How to Start Your Freelance Design Career

More and more people are ditching their 9-5 jobs and opting to join the freelance workforce every year. In fact, there were 55 million freelancers in the U.S. in 2016 — an increase of 1 million compared to 2015, according to freelancing platform Upwork.

However, even as freelancing becomes more prevalent and employer hiring behaviors are changing, it can still be nerve racking to make the jump from a full-time employee to freelancer.

But in reality, you may have more job security and benefits as a contractor, and even make more money than you do as a salaried employee.

Discover 5 ways you can start preparing to become a freelance designer now to ensure you will have success if you decide to make the transition in the future.

Build Your Network

One of the best things you can do to prepare for a freelance design career is to start networking and letting people know that you’re looking to transition into freelancing. Let former colleagues, friends, and even family know about your plans and your expertise.

With an increased emphasis on marketing in growing businesses, you never know who might have a need for your services. Also, it takes time to build up a client base so you don’t want to wait until you’ve quit your job to let people know about your plans.

Don’t just reserve your networking to your existing group of contacts. Make sure you’re active on social media, especially LinkedIn, and reaching out to new professionals. Go to networking groups, become a regular at industry events, and even frequent local coffee shops and coworking spaces. The more people who know about your services and skills, the better chance you have of finding work when the time comes.

Showcase Your Personal Brand

A huge part of finding new clients and gigs for freelancers is done online and through social media. Since someone is not meeting you face to face, their first impression of you is going to be from your LinkedIn profile or personal website.

Even though you’re selling your skills, you’re also selling yourself. You may loathe the idea of self-promotion, but it’s critical to your survival, especially when first starting out and work is sporadic.

Another way to showcase your brand is to make sure all of your social media profiles are accurate and positively reflect your design skills. Get active on Twitter and LinkedIn, participate in industry conversations, and position yourself as an expert in your field. This won’t happen overnight and is something you can start building today.

Create a Portfolio

You can tell potential clients about your skills and expertise, but oftentimes it comes down to them seeing actual work samples to really make a decision on whether or not to use your services. One way you can showcase your talent is by creating a personal website or an online portfolio.

For example, if you’re looking to become a freelance graphic designer, make sure you have a personal website or work samples that show off your skills and creativity. If you have a sloppy or unfinished personal website, it reflects poorly on your work and may discourage a potential client from using your services. Also, make sure the samples your provide accurately represent your work and the services you’re offering.

Consider Promoting a Specialization

There are many freelancers designers promoting a wide array of skills and experience working with a variety of industries. However, specialization can make it easier for potential clients to understand what you do, as well as justify higher rates for your expertise.

You can define your specialization vertically by industry — real estate, healthcare, retail, etc. — or horizontally by categories businesses typically need — brochures, websites, eBooks, etc.

Just because you have a specialization doesn’t mean you have to limit which jobs you take, but it will help with your cash flow early on and you can add more specialties as your freelance career evolves.

Find a Mentor

There are many different tips and articles on the internet about working as a freelancer, but some of the best advice will come from someone who actually has experience working as a contractor.

You can find industry forums and Meetups dedicated to freelance designers, or you can even meet other freelancers at coffee shops or co-working spaces. Even if they an entrepreneur or freelance for a different field, they can still provide advice for getting clients or may know a client who needs your services.

Time Management

Before you begin promoting your design services for hire, you should have a system in place to help you manage your time. Once you get busy and start to juggle multiple gigs, it can be difficult to track your time using a spreadsheet or notebook.

There are online services like Due Time Tracking that allow you to track your time and generate invoices based on the hourly rates you set.

Apply For Freelance Opportunities

When you’re just starting out as a freelancer, it may be difficult to find steady work and contracts on your own, but you there are many sites dedicated to helping place freelancers in contract roles with top companies.

According to research from Randstad, 72 percent of HR professionals consider finding workers a challenge because the talent pool is lacking, and a separate study found that 70 percent of companies had hired a freelancer.

This research shows that there are companies looking to hire freelancers for their specialized skills. Consider signing up for job boards for freelancers, or join a network of design freelancers to increase your chances of getting matched with an employer who is looking for your specific skills.

The transition from full-time employee to freelancer may seem scary at first, but with the right preparation, you can have a more successful career as a freelance designer.