancing.
The good news is that finding customers is easier than ever. You can check out Kijiji, do a quick Twitter search, or scan Google to see if you even have a market.
You either need to switch where you’re looking or switch your service if you can’t find any customers.
A way to get paid.
How are you going to get paid? You need a way to get paid.
If you do work in person you can charge cash or check.
When you do work online you’re going to need a Paypal account.
A quick note on Paypal: It’s safe to connect your Paypal account with your bank account. I did this a long time ago and I can’t recall any issues.
Now you’re ready to be a freelancer. It’s that simple. You don’t need to invest thousands of dollars to start making money.
You’re ahead of the game if you follow these three steps alone.
###
Freelancing 101: What you need to know before you waste a second of time.
“Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you ought to set up a life you don’t need to escape from.” — Seth Godin
Do you want to start making money by using your skills?
Do you want some extra money to crush that debt?
Do you want to find a gig that’s flexible with your active social life?
This is the guide is for you if you answered yes to any of those points.
We’re going to start off by looking at general freelancing and what you need to know to get started. I’ve been doing freelance writing and various freelance tasks online for many years now. I started my first site in late-2008.
I wanted to share important information on freelance work before you go out there and try to make as much money as possible. No sense in wasting time.
How’s freelancing different from starting an online business?
When you work as a freelancer you perform a service for a fee. You work for a project fee or an hourly rate. You do your work and that’s your only commitment.
Starting an online business is totally different. You’re responsible for everything. An online business is just like an offline business. You might have to hire a freelance web designer, a freelance writer, and freelance SEO consultant. As a freelancer, you do your work, get paid, and move on.
I personally do both because I can’t just focus on one thing!
Why freelance?
You focus on the work and only the work when you’re a freelancer.
When you run any sort of business (online or offline), you have to deal with every single aspect of running a business. You have to deal with clients, marketing, taxes, accounting, and so. When you do freelance work you focus on what needs to get done. You charge your rate and you get out.
Are there any setbacks to freelancing?
As beneficial as freelancing is, there are a few setbacks.
The first obvious setback is that you don’t have the opportunity to make as much money as the business owner does. You only get paid for the work that you do.
When you run an online business, you have the opportunity to earn much more revenue.
The other main negative of freelance work is the steady income aspect. You don’t have a steady pay check, the work is random, and you’re responsible for your own taxes. For some of us this really isn’t a big deal. For others this is what’s holding many from becoming online entrepreneurs.
Does freelancing as a side gig make sense?
Hell yeah.
I totally recommend freelancing on the side. I’m not one of those “visualize success, follow your passions” sort of people.
I believe in replacing your income before you think about quitting your job at all.
How are the working conditions as a freelancer?
The working conditions as a freelancer can be perfect for you if you’re ready to work and don’t get distracted by every little thing.
If you’re not ready for it, life can be hell as a freelancer. I’m speaking from experience on this one.
I’ve found myself far too many times scrambling last-minute to get my freelance work done.
When I first started my time management skills were horrible. I had this horrible habit of going out the night before I had freelance work due. Let’s just say that it’s not a great idea to be completely wasted trying to finish up a blog post.
Important questions for new freelancers are:
How do you work? You need to decide if you’re going to get your work done in the morning or in the evening time.
Where do you work? Where will you go to get things done? You can have an actual office setup, use the coffee shop, or keep your laptop on your lap as you watch tv.
Do you take holidays? Setting boundaries is important if you want to have any friends. If you don’t have any limitations you’ll never know when to stop or start working. You don’t want freelancing to ruin your social life.
You need to address those three questions before you even consider any sort of freelance work. Or you can attempt to wing it like I did (not recommended).
What are the common fears for becoming a freelancer?
There are two common fears when it comes to getting started with freelancing. What are these fears?
Money. We all need money to survive. Worrying about money will hold us back from doing anything cool. There are two simple solutions here. You can save up as much money as you can or you can take advantage of your youth. When you’re young you don’t have that many bills. You need to exploit this to get started in freelancing. If you have a family and real responsibilities, you need to save up and beef up your savings so you don’t have to worry about living in your van.
Fear of failure. The fear of failure holds us back from doing remarkable things. Why are we such cowards?
I love slapping the fear of failure across the face.
Whether you fail or succeed isn’t that important here. What matters is that you try. Trying gives you permission to try again!
I want to share two amazing quotes on dealing with the fear of failure:
“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy” – Dale Carnegie
“You wanna be afraid, really afraid, take a look at what your life’ll look like not if you try and fail… but if you keep on keeping on for decades. That’s the real nightmare scenario for most people.” – Jonathan Fields
Stop being afraid!
Before you make even $10 you might experience some of these of the aforementioned issues. The good news is that you’ll be able to crush them! Once you deal with these issues and make your first few dollars I want you to remember that feeling.
You’re going to feel amazing. Save this feeling and try to share it with others that are just getting started.
In the next section I’m going to show you how to land a freelance writing gig right now.
###
How to Find a Freelance Writing Gig
The easiest way to get started with any sort of freelance work is to start working right now and to find a freelance writing gig.
You can start making money right now from freelance writing. I want you to make your first $100 ASAP.
What if I want to make more money? That’s awesome. Let’s start off low and build ourselves up.
Here’s a reality check: you need to make a dollar before you can make a million dollars!
Are you ready to start making money by freelancing?
When I started Studenomics I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. I didn’t know anything about making money online nor did I have any clue that freelance writers would be in demand later on. We’re going to get into other freelance opportunities in this guide. This section is for those of you that want to start freelance writing.
How can you become a freelance writer?
Be active in forums.
Forums aren’t just for chatting and wasting time. You can easily find your first gig by being active in a forum.
How’s this possible? Most bloggers check out forums to chat about what’s relevant to them. This means that if a blogger is considering hiring a freelance writer, they’ll first mention it in the forum. If you’re an active member of this forum with a decent reputation, you can reach out to this blogger and offer your services.
I found my first writing gig when I noticed a forum member mentioned that they would be outsourcing writing. Before they could even get the ad posted, I sent them a message, and got the ball rolling.
You don’t have to actively be looking for work in forums. It just helps to keep an eye out for “looking to hire a freelance writer” threads that pop up.
Quick example: Long time reader Edward found a writing gig in a forum when he heard about a challenge for who can write the best guest piece. He was given $30 for writing an article.
Keep track of popular blogs in your niche.
What does keeping track of popular blogs have to do with anything?
You can find a blogger that needs to a hire a freelance writer but just doesn’t know it yet. Bloggers with a huge audience have a lot on their plate. Despite hearing about the passive income dream, most bloggers spend a ton of time on responding to emails, generating content, and dealing with admin-related tasks.
How can you tell if a blogger might need a freelance writer?
The website clearly makes money.
They seem burned out.
They haven’t been posting as regularly as before.
The author has received a promotion at their day job.
The blogger has just had a child or gotten married or any other major life event.
The articles are no longer the same.
If you notice any of the signs mentioned above, I highly recommend that you reach out to the blogger to see if they would be interested in hiring a freelance writer.
Not every single person you email will be interested. Some will be interested in a trial basis, some will ask for a few guest posts first, and others will flat out turn down your offer.
If you don’t ask the answer is always no.
I actually ended up hiring a freelance writer for one of my other blogs this way. They reached out to me and asked if I needed another writer. I needed another writer. I just didn’t know where to look. Turns out I didn’t have to look anywhere. They found me.
Search online job boards.
There are many job boards out there for those that want to find freelance work. I personally haven’t used any of these. I’ve heard from other freelancers that there’s a decent amount of well paying gigs available out there.
ProBlogger has a popular job board and there are many others that you can check out.
The main problem is that job boards are just like regular job postings. You’re going to be competing with a bunch of other desperate freelancers looking to work for the lowest price. And the best jobs might not ever get posted.
Offer your services on your own blog.
If you happen to have your own blog and want to become a freelance writer as well, then I recommend that you put up a post on your blog offering your services. I’ve seen “hire me” posts going up on many smaller personal finance blogs (and other niches). You never know who reads your blog or who’s in the market to hire a freelance writer. It’s worth a try, especially since it only takes a few minutes to put up one of these posts.
The obvious key here is that I’m assuming you already have some sort of a blog setup.
That’s how you can find a freelance writing gig right now. If you’re interested in making money through freelancing right now then I highly recommend that you close this guide and go after your first paid gig. Once you land a few paid jobs, you can then consider upgrading your product offering (and your prices!).
“Catch a man a fish, and you can sell it to him. Teach a man to fish, and you ruin a wonderful business opportunity.” – Karl Marx
###
Let’s Solve Your Most Common Freelancing Problems
At this point I’m going to assume that you’re already freelancing and making a little bit of money.
Now after a few weeks you realize that some problems are creeping up on you. This whole freelancing thing isn’t exactly how you expected it to be. You’re running into random dilemmas that you never expected. You can call it quits and go back to your normal life… or you can destroy these common freelancing problems and keep on making money!
What are common freelancing problems that need to be crushed right now?
Problem #1: Naming your business or whatever you want to call it.
Many freelancers will actually struggle with naming their business or blog. Seriously.
Why the struggle with finding a name? Branding. We’re all constantly told that we need to “brand” ourselves and “create a brand.”
The truth is that your name or your brand is the minor issue here. All that matters is that you solve problems where people are willing to pay for solutions.
Do you go for a keyword heavy name? Do you try to think of something catchy that encompasses your brand?
Your decision for a freelance business name should come down to two sides:
Personalized or non-personalized name.
You can create a name that’s personal to you. On the other hand, you can you put together a name that’s full of keywords. Studenomics is not exactly something that readers are searching for on Google. I could’ve used “StudentFinances” or something along those lines. The reason that I chose Studenomics is that I wanted a catchy name.
What’s the solution to this freelancing problem? Just decide on a name and move on with your life. Why dwell?
Problem #2: Being stuck in an endless rut.
There will be many low periods in your freelancing career. When you hit these lows you’re going to feel like quitting or that you’re just not cut out for this line of work.
I don’t want you to give up on freelancing. I want you to have more money and less stress. Yes to money. No to stress.
“Anxiety doesn’t protect you from danger, but from doing great things. It keeps you awake at night and foretells a future that’s not going to happen.” — Seth Godin
How can you get over a slow period in freelancing?
Join a community. The power of community and friends pushing you can be all that you need in your first few months of freelancing. Trust me, your issues are not exclusive to you.
Practice and get better. Maybe you’re not getting the results that you want because you’re just not as good as you should be. You need to keep on practicing until you know exactly what you’re doing and you’re impossible to not hire.
Take a break. Dealing with a full-time job, other commitments, and your new freelancing business can cause some serious stress. You might have to take a quick breather. Maybe a vacation from work? Maybe a little more sleep? Maybe a weekend off?
Switch gears. You can’t convince someone that they have a problem. You’re better off finding those that have a problem and are looking for a solution.
That’s how you can lift yourself up. You can also email me md at studenomics.com and I’ll get you going.
Problem #3: Dealing with stressful clients.
You’re going to come across many problematic clients. You need to learn how to deal with these clients so that you can thrive as a freelancer.
What problem clients should you expect as a freelancer with clients?
Micro-managers who want to control you. You know what you’re good at, but the micro-managing client won’t feel the same way. They’re going to want to have their hands on everything.
Complainers. You’re going to have those clients that complain about you and about previous freelancers. They just complain for the sake of complaining. They hate the world.
Money-oriented. If the first question is always structured around the cost, you know that this client doesn’t care for value. That’s a warning sign right away.
Problem clients won’t go away and they will always exist. The good news is that you can always deal with them. The truth is that you might want to avoid the aforementioned problem clients. You can also fire problem clients.
Tim Ferriss said it best on dealing with customers/clients:
“Remember, more customers is not automatically more income. More customers is not the goal and often translate into 90% more housekeeping and a paltry 1-3% increase in income.”
You have to remember that there’s an abundance of great clients out there. You don’t have to stress by dealing with problem clients. You’re never going to enjoy your freelancing career this way. I want you to be able to find work that you enjoy. I don’t want you to create more stress for yourself.
I suggest that you avoid problem clients altogether and go after those that truly want your help. This is the approach that I’ve taken with my readers. There’s always going to be someone making noise and complaining about grammar mistakes. If you worried about these type of people, you would never get anything remarkable done. You would be worrying about grammar all day. Worry about what matters.
That’s how you can solve the most common problems that are plaguing new freelancers.
###
Help! I don’t have any time. Man, I’m way too busy!
Does this sound like you?
I don’t have any time to start freelancing or to freelance more.
I’m so busy.
I’m working an 18-hour shift and then serving soup at the homeless shelter, I’m so busy.
Sound familiar?
The quote below will tell you everything that you need to know about time management.
“You don’t want to take initiative or responsibility, so you check your income mail, your Twitter stream, and your blog comments. Surely, there’s something to play off of, something to get angry about, some meeting to go to.” – Seth Godin
How can you find time for your freelance business?
I’ll let you in on a little secret : We all have the same 24 hours in a day.
Mark Zuckerberg has the same 24 hours that you do. We all have the same amount of time. We just choose to spend it differently.
What are the best ways to stay productive?
Work with your body.
My recommendation is that you need to figure out when your body and mind both work best. This is different for everyone.
For me it happens to be in the middle of the night. For no explainable reason I happen to be the most productive and engaged in my work from like midnight until four in the morning. I’ve pulled many all-nighters in the last year working on colossal blog posts or random projects.
I’ve tried to wake up early to get work done. It just doesn’t work and I end up being grumpy for the rest of the day because I’m tired.
On the flip side I’m not one of those that feel you need to sleep over eight hours per night. I find that if you eat well throughout the day you can get away with less sleep. You might not like this at first if you’re a huge fan of sleep. Once you start working on inspiring projects, you won’t even notice that you sleep less. You’ll be inspired to wake up early to start working on your stuff.
Do the most important task first.
I’m guilty of beating around the bush before actually getting any real work done.
In the perfect world I strongly suggest that you complete your most important task first. Once you get this task done you can do whatever you want. Procrastinating on the important stuff just creates unnecessary stress.
I highly recommend that you do what’s most important first. Sure you can brush your teeth and grab your cup of coffee. Don’t start throwing in other random activities and losing half of your day. Going on Facebook to see what’s going on will only delay you actually starting your day.
I have posted the following in my room:
Are you inventing things to avoid doing the important?
The answer is always YES.
Ditch the pointless distractions.
Working on your business proposal white you eat pizza and talk on the phone might feel like you’re multi-tasking. You might even feel like you’re effective at time management because you’re working on so many different things.
The truth is that you’re just diluting your focus. When you dilute your focus you don’t give every task your full attention. You don’t need to be totally focused when you’re brushing your teeth or eating a sandwhich. You do need to be focused when you’re working with customers, responding to readers, or working on any of your projects.
Work in blocks.
Do you remember those dreaded term papers in college? How long would it take you to finally get started? I’d like to take a wild shot and say that it took you a long while to get started on your assignments from the day that you would receive them. If you’re anything like me you probably didn’t start the assignment until the day before it was due.
Why does it take so long to get started? Huge and audacious projects are just very intimidating. We don’t know how to start or where to start.
There are two different kinds of blocks that I wanted to bring up:
Time blocks. I found that the best way to get started with any big task would be to setup a time block to do my work. This would mean that I would grab a timer and set a time goal at a specific time. I try to keep it realistic. If it’s something I don’t care to work on I’ll set a 30 minute timer. If it’s a huge task I give myself an hour. Then I work non-stop for that time block.
Smaller task blocks. When you look at the end result of a major project you see this insane amount of work that needs to be done. This is why I try to break every intimidating task down into smaller tasks. A smaller task isn’t so intimidating.
After reading this you’re going to have more time. You’re not as busy as you think you are. You can get a lot done in these 24 hours that we’re given every single day.
I want you to have more time, more money, and LESS hassle.
“If I spend eight hours staring at the screen and reading the news, the world is not a better place. If I spend 30 minutes working on a project that will add value to my readers or customers, at least some part of the world is better off.” – Chris Guillebeau
Congratulations on getting this far!
You’re well on your way to completing all of the training material .You’re ready to start freelancing. You’ve made it through part 1. Part two is available here at Start Freelancing Now.
What’s next? You have a few options:
You can grab a copy of the book off Amazon and have it available to you whenever you want to read it.
You can work with me.
You can share this article with a friend.
You can leave a positive review on Amazon.
You SHOULD apply these tips and start freelancing.
Many readers just like YOU have purchased this book and enjoyed it. I love reading the reviews.
My favorite review:
Martin Dasko’s info is written very clearly with easy to follow instructions and, tips.
He states it’s not a get rich quick” plan yet goes on to offer ideas for marketing yourself and various ‘avenues’ to sell to.
I read it quickly, as soon as it arrived; I was excited! Thumbed through it again just now, and got enthused all over again!
I believe it’s well worth the ‘read’.
If you have any questions, shoot me an email to md @ studenomics.com.
How can I help you start freelancing? Have you thought about freelancing for some extra income?