How to Start Freelancing with Zero Experience
Choose what you're passionate about
First, identify your interests and passions. For example, if this is a programming language, you’re off to a great start. However, there are numerous profitable industries other than programming that you can investigate. So, make a list of 10-15 of your interests and passions — after all, if you work in an industry you enjoy, you’re less likely to leave when times get tough.
Determine the most frequently searched problems and topics within each listed industry/niche. You can accomplish this by employing a simple keyword analysis tool that tells you how frequently a specific term is searched per month.
Now, read through industry-related forums to learn about the problems and concerns that real people have in a specific industry. Do you know how to solve their problems and respond to their inquiries? Then you may have the ability to fill a market gap.
The last (and perhaps most important) factor to consider when choosing a career is competition — has the industry problem you want to solve already been addressed? If so, was it done in a satisfying, high-quality manner? If not, you may have just discovered your true calling.
Consider some of the best second jobs you can get without any experience.
Having a passion is wonderful, but what if you’re just looking for a side gig you can start right away with no formal experience?
If that’s the case, you’ll have plenty of options, so pick one:
You can do data entry work in your spare time if you’re a great typist.
If you are a skilled researcher, you can assist teams working on a project by conducting their internet research.
If you’re fluent in at least two languages, you can apply to transcribe audio to text (but keep in mind that you’ll still need a transcription certification to work as a transcriber in the medical field, for example).
Don't work for Exposure (Free)
This is a common pitfall for most inexperienced freelancers — you’ll be tempted to work pro bono to gain exposure and experience that you can later list on your CV.
However, you should exercise extreme caution when working for free.
On the one hand, having no completed projects to showcase your talent usually means you’ll be less likely to be hired — free work is easier to come by (as you’d expect), and it allows you to build a portfolio. However, if people learn that you work for free, it will be more difficult for you to land paid gigs in the future — “You worked for company X for free, why can’t you work for me for free too?”
So, don’t take on free work just to establish a reputation — remember, if your work is good enough to help you establish a reputation, it’s good enough to pay for.
The death knell for free labor is that the very things you seek — respect and recognition — are the very things you are likely to lose.
People will not value your work or regard you as credible professional if you work for free because people are wired to believe that there is something wrong with free work — even if there isn’t.
And, if you work for free, potential clients will not take you as seriously as they do professionals who charge for their work from the start — these professionals demonstrate their professionalism.
Improve your freelance abilities.
When you lack official experience but also the skills required to produce high-quality work, the only effective solution is to learn, learn, learn, and practise, practise, practise.
This may not be feasible if you work full-time, but if this industry/niche is a passion of yours, you should have no problem exchanging leisure time for learning time. Just make sure to leave enough space for sleep, rest, and other necessities.
You can take a class in your city to learn more about the most popular programming languages or cutting-edge graphic design techniques.
Alternatively, you can enrol in Lynda Online Classes in design, web development, software development, photography, or one of 600+ other subjects.
Practice additional skills
Aside from your core, industry-related freelance skills (i.e., your hard skills), you’ll also need to work on some soft skills.
Soft skills are more personality-related: communicativeness and critical thinking are probably the most important traits to cultivate, but you’ll also need to be persistent, good at dealing with stress, an efficient scheduler, and time management expert.
You’ll also need to be self-assured in order to persuade potential clients that you have the skills and experience they’re looking for.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you will need to cultivate and become accustomed to discipline. After all, you will most likely have to balance your full-time job with freelance side projects (not to mention personal errands), which requires some practise.