Like many other members of the Class of 2020, I have been sitting at home for the past couple months first finishing up schoolwork and then left with nothing much to do. As a person who always needs something to do, I started getting bored real quick and dreaming up things I could fill my time with. I started doing hand embroidery, reading, practicing digital illustration on my iPad, studying for the GMAT, and starting this blog! Getting the news that my job was to be postponed until November pushed me to add another pastime that would not only fight the boredom, but also allow me to make a bit of money on the side. I started freelancing!
If you would have told me I’d be freelancing a couple months ago, first I’d say, “What is freelancing?” then, “I’m not talented enough to freelance”. I’m sure many of you are thinking the same thing. If you’re stuck on the first question, google it and then come back. Luckily, I’m here to tell you that starting a freelance side hustle is easier and more accessible than you may think. Having a side hustle is such a great thing for us recent grads to take on especially if you’re like me and stuck in the in-between of school and work.
I’m going to share about my first freelance gig and some tips on how to get your first job. Keep in mind that I’m still very new to the freelancing world, so I cannot speak on how to take your freelancing from a side hustle to your main hustle. I merely want to share how easy it is to dip your feet into this and start making money quick!
My First Gig
I had gotten the idea to freelance because I watch a lot of nomad van tours on YouTube filmed by people that mostly earn their living on the road. I’d been vaguely interested in this topic but knew that it wasn’t really my style since I’m super excited about my full-time job in the corporate world. However, I listened enough to learn about a platform called Upwork that basically acts as a marketplace for freelancers to connect with people and companies interested in hiring them out for projects.
I read a few blog posts from people that have used Upwork before, decided it was a great place to start, and quickly started making a profile. A few things about Upwork that gave me pause at first:
1. The fee for using the site is really high and eats into your earnings a lot.
Upwork charges 20% on the first few hundred dollars of earnings per project. This is definitely a bummer, but I decided that since I was only looking for freelance gigs temporarily, it wasn’t worth the effort to market myself off the platform. To me the 20% fee is worth it to have easy and instantaneous access to jobs.
2. Upwork tends to have some scammy jobs
Luckily, I haven’t been scammed by a client, but I have heard of some questionable clients out there that either pay too little, ask for too much, or don’t pay at all. Generally, I’ve been able to tell when postings look a little fishy, so I would say be diligent when applying for jobs.
3. You need to give a lot of personal information to get registered on Upwork.
The big piece of information that I did not want to give out was my SSN. Luckily, I found a way to avoid this. Upwork will ask you to fill out a W-9 form. I read on a few forums and the IRS website that you can actually use an EIN number in lieu of your SSN on these forms. It was a really quick, easy and free process to get one.
After figuring out all these kinks, I started applying to jobs. There’s a plethora of listings on Upwork, but it does take some work to sift through ones that either don’t apply to you or seem scammy like I mentioned above.
I started by applying to five because there’s a limit on how many jobs you can apply to in a month. I wanted to see what my callback rate would be on these jobs before applying to any more. The applications required both a cover letter and sample work. I wrote separate cover letters for each job and submitted work that I’d done in class, internships, and extracurricular activities.
In a few days, I ended up getting an invitation to interview for the job that I had actually been the most excited for. Basically, it was a job to make a PowerPoint presentation for a nonprofit that is wanting to raise on endowment. The interviewer said that my sample work matched the style he was going for. He’s a former investment banker, so it made sense to me that he like the investment pitch decks that I sent. The best part was that we negotiated a rate of $25/hr which is a really fair wage for a beginner!
Overall, the job was perfect for my skill set. It was a little more challenging than I had anticipated. For some reason, I wasn’t prepared for the fact that there would be actual deadlines and feedback. Freelancing seemed like this ethereal idea in my head that entailed working leisurely from home a couple hours and making hundreds of dollars from that work.
The job ended up being 13 total hours at $25/hr. The gross pay was $325. With Upwork fees taken out, its $260 and with taxes taken out the net pay will be approx. $182. Although the deductions are a bit of a bummer, I really do think it is worth it because I would have never been able to find work like this otherwise. The best part is that this job will likely lead to a second project!
Getting Your First Gig
I hope that reading my experience has shown you how easy it is to get started working for yourself online. It won’t be a walk in the park like a lot of freelancers may lead you to believe, but it is certainly a good option for anyone with extra time and an itch to make a little bit of money on the side.
Now, I’ll share a few tips that you can follow in order to nab that first job.
1. Find a niche and charge a premium for your special skill
My niche is pitch decks and PowerPoint presentations. I initially thought that I would be applying to any and all type of jobs because more applications leads to more callbacks, right? Well, it turns out that my niche helped me to stand out in a pool of applicants and to earn a relatively high rate. Because I learned this lesson early on, I now have proof that I earned this rate before, so future clients will have to pay it again.
If you’re struggling to find your niche, think about past work you’ve done whether it be in past classes, clubs, or even your current job. For example, if you helped build a website for your club, then you could use that website as a piece in your portfolio. My portfolio is composed of old presentation decks that I designed for past internships and projects for my business club in college.
2. Don’t expect to be making the big bucks off the bat. Celebrate small wins.
It’s easy to google “freelancing” and be bombarded with articles about earning $4000+ per month freelancing. If that’s your goal, then you’re going to have to have a lot of experience to reach it. If you’re like me then, you don’t have to worry at all because any and all work is welcome! I was ecstatic after getting my first gig. Freelancing is what you make of it and it’s okay to be making only a couple hundred dollars a month. That’s money you didn’t have before.
3. Know your goals and form your strategy around those goals.
Like I said above, some people go into freelancing looking for a full-time job, others go into it just wanting some side cash. For me, since this is a small temporary venture, I was okay starting on Upwork even with the large fee and inconsistent work. I recommend this route for anyone with similar goals to mine. If you are in this for the long haul; however, you’re going to want to invest time and money into marketing yourself to clients instead of using an online platform to do so.
You’ll also have to consider how much you want to invest in training and tools. For me, I’m content with the skills and software I have. If I was in it for the long haul, I may consider taking some graphic design classes and investing in Adobe software. But, again, that’s not consistent with my goals.
Just Get Started
I hope that my experience and tips has inspired you to start pulling together your portfolio and searching for your first job! Freelancing can be a great way to earn some side cash, but it definitely isn’t the only side hustle out there.
If you are inspired by this post, but don’t necessarily have the kind of skills that lend well to freelancing, I would encourage you to research other types of side hustles because there just might be the perfect one out there waiting for you!