Part 1. How to get started

So this is going to way sound too easy…

The way to get started is to pick something!

What should you pick? I have some ideas below for you.

First, I want you to consider who your potential clients will be and what they want.

Being on both the freelancing and hiring side, I know when someone is looking for a freelancer, they have a particular problem and need a tool to solve it. (For example, my clients usually find me for email marketing, and we grow into a whole marketing strategy from there.)

That tool is you!

Like a toolbox, the world of freelancers is a web of skill-based services.

Yes, sometimes you can grow into more of a team-based all-hands role, but to get started, you should pick the craft you want to serve people with.

The great thing about skills is that they are LEARNABLE.

You may already have one of the examples below from life so far, but if you don't, or there's something you'd like to do instead, there are plenty of free and paid resources to practice.

What tool do you want to be for clients? (Pick a skill.)

Here are a few ideas to get you thinking:

Part 2. Build a portfolio without any clients

That’s right! You don’t need to have freelancing clients to build a portfolio, and a portfolio is exactly what you’ll need to get your first check.

Below, I have ten prompts to get you started. First, let's go through "how do I even create a portfolio, anyway?"

How the heck do you even create a portfolio?

If you’re not sure where to start don’t worry! It’s not that serious.

There are all sorts of ways you can display your work for free or for a low investment, it’s up to you! As long as your work is good, the platform won’t matter. Your goal is to communicate your skills and prove you can get the job done.

Here are some ideas to get you started. And remember, you can always switch it up later. Pick the platform that will get you started fastest with the easiest learning curve.

1. Canva!

There are tons of tools for you to use in the free plan and they even have templates you can pick and mix and match. There’s also a learning section to get the hang of using it if you haven’t designed anything before.

Paid options include the Adobe Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) or Microsoft Powerpoint.

2. YouTube!

You can create a list of video work to showcase or create a slideshow of your work with voiceover or music.

P.S. If you’re showcasing any videos, you can put a thumbnail in something like Canva and link it to the video.

Paid options include Vimeo and Wistia.

3. Personal Website!

There are a ton of low cost website tools for you to showcase your work. I use LeadPages for clients often, but Wix and SquareSpace are gaining popularity. You can try building out a site yourself or hire a professional to help you.

4. Workspace Platform.

If you are using UpWork or Fivver to get clients, (more on this in Part 3) you can upload work or link it directly to your profile. The down side is potential clients might not be hiring through these platforms or have an account.

How to use prompts to create a stellar portfolio without any clients—

The idea here is to think about what a client might ask for from you and create a sample or full piece of work to showcase your skills and knowhow. Plus, you can add a little personality with an introduction to you and your work.

You can think of your own prompts by answering:

(Brand/Industry) needs (something related to your skill.) What could you deliver to them?

10 Prompts to Get Started

1. A dog groomer (or a niche you love) wants to rebrand their colorful, casual aesthetic to something that reflects their high end customer experience.

Create a blog post, brand design, logo, advertisement, spotify ad copy, website design, or other to reflect the original brand and the new one. This will showcase your skill as well as your understanding of differing brand voices.

2. An industry professional needs a virtual assistant.

Take screenshots or create videos of how you would manage their calendar, organize their files, reply to their emails, pull analytics, or create reports.

Research “virtual assistant portfolios” for more ideas for inspiration like this one. Don’t get overwhelmed by sophisticated sites, just use them for inspiration and do your best in Canva.

3. A health and wellness company (skincare, makeup, supplements, snacks) wants to sell direct to consumer (D2C).

Create samples for the elements of a sales funnel to increase their conversions (sales). This could be a whole funnel or copy for landing pages, headlines, email subjects lines, and email series, video for social media, video/copy/content for an ad, or something else.

4. A wedding dress boutique wants to get more qualified (ready to buy) appointments.

What is a good strategy to use? What should their ads look like? What ideas for SEO do you have? Create samples of your skill of choice.

5. A video production company needs help editing videos.

Put together a tutorial of your favorite editing hacks and creative ideas. Create a story with free stock videos from Pexels. Write a script. Or my personal favorite, review you niche of YouTube videos (on video or in person) with technical expertise. What do you like and what would you change? How did they create this?

6. A SaaS company is looking to hire new developers.

Create some resume examples, job description examples, or samples of your chosen skill to promote the job.

7. A Realtor or real estate broker wants to get new leads for buyers and sellers.

What would a good Instagram feed look like? Use stock photos. Create a compelling IG bio. Create a logo, brand, or signage. Create an offer to get new emails. What are five blog topics and samples to use? What should their cold and hot emails say?

8. A non profit wants to raise money for (your favorite) cause.

Create content and samples from your chosen skill that can raise funds. Plan an event with revenue streams. What is a strategy to use? Create posters, branding, a video, a script, or something else.

9. (Sports team) wants to get more viewers or players from a new demographic. (A new place, age, gender, social status.)

Use your chosen skill to help them reach a new demo. Define and show how it’s different from the original demo?

10. Write a compelling video, blog, LinkedIn profile blurb about yourself!

Highlight your personality in the tone of your sample and showcase your credibility and experience. Build trust by being authentic and showcasing your skills. You can use social proof like badges, platforms, a previous employer, or a course.

Part 3. Get your first clients

So now you’ve got some skills to leverage, proof that you can help someone with those skills, and are ready to get to work. How do you find someone that will actually pay you for all of this?

First, I want to instill in you that someone out there NEEDS your help.

I won't even call it help, they need your services, your skills, your talent, your perspective.

Clients and customers are not doing you a favor by hiring you and you are not here to volunteer (unless you want to.)

Remember that your time is valuable and working with clients should come from a place of trading value for compensation. Not a favor — an exchange of value. Keep your confidence up! :)

Because…you’re going to need it! 😉😂

Getting clients can feel tricky because at the end of the day, it’s sales. You have to get out there and sell yourself. (Don't worry, you’re worth it!)

Using UpWork or Fivver style sites

One way to sell yourself is by using a platform like UpWork or Fiver where all sorts of jobs are listed and people are searching for help.

Keep in mind, if you’re in the US you may be competing with people all over the world with different livable wages, meaning some people are looking for less expensive work to meet their needs. Don’t let that hinder you though, because many of my clients have come from UpWork.

I personally have never been hired based on applying for jobs for email, all of those clients come from searching for Klaviyo experts specifically. I have a 99.99% success rate of getting jobs when I am invited to them.

Smaller graphic design jobs I’ve received by doing the work and sending it to the person in my proposal and telling them if they like it they can hire me and I will send the finished product.

I’m not telling this for you to lose hope though! There are tons of jobs on platforms like UpWork and tons of people that are better at securing them than me. I would research how to get more gigs on the platform you’re interested in and see where that takes you.

Ditch the cold pitch stigma

A great way to get clients is by pitching yourself. Yes, even cold pitching! While there’s a bit of a stigma that cold emailing or DMing people is annoying, I’m here to tell you IT’s NOT! :)

The mindset that sales people in every walk of life understand is while 9 out of 10 people don’t want their service, maybe don’t even respond, 1 WILL! And that’s a 10% conversion rate — higher than the average website.

Don’t be scared to find smaller brands that you can help and pitch them through email or DMs on social media. I was for a long time, and when I finally just tried it I got a 50% conversion rate for wedding show marketing and a 8% ish conversion rate for vendor booth sales.

As long as you’re coming from a thoughtful place and your intentions are good, just do it! When you get your first sale it will be such a rewarding rush. And depending on how big the project is, maybe you won’t have to do it for a while. ;)

Word of mouth and referrals

The final way to get clients I’ll leave you with today is referrals and word of mouth. I didn’t understand the power of word of mouth until I started freelancing the first time. I told my previous colleagues what I was up to and kept getting referrals for social media management and marketing.

After attending a few networking events, I built my “network” to about 10 people, and I still work with multiple clients referred to me by them. Friends from high school started to reach out to me when they needed help with weddings and marketing just from seeing a few posts over the years on social media.

Get yourself out there. TELL people you know what you’re working on. Meet people at networking events. Join a club or association. The world is your oyster!

People have to KNOW you have an offer in order to decide if they’d like to work with you or not. Keeping it a secret is a disservice. :)

I hope by sharing all of this from my own experience, you can find comfort and confidence in your endeavors. You’re worth what you’re aiming for. If freelancing or something similar can help you reach your goals, go for it!

Homework:

DM or email 10 new people everyday for a month. They can be people you know, prospective clients, or both. Get the word out there. You deserve it and so do the people you reach. Track how many people get back to you and hire you to see your conversion rate.

If someone gets back to you and is interested, but not ready to go through with the project yet, they're a warm lead. Make sure to reach out to them again based on your conversation. (Next week, next quarter, next holiday.)

(Okay, if a month sounds too intimidating, start with a week or every Tuesday/Thursday. I promise you’ll get more comfortable after you start seeing responses come back.)

Email me or DM me with questions or feedback. I’d love to connect with you!

Wishing you the absolute best,

Ruth