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Here’s How I’d Start as a New Freelancer With No Money
That was my story two years ago.
We thought the world might be ending, but I still needed to have rent money — in case it didn’t.
When I started freelancing in March 2020, there was a nice bit of luck involved. I offered to write blog posts for people for free, and they were all generous enough to pay me.
The same week, I saw a random comment on Reddit that led to a $350 writing gig. I managed to make my first $700 without trying that hard. I needed to make at least $500 to cover my bills, so I figured this was a viable business venture.
Over the next ~6 months, reality started setting in and I realized that I didn’t know what I was doing.
Starting a new business is hard, and it’s an even bigger challenge when you have no budget or room for error. If I didn’t make enough money, it meant that I couldn’t pay the bills.
I remember wanting to buy a website domain for months. But, it cost $19 and I couldn’t afford it.
You won’t find success overnight, but freelancing is one of the best money-making opportunities when you’re broke.
I know everyone is fascinated by passive income. If you need money, providing a service and getting paid for it is your best option.
Freelancing has very little startup costs. You can work anywhere at any time. You can work as much or as little as you want. And you can learn a valuable skill for free.
How do you get started?
Here’s what I’d do if I had to start over with the same nonexistent budget.
Pick a service you want to offer
This should be something that you’re familiar with.
You don’t need to be an expert, but you need to be competent. I decided that I’d write blog posts for people. I had experience writing blogs for my own website and was comfortable writing for others.
I wasn’t great at it, but I’d done it before.
Honestly, it doesn’t take much to get hired, and you should start before you feel totally prepared.
