Freelance Websites – The Easy Way To Start Your Own Business

In one of my earlier posts, ‘Quitting The Rat Race’, I mentioned freelancing as an alternative to seeking a ‘conventional’ job, and here I want to look at one of the easiest ways for aspiring freelancers to get started on their new career. Internet sites such as Elance.com, Guru.com and GetAFreelancer.com have literally thousands, and in some cases tens of thousands, of freelance assignments open for bidding. These range from writing and editing, the graphic arts, photography and web design to computer programming and virtual assistance. The beauty of these sites is that you can either use them as an ongoing source of work, or simply to get your foot on the freelancing ladder. Becoming self-employed can be quite a scary business, especially for creatively-minded folks who often doubt their own abilities, but gaining your first few projects through sites such as these helps you to quickly build your portfolio and give you the confidence to extend your client list through other routes. Registering with a freelance site is straightforward and free, although most offer paid subscriptions which allow you to bid on a greater number of projects or across a greater number of work categories. The way that the sites make most of their money, however, is by charging a percentage commission to the freelancer, which is based on the value of the work carried out. Once you have registered, all you need to do is set up your profile, in much the same way as you would on sites such as LinkedIn or Facebook, in the work categories that you are interested in. Your profile should describe the services that you offer and market you in as professional a way as possible. Freelance sites work using a bidding process. Employers post their project briefs, set a closing date for bids and state the range in dollar terms that they expect to pay, and professionals registered with the site bid on the projects using the free or paid ‘credits’ available to them. The number of credits required to bid on a particular project is usually dependent upon its monetary value, so a low value project might only require one credit, whereas a higher value one might require three. Although you cannot see the details of any bid submitted by other professionals, on most sites you can see the range of bids already submitted which can be useful in gauging your own. Once the closing date and time for bids has expired, project owners sort through the bids and select the ‘winning’ one, and an important point for the freelancer to remember here is that not all winning bids are selected because they are the lowest. Often they will go to the bidder who demonstrates the capacity to do the work, particularly if it is a large project, or the one whose skills most closely match the project requirement. In the same way that you would match your skills and abilities to a ‘conventional’ employer’s needs, it is vital when preparing your proposal to do precisely the same. Many freelancers on these sites do nothing more than send a note saying ‘This looks like a really cool project. I can do this’, which in no way demonstrates their suitability for the work. The most successful bids are the ones where the freelancers have put effort into constructing meaningful and tailored proposals which show that they are the best person for the job. If your proposal is accepted, all further communication between yourself and the project owner takes place using the site’s private message boards. Using this facility effectively protects both you and the client in the case of any dispute, because the site can refer back to any agreements made between you. Dependent upon the site and the project, you will sometimes have to agree project milestones up front and record your progress along the way. When the project is completed, payment is facilitated through the freelance site itself. This allows the site to collect its commission, as well as helping to protect you by making sure that you get paid. Paypal is the most common method of payment, and again a Paypal account is quick and easy to set up. Many sites also allow project owners and freelancers to use Escrow facilities and require project owners to deposit full or part payment into the Escrow account before work commences, which of course affords even greater protection all round. Getting started on freelance sites can require a little perseverance to begin with, but do not lose heart if your first few bids come to nothing. Just keep putting in proposals until you strike lucky, and then once you have one or two under your belt, and some positive feedback from your satisfied clients, it will become much easier after that. You might also find that you achieve greater success by registering with specialist freelance sites which concentrate on your particular field, such as http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com for writers. Good luck, and let me know how you get on!