Be disciplined and responsible

When you’re a freelancer you answer to no-one except your clients.

But since you’re freelancing no one will be there to ask you, ‘Why are you late?’ Or ‘Why is this task not finished by this time?’

To become the best freelancer you must have self-discipline and be the kind of person who takes responsibility.

Improve your English skills

Many freelancers do not speak English as their first language, but are doing well as freelances.

Invest time in reading English books and taking grammar exercises. There are many sites that offer free advice on writing good English.

There are apps for smartphones that let you converse with native English speakers, while they learn your language from you.

Find your niche

Freelancing becomes enjoyable when you do the things you love. Find a specific niche you are interested in and work on harnessing your skills for that niche.

Great freelancers are not experts in everything. When you are a new freelancer you can do a little bit of everything as long as you have the basic skills required.

As you grow, find particular topics you want to write about or technical things you want to focus on. For instance, if you know that you are not good at building websites, you can concentrate on editing photos and designing book covers.

In no time, you will be an expert and clients looking for these services will come running to you and be willing to pay anything you charge.

Task

1. Identify the things you love doing.

• Is there a niche you can occupy?
• Is there a niche you can learn more about?
• How might you earn money from that?

2. How good is your English?

• Even if it is good, you can always improve.
• How will you improve your English?

Write your thoughts in the Take Notes box.