• you are not 18. The stereotype of an irresponsible schoolboy cannot be destroyed by anything
• Your name is Vasya on VKontakte, Petya on the exchange, and WebMoney will give out that you are Masha. Few people think at the very beginning of their journey about their virtual profile, but in vain, then nothing can be changed. Think not only about the reliability of the input data, but also about their “purity”. If a user under your nickname is on the phpclub forum asking to teach him how to program, then be prepared for suddenly lost clients.
• give the future customer as much information about yourself as possible: phone, Skype, ICQ, wallet and account numbers.
• pay attention to social networks. Nothing compromises the performer like a VKontakte page containing swear words, swear words, etc.
• put yourself in the place of the customer and check for purity and consistency of all this information through search engines
• try to write without errors and typos. I think it’s not even worth talking about swearing in communication with the customer.

First order

• Small hacks and modules for popular CMS systems. This work is very good, you can quickly gather loyal customers around you who need to maintain sites. But the disadvantages include the lack of growth. CMS for housewives do not differ in the quality of coding, which means that you will have to constantly communicate with the redneck code and generate it. It will slow down your professional growth. In any work, mistakes are made, even small ones. The second drawback is the accumulation and difficulty of identifying errors in your work. You can choke on it. After all, you do not disappear after receiving the money, but honestly and free of charge correct the mistakes made in the code. Yes, and apologize to the client for each of them. The third disadvantage of small-scale coding is the contingent that needs it. You will have to get used to being bombarded with stupid questions and requests. The fourth drawback is the high rotation of customers. In other words - a lot of talk, but little money.
• Parsing. Almost perfect work, despite the moral background. There is a lot of it, it dominates among orders. At the moment, you can easily find up to 20 offers per day on Russian-language exchanges. Huge opportunities for automation of work. Everything depends on you. Learn curl, sockets, html parsing libraries and of course regular expressions. It is advisable not to go in cycles in php. Before our eyes, there are many examples of freelancers who earn as little scraping money no less than Moscow office programmers who love to talk about patterns during interviews.
• Small scripts. Forms, small databases and other chores for less than $100. The worst possible direction. The risk of running into an inadequate customer in this category is very high. And all because most of the orders are generated by “housewives”, the very ones who stamp everything from a business card to a store on WordPress and Joomla. Having stuffed their creation with everything that can be obtained in the public domain, they run to the exchange to order the missing functionality. The trouble is that their work is not much appreciated, which means that for a couple of dollars they will be ready to take out all your brains. Also, the disadvantages include the inability to accumulate and improve ready-made solutions, at first your professional growth will strive upward by leaps and bounds, knowledge will be required from a variety of areas, but this entry-level knowledge and therefore in the end you will stall somewhere in the middle and get bogged down in this slag of shit-code concocted for $ 10 in haste.

We start earning

• Turnkey websites or development of modules on open-source engines. Designers who need a programmer to implement projects are spinning in this segment. Also, poor web studios, to the detriment of their reputation, are asked to create a site using Joomla, pulling the design and finishing it a little. I'm completely unfamiliar with this direction.
  how he avoided him like fire. Therefore, I will express my opinion based on logic, and not experience. Study popular engines: see which one gives you pleasure and go for it.
  If you treat your duties professionally, then customers will surely gather around you.
• Writing small engines. If you are not looking for easy ways, then this is your choice. You will have to get used to the idea that you will not be able to get a quick return. As you grow professionally, your views on the architecture and implementation of web applications will definitely change. And for each change of views, you will have to pay with your time or money, which, by the way, are synonymous with freelancing. It is best to work with intermediaries - small web companies that will send you orders from $200 with non-standard functionality. The intermediary takes care of communication with the client, drawing up the TOR and is often a more obligatory and stable partner.
  It is better to avoid private customers, otherwise you will become an interrogator, and your work will turn into continuous conversations and drawing up technical specifications. For all the time of my work, I met a tiny fraction of customers who knew what they wanted, the rest flew in the clouds. A new client is always a risk of running into an inadequate person or a scammer. Only your own experience of communication will help to recognize them.
• Frameworks. In recent years, this direction has been constantly growing. By learning one or more popular frameworks, you will not only get professional growth, but also the opportunity to work in a team on a large project. However, you should never forget that you are programming in a language, not a framework. Another danger of frameworks is that you solve problems that will become irrelevant when this framework retires. Do not repeat the mistakes of jquery programmers who have never seen clean code in their lives and connect the library to write something like
  $(".btn").css("display","none");

Communication with the client

• Evaluation of work. Freelancers are surprisingly fond of round numbers. You give him a task, and in an hour he gives you $ 1000 with a smart look. The probability that a freelancer is a lazy person and called the price from the ceiling is extremely high, and personally, such amounts immediately arouse suspicion in me. Therefore, an important point of freelancing is the evaluation of work. Mainly work hours. The cost of an hour usually ranges from $3 to $35 depending on experience and greed. The number of hours is calculated based on the TOR. Only your own experience can help you here. I break the project into pages and blocks. For each block, I set the estimated execution time in minutes (this is where we see a real need for using all sorts of time managers). To the amount received, I add a certain number of hours to talk with the client and debug the project. We multiply the received amount by the cost of one hour of work and give the result to the client. To complete the picture, you can still reset the estimate for him. Even if the price is more than the client expected, he will hardly argue. At best, it will offer to cut down part of the functionality.
• Prepayment. You can't work without prepayment. The more experience you have, the more you ask for an upfront payment. Ideally, you need to demand all the money for the project at once. already. This will save you from unnecessary communication with the customer on the topic of finance. You are a creative person and you do not need to fill your head with a financial routine. At the dawn of my work, I worked without prepayment, I proudly declared this to my customers, and this certainly helped me to find orders. The project was divided into parts and after the implementation of each of them, the client, as planned, had to transfer part of the money. But here's the problem: you completed the first part of the project, sat at the monitor for a week from 8 am to 10 pm, shipped the result to the client for testing, and... that's it. Day of silence, another. Your client is busy and greedy. One quality of his character does not allow him to pay for work without checking, and another to allocate time for this very check. And like any cynic, he didn’t give a damn about you from the high bell tower and he doesn’t care about the delay. Will you start the next part of the project? No... Realizing that a hole is starting to form in the budget, you will take on another project. And this, in turn, is fraught with the waste of a huge amount of additional time. After all, your greedy client is not a deceiver, and in a week he will still check the project and perhaps even pay for it, but he will definitely cut the amount, noticing errors. And you will have to do the project further, and all thoughts have disappeared from your head for a week of inactivity, and you have to spend time restoring memory. Worse, you no longer have time; on the other side of the country, another client is waiting for the results of your work. Such clients are quite common. Therefore, at any convenient opportunity, demand an advance payment and as much as possible.
• Time estimate. I notice that many people, and programmers in particular, suffer from an overestimation of their strengths. You look at the TK, and your head is spinning “Yes, what to do there, a trifle” and you name it without thinking about the deadline or even worse, you take one job, another, a third and you don’t understand that the collapse of time is close. It looks like it's all about to fall apart. And then at best you have to apologize to the customer. To avoid this, you need to keep a clear log of work. You should be aware of: how many hours a day, a week, you are able to spend. What is your potential for force majeure. It is very important to be able to correctly assess the amount of work, this also comes with experience. Write down how much you spent on a particular job, then analyze and draw conclusions.
• Timing. Often freelancers forget to stipulate the deadlines for accepting a project. It's a paradox, but 50% of my clients take projects longer than I do them. There are no problems until you break the project into parts with payment for each of the completed parts. A freelancer is not considered a person, because he is not protected by the Code of Administrative Offenses, therefore, as practice shows, it is useless to appeal to people's conscience. People don't want to understand that they are delaying your RFP. Although I think many people understand everything and just enjoy it.
• Client's choice. Can you program? This is not enough. Learn to communicate with people more. I studied for a long time, more than 4 years. And then he abandoned this thankless task. As I wrote above, it is more convenient and safer to work with intermediaries. Only his experience can save a freelancer from deception. Don't be careless and naive. Don't work on the client server. Don't work without payment. I am now writing this phrase, but I myself know that at first I will have to work without prepayment.
• TK. Here they often argue whether or not TK is needed. Everything is quite simple - TK is an extra cost. But this rule only works with old, proven, adequate clients who are confident in you, and you are confident in them. If we talk about new employers, then the lack of TK is a failed project. You leave it up to chance to surrender. If you think that TK is the answer to all questions, then you are mistaken. TK simply allows you to save time by eliminating a bunch of wrong steps. But this will not save you from an inadequate customer who changes his desires every day. By poking his nose into the TK, you will get litigation and blackmail. It is not profitable for you to argue over trifles, so you will have to swallow the insult and continue to work to your detriment or waste unpaid time arguing. Also, you can simply be put before a choice: continue working according to the tune of the customer or go through the forest. In this case, no one will pay you for the time spent. Even worse, they will write a complaint against you. A negative review in a freelancer's portfolio is like death. Few of the customers understand how much effort and time is invested in this profile. A rating is earned over the years, and deteriorates in an instant. It’s pointless that you write a negative review if, out of principle, they write nasty things in response to you and it doesn’t matter if they write the truth or lie. So make a deal. Every freelance site allows this. Let the site act as an intermediary in your contract.
• Learn to refuse. If something does not suit you in the client, then it is better to refuse. It is not so easy to do this. Refuse clearly and politely. Finally, give some banal advice. Often, the client is not mentally prepared for a refusal and begins to dump the dialogue to the level of srach. You should not get involved in a dialogue, you still won’t achieve understanding, but your mood and working mood will deteriorate. It doesn't matter to you that the last word is not yours, you should be above it. Do not try to explain to the client the reasons. An adequate person will simply say goodbye and leave, in the worst case, in English.

Forget your fears and open new horizons!

For those who are not afraid to take risks and walk towards their desires, the article will tell you how to become a freelancer from scratch and what stages you have to go through to start getting the first results.

Where to start your journey? Always the hardest thing to do is take the first step, target the start of some action. Therefore, first you need to mentally tune in, catch the right wave. Having decided to become a freelancer, you should start with the simplest, namely:

1. Prepare computer and internet access. This is not only the main tool of a freelancer, but also a workplace. You need to clearly remember that the computer is now your work, that is, when you turn it on, you are already at the workplace, and when you turn it off, you leave work.
2. Get electronic wallets for which payment will be made in the future. This is one of the motivations for work. Agree, the idea that a certain amount of money will soon be credited to it encourages action.

Preparation of instant messengers and social networks

For reference! It is quite logical that for work you will need all kinds of ways to communicate with the customer: email, phone, skype, social network page, WhatsApp, Telegram. The more of them, the better, so that the client is comfortable.

When working remotely, you must follow the same rules as when interviewing offline. Names and the profile itself, nicknames must be official, presentable. There is no need to be creative in this case.

The name must be your real name. Also follows take a quality photo on which you look well-groomed and business-like. This also applies to pages on social networks. Necessary wisely approach the placement of photos and other information.

If the employer visits this page, then he should have an extremely positive opinion about you. Therefore, every detail matters, creating a certain image for you.

Choosing a profession

Of course, it's great if you initially know what you will be doing as a freelancer. However, most often this question is extremely difficult and what to start from scratch is usually not clear. This one can help list of popular and in-demand professions which can be understood even without education:

Self-study or online courses for a quick start

The hardest thing about becoming a freelancer is choosing a profession. If the choice is made, then the next step will be self-development. You need to learn as much as possible about the chosen direction, read, listen, watch various sources. This will be the beginning of your professional growth.

Most often, such training is paid. However, it is worth noting that business always requires investment. You are a so-called business project in which you need to invest in order to develop and grow further. In this case, the choice is always yours.

Self-study, although free, requires more effort, effort and time. It is important to plan it effectively, as your earnings will depend on it in the future.

We create a portfolio

Most people before buying anything first read reviews and only then make a choice. Before we go to see a certain film in the cinema, we read the opinions of others about it.

Before choosing a manicure master, the girl first looks at his work. To order a bouquet for a gift, first look at the florist's catalog. Reviews save time and money and make life easier.

This rule also applies to performers. The customer wants to find a professional, and therefore, looks at the completed work of a potential candidate. Therefore, for a successful career, it is extremely important to create a portfolio that will showcase your work and testimonials from satisfied employers.

Note! To create it, you will have to work for free, or at least for a nominal fee. It is worth notifying your friends and acquaintances about your lesson. Most likely, one of them will need your services.

You can also place an ad with a detailed description on your page from a social network, for example, the now popular Instagram. So there is an opportunity to reach a larger audience.

Examples of quality work performed will only benefit and will help to find more customers, it is easier to build relationships with them. With experience, self-confidence will grow. In addition, competence will increase self-esteem, and bring pleasant sensations. All initial fears will go away. The main thing is not to stop.

Where to look for a freelance job?

Aspiring flangers can find work freelance marketplaces. To do this, you need to register and search for a suitable order.

Their cost is usually small, so do not expect that you will earn a lot of money right away.

Opportunities increase if you perceive the exchange as a platform where you can find regular customers.

It is possible to start with small cheap tasks for 100-200 rubles. Employers are often looking for responsible performers for more voluminous work.

Also, do not be afraid of difficult tasks. Often this uncertainty says that they are difficult, but in fact it is quite feasible. In any case, it is impossible to know if you do not try. Obstacles must be overcome, to fight with yourself. Only then can you move to the next level.

Where else can a newbie find a job?

Exchanges are not the only source of remote earnings. You can earn income on the Internet from any website, blog or Internet project. The main thing is to be able to prove yourself. Job search methods can also be as follows:

Monitor your reputation

Important! Reputation should be your first rule. It is important to achieve its perfection. Many freelancers believe that it is not at all necessary to complete the task on time, or that it is even possible to change your mind about doing it. However, this is a huge misconception. This behavior is unlikely to make you a successful freelancer.

If a certain deadline is set, then it must be observed. It is very important. Not only the quality of the work itself, but also its timely delivery plays a big role.

Based on this, a reputation is formed, thanks to which in the future you will no longer have to look for customers, they will contact you themselves. Responsible and competent professionals are highly valued.

Useful video

In the video you will see a story about how to become a freelancer without experience in a particular profession:

To work remotely, freelancers do not need to have a special education at all. Anyone can be successful in this business. The main thing is to remember some important points:

• The desire to move forward, to develop, as well as a decisive attitude are already half the success. You need to believe in yourself and everything will work out.
• First you need to learn a little theory, then to effectively apply it in practice, along with diligence and purposefulness.

Thus, if you do not take risks, then it is unlikely that you will be able to achieve any results. No need to be afraid, it is important to go forward to success, try, experiment. At the same time, it is necessary to remember about formality when compiling profiles, responsibility and discipline when performing tasks.

These are the components of the reputation, which in the future will become your calling card and will allow you to attract more customers.

This is the first post. It is intended for beginners and those who are just thinking about remote work. The questions of how to become a freelancer, where to start for a beginner and what you need to master are very capacious. Here I share more strategic thoughts than tactical ones. But without them, nowhere. Before doing anything, we determine the direction of movement.

The trouble is that many people consider making money on the Internet frivolous. They call them childish pampering, divorce and scam. In my experience, I have proven otherwise. Even in a few months, you can start from scratch on an income of 20-30 thousand rubles. This blog is dedicated to how to get paid remotely. Let's take the first step!

Beginners do not have a common vision of the issue. And that's the problem. Do you know the situation when you spend hours studying something? Do you wind up imaginary difficulties one after another? Angry about wasted time? I also did not understand how to become a freelancer from scratch without the appropriate education. It turns out that the diploma is not so important here. Here is the minimum plan to make:

1. Set up your workspace. Shake crumbs out of the keyboard, wipe it and the monitor from spilled tea. Position yourself where you won't be disturbed. Have paper and pen ready to communicate with employers. In the future, when working remotely, you will need a microphone and a camera to talk with customers.
2. Provide high speed internet. This is an important factor! Productivity depends on the speed and stability of the line. You may need to change your tariff plan, service provider, or run a separate cable to your laptop.
3. Register your work email. The most popular today and Yandex. Do this even if you already have a box. Sometimes I receive letters from employees of serious companies with an e-mail like [email protected] or [email protected]. I exaggerate, of course. But some only make you smile. There are no old spam mailings on the new address either. If you have already decided to become a freelancer, do not skip this step.
4. Connect e-wallets. The most common, and. This makes it possible not to hesitate when the client asks how it is more convenient for you to pay for the service.
5. I recommend starting with Workzillas(). Take the first tasks and decide on a profession. And then go to narrowly targeted sites.
6. Look for direct employers. It can be customers from the stock exchange and not only. Offer your services on forums, blogs, groups in social networks or just in a personal to entrepreneurs. At the same time, prepare a resume and portfolio.
7. Improve your skills. Do not cling to the stability with your hands and feet. There should be standing orders. But don't waste all your time on them. Look for more complex and expensive projects. I will share an excellent formula for growth. It was suggested to me in correspondence by the CEO of Splat, Evgeny Demin. It was about the product, but it also applies to services.
   

   You need to do several things in parallel:

   • build a good product and good production;
   • arrange distribution;
   • inform people how, why and for whom you do it;
   • back to the product again and all in a circle.

8. Get formal. Register an individual entrepreneur or just pay income tax. It depends on local legislation.

Right start

I know a lot of freelancers. Among them there are no people who immediately began their career from a distance. The reasons for switching to the Internet are: low salary, rude boss, lack of career growth, etc. At the same time, some just want to find a remote job in their specialty and earn while sitting at home. But the global network opens up much more opportunities.

I have seen kids who are already 14 years old earning income on the Internet. I watched a video about a pensioner who learned to freelance at 69. But starting and succeeding are two different things. The main thing you need to know is that many boundaries are erased for you! Choose what is really interesting! It should be fun! Even if you don't know much about it yet. Do not worry. In the process, get training in your profession. Now there are a lot of courses and trainings for freelancers in various specializations.

You do not need:

• be limited to the university in your hometown;
• choose a specialty based on the list of current vacancies in your locality;
• to become “fashionable” now as a lawyer or programmer only because of the prospects of high wages;
• live solely on a pension or allowance, if there are health restrictions;
• choose a workplace according to the principle “where they will take it”.

Of course, there are more paid and popular destinations. But if in the first place is not only salary, but also moral satisfaction, the game is worth the candle. At one time, I paid attention to remote work only after reading the book by Alexander Redkin. It describes the most popular freelance professions and gives examples of people moving to remote work. They give confidence! I will list the most relevant specialties:

• personal assistant;
• copywriter;
• videographer;
• designer;
• producer;
• transcriber;
• call center operator;
• support specialist.

Any of them allows a freelancer to reach an income of 30-100 thousand simply by showing diligence. I advise you to "take off the blinders" and look around. Don't dwell on the knowledge and skills you already have. If you are internally predisposed to other activities, go on a new path. Don't let the lost time to gain experience, lack of stability and other fears stop you. If you have achieved results in an unloved position, then the dream business always submits many times faster.

Sometimes financiers become translators, office administrators become designers, teachers become accountants, and entrepreneurs become targetologists. If the specialty is completely satisfied, I am sincerely happy for you! I recommend only to pay attention to the transfer of skills online. This is often done by teachers, expanding the geography of their remote work to the whole world.

Let me draw a line - freelancing for beginners should ALWAYS start with a choice of profession! Decide. A lot of them. But for beginners, I have not seen anything better Workzillas. We will talk about how to work on it correctly in another article. The service is suitable for "testing the pen", but not for the main activity. There is very low pay, but the requirements are appropriate. Your task is to try yourself in all directions!

Pros and cons of remote

People perceive the Internet differently. Some begin to idolize him. Others see only deceit. Everyone has their own truth. It is also reckless to assert that everyone will be satisfied with online employment.

I have used the two terms interchangeably above. It's time to explain their meaning and show the differences.

freelancer- a free worker who is not tied to the employer. He is focused on projects. Can cooperate with many companies at the same time.

remote employee- works with one or more companies. Sometimes it's a full five days. At the same time, a person interacts with the head from home via the Internet.

For me, this line is very thin and not obvious. With the same skills, you can lead two directions. Unless in the first case, the payment may be slightly higher, but in the second, the nerves are calmer. Regular customers give confidence and stability.

I will briefly list the important points of remote work.

Advantages:

• free schedule;
• no geographic boundaries;
• pay for results, not hours worked;
• there are no intermediaries between you and customers;
• saving travel time;
• freedom to choose an employer.

Flaws:

• self-discipline and self-organization will be required;
• uncertainty, no stability in orders;
• there is no direct human communication with colleagues;
• more distractions at home;
• irregular working hours;
• no social package and vacation.

Let's summarize the pros and cons of freelancing or remote work. Before you completely go online, you need to weigh everything. If you can’t make a single decision without a manager or go to the office only to chat with colleagues, it’s better to look for other ways of self-realization. For those who are limited by the scope of the job description or the list of vacancies in a small town, remote work is a great solution.

Critical mistakes of freelancers at the start

We decided that it is better to try MAXIMUM PROFESSIONS. You will get acquainted with the intricacies of each by reading the book at the link above. But there are small pitfalls that many are silent about:

1. The habit of the diligent student. In a kindergarten, school, technical school, university, we are required to diligently learn lessons. This guarantees employment. And when the first working day comes, they are asked to forget what they have learned before. Absurd? The harsh truth of life! I advise you to learn this life lesson. At the initial stage, do not study the theory of where and how to start remote work in relation to each specialty. Personally, I just took orders in different niches and only then figured out how to fulfill them. Beginners without experience and portfolio are given simple tasks. You literally learn the main directions in practice in a month. At the same time, you avoid cramming unnecessary materiel.
2. Mania of the many-armed many-legged. You can decide on a profession by trying literally a few tasks in each. Then the attention will be defocused. "Smarts" who know everything about everything in fact do not understand everything thoroughly. You can keep multiple areas in view. But becoming a professional is better in a specific niche.
   

   There are, of course, exceptions. For example, a personal assistant to an entrepreneur or businessman needs skills in all areas. It depends on your tasks and goals.

3. The pursuit of evil fate. Do not give up and do not endlessly change work when failures appear. Dedicate at least a year to the chosen direction. It makes sense to think about a change if there are no enlightenments on the horizon even after 12 months. But not before. Believe me. I know what I'm writing about. He himself repeatedly wanted to abandon the texts before he saw the prospects.
   Maybe the post got too long. From my experience, I outlined where and how to start freelancing for a beginner so as not to waste time. Next, let's talk about the technical aspects.

The main idea of ​​the article is to do what you like and get paid for it. Everyone has their own talent or predisposition. Appreciate yourself and develop! It's not that I'm in a hurry ... but the years go by ... don't hesitate, try, try.

Finally, some motivation. I am publishing an excerpt from a seminar by one of my favorite finance speakers, Bodo Schaefer. This is the true story of a great opera singer who almost betrayed his dream, but still succeeded.

Results are always achieved only by those who act. Therefore, return to the step-by-step plan described above and put the knowledge into practice.

If you have questions, write them in the comments.

As you know, the beginning is always the most difficult in any business. Many people really need to see at least a minimal result already at the beginning of their undertaking. If there is no success, despondency sets in and the case is abandoned. In order to guarantee a successful start as a freelancer and earn money, it is important to choose the right direction.

The easiest way is to develop in the same area as before. If you were, say, a good hired hairdresser or florist, now you can just do this, but on your own. Another thing is if the profession does not suit you, or your former sphere is not entirely good for free swimming. For example, it will be easy for a programmer to become a freelancer, but a former cashier-operator will definitely have to change his profile. Let's try to consider in detail which professions are most in demand in freelancing, and in which of them it is easiest for a beginner.

1. Web design and programming

Web space confidently holds the lead in the list: both in terms of demand and supply. Real masters in their field feel best here. A competent web programmer will never be left without orders, another question is that you still need to become one. The market is filled with a huge number of freelancers of various levels: on the stock exchanges you can see schoolchildren, housewives who have completed free website building courses, and self-taught pensioners, and numerous graduates of retraining courses at universities. Each of them is able to find his client if he is ready to agree to his conditions (there is the same mass of clients with minimal budgets who are looking for cheap performers). Basically, the income level of a specialist is fully consistent with his professionalism and, despite the enormous dumping in this area, real knowledge and skills will be paid at their true worth. Therefore, the conclusion is: if you like it, then you can and should do it anyway. But if you are not a high-class master, then be prepared for penny orders and a fight for each client. Another way out is to invest heavily in your education and reach a fundamentally different level of income and position in the market.

2. Copywriting

Texts are needed now by everyone and everywhere. Product descriptions for online stores, product reviews, feature articles for websites, posts for social networks are especially in demand. In terms of competition and pay, everything said about web design is true here. But it’s a little easier to become a copywriting professional if you have, as they say, “natural data”. At a minimum: competent Russian, the ability to write a lot, the ability to quickly perceive and process information. It is imperative to understand the principles of SEO and the requirements for optimized texts. There is also a higher caste of copywriters who write sales texts and headlines and charge a very high price for them. This area already lies at the junction of copywriting and marketing itself.

To enter a niche, it is enough to try yourself on content exchanges, like TextSale and the like. Articles written for sale can be sent to potential customers as a sample of your work. I repeat, there are a lot of clients, and for a start it’s worth it. But the ubiquitous ads for the recruitment of beginners with an offer of about 10 rubles for 1,000 characters, in my opinion, are best ignored unless you write with the appropriate quality, since not being a robot, at best, you will earn 100 rubles in this way for a full day and an incorrigible reputation as a virtually unpaid worker.

3. Promotion of sites and groups in social networks

It is also a very actively developing area with great potential. Entry is complicated by the need to confirm one's qualifications not only with education, but also with the presence of actually completed (that is, advanced) projects. It is clear that you cannot get a resource in the Top 10 of search results in one day, so even the simple creation of a portfolio will take a lot of time and your own money. That is, of course, you will most likely have to train on personally created sites and groups. But on the other hand, the reward for you will be not only an excellent portfolio, but also the possibility of additional earnings on your brainchildren. You can learn professions in this area both for a fee and for free - there are a lot of courses. For constant polishing of knowledge, do not neglect seminars and thematic conferences, since the field is very mobile - something new appears all the time.

4. Consulting, training, coaching

Suitable if you have achieved real success in something and are now ready to teach others. An indispensable condition here is precisely the presence of personal results. Calling yourself a business consultant without creating a single successful business of your own… well, I think you understand. Therefore, entry into this niche is not immediately available to everyone. But, having gained some experience in other areas, it is quite possible to move here. Truly in-demand coaches and trainers earn incredible sums; for beginners, you can try to release mass products at a low price first.

5. Unskilled labor

There is a vast area here that does not require any special skills. The Internet is full of services that offer pay for clicks on ads, likes on social networks, posting on forums. There is also a higher level - online assistants and performers of various tasks, for example, searching for information or sending mail. To enter a niche, you need almost nothing but a computer. But it is unlikely that you will be able to really make money - the pay is so low. Offline, the profession of a handyman or a cleaner can be called a similar one.

6. Transfers

An old proven niche with a stable flow of customers. The only caveat, as you might guess, is the quality of your knowledge. Of course, here is the place of real certified philologists and translators. You can try your hand and being a student of a specialized university. Another option is if you live abroad and know a foreign language at the native level. The level of qualification will have to be confirmed, as a rule, by performing a test task.

7. Accounting

Accountants have been and will be needed, although, with the advent of online accounting resources, small individual entrepreneurs and firms with a small number of operations have disappeared from the clientele. They will most likely be ready to hire an incoming accountant only if he has significant experience. So, one can say almost 100% about this area: you can become a freelance accountant after working long enough in some company and, of course, having a full-fledged specialized education. An excellent option for former chief accountants who have retired or are on maternity leave.

8. Manicure, eyelash extensions and hairdressing

Of course, in the process of work, your presence is expected next to the client. In this regard, there is a certain inconvenience. Many are quite successful in working from home, although this cuts off a decent part of potential clients. So the trip to the customer will be the most profitable, especially if you took up the wedding hairstyles and makeup. To recruit the base, social networks and the good old word of mouth are now actively used. Smart and hardworking masters in megacities are able to make very decent amounts. Training can last about a year and is quite expensive, but usually it fights back in the first months of independent activity. If you live in a big city and you like such specialties, it’s definitely worth a try.

9. Repair and construction

A real goldmine for people with hands from the right place. Demand is traditionally high, contacts of professionals are willingly passed on to friends and acquaintances. Only practical skills are needed, hardly anyone will ask you for a diploma. It is easiest to engage in those types of work that do not require special permits and permits. If you have the appropriate skills and experience, you can start right now. The highest earnings and volumes, of course, are in densely populated regions.

10. Insurance

Not everyone can be a consultant/insurance agent. Actually, not because of his talents, but because of his personality. This niche is well suited for active, punchy people, extroverts with a lot of friends. It is necessary to have no fear of "cold" calls and active search for clients on all fronts. Income, alas, is unpredictable. Entry is easier to do if you have experience in sales. With the help of special services, such as Workle, you can work online.

Today, freelancing has become the embodiment of freedom in its most diverse senses - creativity, self-expression, movement, finance, lifestyle and daily routine. More professionals are seeing freelancing as a tempting alternative to traditional office work, while companies are enthusiastically moving to outsource projects and even functions.

Curiously, most go through similar stages of professional development, despite the diversity of industries and specializations open to freelancing. Understanding the specifics of these stages allows you to correctly prioritize and avoid dangerous traps, achieving success even without connections, experience or formal education.

Let's try to figure out what these stages are and how to successfully overcome them.

Stage 1. Unrecognized genius

Nobody knows you, nobody trusts you, you apply for hundreds of projects and you don't even get rejection emails. You just don't exist in the freelancing world.

The goal of this step is to create a credible profile.

What to do

Sign up with the leading freelancing platform in your field, one is enough to get you started. Next - fake it until you make it. Clearly and concisely describe your skills and relevant education or certifications, add a photo of yourself with a cheerful smile and write a friendly letter with a wish to work together.

Don't worry if you don't have an education that matches your specialization, this can be easily replenished with the help of a portfolio and reviews.

Portfolio is the most important element of your profile. If you don't have a portfolio and you're hoping to create one when you start working on the platform, then this stage will be much longer than necessary and will probably lead to depression.

A portfolio with examples of projects that you ideally look forward to should be ready in advance. These could be projects you made up or projects you made for friends. The main thing is that they demonstrate the quality of your work. If relevant, include examples of before and after your intervention, this is one of the most effective means of capturing a potential client's attention.

Once you've created your portfolio, start writing reviews for yourself. Invite friends or family, create a few projects, and hire yourself for those projects. As a rule, after 5–7 reviews and a beautiful portfolio appear in the profile, potential clients begin to respond to letters.

What not to do

Don't quit your job. Creating and promoting a profile and portfolio from scratch will take a lot of time, and you will need a parallel stable source of income.

Stage 2. Promising

You are hired on the first projects, you are checked frequently and meticulously interrogated in interviews. You receive a response to 25% of sent emails.

The purpose of the stage is to confirm the declared reputation.

What to do

Work hard and develop communication

Fight desperately for projects, recycle, be in touch at any time of the day or night (thanks to the current exchange rate, the best projects come from abroad), listen to the client and fulfill his wishes, be polite and correct.

When applying for a project, be sure to indicate several ways to contact you (phone, Skype, email). Monitor the prices for the services of your closest competitors and dump, at this stage the price and speed of communications are your best friends in the fight for the customer. Develop telephone and business communication skills, especially if your main market speaks a different language.

If your foreign language is not good enough, invite the client to conduct all discussions by email under the pretense of saving all the details and wishes. As a rule, the majority perceives such an approach positively and even distinguishes you from the rest as the most responsible performer.

To plan

Since each new client still seems like a miracle and an extraordinary stroke of luck to you, it is tempting to agree to all the proposed projects. The monitor is overgrown with files with unfinished tasks, coffee cups are multiplying on the table, and email jingles with letters from clients with a bewildered “When will I see the new version?”.

You need to start time and prioritize projects, learn to say “no” or at least adequately evaluate employment (“I can start in two weeks”).

Manage client base

Be sure to start compiling a file with the client base: include contact information, data on the work done, the specifics of communication with this client, his personal or professional interests. Start building relationships with clients, the end of a project doesn't have to mean a complete end to communication between you.

At this stage, you will longingly remember lazy lunches in the corporate office and fun evenings with friends over a glass of wine. The main thing is to realize that it is not endless and after 30, 80 or 150 projects (depending on your specialization) you will be recognized as a professional worthy of respect and decent pay. Of course, only if the reviews about your profile are impeccable and speak of the high quality of work and budget, and, not least, of your pleasant personal qualities.

What not to do

Don't give up on difficult clients.

They are often your most ardent supporters and lead a steady stream of projects through friends and colleagues. Yes, you may lose time (= money) or some nerve cells in the beginning, but in the long run you will be in the black.

Stage 3. Top specialist

You receive dozens of invitations to new projects, you have a stream of regular customers, you are recommended in professional circles as a specialist with a good reputation. You get paid enough and you can choose which projects you sign up for.

The goal of the stage is to follow the strategy.

What to do

Choose projects that will bring you the best results in the long run. For example, between a small project of a corporate giant and a highly paid one-time project, choose the first one. If successful, you have a high chance of becoming a permanent freelancer in the verdant field of corporate projects.

Try to build friendly relationships with talent managers on freelance platforms as well. They are constantly on the lookout for reliable freelancers with great references for the platform's enterprise clients. A carefully selected pool of talent gets direct access to Fortune 500 companies and projects with unlimited budgets.

What not to do

Don't think that you are irreplaceable. You will be forgiven for a couple of missed calls or unanswered emails, perhaps a couple of delayed deadlines, before hiring a dedicated and rock-solid freelancer to replace you.

So freedom is freedom, but it's not worth it to suddenly go traveling for a month with unfinished projects.

Stage 4. What's next

In principle, top specialists are already free enough to live where they want, work in their own style, grow professionally and creatively. For some, this stage becomes the norm of a happy life for many years.

Someone gets tired and takes a job with one of their clients or their partners (which is much easier if you maintain a long-term relationship with your client file). Others will try to translate personal success into starting their own company and growing into a managerial position. There are many options and the decision is yours.

The described stages give a rough idea of ​​what awaits a novice freelancer on the path to success, how best to prepare for this and what mistakes should be avoided.

Despite the fact that it is easy to become a freelancer today, only a few reach the level of top specialists. Understanding the steps and following the basic tips will help you achieve your goals faster and with minimal losses. If you have already gone this way or are halfway there, share your impressions, experience and tips on the steps with us in the comments to the article.