We already know of the positives that freelancing offers, a great way to earn some pocket money on top of your main job, no limit to the money you can make, you get to set your own hours, you choose to work with whoever you want to work with, there’s really not much down side is there? we’ll touch on some ways why freelancing can be a great way to start your online business.
If you are employed, freelancing is a great way to earn additional income or alternatively if you have left your current occupation to branch out on your own (and have sufficient cash reserves while building up clients) freelancing can be a perfect situation. With limited savings or other income and starting with no clients, freelancing can be a little scary however don’t worry we will give some ideas and examples to help you find clients and either build a nice little side hustle or build that online business you’ve always wanted!
So how do you become a freelancer?
Perform a small self audit, what skills or talents do you have that you can use to earn an income from? This would usually revolve around your current job or education or studies that you would have previously undertaken. Alternatively you may have a hobby could revolve around a hobby such as metalwork, you might speak a second language or you may have mad musical skills! If you are still looking for inspiration then you can use gold old manual labour skills, look to take on a driving or delivery gig (if you have a driver’s license) or if you are a fitness freak you could take on a delivery gig using your bike!
Probably the biggest issue when starting a new enterprise is finding clients. If that is you, don’t worry we’ve got some suggestions. The type of freelancing work you are looking at will probably determine the best site to look for clients, however in this post we will focus online freelancing and building clients online via your freelance services.
If looking for simple freelancing manual labour jobs using sites such as Airtasker, TaskRabbit, Gumtree or Craigslist or even applying to a local job agency.
Online freelance work can be found on sites such as Upwork, Freelancer and Fiverr.
We’ll discuss these sites in more detail below:
About: Airtasker is an online marketplace (founded in 2012 in Australia) that focuses on offering outsourcing services both for people looking for work or looking for outsourcing jobs. The site focus mainly on blue collar jobs or tasks and the type of outsourced jobs they offer includes home cleaning, building furniture or handyman jobs.
How to use the platform: Firstly set up a new account. Assuming aged 18+, input your personal details and finalise your account set up. You can register as a tasker (person who is being paid to complete a task) or a poster (person paying for the task to be completed) or both. If you are setting up a tasker profile you can select the areas of interest that you wish to complete tasker services. See a task you would like to do, reach out to the person who posted the task with your offer and a bit about why they should take you up on your task offer (all done through the Airtasker platform) and the poster will either say yes or no. Obviously your chances of getting the task will be better if you have a higher rating (though if you aren’t getting tasks you won’t build your rating, catch 22) so an option in the beginning on the platform you may want o offer below market pricing to build up tasks and reviews. Once your offer has been accepted and you’ve completed the task to the satisfaction of the poster your account will be credit for the fee for the task (minus the Airtasker fee). There’s also a tip option so if your job task was completed in an awesome fashion you might get a bonus from the task poster!
Fees: There is no limit to what you can charge for your services, Airtasker takes a percentage from each successful post/task. (Depending on your country) Airtasker has 4 tiers or levels (the higher the tier the lower the service fee). The Bronze tier has a 20% service fee, the Silver tier ranges from 15% to a 16.4% service fee, the Gold tier has a range of 12.5% to 12.7% service fee and the Platinum tier has a 10% service fee. To get to a higher tier you will need to earn a certain level each month which can be tracked through your membership dashboard as well as performing at a certain completion rating over the month. Click here for more information on these tiers. When you request a withdrawal from AirTasker this is usually in bank your account within 3-5 business days.
Depending on where you live, Airtasker also offers liability insurance based for your task. Check the Airtasker website for more details on this.
Click here to set up your Airtasker account.
About: TaskRabbit is an online marketplace (founded in 2008 in Boston as RunMyErrand) that has a focus on outsourcing services both for people looking for work or looking to outsource jobs. The site focus mainly on blue collar jobs/manual labour jobs or tasks and the type of outsourced jobs they offer includes moving house, home/office cleaning and basic everyday errands or jobs.
How to use the platform: Firstly set up an account. Providing you are aged 18 and over, add your personal details and set up your account. Similar to Airtasker, you will also have the option to register as a tasker (person who is being paid to complete a task) or a poster (person paying for the task to be completed) or both. Also similar to Airtasker, when setting up your profile you can select the areas of expertise or interest that you can and wish to provide services in. When you see a task you would like to complete contact the poster with your offer and why they should choose your offer (all done through the Taskrabbit platform) and the poster will either choose you or not. The better rating you have the higher the chance to get the task so in the beginning on the Taskrabbit platform you may need to offer lower than market pricing to build up your reviews similar to all of these platforms). Once you’ve been accepted for the task and you’ve completed the task to the satisfaction of the poster your fee is then credited to your account (minus the TaskRabbit fee). Tips are also offered on this platform so do a good job and you might also get a tip from the task poster!
Fees: Again there’s no limit to what you can charge for your services, TaskRabbit will take a percentage from each successful post/task. Taskrabbit has a level service fee of 15% (not tiered) and in applicable cities a $25 registration fee. TaskRabbit also has a Trust and Support Fee that applies to all hourly invoices however this doesn’t come from the Tasker fee. When withdrawing funds from TaskRabbit this is usually in your account within 3-5 business days. To get more jobs and/or charge a higher rate, aim for higher reviews on your TaskRabbit profile.
Click here to set up your TaskRabbit account.
About: Fiverr is an online marketplace (founded in 2010 in Israel) that focuses on offering outsourcing services both for people looking for work or looking for outsourcing jobs. Fiverr mainly focuses mainly on white collar jobs (usually online or virtual jobs) or tasks and the type of outsourced jobs they offer includes web design, social media management and copywriting.
How to use the platform: As with other platforms in this niche, you set up your seller profile. Providing you are aged 13 and over, set up your account by providing your relevant personal details. Also similar to other providers in this area, you have the option to register as a seller or buyer though in this post we will focus on sellers. When setting up your seller profile list the areas of expertise you can offer services in and also create your description to catch the eye of buyers. Once you see a gig you would like to complete you contact the buyer with your offer and a description on why they should select your offer (all done through the platform) and the poster will either accept this or not. Alternatively you may have buyers directly approach you, obviously the better your rating (and competitive pricing) the more likely you will attract buyers. Similar to other employment marketplaces when building your name you may have to accept lower than market gigs whilst building your reviews. Once your offer has been accepted and the gig completed to the satisfaction of the buyer your fee is then credited to your account (minus the Fiverr fee). Fiverr is also big on helping you upsell your buyers (Fiverr also provides free selling courses for gig providers) such as additional work offering further to your basic service, offering several options for a job and getting tips or bonuses for gigs well done.
Fees: Similar to other providers in this area, there is no limit to what you can charge for your services, Fiverr will take a percentage from each successful gig. Fiverr has a level service fee of 20% (also taken from tips/bonuses) which is one of the highest fees in the employment marketplace space and this fee isn’t tiered either, with fees available for withdrawal (to a Fiverr eligible payment services provider) 14 days after completion and there may be transfer fees to your financial institution. As always the better your rating/profile the more income you will be able to make per job and overall.
Click here to set up your Fiverr account.
About: Freelancer is an online marketplace (founded in 2009 in Australia) that focuses on offering outsourcing services both for people looking for work or looking for outsourcing jobs. The site also focuses mainly on white collar jobs (usually online or virtual jobs) or tasks and the type of outsourced jobs they offer includes video editing, voice overs and financial analysis.
How to use the platform: As with other platforms in this niche, you set up your seller profile. Providing you are aged 16 and over, set up your account by providing your relevant personal details. Also similar to other providers in this area, you have the option to register as a seller or buyer though as per the other services reviewed we will focus on sellers. When setting up your seller profile list the areas of expertise you can offer services in (freelancer.com suggested changing your job brief for each job you apply for). Once you see a job you would like to complete you contact the buyer with your offer and a description on why they should select your offer (all done through the platform) and the poster will either accept this or not. Alternatively you may have buyers directly approach you, again the better your rating the more buyers you will attract. Similar to other employment marketplaces when building your name you may have to accept lower than market gigs whilst building your reviews. Once your offer has been accepted and the gig completed to the satisfaction of the buyer your fee is then credited to your account (minus the Freelancer fee).
Fees: Similar to other providers in this area, there is no limit to what you can charge for your services, Freelancer will take a percentage from each successful job. For fixed price projects or contests Freelancer has a level contest service fee of 11% or $5.50 AUD (whichever is greater). For services you are subsequently hired to perform the fee is 20%, equal highest in this area to Fiverr, when withdrawing funds from Freelancer this is usually in your account within 3-5 business days
Click here to set up your Freelancer account.
About: Upwork is an online marketplace (founded in 2015 in the US though as Elance started in 1999) that focuses on offering outsourcing services both for people looking for work or looking for outsourcing jobs. Similar to Fiverr and Freelancer, Upwork also focuses mainly on white collar jobs (usually online or virtual jobs) or tasks and the type of outsourced jobs they offer includes online marketing, customer service support and bookkeeping.
How to use the platform: As with other platforms in this niche, you set up your seller profile. Providing you are aged 18 and over, set up your account by providing your relevant personal details. Also similar to other providers in this area, you have the option to register as a seller or buyer though in this post we will focus on sellers. When setting up your seller profile list the areas of expertise you can offer services in and also create your description to catch the eye of buyers. Once you see a gig you would like to complete you contact the buyer with your offer and a description on why they should select your offer (all done through the platform) and the poster will either accept this or not. Alternatively you may have buyers directly approach you, obviously the better your rating (and competitive pricing) the more likely you will attract buyers. As per other employment marketplaces, when building your name you may have to accept lower than market gigs whilst building your reviews. Once your offer has been accepted and the gig completed to the satisfaction of the buyer your fee is then credited to your account (minus the Upwork fee). Upwork also allows jobs posters to provide bonuses for a job well done.
Fees: Similar to other providers in this area, there is no limit to what you can charge for your services, Upwork will take a percentage from each successful gig. Upwork has a sliding scale service fee start at 20% for the first $500 you bill a client, lowering to 10% for billings over $500 up to $10,000 for the same client, dropping to 5% with any of that client’s billings over $10,000. Hourly contracts are based on a weekly billing cycle and fixed priced contracts are based on milestones. If you are a top rated seller then you will have the 5 and 10 day security hold before the money is release to your Upwork account. Once you place a withdrawal from your Upwork account these funds should appear in your bank account within 3-5 business days. As always the better your rating/profile the more income you will be able to make per job and overall.
Click here to set up your Upwork account.
Tips for using these platforms:
- Like most online marketplaces these platforms use ratings. Essentially the better or higher rating your profile accumulates the more work or higher income you should be able to achieve.
- Get creative with your account headline/service description. If your English isn’t great or it’s your second language reach out to a copywriter to put together a great sales pitch to win you jobs.
- Be patient when starting out on a platform. Unless you have a unique in demand skill it’s likely that may struggle to get work and will have to take lower rates to get work and build up your ratings and testimonials
- Once you’ve started building your profile and rating you can look to expand your services or offer add-ons or upsells to your core offer.
- Further to the above point look if you getting successful at landing jobs and making money, look to expand this to a bigger side hustle or even build an online business you can scale around your service offerings. This could have include setting up a website, creating training videos or even building a course, creating a YouTube channel for some of your content, building an email list, creating e books or instructional content you can sell, etc.
- Try to provide quality work in a timely manner. The quicker turnaround for satisfied customers, the quicker you can increase your fees. Under promise and over deliver.
- Be honest with your abilities and your skill set. If you say you can do a whole range of jobs and manage to score a job based on these false qualifications the more chance of letting down your customers which will lead to poor reviews and little to no money! Focus on what you are good at and build your ratings to get the higher paying jobs!
- Always review the fees of the platform! Look at the amount of business you can achieve from all of the major providers and work out the fee percentage that you will have to pay. Also what’s the timeframe to receive your money from your completed jobs and the time it takes to appear in your bank account once you request a withdrawal.
- Most of these marketplaces offer a referral programs for any person that signs up to their service so you could earn additional referral income if you know of others who want to get into freelancing. If this is something of interest reach out to each of the providers or just search the relevant provider/affiliate program to find out their referral fees, terms, etc.
Freelancing is a fantastic way to start your passive income journey. It can be a simple way to use your skill and talent to make some cash in a relative short timeframe whilst helping you build a platform that could grow into an online business and passive income stream.