Freelancing 101

Get started as a freelancer on Elance and sign up today! http://bit.ly/elancepk

This session was prepared by Saad Hamid (Manager - Elance Pakistan) for the audience of the Digital Youth Summit 2014 in Peshawar.

The session covers:
- What is freelancing
- Myths about freelancing
- Recommended platforms
- Tips to become successful freelancers
- Case-studies of successful freelancers

Get started as a freelancer on Elance and sign up today! http://bit.ly/elancepk

Transcript

1. “Freelancing 101” SAAD HAMID MANAGER – ELANCE PAKISTAN
2. WHAT TO EXPECT HERE? What  is   freelancing   “Is  Freelancing   for  me?   What  are  the   recommended  pla7orms?   How  to  be  successful  as  a   freelancer?  
3. WHAT IS FREELANCING? “it’s  about  working  differently”     No  fixed  place   No  fixed  Ame   Ease  &  Convenience  
9. FREELANCING IN PAKISTAN “Approx:  more  than  1  million  freelancers   work  from  Pakistan”   =  populaAon  of  Fiji  
10. Recently,  the  unemployment  rate  of  Pakistan   increased  to  6.5%  and  so  it  can  be  said  that  one   out  of  every  10  people  of  the  country  are  suffering   from  unemployment.      The  unemployment  rate  in  urban  areas  of   Pakistan  increased  by  2%  to  10.1%,  whereas,  the   unemployment  rate  in  rural  areas  increased  from   4.3%  to  5%.    
13. WHO IS A FREELANCER?
14. WHO IS A FREELANCER? X  
15. IS FREELANCING FOR ME? Do  I  have   a  skill?   Am  I   disciplined   enough?   Can  I   market   myself?   Can  I   manage  a   team?   Do  I  have   good  work   ethics?   Am  I  ready   to  task   risks?  
16. WHAT FREELANCING IS “NOT”! “Becoming  your  own  boss”  
17. WHAT FREELANCING IS “NOT”! “About  providing  service  for  free”  
18. WHAT FREELANCING IS “NOT”! “Scheme  to  get-­‐rich  and  famous  quickly”  
19. WHAT FREELANCING IS “NOT”! “Work  less  and  make  more  money”  
20. WHAT FREELANCING IS “NOT”! “Ever  exciAng  and  innovaAve  work”  
21. WHAT TYPE OF FREELANCER DO YOU WANT TO BE? Individual   Company  
22. LOOK FOR THE MOST SUITABLE PLATFORM FOR FREELANCING! Obviously!  
24. ELANCE IS WHERE PEOPLE WORK DIFFERENTLY!   Elance  is  an  online  workplace  where   businesses  go  to  find,  hire  and   collaborate  with  skilled  online   freelancers  like  you.     •  500,000+  AcAve  Businesses   •  1.2+  Million  Job  Posts  Every  Year   •  Free  to  join  
26. WHY ELANCE? High-­‐value   freelancers   Community   Check   Payment   ProtecAon   BeauAful  UI   Free  Skills   VerificaAon  
28. The  Human  Cloud  
32. §  Matching  skill  set   §  Complete  job   descripAon   §  Few  compeAng   freelancers   §  No  or  few  invites   §  Appropriate     budget   Find  Jobs   Bid  for  Jobs   Job  is  Awarded   Collaborate  with   Client  
33. §  Write  a  good     proposal  /  introducAon   §  Propose  milestones   §  Set  your  bid  value   §  EsAmate  delivery  date   Find  Jobs   Bid  for  Jobs   Job  is  Awarded   Collaborate  with   Client  
34. §  Thank  you  note   §  Discuss  project  scope  and   milestones   §  Ensure  escrow  is  funded   before  starAng   §  NDA  &  other  agreements   Find  Jobs   Bid  for  Jobs   Job  is  Awarded   Collaborate  with   Client  
35. §  Deliver  high  quality  work   §  Respond  in  Ame   §  Deliver  according  to   schedule  &  milestones   §  Communicate   professionally     §  Make  sure  client  is   saAsfied   Find  Jobs   Bid  for  Jobs   Job  is  Awarded   Collaborate  with   Client  
37. Web   por7olio  and   profile   Visibility  to   thousands  of   prospecAve   clients   Vehng  of   clients   Guaranteed   payments  via   Escrow  and   Workview   NegoAaAon     and  dispute   sejlements   Benefits  for  Freelancers  
38. 6  Key  Freelancer  Takeaways   TIME    Invest  Ame  in  your  Elance  profile     MATCH  Scout  for  the  right  jobs   TAILORED    Right-­‐to-­‐the-­‐point,  tailored  proposals   ESCROW    Ensure  Escrow  funding   PRO      Professional  collaboraAon   PATIENT  Be  paAent.  It  take’s  Ame  to  win  the  first  job  
39. Elance:  For  Freelancers  vs  For   Businesses  
40. Categories  to  look  out  for  on  Elance  
45. HOW TO TRANSITION FROM A FREELANCER TO ENTREPRENEUR
46. Two  OpAons   Web  Dev.   Web  Dev.   Web  Dev.   Web  Dev.   Web  Dev.   Mobile  Dev.   QA   UX   Designer   VerAcal  &  Virtual   Horizontal  &  Hybrid   Web  Dev.  
47. VerAcal  vs.  Horizontal   §  Build  a  on-­‐demand   virtual  team  of  online   freelancers  with  same   skills  as  you   §  Use  your  good  raAngs  to   win  more  and  bigger  jobs   §  Outsource  cheaper  or  less   exiAng  jobs  to  your  dev   team,  but  retain  a  lead   fee   §  You  do  project   management  and  QA  to   ensure  top  quality   •  Build  a  hybrid  team  with   complementary  skills   –  Lead  and  project  management   on-­‐site   –  ExecuAonal  roles  online   •  Use  your  good  raAngs  to  win   bigger  jobs  with  wider   variety     •  Tasks  are  executed  by  those   with  best  skills   VerAcal  &  Virtual   Horizontal  &  Hybrid  
48. The Success Criteria Work  With  Clients     •  Quality.  Quality.  Quality.   •  Responsiveness   •  Professionalism     •  ExperAse   •  Adherence  to  schedule.   •  Over-­‐deliver  –  not  over-­‐ promise.     Work  With  Other  Freelancers   •  Test  several  to  find  the  best   •  Lead  and  support  them   •  Comprehensive  specs   •  Use  milestones  in  projects   •  See  them  as  team  members   •  Build  long-­‐term  relaAonships  
49. PAKISTAN RANKS #4 ON ELANCE   hjps://www.elance.com/q/online-­‐employment-­‐report  
50. PAKISTAN RANKS #4 ON ELANCE   hjps://www.elance.com/q/online-­‐employment-­‐report   160,000  freelancers  
51. PAKISTAN RANKS #4 ON ELANCE   hjps://www.elance.com/q/online-­‐employment-­‐report   37,000  businesses  
52. PAKISTAN RANKS #4 ON ELANCE   hjps://www.elance.com/q/online-­‐employment-­‐report   PHP   HTML   MySQL   CSS   Graphic     Wordpress   Photoshop   Web  Design   .Net   iPhone   Top Skills from Pakistan
53. PAKISTAN RANKS #4 ON ELANCE   hjps://www.elance.com/q/online-­‐employment-­‐report   Admin  Assistant   Computer  Skills   Data  Entry   Graphic  Design   Top Skills from Peshawar 2500+  freelancers  
54. Male   87%   Female   13%   Males vs Females on Elance from Pakistan
55. TIPS ON FINDING SUCCESS AS A FREELANCER!
56. Start  with  small  projects       Look  for  tasks  that  seem  easier  and  can  help   you  build  your  profile  in  the  start.   #1
57. Do  not  limit  your  skill  set.     Look  for  projects  of  all  types  but  try  to  get   ones  that  you  are  good  at  and  start  from   there.   #2
58. Underselling  yourself  helps.     For  a  start,  there  is  no  harm  in  offering  a   discounted  price  to  clients.     #3
59. Focus  on  building  profile.     If  you  don’t  have  a  por7olio  on  Elance,  build   an  external  one.  Make  your  clients  believe   you  deliver  quality  work.   #4
60. Hire  a  bidder  if  you  can.     Elance  bidders  are  specific  people  who  are   skilled  at  the  art  of  proposal  wriAng  and  help   you  win  proposals.   #5
61. Always  think  of  “Why  Me”.     Always  think  what  leverage  you  have  against   other  bidders  and  why  the  client  will  tend  to   choose  you  instead  of  others.   #6  
62. Try  small  tricks  and  see  what  works.     Like  instead  of  wriAng  details  proposals,  try   something  crazy  or  funny  and  see  if  the  client  will   iniAate  a  discussion  with  you.  How  about  a  video   proposal  or  a  localized  greeAng  message?   #7
63. Fill  up  a  detailed  profile.     Your  profile  is  your  face  value  so  keep  it   simple,  clean  and  to  the  point  and  clean   enough  so  it  shows  up  in  searches  too.   #8
64. Study  profiles  of  others.     Try  to  do  a  thorough  research  and  see  what   they  do  differently,  how  they  build  their   profile  and  what  sort  of  projects  they  bid  on.   #9
65. Be  paAent.     Keep  trying.  Make  up  different  formulas  and   keep  trying  unAl  you  get  your  first  project   because  there  onwards  it’s  a  long  journey.   #10
66. CASE-STUDIES OF SUCCESSFUL ELANCERS FROM PAKISTAN
67. “Working  Differently,  has  really  changed  my  lifestyle,  no  headache   of  waking  up  at  6  o'  clock  :D  then  tension  of  decent  dresses  blah   blah  :D  8  to  5  hard  work,  boss  shouts  huhhhhh  boring  professional   life  yakhhh  can't  open  facebook  in  office,  can't  make  calls  to   friends  and  family  :D”   Salma  Noreen   Web  Developer  from  Ajock  
68. Salma  Jafri   Content  Service  Provider  from  Karachi   “Working  from  home  via  Elance  first  enabled  me  to  get  out  of  the  rut  of  being   a  stay  at  home  parent.  I  felt  the  itch,  about  a  year  auer  having  children,  to   really  want  to  work  again  and  channel  my  non-­‐mom  energy.  But  my  conscience   wouldn't  let  me  leave  the  children  for  an  in-­‐office  job.  Thankfully,  remote  work   saved  my  sanity  by  giving  me  a  creaAve  outlet  and  allowing  me  to  become  an   appreciated  member  of  working  society  again.”  
69. Salman  Hijazi   IT  soluAon  provider  from  Islamabad  
70. Farrukh  Malik   IT  services  provider  from  Islamabad  
71. Sadaf  Ajmal   SEO  /  Social  Media  
72. Elance is the top choice for freelancers •  Highest  quality  clients  and  jobs  online   •  Best  tools  to  market  yourself  and  collaborate  with   others   •  Elance  ProtecAon  for  both  Fixed-­‐Price  and  Hourly   •  The  world’s  safest  and  most-­‐trusted  online   workplace   It’s Free!
74. saadhamid@me.com