It is easy to delay, to
procrastinate and generally drag your heels over something important like a
starting a business. So many people fall into the trap of wanting everything
perfect before actually taking the leap. They want a business plan, a website and
not to mention hours of time researching and getting to know their competitors.
The truth is that although these are all important they can come later once you
are already up and running. From a standing start to having paying customers
beating a path to your door you don't need a lot of time or preparation, even
if you don't yet know the different ways to make money from home or anything
about how to start a freelancing business.
So you have decided you want to
start a business. Maybe you have had enough of the 9-5, perhaps you are moving
abroad and won't be able to find traditional employment. Perhaps this is to be
a weekend project to bring in some extra income. Whatever your reason, follow
these steps and you will learn how to make money from home and have your
business launched in just a few days.
Step 1. Decide what you want to do
You may already have a clear idea about what work you want to be doing and how to earn money from home. A graphic designer will probably want freelance graphic design work, a marketing manager will likely want marketing roles. When it's not so clear cut however you need to have a look on Elance.com, Freelancer.com, Guru.com and Odesk.com to see the types of work that buyers are looking for. You will see virtual assistant jobs, data entry jobs, recruitment jobs and many more. See anything you like the look of? Often people want to start a business but haven't the faintest idea what might be a suitable niche for them; take advantage of these freelancer sites to see what is out there.
Step 2. Define your deliverable
This is a little bit like a compact business plan. I know I said to ignore the planning stage and just dive in, but this planning step doesn't take that long and will help you in the long run. Deliverable are a list of services / items that you will offer your clients that once delivered will signal the project is complete. For example, as an SEO copywriter your deliverable might be:
-x number of articles written with
x% keyword density
-coversheet with titles, keyword densities and notes for the client
This will make sure both you and the client are on the same page and there won't be any "scope creep."
-coversheet with titles, keyword densities and notes for the client
This will make sure both you and the client are on the same page and there won't be any "scope creep."
Step 3. Create profile at the major
freelancing site
The best sites on the web are Freelancer.com. Avoid looking for jobs on Craigslist.com or other classified ad sites as they are full of scams and spams. Create profiles on as many of these sites as you wish. Fill in as much information as possible and make sure to upload some examples of work if appropriate (even if you have to create the examples especially).
Step 4. Submit winning proposals
The key to submitting winning proposals is to create a proposal that outlines the steps you will take to complete the project. If the project is for some web content, don't use the proposal to say "I am great at creating web content" use the proposal to say "I will create your content by carrying out steps x, y and z (and I am great at creating web content)". This will make you stand out from the crowd.
There is no doubt that in order to
get your freelancing business off the ground, using freelancer sites is the
simplest and quickest way to do it. Of course there are other ways of finding
clients, but this technique shows you how to earn money from home without any
investment. Learning how to make money online for free is the first step on
your freelancing adventure. Good luck!
