Great question! As a successful freelancer myself, here is what I would say:
-Industry-Specific Skills. Of course, if you want to offer freelance services, you’ll need to have some skills and experience with those services. Personally, I recommend having prior employment in your field before becoming a freelancer—I received marketing training when I worked as a part-time copywriter for a company, and there learned the skills I ultimately needed to freelance. So try working as a graphic designer before coming a freelance one, for example, or at the very least take some classes You’ll want to be fairly settled in your field so that you’re able to show potential clients samples of your past work and convince them to take you on as a contractor.
-Time Management. Without time management skills, it is impossible to succeed as a freelancer. That’s because as a freelancer you work completely independently, meaning you have no supervisor to check in on your productivity or set your schedule. Get good at managing your time so you know what projects to tackle when and how long they’ll take. This will help you make sure you never miss a deadline or accidentally forget a meeting with a client.
-Customer Service. Since I have a background in customer service, I can confidently say that my prior customer service experience has helped me succeed as a freelancer. Freelancing is all about working with clients, and the happier your clients, the better you do. So learn some basic customer service skills, such as open communication, rewarding loyalty, and problem solving. This will keep your clients coming back and even earn you referrals to more clients.
-Business Administration Skills. There are so many little tasks that go into successful freelancing you wouldn’t believe it! Like managing emails, creating a portfolio website, scheduling calls, and recording income and expenses for taxes. You’ll need at least a basic grasp on these things in order to run your own business and continue to grow it. Remember, freelancing is a form of entrepreneurship!
-Marketing Knowledge. You might be surprised, but some knowledge of marketing will really come in handy. This is because a big part of freelancing is marketing your services, and if you don’t know how to get the word out there or where to advertise, you may struggle to land enough clients.
In my mind, these are some of the most fundamental skills all freelancers need. There are plenty more qualities that help freelancers succeed (like resilience and creativity), but if you have some of all the above, you’re in good shape!
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