In this article, designed exclusively for beginners, I will share my experience. I was inspired to write it by a desire to help people losing their passion after the first rejected bets. I am sure: experienced freelancers use some of what is written here. Therefore, this material is for those who carry out their first projects on the service, seeking to find a resource for self-confidence.

Before giving advice, I want to warn readers that I have a specific profession – an illustrator. In the article I express my subjective opinion and do not pretend to be a universal expert. Before using any of these tips, you need to look at price statistics in your industry and, based on this, decide which tips are right for you and which are not.

But keep in mind that this is the cost that people indicate as desired. The real picture may be different. It should also be noted that price statistics depend on the country of customers and contractors. In the Western market, the price of work between different industries is distributed quite differently.

1. Remember: Projects are not just the Find a Project feed

Grow your account on the exchange so that you are offered Personal projects outside the /projects feed.

I constantly notice that even if the tasks of my category do not appear in the feed, the top artists of the service always have Personal projects at work. Usually the price tags for them are higher than the cost of similar tasks in public projects.

To develop your account, you should:

1. Write tags in the profile and description of works by which you can be found:

2. Quickly respond to messages from customers (possible through a telegram bot). This improves the statistics in the profile:

3. Fill out a resume and portfolio in several languages. Then customers whose profile contains a specific language will be able to see your resume and see the description of the work in the portfolio:

The service offers automatic translation, which is easy to edit or delete:

You can fill out a resume and job description in Ukrainian, English, Polish and Russian.

More to read on this topic:

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2. Consider the possible seasonality of work

It is possible, as I do, to plan large orders in advance so that some remain for the next month, when, for example, there will be no season for new projects. Of course, this advice is not for everyone.

3. Know that Ukraine is not the whole market

There are more prospects for raising prices on the Western market. Because there are countries where the situation with the solvency of customers is better than in Ukraine. Currently, the Freelancehunt service is actively developing in Poland and other European countries. If you are considering a foreign market, you should fill out a resume and description of work in a portfolio in foreign languages, as well as follow Western trends.

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4. Offer additional services

Try to offer clients additional services that you can perform. For example, in my case, these are not only illustrations for a book, but also its layout or animation for a presentation. This brings in +~20% of my income. Usually, a package of services is more profitable for clients, because they do not need to waste time looking for a new contractor.

In the future, having a large number of projects, it will be possible to delegate to your colleagues those of them that are not included in your main professional category. More about this in tip 6.

5. Learn languages

Especially English. For foreign customers, soft skills are no less important than hard skills. Conditional performer A with the Advanced level, who draws worse than performer B with the Beginner level, receives more expensive offers from English-speaking customers. Although there are exceptions. Many clients need comfort in communicating with a freelancer.

You can buy language courses – it’s worth it. Especially if you have been postponing this question for a long time.

6. Build your team

Find people to help you and work together. Delegate to each other those projects that the other is able to complete better and faster. Important: do not forget about respect for your colleagues. Teamwork requires good communication skills.
It is easy to create an active professional community on Freelancehunt. The button for adding a freelancer to the team is located in his profile:

An example of ours is teamwork with a colleague.

The first screenshot is from my colleague’s page:

The second screenshot is from my page:

7. Don’t romanticize your profession

Even if she is creative. Expectations exaggerated by various books and courses may not match your experience and the actual market situation. It is safest to think of your profession like any other entrepreneurial activity, that is, rely on self-discipline, not inspiration. I do not advise reading autobiographical books with obsessive advice from authors who romanticize their profession too much, because each specialist in a particular field has his own path. However, for some, inspiration and romanticization of work help to work more efficiently (the main thing in this is to observe the measure).

But there is another side of the coin – people with negative beliefs. Their thoughts should also not be given much importance. For example, these can be people who say: “Neural networks will replace us” or “There can be no normal earnings on freelancing.” Please do not spread such narratives – they are harmful.

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8. Basic advice

The main thing is not to lose your temper. If you feel like complaining, it’s a great idea to do it with a piece of paper and a pen. It is enough to write down the exciting problems and 3+ things that can be done on the way to solving or at least weakening each. A text document is also suitable, the main thing is the desire to change something for the better. Everyone has periods of disappointment and thoughts, but they must be dealt with.

Thank you for attention! I hope my advice is useful to someone.