2. Table of Contents
What?
What is
Freelancing?
Why?
Why
Freelance?
When?
When
should
you
start?
How?
How to be a
freelancer?
Where?
Top
Freelancing
platforms
4. My hobbies
About me
Trainers Profile
My name is HUMA AZAM
and I am
your instructor. Welcome!
Education
● Mphil In Educational Leadership
● Masters in Islamic Studies
● B.Ed + M.ed
Graphic Design Web Dev
Content
Writing
Digital
Marketing
Educational Leader/ Trainer/ Freelancer/ Ed-
Tech Expert
6. 28 - 01 - 2023
What?
What is
freelancing?
Saturday
7. What?
Freelancing is working as a self-
employed person/professional for
multiple employers without a formal
agreement or contract.
8. WHAT IS
FREELANCING?
Freelancing is working as a self-
employed person/professional
for multiple employers without an
formal agreement or contract for
long period of time. A freelancer
may work part-time or full-time
and at any span of time that
he/she desires. This is because,
basically, there would be no fixed
working time like office hours.
This would give the freelancer
the benefit of freedom in working
hours and working
place/environment.
9. PROFESSIONAL INDEPENDENCE
Which is the ability to influence when you work,
where you work, how you work, what you work
on and with whom you work with.
Freelancing essentially comes down to one
fundamental thing…..
11. NON-TRADITIONAL PATHWAYS FOR
WORK
• Freelancing
• Freelancing websites (Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer,…)
• Other ways to make money online
• Selling your designs, themes, scripts or plugins on Marketplace, themes
and plugins websites (Envato, Themeforest,…).
• Making online courses on online learning platforms (Udemy, Skillshare,…)
• Making money from Google Adsense on your website, blog or YouTube
channel.
12. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
OF FREELANCING
• Work when you want to
• Work from home or where ever you want
• Be your own boss
• Choose only those projects you want to work on
• Learn as you go, and learn what you want
• Work on a wide variety of projects, not just one
• Cut off your expenses
• No dress code
• Have your personal life
Advantages
13. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
OF FREELANCING
Disadvantages
ges
• You may not always know when your next paycheck will come
• You must be constantly looking for clients
• You have to be good at more than just one skill
• No insurance, no job guarantee, no retirement plan
• Working alone can get very lonely
• Creativity burn-out is major problem while working alone
• You have to be self-disciplined and self-motivated
• If your office is in your home it can be very easy to end up working all the time.
• And, for sure, your friends might feel free to call and chat anytime, because they think you
aren’t working
15. Why?
Freelancing essentially comes down to
one fundamental thing:
“Professional Independence”
Which is the ability to influence
when you work, where you work,
how you work, what you work on
and with whom you work with.
16. Why?
Why should you start
freelancing?
● Be your own Boss !
● Work at the comfort of your
home
● Do only what you love
● Control your professional
destiny
● Manage your own time
And:
● Economy needs more
freelancers
● Portfolio careers are
becoming new normal
And the most important thing:
You will earn more than you
think !
17. The Top 10 Fastest Growing
Freelance Markets in The World
18. 28 - 01 - 2023
When?
When should you start
freelancing?
Saturday
19. When?
There won't be any pre-defined right
time to start freelancing but its all
about one’s personal decision
20. WHEN TO START
FREELANCING?
There won't actually be
any predefined right
time to start
freelancing but it's all
about one's personal
decision as to when
he/she would quit
working as an
employee and start
freelancing. However,
there is always a
couple of points that
would be helpful to
decide whether or not
to start freelancing.
21. Skills
You have all
the
necessary
skill- sets to
get started
Communication
you have good
communication
skills to seamlessly
communicate with
clients
However you may start
when:
Portfolio
You have
good
portfolio to
showcase
your work
22. YOU CAN START FREELANCING WHEN;
• You feel like you can work on your projects alone
• you have all the necessary skill-sets and tools to get started
• you have good communication skills to seamlessly communicate with clients
• you have good portfolio to showcase your works
• you feel like you can find potential clients who would be interested in working
with you
24. 28 – 01 - 2023
How?
How shoud I start working as a
freelancer?
Saturday
25. Your Freelance Strategy
• What skills or areas of expertise do you have that are either currently in
demand or you can test the demand for?
• Which of these skills or areas of expertise which most excites you?
• What opportunities exist to build on these skills (ie; what new skills
can you learn or new industries you can move into to guide you to
becoming more valuable to the marketplace?
26. Your Freelance Strategy
• What transition pathway should you take?
• Which people or communities can you turn to guide and support your
freelance career transition? (financial, emotional, practical)
• Where are you now and what type of freelancer do you want to be in twelve
months time?
• – Professional, Moonlighter, Contractor, Micro-firm, Diversified
etc
• What are your top three reasons to freelance? Write them
down.
• How big of a cash-flow buffer do you think you will need to get started? One
month?
Six months?
27. Your Freelance Strategy
• What are your best three examples of work you could
use to start building out your portfolio?
• What three places can you set up or promote your
portfolio?
• What three new freelance job sources could you start
reaching out to TODAY to see if there are freelance
opportunities available?
28. Starting Smart
Map a pathway
• Pathways are your roadmap from where you are now to where you want
to go
as a freelancer.
• Eg: As a Full-time employee, you can moonlight on the side until you
have found two or three well paying clients, and only then transition
away from full- time employment.
• The other alterna5ve is to start working part-time and freelance part-time
until
the freelancing earns enough to support you full-time.
29. Starting Smart
• Build support networks early and join communities to make the transition easier
• Social & emotional support
• Financial support (if possible)
• Educational support (eg: up-skilling)
• Business support (eg: mentoring, marketing advice)
30. WHAT DOES IT TAKE(HOW) TO START
• Build personal portfolio/website to showcase your past works
•Be sure you have good communication skills both written and spoken (English
specially)
•Decide and specify your skills or services you would be providing. Be specific on the
skill-set and don't include everything you know but include only few that you
are best in.
• Identify your ideal clients and know everything about them.
• Decide on your pricing structure, don't get vague on this while talking to client
• Decide on your payment systems/methods and let client know about it
• Keep all the documents ready beforehand (good proposal, contracts, invoice)
31. Finding Clients
Industry recruiters
Content marketing
Referrals
Social networks
Prospecting /
Outbound
Common sources of finding freelance
work.
• Existing personal networks
• Networking events
• Freelance Marketplaces
• Job boards
• Volunteering
• Advertising
32. Portfolios
• As a freelancer, your time and
testimonials are the currencies you
play with.
• A collection of testimonials with
associated samples of work make up
your portfolio.
• Your capacity to earn and find future
work depends on the quality of your
portfolio.
33. Where to display a portfolio
• Social networks (LinkedIn is a key one)
• Personal website
• about.me
• Squarespace
• Community/Industry credible websites
• GitHub (developers)
• Content.ly (content producers)
• Behance / Dribble (designers)
• DeviantArt (artists/designers)
• Print (where relevant)
34. FREELANCING PROCESS
(HOW IT WORKS?)
• Freelancing website guarantee all agreements between the client and
freelancer.
• For example, with Upwork Fixed-Price Protection, clients making fixedprice
offers deposit a milestone payment into escrow before work begins. Upon
receiving and approving the work, payment is released to the freelancer.
• On hourly-based projects, an hour worked is an hour paid, and an hour paid is
an hour worked. For every hourly contract, clients can confirm work was
completed by checking their freelancer's Work Diary to see work-in-progress
snapshots and pay only for work done.
• Freelancing website will deduct its fees from your payments (almost 10-
20% of payment, differs from website to another)
35. FREELANCING PROCESS
(HOW IT WORKS?)
• You need to create a freelancer profile on one of online freelancing websites, and add your skills.
• Search for posted projects that fits your skills and apply to it and write a good proposal (bidding
/time and cost quotation).
• The employer (project owner), will review the applicants, review their profiles, and shortlist some
of
them for online interview, and provide a final offer.
• If the employer accepted your offer, he’ll start the project on the website (will hire you), and
notify you to start working.
• After finishing the project, the employer will close the project, and transfer the agreed cost to you.
• Freelancing website will ask the employer to evaluate your commitment and professionalism, and
also will ask you to evaluate the employer.
36. FREELANCING PROCESS
(HOW IT WORKS?)
• Project cost estimation:
• Hourly based:
• estimate the work hours in the project, and define a rate for your
man-hour cost.
• Fixed-price: estimate and fixed price for the whole project.
• Money withdrawal from your account:
• Payoneer.
• Skrill.
• Wire (Direct) transfer.
40. High Demand Freelance Skills
Video
Video
creation and
editing is on
high demand !
Coding
Programming
has been one
of the most in-
demand
careers
Design
Includes
graphic &
web design,
and motion
Marketing
Social
media
marketing
and SEO
Voice Over
You can
monetize
your voice !
Writing
Neptune is
the farthest
planet from
the Sun
41. WHAT ARE THE REQUIRED SKILLS?
Many skills and specializations are available for freelancing work.
43. Upwork Account: Process
Bid
Choose a
project of
interest and
place your bid
Start
Once you are
awarded, you
start working
on the task
discussion
Discuss with
the client the
project
details
Deliver
Deliver
your
work, ask
for review
and
feedback !
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49. POINTS TO BE CONSIDERED WHILE
PLACING A BID
• Don't bid on every project, this could make the clients feel cheap about you
• Always read the project details and understand it fully beforehand
• Avoid template or scripted proposal
• Custom tailored proposal should be written for each project
• Try not to underbid or overbid
• Define time frame wisely, stating too long or too short time frame won't be
helpful
• Check on the client's history
• Don't forget to proofread your bid
50. WRITING A BID PROPOSAL
•Write your understanding about the project (let the client believe you understand his
need)
•Address the clients requirement for the project and recommend your solution to it if
needed
• Let him know about the benefits he would get from you and your solution
• Project fees (let it tie up with the recommended solutions and don't scare client
with
your price)
• Your skills and past works that are similar to the ideal project
• Put ahead any question you think would be helpful in understanding the project
52. Tips for a Successful
Freelancing Career
Starting is hard, but
maintaining a good
progress even harder !
53. DO’s
Push urself
Always stay
up to date in
your skill field
Be Friendly
Be Likeable,
Excited and
Enthusiastic
Be referable
Never let the
client be unhappy
with you or your
work
Focus
Focus on clients,
his needs, his
expectation and
be Flexible
Honesty
Be honest,
reliable and
self guided
Be Clear
Don't be
vague while
explaining
things to
client
54. DOS AND DON'TS IN FREELANCING
• Keep clients satisfaction on top priority
• Always prepare a process or work-flow chart for project and let client know about it
•Always make all the terms and conditions about the project clear beforehand (payment
terms, payable amount, deliverables, deadlines, revisions and alterations, post-
project support)
• Be honest, reliable and self guided
•After project completion, ask for a couple of lines from your happy clients as
testimonials, that is what would help get you next project
Dos
55. DOS AND DON'TS IN FREELANCING
• Don't miss the deadlines
• Don't be late to reply to clients’ email, messages, IMs and phone calls
•Don't keep on reminding about money and payment over and again, keep this thing
simple and clear beforehand
• Don't be vague while explaining things to client
• Don't tell client you can do everything when you can't
Don'ts
