Starting a Freelance Career with Tech
If you’re a fan of technology and not a fan of bosses, then you’ve come to the right place. This article aims to examine how you might be able to start your own freelance career with technology at its center.
Understanding Freelance
The idea of becoming your own boss is admittedly an appealing one. In fact, a lot of people say that freelance workers must have a great time because of their flexibility and freedom in the way they work. However, most don’t understand how much work being a freelancer is, nor how many drawbacks come with the field. Freelance should be an absolutely fantastic field for anyone who is interested in it, but it is vital that you know what you’re getting yourself into ahead of time.
Almost everyone knows about the many benefits of working as a freelancer. You will have far greater control over how you spend your time, what work you are doing, and who you are working with. You are your own boss and set the rules of how your company works. What’s more, you are free to try and make a profit out of almost anything that you think you can sell. These are all convincing and compelling reasons that tend to pull people towards freelance as a career option.
So why doesn’t everyone work in freelance? Simple. There are drawbacks too.
Working as a freelancer means that you are responsible for every single aspect of your business. If you aren’t working, your company isn’t making money, and that means that you almost always have to be working to make freelance viable. On top of that, most other companies in legal bodies do not consider freelance to be a stable form of income, which can make life difficult in a lot of ways. For example, if you ever want to get a mortgage on a house, as a freelancer, you better be able to put down a very large deposit. However, despite the various issues that can be found working as a freelancer, many people still prefer it to almost any other form of work.
Learning About Technology
Now that you understand the details about becoming a freelancer and how to properly get yourself set up, the next thing you’re going to want to make sure you know about is technology. You might already be good with computers, but there is a difference between knowing your way around a PC and being a tech pro. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways you can increase your learning to close that difference.
Getting Qualified. The best way to make the transition from tech aficionado to tech professional is to engage with a real degree. Fortunately, there are plenty of options available, including digital options like an online computer science masters. Not only will getting your degree to lend some legitimacy to your claims of being a tech professional, but it will also help you to cover some of the areas of technology in which you might be a little bit less confident.
Teaching Yourself. On the other hand, if you don’t have the time or money to engage with a long-term degree, you might want to think about ways that you can help to teach yourself technology. There are plenty of options online to help you start building your skills, and even going to a library and looking up books on technology will be a brilliant way to help increase your ability and knowledge.
Learning as You Go. Last but certainly not least, you could engage with learning as you go. This is certainly a risky option for a freelance professional, but if you are careful, you can learn what you need to for each job you do, and over time you will build a strong skillset. Did vantages this is that you are essentially being paid to learn how to do your job. The downside is obviously that you run the risk of accepting a job that is completely beyond you. Since a lot of freelance business is done on reputation, this is not something that you want to happen to you.
Securing Your Clients
Much like any other business, freelance lives and dies on your ability to secure clients. However, as a freelancer, you are the only person in the business responsible for bringing those clients in. You will have to manage the marketing of your business and also the process of convincing potential clients that you are worth the risk.
Creating a Portfolio. One of the best tools you have to help convince your clients that you are the real deal is your portfolio. A well-polished display of all of the best work that you have done, your portfolio should be a shining presentation of your abilities. After all, a client is going to be far more comfortable working with you if they know you are capable of producing high-quality work.
Learning How to Pitch. While your portfolio is incredibly important, it is highly unlikely that a client is just going to stumble on it by themselves. No, your most powerful tool for bringing in clients as a freelancer is pitching, and that means you need to learn how to properly pitch to potential clients.
Potential Areas to Investigate
Finally, now that you know about freelance and how you might be able to start your own freelance tech career, there are plenty of ways that you might want to start the ball rolling. There are a few examples below to help you start thinking about what you want to do.
Building Custom Computers. People love high-tech computers but hate having to learn how they work, so they will often be more than willing to pay someone else to put together a great rig for them. This can be a great way to start your freelance tech career and is often fairly lucrative if you know what you are doing.
Professional Consultant. Another interesting way to start making a decent living as a tech professional is to simply hire out of services as a professional consultant. After all, few people really understand exactly how technology works, which means your knowledge can come at a premium. All you need to do is figure out how to frame your knowledge in a desirable way.
