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If you're ready to try freelancing but you're not sure what it takes, stay tuned because
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today I'm going to reveal the most important skills that you need in order to survive and
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thrive in your first 30 days as a freelancer. Hey guys, I'm Josh from Mellow.co where freelancers come to level up their business
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And today's video is all about your first 30 days as a freelancer
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If you're ready to make the switch to freelancing and want to do it right
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you'll want to pay attention for the next few minutes. Freelancing is one of the best and fastest ways that you'll begin working for yourself
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And with over 1 billion people in the world working as freelancers
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it's safe to say it's a great career choice. But just like any career change, the first 30 days can be a challenge
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Here are some of the most important skills that you need to thrive in your first 30 days as a freelancer
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Skill number one, finding freelance clients. In your first 30 days as a freelancer, you'll want to focus a huge amount of your time and
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energy on finding freelance clients. Here are some of the best ways to get clients fast
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First, tap into your existing network. Tell your friends and family members what you're working on and ask them if they know
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anyone that might need your services. You'll be surprised what comes out of the woodwork just by talking to people about your freelancing
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If you find your personal network is a bit slim, you can try joining social media groups
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where clients reach out to freelancers or where freelancers exchange gigs. Second, search high quality freelance job sites
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For quicker results, try freelance job websites where clients are actively posting freelance
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jobs and looking for a candidate. You can start with solid gigs, Upwork or freelancer.com, all of which we'll link below
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We've also linked a full list of our favorite freelancing sites for even more ideas
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Third, send well-crafted cold emails. If those ideas aren't enough, you may need to get more proactive
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Try sending well-crafted cold emails. Remember, cold emailing is a numbers game
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You're going to have to send a lot of emails in order to get a few responses
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Try software like reply.io to automate your outreach. For more on this strategy, download our free guide
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How to Get 10 New Clients in 30 Days or Less, linked in the video description
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Skill number two, selling yourself to clients. Selling can be really scary, often causing freelancers to freeze
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give up or completely blow any chance they had with a new client
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In reality, the best salespeople aren't pushy, they aren't rude and they recognize the true value they're presenting
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Here are just a few quick ideas for you to get better at selling. First, learn the basics of sales and persuasion
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Check out a book from your local library, listen to a podcast, watch a sales course or attend a training seminar
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Second, study history's best salespeople. A quick search for experts like David Ogilvie, Tiffany Bova or Zig Ziglar
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will give you plenty of results to learn from. Then, practice. If you're nervous, test it out on family members or friends
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If you want a better experience, pick up the phone or send an email to some of the less important potential clients you've identified
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Skill number three, negotiating like a pro. Learning to negotiate with clients will impact how you get paid
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well beyond your first 30 days. One easy way to negotiate is to begin with a higher cost than you expect to get
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then let the clients negotiate down until you're both happy with the price
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Skill number four, knowing which projects to work on. While your primary goal in the first 30 days of freelancing
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is to bring any new work you can find, it's still important to understand how to evaluate each freelance job that comes to you
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That's because the projects you complete as a new freelancer will likely fill up your portfolio, which you'll then use to get more work
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If a project comes your way and you don't want five more projects just like it
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you need to turn it down. Hey, we're about halfway through, so if you're finding this video helpful
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please click the subscribe button and leave us a comment letting us know what you'd like to learn next
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Skill number five, closing a deal. To thrive as a freelancer, you must know how to get a client
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to officially agree to working with you. Don't be afraid to use direct phrases in your communication
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such as, so we agree, let's get started on this project, or great, let's move forward, shouldn't we
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Skill number six, writing and sending an invoice. Invoicing is a crucial piece of getting paid as a freelancer
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We've linked to our in-depth article on writing a client invoice in the description of this video
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In the article, you'll learn how to determine what invoicing tool you should use
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decide the payment terms of the invoice, include all important or relevant information to get paid
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generate and save your invoice, and send the invoice to your client
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Tools like Hectic or Bonsai make invoicing a breeze, so we'll be sure to link to those resources in the description as well
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Skill number seven, delivering projects on time and as promised. Here are just two ways to ensure you get your client's work to them on time
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First, build in a buffer. If you think a project is most likely going to take a week to complete
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tell your client it'll take 10 days. Then, when you need eight days to complete it
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they'll be delighted when you deliver the project two days early. Second, stick to the scope
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The reality is, few clients ever stick to the original scope of the project
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We call this scope creep. While making the client happy is your top priority
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encourage them to stick to the original budget and timeline. If they want to expand the scope, be sure to extend your deadline
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Skill number eight, upselling in its most basic form, means finding creative ways to get a little more revenue from each project or client
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There are lots of ways to upsell a freelance client, but here are two that have worked well for us in the past
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First, add a complimentary service. Start by offering something of value that enhances and adds to your original offer
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If you're a writer, for example, you might offer to add quality images and charts to your article for an extra fee
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Or offer a recurring discount. While offering a discount isn't always the best idea
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doing so in exchange for predictable work can be a great idea for a young freelancer
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The client gets a discount and you sleep a little easier at night. Plus you don't have to start over completely every month
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wondering where you'll find your next client. And that's it. Eight skills that you need to thrive well past your first 30 days as a freelancer
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Do remember that freelancing is a learning process. You're embarking on a journey that most people never dare take
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You got this. Until next time, I'm Josh from Millow.co. See you in the next one
