Last week we spoke about why working as a freelancer in fashion is a good idea and what advantages it had. This week we want to help you by explaining how to get those first clients and how to keep your customer network growing. Finding your first clients is very hard, but by putting a lot of effort into it, we are confident that you will succeed.
We won’t lie about it, starting as a freelancer when you’re used to working at a company, isn’t easy. It will be a big adjustment, but at the end, it’s so worth it! The most difficult part about switching from a 9 to 5 job to a freelance career is figuring out where and how to find your first clients. Once you have a few clients the ball starts rolling and more will follow.
How to start?
First of all, you shouldn’t just quit your job without having any plan on how to start your freelance career. Get your resume updated, using a creative edge, this is something that we can help with, and determine what kind of freelance work you want to do.
Once you got your initial plan in place you can start to look for clients, but where to start? We’ll give you some tips and tricks, so keep reading.
WEBSITES
With the digital age, a lot of the freelance jobs are offered online. There are many people who are starting a new business and need help, but cannot afford to hire someone full time. For them, hiring freelancers is the ideal solution.
A freelancer who is specialised in graphic design, can find more than 20 websites with different jobs, but for all the other specialities it’s more difficult. Three of the best websites according to us, are the following: Upwork.com, Fiverr.com and Freelancer.com, all of them are easy to work with and has a lot of job offers. However, as good as these websites might be, it’s still you who has to do the actual work. Take time to create a complete, professional and attractive profile and apply to all the jobs that you think suits your skills.
RESEARCH & OWN INITIATIVE
The second way to find freelance jobs is by doing a lot of research yourself and look for potential brands or agencies that suit the vibe and kind of job that you are looking for. You’ll have more luck at smaller companies, who are usually more open to the idea of working with a freelancer, then big companies. Look online, on social media and at job websites as well. Even though almost all job postings are for a full-time position, don’t hesitate to send your application and propose a freelance contract, people might surprise you.
NETWORKING
A person meets a lot of other people in a life spam, and you never know what another person is able to do for your career. Always remember to treat everyone as you would like to be treated and never talk bad about people. In the world of freelancer of fashion, people know one another and people talk. Build a bad reputation with a client, and you can be sure that others will know about it.
That said, your network is a great way to find and get new jobs. Once your client is really happy with your work and one of her friends is looking for a someone in a similar position, it’s likely that she/he will recommend you. Word of mouth is a very powerful tool that can bring you a lot of advantages in your career as a freelancer.
Don’t be afraid to go to networking events in the fashion industry, it’s a great way to meet new people and potentially new customers as well.
SOCIAL MEDIA
With everyone on social media, companies included, social media is a great way to attract new potential clients. Your LinkedIn profile should be up to date and professional as well as containing information such as your skills, languages and type of jobs that you are looking for.
Instagram is a visual media channel where you are judged based on what people see. If you want to use it as a channel to search for clients and be discovered by them as well, avoid posting any content that isn’t suited for them to see.
You should consider social media as a kind of portfolio that shows people who you are and what you like and do. Write a good bio text and post images that fit with the image you want people to have of you. Don’t be afraid to write people private messages and ask if they are looking for an extra team member. You won’t have anything if you’re not willing to ask for it.
How to keep your client network growing
Now that we have told you a bit about how and where to look for your first clients, it’s time to talk about how to keep your clients happy and grow a bigger network of jobs and clients.
As we have told you before, word of mouth can be an amazing thing for your career as it can be very bad. Keeping your clients happy at all costs is something that you definitely want to do, but how?
You’ll notice that some clients are tougher to work with than others, and because you communicate mostly online, some clients are not afraid to talk to you in a rude and unprofessional way. When this happens, we recommend you to let it rest for a day and reply to it with a fresh and professional mind. Don’t be afraid to tell them what you think, but do it in a nice way. But trust us, most people are great to work with!
In order to keep clients happy, you should make sure the work you deliver is perfect and exactly what they asked for. Don’t miss a deadline for submitting work, of course it can happen that something comes in between, but always keep them informed about it.
Clients really appreciate your input and they love when you think out of the box. Suggest new ideas and always give your best when working with a client.
Once you have a few clients, you’ll notice that the ball keeps rolling and more and more opportunities will come your way.
Working freelance is great, but one of the main things is that you get out of it what you put into it. Don’t expect to put one or two hours of work into your search for clients and magically have 5 clients the next day. It doesn’t work like that, but work hard and it will most definitely be worth it and you’ll love the work you do.
