Step 1: Gain Skillset

There ara different types of freelancers. The first step is to figure out where you will start and then learn the technologies needed.

Types of Freelancers & Project Scope

Types of FreelancersScopeTech StackPricing
Basic Web Developer/DesignerSimple static websites like landing pages, small blogs, portfolios, etcHTML, CSS, JS, TailwindLow
CMS-Based Web DeveloperCustomizable sites with Wordpress, Shopify
and other GUI tools + Custom Code		Basic Web Technologies, Some PHP, Wordpress, Shopify, Webflow, Squarespace, etcMedium
Full Stack Web DeveloperBuilds more complex web apps using frontend and backend frameworksTech Stack: JS frameworks, Node, PHP, Python, databases, ORMs, Jamstack, Headless CMSHigh
Niche DeveloperSpecializes in an area like eCommerce, SaaS, 3D & Animation, AI/ML, etcVariesVery High

Web Development Fundamentals

Web development fundamentals you should be learned no mater which route you take:

  • ✅ HTML, the structure of your web pages.
  • ✅ CSS, the style of your web pages.
  • ✅ JavaScript, the behavior of your web pages.

Design Fundamentals

Learn the basics of design. You do not have to be a full-fledged graphic designer. You could even explore pre-made templates.

  • ✅ Contrast
  • ✅ Color Scale
  • ✅ Whitespace
  • ✅ Typography

Wordpress

Wordpress is still very popular in the freelance world. There are many clients that want a dynamic website that they can update themselves. Wordpress or another CMS can save you a ton of time as opposed to creating something from scratch.

PHP

Learn PHP so that you can customize projects to the clients liking. You can then customize Wordpress plugins and themes and even create your own and reuse them.

Jamstack Technologies

JavaScript, APIs & Markup

  • ✅ Headless CMS (strapi, Sanity.io)
  • ✅ SSR Frameworks (Next, Nuxt)
  • ✅ Static Site Generators (Gatsby, Gridsome, Astro)
  • ✅ Markdown

Step 2: Kick Start Your Business

If you plan on taking on client, there are some things you need to do to get your business going.

Initial Business Setup

  • Business name or your own name?
  • Find out the requirements for registering a business in your area.
  • Create a business banking account.

Business Types

  • DBA (Doing Business As)
  • Sole Proprietorship
  • LLC (Limited Liability)
  • S-Corp (For Higher Income)

Business Branding

Whether you decide to start an actual business or work as an individual, you should have some branding for your online presence. Select a color palette. I would also suggest creating a logo even if you are working under your own name. Take a good picture of yourself that you can use with your social accounts and job websites

Business Plan

BUSINESS IDEA

  • What is your big idea?
  • Is it a product or a service?
  • What makes your idea different?
  • How will your products/services stand out from the competition?
  • Why will people want to buy?

BUSINESS NAME

What does this name say about your business? Is it unique? Memorable? Easy to pronounce?

TARGET MARKET & DEMOGRAPHICS:

  • Who will your customers be?
  • Other Kids? Teenagers? Men? Women?
  • Where do they live? What is your target market passionate about?

MARKETING

  • How will you get the word out about your business?
  • Online? Posters? Through the Newspaper? By Email?
  • Where will you sell your products or services?

PRICING

  • How much will you charge?
  • What are your competitors charging?

PROFIT

  • How much will you make on each sale after you subtract your expenses? Profit = Income - Expenses
  • Sale price of item, Cost of item, Profit
  • What will you do with the money you make? Reinvest in the business? Save for college? Donate?

Website & Portofolio

Your portfolio is a key aspect to your success. This gives clients something to look at to prove to them you can do the job. If you have no work to show, use some personal projects.

Social Media & Web Presence

  • ✅ Twitter
  • ✅ Facebook
  • ✅ LinkedIn
  • ✅ Blog Articles
  • ✅ Stack Overflow
  • ✅ Reddit
  • ✅ GitHub

Step 3: Establish Your Freelance Presence

Now it’s time to expose yourself as freelancer. This includes both freelancing websites and other methods.

Freelance Websites

  • ✅ Upwork.com
  • ✅ Freelancer.com
  • ✅ Fiverr.com
  • ✅ Toptal.com
  • ✅ Upstack.co
  • ✅ Guru.com

Optimize Your Profile

  • ✅ Captivating Title & Description
  • ✅ Clear & Professional Picture
  • ✅ Portfolio & Past Work
  • ✅ Past Client Work
  • ✅ Categorize Yourself Correctly

Set Your Pricing

Come up with a pricing scale. There are many pricing methods:

  • ✅ Hourly
  • ✅ Fixed (Project-Based)
  • ✅ Ongoing Pricing

Apply For Jobs

Now you can start applying for jobs on freelancing sites. You should apply to as many as you can, but be sure that you are qualified for whatever you apply to. When you apply for a job, you will write an initial proposal.

Proposals

Learn how to write excellent proposals that grab clients’ attention and increase your chances of landing jobs.

Other Ways To Find Clients

  • ✅ Local Outreach
  • ✅ Cold Emails
  • ✅ Content Creation
  • ✅ Referrals & Word Of Mouth
  • ✅ Social Media
  • ✅ Friends & Family
  • ✅ Freelance Agencies
  • ✅ Directories Like Yelp
  • ✅ Networking, Conferences, Meetups

Step 4: Your Workflow

Now it’s time to get work. You may have a rough start, but you will eventually have a smooth workflow for each project.

Discovery

Have an initial discovery phase where you talk to the client and ask questions and get all of the information that you can as well as any assets including images, content, etc.

Proposal & Contract Delivery

Deliver your proposal along with a contract to be signed that outlines the work to be done, deadline, budget and payment schedule

Invoicing & Payment

You will need a way to collect payment from your client. There are a lot of different options for this. Find one that makes it very easy for the client to pay.

  • ✅ PayPal
  • ✅ Venmo
  • ✅ Stripe
  • ✅ FreshBooks
  • ✅ Bonsai
  • ✅ QuickBooks
  • ✅ BookiPi
  • ✅ Invoicely

Communication & Updates

After the initial consult, have regular updates about the project including what you’ve done and what you are currently working on.

Productivity Tools

You will also come up with some tools to make life easier for you and help you stay organized.

  • ✅ Development Tools (Editors, IDES, Extensions)
  • ✅ Al Tools (CharGPT, Midjourney, Copilot)
  • ✅ Project & Task Management (Trello, Notion, Asana, Todoist)
  • ✅ Time Tracking & Billing (Clockify, Toggl, Harvest)
  • ✅ Code Collaboration (GitHub, GitLab, CodeSandbox)
  • ✅ Deployment & Hosting (Vercel, Netlify, Digital Ocean, CPanel)

Step 5: On Going Work

With every client, you have opportunity to turn a one-time project into a recurring service and make an ongoing income.

Ongoing Service Offerings

As a freelancer, you can gain some of the following skills to provide ongoing services

  • ✅ Website Maintenance
  • ✅ Tech Support
  • ✅ SEO & Marketing
  • ✅ Web Hosting
  • ✅ Content Writing
  • ✅ Social Networking Management

Upselling Clients

Pitch ongoing work to clients where it makes sense.

Step 6: Outsourcing & Scaling

There will come a time where you will need help in order to keep growing you can start to think about outsourcing or possibly hiring employees

Outsourcing Help

You can search for help on the same freelance websites where you applied for jobs.

Hiring In-House

You can hire in-house employees, just know that it starts to get a bit more complicated. If you’re a sole proprietorship, you will need to change to an LLC or S-Corp and add payroll services. Having employees can be a lot of work and can cause some stress, but it can really bring your business to the next level and bring you from freelancer to an employer and the owner of an agency.

Scaling Your Business

In addition to hiring, you can scale your business in terms of expanding your workspace, license or white-label your work, offer things like consulting and coaching and more.

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