Becoming a freelancer can be a tough thing to do. Not knowing when you'll be paid or how much you make, or being unsure of how well you'll do as a freelancer are some major concerns when making the jump. It wasn't an easy transition for me either, and I learned quite a lot over the course of the past year and half. I am here to tell you that it's not too difficult to get started, but there are things you should do before you make the transition and immediately after to help you succeed. Some topics I will cover... - Discovering your niche - Creating your freelance website - Promoting your freelance business - Where to find clients - And more...

1. Becoming a
WordPress
Freelancer
By Kyle Laverty

2. Who Am I?
● Veteran of the Air Force
● Future husband
● Father/Stepfather of 5
● The man behind Laverty Creative

3. Overview
● Be prepared
● See what others are doing
● Discover your niche
● Create your website
● Promote it
● Find clients
● Continue building skills
● What now?
● Questions

4. Be Prepared
● Preparation is key
● Know the what and the why
● Plan things out
● Write down your goals
● Keep it simple

5. See what others are doing
● Check out the websites of other designers and
developers (and bloggers)
● View their portfolios
● Check out their blog (and search for other blogs)
● Do a search for how to become a freelancer (or
WordPress freelancer)

6. Discover your niche
Think about….
● What you’re good at?
● What interests you?
● What do you know a lot about?
● Is there a gap in the industry?

7. Create Your Website
● Lay out the things you’ll need (theme, plugins, design and
development tools)
● Find inspiration
○ http://logospire.com/
○ http://www.awwwards.com/
○ http://welovewp.com/
○ https://www.pinterest.com/explore/web-design/
● Design and develop

8. Promote it
● Blog regularly
● Post on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest,
LinkedIn, Instagram)
● Place ads on Craigslist
● Join your local Chamber of Commerce
● Go to meetups and conferences
● Leave business cards everywhere
● Sign up form on your website

9. Find clients
● Search Craigslist
○ http://www.craigslistwebdesign.com/
● Search Twitter
○ https://twitter.com/hashtag/wordpressjobs?src=hash
○ https://twitter.com/hashtag/wordpressgigs?src=hash
○ Search things like
■ “Need WordPress”
■ “Need Website”
■ “WordPress Help”
● Capture leads on your website with a signup form
● Research and make phone calls to local businesses

10. Find clients (continued)
● Other resources…
○ https://stackoverflow.com/jobs?r=true
○ https://weworkremotely.com/
○ https://authenticjobs.com/
○ http://jobs.smashingmagazine.com/
○ http://jobs.wordpress.net/
○ http://wphired.com/
○ https://angel.co/
○ http://www.wpmayor.com/wordpress-jobs/

11. Continue building skills
● Continue reading the blogs of others…
○ https://pippinsplugins.com/blog/
○ https://tommcfarlin.com/
○ https://paulund.co.uk/c/wordpress
○ http://www.carriedils.com/
○ https://getflywheel.com/layout/
● Ask and answer questions on StackOverflow
● Comb through the WordPress codex
● Check out some tutorials
● Learn a new theme or theme framework

12. Continue building skills
● Continue reading the blogs of others…
○ https://pippinsplugins.com/blog/
○ https://tommcfarlin.com/
○ https://paulund.co.uk/c/wordpress
○ http://www.carriedils.com/
○ https://getflywheel.com/layout/
● Ask and answer questions on StackOverflow
● Comb through the WordPress codex
● Check out some tutorials
● Learn a new theme or theme framework

13. What now?
● Think up some new ideas like…
○ Build and sell WordPress themes and/or plugins
○ Expand your niche into other areas
■ E-Commerce
■ Membership sites
■ Community sites
○ Add maintenance/support to the services you offer
● Don’t get complacent

14. Questions
?