6 Steps to Create a Freelance Based Career Online

Guest post written by Tom Tessin. Tom runs FindMySurveys, a combination of paid survey reviews, as well as other tips on making money on the net.

When I think of the Internet, I get really excited, because every day, you can potentially reach out the billions on a daily basis. What isn’t great about that? When people are driven to a resource that means that money is involved.

The thing that I like about the Internet so much is that I can take it on the road, I can work from home, and create my own schedule. No longer to I have to worry about the days where I have to work a 9-5 job with a lousy boss. Now, I don’t care if you have 100 talents or not a one, I’m going to show you how you can create your own freelance career right this second.

Step 1: Look at your hobbies / talents

Everyone has a talent and you should know what yours is. Do you like to design graphics, can you create a website, program, or anything else? Write down a few talents that you can help other people online with. There are even plenty of grunt work jobs that many people don’t like doing such as data entry, transcription, and more.

Step 2: Create an online presence

If you haven’t worked on the net before, it’s important that you create a portfolio. If you don’t know how to create a website, that’s okay! You can easily do this with services such as WordPress and Blogger. While I would highly recommend that you spend the money to get a .com address, it isn’t 100% mandatory. Whether you want to create a business name or use your personal name, you’re going to want to create a brand for yourself.

Step 3: Start joining Freelance sites

There are plenty of freelance jobs out there, trust me. You’re going to want to join the following sites. The following sites are Elance.com, Odesk.com, as well as GetAFreeLancer.com. These sites are amazing for finding work and it should keep you fairly busy with your work.

Step 4: You have to start off cheap

In order to build your portfolio, you’re going to have to gain a reputation. Since many people don’t want to work with someone that doesn’t have a rating, you’re going to want to bid on projects below your starting bid. By doing this, you’re going to be able to get a few jobs. If you do a good enough job, ask for a positive review.

Step 5: Contact is key!

The more contact sources you have, the merrier. I would recommend that you have an email account, an instant messenger account with services such as AIM, Yahoo, and more, as well as a phone number, or Skype account. People want to stay in contact with you and if your only means of communicating is an email, that may shy people away.

Step 6: Work hard

Hey! Money doesn’t come easy and it never really will unless you win the lottery. It’s going to take a good, solid 6 months to starting building a good client base. Once you find that you’re doing a good job, you’re going to notice more and more people coming to you from word of mouth. This is great. Once you build a solid base, raise your prices slightly, keep the customer happy, and you’re going to find that you can make one killer career online.