How to make more money as a freelancer | There is always that famous dilemma associated with freelancing. You either have so much work that you are not sure what to do with it or there is an ongoing struggle to find the right clients. There are many reports on the web that conclude that finding work and income stability are two of the top barriers to taking on more freelancing work. However, there are positive aspects of freelancing work as well. You can earn additional income and have greater flexibility and the trick lies in finding the right balance. Here are some ways of making more money as a freelancer.
- Concentrate on higher-value jobs
As you gain more experience you will learn about jobs that will pay more without taking up additional time and will consume less mental energy. Many times this is related to a job at hand and sometimes it is due to a problem creating a client. You need to cut the fat so to speak and concentrate only on the high-value work. There is no need to just rely on your intuition for determining what work will be a high-return affair. You can document your experience with different clients as you work. Prepare notes about how they communicate during and after the engagement. It will help you find patterns with clients that will be a breeze to work with and others not so much so. Whether to select an hourly job or a fixed rate job is also dependent on your experience.
- Scale a business by using tools
Although there are some direct benefits associated with freelance work it is not all smiles and rainbows. Freelancers are required to take care of their finances including things such as taxes and find out and close their projects. This is because their income is dependent on having sufficient work at hand. Freelancers also have to manage the available time wisely as they do not have anyone telling them what needs to be done. Successful freelancers always wear several hats many of which include responsibilities related to management and recruitment as well.
However, the marketplace is responding to these problems with high-powered tools that can be used by freelancers for work. If you have a large number of files you need to transfer you should be able to know which tools to use or files that you need to convert to PDF.
- Use processes to streamline the workflow
Time is money when you are a freelancer. Therefore, it is a good idea to develop processes and then streamline them to accomplish more within less time. As you continue to get rid of the low-value work it is also significant to remove the busy work. While you are working on different projects identify the repeated tasks and develop a structure that permits you to repeat the tasks simply and fast. For instance, you can save the design templates in InDesign developing shortcuts for your favorite programs. If your work doesn’t have any repeatable elements that may be streamlined find out ways of making other areas more efficient. For instance, you can use the number of bots available for streamlining administrative tasks, metrics, and meetings. It will allow you to spend more time on deep work.
- Find more clients
There is a constant need to cut out the lower value work and concentrate more on work that pays better and has a larger impact. The question is how to find this work? Most freelancers agree that technology has made it easier to find freelance work. You can find job listings on various platforms such as Upwork or Facebook. Making use of VPNs is also a lifesaver method since they protect data especially in the international scope, so check good reviews of different VPNs and make use of the right one. It is significant to build your reputations among the community where you are looking to get work. You need to also try and make yourself more discoverable for various jobs you are trying to attract. You need to try and make your profile stand out with the values you have on offer for clients.
Conclusion
It is all about how you are going to prioritize your work. If you are looking to make more money as a freelancer, first you must decide what activities are likely to bring in more cash. After that prioritize these activities and like most things taking place in your lives, it will be a process. You are going to learn many things along the way. However, when you have an optimized profile and you are focused on a specific kind of work you are looking for, you will be on the way to making more money for doing things you like doing.
