Five Steps to Start Your Career as a Tech Freelancer

Since the 2020 pandemic, with more people working from home, the number of tech freelancers has increased. As a tech freelancer, you have many options. You can work from home as a solo freelancer or join a remote team. You can also choose between being your own boss and managing your own clients or working for an organization.

However, freelancing has its challenges as there are so many tech freelancers who compete for clients. You need to stand out to succeed. 

Here are five freelancing tips to help you get started:

1. Decide what you want to do

There are a lot of career paths in tech such as software development, product design, data analysis, and product management, mobile app development, website design but you must decide your niche even after you have learnt a skill. What problems can you solve? Who do you want to help? What skills and knowledge do you have and how can you leverage them? 

2. Define your target audience

After you have decided what you want to do, you need to define your target audience. This simply means knowing the needs of your ideal client, the industry they work in, the problems they want to solve and how you can help them. Take your time to decide your ideal client. Who would be interested in the services you offer? What kinds of clients do you want to focus on?  What is the common problem they experience? Answering these questions would help you position yourself in the right platforms

3. Start small

Start with smaller projects. Take jobs that would enable you to learn. Don’t be so quick to hop on the “big jobs”. This would give you an opportunity to make mistakes and learn as you grow. You can even volunteer as you build your career to improve your knowledge. This would help you overcome the problem of “no work experience” because you would have something to present to a potential client.

4. Find a mentor

Having a mentor would make your journey much easier. They could help you avoid some of the mistakes that they made in their freelance journey. Look out for someone who’s experienced in your niche. If they have an online community, join that community and be an active participant. If you don’t have a mentor yet, you can read the blog post we wrote on how you can find a mentor. Read it here

5. Create a portfolio

You need to showcase your skills and knowledge so people know what you can do. Share your work online to position you better for opportunities and make it easier for clients to find you. Make sure to clearly state the problem you have identified and the problem you want to solve. Always think of value! Create your portfolio and CV so when an opportunity comes, you’re ready for it! Clients always want to see what you’ve done before so they know if you’re a good fit for the job. You can create a profile with samples of your best work that are relevant to the job. Mainstack allows you to show your work to clients on one platform. You should check it out and sign up right away. 

You could also participate in the #I4GMainstackChallenge and stand a chance to win 100,000 naira. All you have to do is create a Mainstack profile that embodies your personality and skills. Create your portfolio here