Things I wish I knew when I was starting my freelancing career

I’ve been out of the corporate world for 3 years now, doing both freelancing and work-from-home jobs. Now, before we start, you need to understand that working from home and freelancing can be two different things.

When you say you work from home, you can still be employed as when you’re in the corporate world, only, your clients allow you to work from home and not in an office setting. In most cases, and this is where it gets confusing to some, this happens when your client is based in another country. Obviously, you can’t work in their office, hence, you work from home instead. But the set up is the same – you clocked in and out at a certain time, most will ask you to work at their time, you probably use time-trackers, you have repetitive tasks, and you’re paid by the hour.

Whereas when you work freelance, most of the time, you offer a certain service to one or more clients, you are not paid by the hour, in fact, you dictate the timeline of the project. It’s mostly project-based, meaning you agree on the deliverable/s, you agree on a deadline, and you are free to work on your own preferred time so long as you finish the agreed deliverables on your agreed timeline.

When you work from home, you can still be an employee/part of your client’s company. 
When you work freelance, you are an independent business owner/service provider.

Yes, of course, you can work from anywhere with both setups. But you see, as mentioned above, it’s a different game altogether.

So as mentioned, I’ve been both working from home (meaning, I am part of my client’s company in the US, paid by the hour, working 8 hours a day, etc) and freelancing (I did social media management and website copywriting on the side) for 3 years now. And let me share with you some of the things I have learned throughout the years.

Finding your first client is never gonna be easy

There are a looooot of ways on how you can find your first client – apply in an agency (most likely, they will provide training and look for clients for you), join freelancing sites (such as UpWork, Fiverr, or OnlineJobs.Ph where a lot of clients are looking for different service providers), or you can find your own client (through social media networking or groups).

BUT IT’S NOT JUST ALL ABOUT THAT.

You should have the skills that these clients are looking for. Most business owners hire someone to do the job for them, not to train someone. It doesn’t make sense – you pay for people to make your life easier. Although some clients are willing to train their newly-hired, most of them are expecting someone who knows a thing or two about the position they are applying for.

Some would even ask for a portfolio (if you are mostly on the creative side like social media management, photo editing, video editing, etc). 

So how was it different from the traditional CV/resume?

A portfolio is a collection of your past works with previous clients – it should have the service you offered AND the results, whatever that is.

If you’re a social media manager, your portfolio should include the account/s you handled, the account’s stats when you first worked on the client, and the result after you worked for that client. Did you grow their following? Did you increase their sales? Did you drive traffic to their sales page?

So I can’t use the traditional CV anymore?

You can. Especially if you’re on the administrative side, like admin VA.

Your CV should include your previous clients, the tasks you did for them, and maybe the results/benefits of hiring you as a virtual assistant.

But please, drop everything that isn’t related to being a VA.

It doesn’t end there.

You should be prepared to compete with thousands of aspiring freelancers out there, some like you with no experience, most with years and years of experience and skills.

Working with your first client can get worse

Okay. Great. You found your first client – someone who trusted you even with no skills and experience, someone who is willing to train you and make you the greatest VA that there is.

The catch is, you’re paid 3USD per hour for 7 tasks that you need to learn and do in a day. 3 USD, isn’t that enough for a first timer? Not to be ungrateful but… fine, just go ask yourself.

The thing with first clients is… most of the time, it’s not the best and ideal situation that you’ll be having. Maybe they hired you because you were willing to be paid so low for a lot of tasks, or maybe they hired you because you were willing to run their entire lives and not just their business, which is so out of the job description.

You were desperate to have a client and they took advantage of that. And so you’re where you are now.

And surprisingly – that’s okay.

We have to start somewhere. BUT you shouldn’t make yourself believe that this client is the only client that’ll be willing to hire you. Don’t see yourself working for that client for too long just because you’re afraid that you won’t find another client who will treat you right (and pay you better).

Take all the skills you’ve learned, list down the things you will never do again, update your CV/portfolio, and constantly look for prospective clients.

Good thing is, the next time, you are someone with freelancing/VA experience already. And you know what that means? You have the right to demand your rate.

Never be too complacent

Okay, I have a client already. UpWork account: deactivate. Website: auto-renewal off. CV: delete.

Until you wake up one day and your client doesn’t want you in his life anymore. Or you receive an email from your client that they will be taking a 3 month vacation and won’t be needing your service until then.

It happens! It happens even in the corporate world. Much more in the freelancing world. If assurance and stability are something you desire, freelancing is not for you.

Two clients now doesn’t mean two clients forever. Your client now is definitely not your client forever.

Continuously hone your skills, learn new ones, network, and never be too complacent even if you have years of experience.

This is something I should’ve done personally. 2022 was the peak of my freelancing career. I’ve tried different skills and learned new ones along the way. Until I landed this one client who really paid me well (more than well) for the amount of tasks I am asked to do. I was contented. I was happy. For me, he is my forever.

Until I had to quit for personal reasons. And since I was working for him for 1 and a half years, just imagine what my LinkedIn, website, and my portfolio looked like? Nothing. Because I never looked back. And so when I had to quit, it seemed like I was starting from scratch with no network and no portfolio ready. I have nothing so I needed to start from zero. Again. After working for 1 and a half years.

Lessons learned the hard way, that is.

Self marketing can be cringe, but that’s what brings in money

Need I say more? Especially, most especially when you’re starting.

You need to create another Instagram business account (that is if you choose not to use your personal account), you will create a Facebook page, you will actively post on LinkedIn, some use TikTok and YouTube to market themselves and their business.

That’s completely normal. Only, if they know what you’re into.

The most annoying part of this whole self-marketing thing is the fact that your family members and personal friends will discover these accounts and will follow you, or worse, will message you, creating a big deal out of these new business accounts.

Wow, new IG?
Wow, FB page, celebrity?
Wow, vlogger.

And that, my friend, is what makes it cringey.

BUT always remember, and to quote Mel Robbins on one of her podcast episodes:

Your social media is not for your friends.
It’s for you, your self expression, and your dreams.
And it’s meant to put something out in the world.

Block them if you have to. Unfriend them. Don’t accept their follow and friend requests. Turn off their notifications. Do everything in your power to ignore them and just focus on your goals. They won’t pay your bills anyway.

Never stop learning

In connection to being not too complacent – never stop learning.

To date, I’ve enrolled myself in four courses: freelancing 101, social media management, podcast management, and copywriting. And although (to be honest), I never really practiced all those skills, whenever I landed an interview and mentioned all these skills I have acquired, it somehow gave me an edge to negotiate my rates, even though these skills may never be of use to the position I am applying for.

But my selling point? If ever you consider starting a podcast or updating your website, I can do it for you. Like hiring me is the best decision they will ever make. Lol.

One thing about freelancing is… it doesn’t have to make sense all the time. Maybe you are interested in this one thing, but want to offer this other thing. But somehow, somewhere, someday, it’ll all come together and it will be your biggest advantage.

Freelancing is a living, evolving thing. So is your client. So is their business and their needs. So it’s only right that your skills and your services evolve with them. Don’t be afraid to experiment and learn a totally different thing. No skills will go to waste when you are serious in building a freelancing business.

Bonus: it can get really really lonely.

Three years in the biz and I still get lonely sometimes. Or to be honest, I am starting to get lonely already.

Working graveyard, sometimes working even in daytime, will cause you to miss birthdays, get-togethers, reunions, and what-have-yous. And if you choose not to miss those, you’ll miss getting enough sleep for your next shift, which is very difficult, especially when you’re starting out.

Also, it can get lonely, especially if you’re the only one in your circle of friends or family who does the same job as you do – they will not just understand. You’ll hear them say “nasa bahay ka lang naman eh” or “nakaupo ka lang naman sa computer“

Let them. They don’t have to understand. But it’s crucial for your mental health to find people who will understand. Or else, you’ll find quitting easier than staying.

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To this day, I still find myself asking (and doubting!) if I am really for freelancing. It’s hard, even with years of experience and skills. 

Despite being an Aries, I am not really competitive and I am definitely not a people pleaser. Also sometimes, your body will just give up on you even if your mind still wants to do so many things. Sometimes, it’s easier to take a leave without minding the fact that you’ll lose thousands of pesos in one missed shift. But you have to listen to your body.

Freelancing is not for everyone, I believe that. But you can try. And you can restructure yourself for freelancing. All you need to do is change your mindset and re-prioritize the things in your life, because it’s certainly a different world from when you’re in the corporate world.

I am still in trial and error even with years of experience, and I know a lot of people who are longer in the industry who still feel lost and insecure. 

Just always remember, there’s always a place for everybody. There is no such thing as a saturated market.