TIPS: Six Free Ways to Find Freelance Work

Consulting Tips

By Frances Chaves
Freelancing may be the way you want to go or it may be a way to keep busy between jobs. But all freelancers face the same issue as the unemployed: how to find work.  Most of what we learn at PSGCNJ about finding full-time work applies to finding freelance work.
Prepare for freelancing:

  • Determine what skill or service you have to offer and who needs that skill.
  • Research what people get paid for that skill or to provide that service. A lot of this information can be found online.
  • Decide if you want to get paid by the hour or by the project.
  • Join the Freelancers Union at http://www.freelancersunion.org/
  • Familiarize yourself with the Freelancers Union’s “Contract Creator” for when you get that work!

Find freelance work by connecting with people who need your skills and/or services:
1.       NETWORK: the best way to find freelance work is through networking. Get business cards and never leave home without them.
2.       SOCIAL MEDIA: start a web-site and/or a blog; get on LinkedIn; join related groups; comment on sites.
3.       EMAIL: send a message to your entire list; tell them what you are doing and ask them for contacts and referrals.
4.       REFERALS: Ask for referrals from past clients or former employers.
5.       CONNECT with members of your local chamber of commerce / business council.
6.       SEIZE THE MOMENT: by accident, I sent LinkedIn invitations to my entire email list which included parents of five years of my son’s classmates. Someone I barely knew contacted me, said they knew someone who was looking for a content writer, and bingo, it turned into a paid gig. Take risks, turn mistakes into positive action, and the work will materialize!
Here are some sites that provide advice on finding freelance work:
http://freelanceswitch.com/finding/101-ideas-to-get-more-freelance-work-and-generate-new-client-leads/
http://mashable.com/2011/04/24/freelance-work/
There are some job boards you might want to check:
http://www.freelancersunion.org/ 
http://cnj.craigslist.org/
http://thefreelancenation.com/

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