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As a student, you have to get used to living on a tight budget. Between rent, groceries, and entertainment expenses, you can get overwhelmed. In this situation, you will have to find a way to stretch your funds.
One possible solution is to make some extra money. “But how do I do that while I'm studying?”, this is where a light starts to shine: Freelancing!
- Our research shows that more than 50% of students believe in the usefulness of a work history before graduation.
- In a Fiverr survey, 71% of Gen Zers aged 16-25 are willing to freelance to pursue their passions and create time flexibility.
Freelancing brings you pocket money as well as hands-on experience, skills and contacts to add to your CV. Plus, you have unlimited flexibility with your time as it won't affect your work schedule. You can relax financially without overdosing yourself and without the need for a full-time job.
How to start freelancing as a student
1. Define your goals for freelancing
Can I work as a freelancer and study at the same time?
The answer is yes, but you should first decide why you’re looking to start freelance work.
- Are you looking at this as an opportunity to make a little extra money?
- Are you doing this because you’re the creative type, and you want to start building a career from scratch?
Defining your goal and why you want to start freelancing will inform the decisions you need to make surrounding your business or work. This will tell you what you’ll need to invest in your business to get it up and running and what position you’ll need to take.
So, make sure you know why you’re doing this and what you want from it.
2. Choose what skills you’ll start freelancing with
Before you decide on starting a freelance business, you need to confirm the skills you’ll use to pay the bills.
You will need to choose the skill set that you can best use to make money, and you will also need to find ways of how to monetize those skills.
Just think about some practice. What are your potential cash-making skills?
Not only do you need to have a passion for these skills, but you also need to make sure that it is something saleable.
One of the best ways is to assess the skills related to what you are studying.
Ideas on how to turn your skills into a marketable freelance service:
Software Engineering
If you are interested in backend development, you can focus on API integration or writing automation scripts. On the frontend side, you can address non-technical businesses by offering no-code web design with Webflow or Framer.
Interior Architecture
Not just offering interior design services, you can help support real estate companies by creating optimized decoration plans for Airbnb homes or concept-based 3D modeling.
Law Student
You can earn extra cash by creating contract templates for freelancers and start-ups. We know that there are many freelancers who need support with this.
Literature & Writing
If you are interested in creative writing, you can create scripts for trendy podcasts and video content. If you're prone to technical writing, services like editing website content or written content for social media are also a nice match.
If you’re not sure that your current skill set can help you with your solo career, you can always look for ways to develop and improve your skills.
This will also be a great investment in your future career.
3. Identify your target clients
Identifying your target clients is an excellent place to start freelancing. Understanding your target audience allows you to fine-tune your process.
It can help you decide where and how you will be marketing yourself and your skillset.
The Ancient Greek Delphic axiom goes: “Know thyself.”
Before knowing yourself, it’s hard to define your potential clients.
Once you’re done with this part, the second thing you should know as a freelancer is to know your clients.
Know
- what they want,
- what they expect from you, and
- what they would be disappointed by.
Defining your target clients is important, so make sure you take the time to consider it.
4. Package your skills into a service offering
It might sound a bit jargony, but this is essentially saying that you need to develop a way to sell your skills in a package.
That means taking your skillset and making it into a bundle of services that you can sell. It’s part of marketing yourself and your skillset.
Example #1 for freelancing students: Tutoring
For example, if you are a person with tutoring skills, then find a way to package this skill into a service. Find the appropriate way that you can offer this skillset to someone in a fashion that they’ll pay you for it.
So, maybe you offer to tutor someone in history for an hour session for $30 per hour. This is what it means to package your skills into service–then it’s about knowing how to pitch your services the right way.
Example #2 for freelancing students: Social media management
Let's say you are good at managing social media profiles. Great! Everyone needs that service.
When you also identify your target audience, it's time to define your service's scope.
For example, if you're into yoga and good at social media, your target clients can be yoga teachers. You can define your service as creating great Reels from their videos. Be specific; it will always help you.
5. Create a portfolio to showcase your skills
As a student, you’ll have to start by getting your foot in the door. Creating a portfolio that shows off your skillset is a way to showcase your talent.
A portfolio should be used to show what you are capable of to prospective clients. It’s one of the best methods to market your work.
Of course, the specifics would depend on the kind of portfolio you are building–a stellar copywriting portfolio would have different requirements than a freelance designer portfolio.
Because you’re likely just starting, you might not have examples of your work lying around.
That’s why it’s important to produce work or examples that you can use.
These don’t necessarily need to be professional but instead can be personal or passion projects. If, for example, you studied something artistic in school, or worked on a creative project for a course, then you can use these as part of your portfolio as well.
Where can the portfolio be showcased?
Behance for designer: The premier portfolio portal for professional designers. PRO version is available and lots of example portfolios to inspire you.
Sample behance portfolio:
LinkedIn for social interaction: There are approximately 46 million students on LinkedIn, making up the second-largest group of users on the platform after professionals.
Google Drive for easy sharing: The easy way to ship your portfolio without making it public. You can create the portfolio from anywhere else, then add it to Drive and share the document with whoever you want.
6. Develop a strategy to find clients
When you are just starting out in freelancing, the work doesn't come to you, you are put on the spot to find it. That's why you need tactics to woo clients.
In fact, this is one of the most common freelancer cons - income uncertainty. When you can't find stable clients, your income is on shaky ground.
But always feel free to say “I'm here, I'm a freelancer, I can offer you these services.” You need to shout a bit - at least in the starting phase.
So, what are the 3 things you should pack in your bag for your freelancing road trip?
- Networking,
- Leverage your professional or personal social connections and
- Making the most of social media platforms like LinkedIn to find work and clients.
But where to set up the network and in which environment to find clients? Here are 3 top networks that make it easy to find clients faster:
Freelancer marketplaces
Starting with freelance marketplaces is a good idea. But the options are many, you will need to find out which one is best for you.
- Fiverr: There are no job ads here. You need to showcase your service by creating gigs. It's quite popular, but the 20% cut is a big minus. You might want to try other 12 Best Fiverr alternatives.
- Upwork: Here you have a limited number of connections and you spend them on applying for client requests. 10% commission is better than Fiverr.
- Freelancer.com: One of the biggest. The way it works is similar to Upwork. It is highly competitive and charges 10% fee. Also, job prices are relatively lower on this marketplace.
These are the biggest marketplaces. But there are others that are low-competitive and focus on specific sectors.
For example, PeoplePerHour is for anyone who wants to work hourly, while 99design caters only to graphic designers.
LinkedIn is the 3rd best marketing network in the world according to global marketers. The potential here is large and millions of freelancers are taking a piece of the cake.
What you can do with your LinkedIn profile?
- You can apply for jobs,
- attract potential clients,
- share viral content,
- contact others in your sector, and
- grow your network.
When you nurture your LinkedIn account with engagement, over time it becomes an assistant that brings you work. In this way, you can get rid of the problem of “unstable customers”, which is a serious challenge for freelancers, and find more faithful clients.
Job posting
Don't ignore job postings, because flexible and freelance work positions can also be found on job posting sites.
Nevertheless, it is essential for freelancer safety that job boards are equipped with strong policies.
You will find the best ones in the list below;
- Indeed: The world's #1 job board.
- CareerBuilder: US-based platform with 3 million job postings per month.
- ZipRecruiter: Known for its friendly interface and covers all sectors.
- FlexJobs: A spam-free site with only flexible jobs.
- SimplyHired: Totally free, focusing on remote jobs globally.
- Toptal: Here freelancers are hand-picked and matched with the right clients.
- Bark: Popular in the UK. You can find both local and digital jobs.
The job boards here cater to a wide range of people, so you'll need to do some digging to find the right one for your flavor of work.
7. Tap into your existing network
Speaking of networking, our next bet of advice is to use your existing network to your advantage.
Your friends, family, or colleagues all have connections that can help get you started in your freelancing career. So, don’t be afraid to ask them for advice or whether they might have job opportunities that they can introduce you to.
You should also look to expand your network in whatever ways feel most natural to you. This might mean joining online communities or attending workshops tied to your future career.
It’s an excellent way to expand your opportunities because it introduces you to new people who can help you expand your career.
3 global freelancer communities you can join now:
Reddit r/freelancer
Reddit is essentially a forum site, but it can be categorized into specific jobs and communities of people, and there is a room for freelancers.
When you go to r/freelancer, you can post experiences with freelancers from around the world, bounce ideas off each other, or go on a job hunt.
But don't forget that you can use it as a perfect source of information about payments, legal stuff, taxes, rates, pricing and much more.
Freelancers Union
Freelancers Union is a non-profit community supporting freelancers. It aims to increase the flow of ideas and networking between freelancers.
They also provide many useful educational materials for solo entrepreneurs and freelancers. With their “how to” guides, you can get answers to a lot of questions that confuse you.
Fiverr Community
You already know about Fiverr. There's something else here besides Gigs, and that's the forum.
As a freelancer, you can just simply log in to the Fiverr forums and find answers to common user problems.
Some talked about things in the Fiverr Community:
- Gig suggestions
- Sales tips
- User problems
- Fiverr experience
- Pricing and more
Ideas for freelancing: The best freelance jobs for students
Here are some top freelance job options to consider as a student, and polish up your skills accordingly:
Online marketer
An online marketer develops marketing strategies using tools and techniques like SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
Their goal is to attract customers to visit and engage with the companies’ social media accounts, website, and digital platforms.
Your responsibilities might include generating written or graphic content and posting them on social media.
Content/blog writer
A content writer is someone who, well, writes content. More specifically, they create content for a company with the ultimate goal of generating interest in its services or products.
Your job is to produce content that is both relevant to the company and engaging for its target customers. You may need to use specific keywords for SEO purposes or follow a briefing document that guides you on what to write about.
Translator
If you’ve ever used translation tools like Google Translate, you know firsthand that they leave a lot to be desired. That’s where professional translators come in.
Your job is to give accurate translations of a document from a “source” language into a “target” language. Localization and translation services are needed in all kinds of industries, so you have plenty of options when it comes to choosing a niche.
Freelance proofreader/editor
As a freelance editor, you’ll be responsible for reviewing your client’s content (most likely written) and checking it over before it is published or handed in.
This means possibly verifying statements for facts, correcting grammar mistakes, and perhaps working with a publisher and the content writer to make sure revisions are made and the piece is brought to perfection before it is published.
Data entry
Someone who works in data entry is paid to enter data or information into a database. This might include details about customers, their accounts, or converting physical records into a digital format.
You might also be asked to verify the data to ensure there are no discrepancies or mistakes.
Online tutor/teacher
With the rise of e-learning as an education method, it's an easy field to get into. There are two requirements to meet here.
First, you must be qualified to teach whatever you plan on teaching, either through certification or extensive knowledge and experience in the field.
Second, you need to find a platform like Zoom or MS Teams to host your class.
Website developer
Website developers/builders are responsible for designing and building websites. They are often responsible for the appearance and functionality of the site, ensuring both the technical details like site speed and the traffic it can handle, and how the website looks–the UI and graphic design elements.
Graphic designer
A graphic designer creates stylized visual text and images either by hand or using computer software that is meant to inspire or capture potential consumer interest.
Graphic design requires a creative mind, a bit of technical know-how, and some possible certification (you can, for example, study graphic design in school).
Essential tips for freelancing as a student
Now that we have covered how to get started in freelancing, here are 6 essential tips to help you on your solo work journey as a student:
Don’t wait for clients to find you. Reach out to them yourself
As a freelancer, you should continuously pursue clients in whatever ways you can because it increases your chances of finding work. Finding new clients means finding new revenue streams, so always be on the hunt.
Testimonials do wonders
Testimonials are a great way to market yourself because you demonstrate that you’ve done satisfying work in the past. So, let your happy customers speak for you when you’re trying to get new clients. Asking your customers’ feedback to generate testimonials is also a great way to help you improve your work and establish better connections with your client base.
Be polite in case you are refusing work
If you have to turn down work, make sure that you do it politely. It’s never a good idea to burn any bridges, especially if these clients can tell others about their negative experiences with you. Leaving an open door for future work opportunities will always come in handy.
Always keep a backup of your work
Keeping a backup of your work makes good practical sense. You never know when you’ll have some type of accident or have equipment issues, so make sure you have a solid backup system, whether you use a cloud storage or a hard disk for your documents.
Make sure your interpersonal skills are excellent
Being a freelancer means working with people, even if it’s not part of your day-to-day duties. You will have to negotiate rates, discuss your work schedule and terms, and sometimes even have to settle disputes on issues such as invoices, so make sure that you have the interpersonal skills to help these go smoothly.
Use Ruul to invoice your clients and receive the payments
Preparing compliant invoices to your clients and getting paid can be a painful and complicated process as a freelancer. With Ruul, you don’t have to worry about the complex steps involved in finance and legal compliance–you can get paid from anywhere in the world in the currency of your choice.
Hopefully this brief guide and tips will help you get started on your freelance work journey as a student. For all things freelancing and solo work, keep an eye on Ruul Blog and follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn!
FAQ
Freelancing for highschooler: Is it too early?
It's not too early. Today, work experience is much more valuable than ever. As long as you're not feeling overwhelmed between school and work, you can earn some money and collect some experience through freelancing as a highschooler.
How can I balance freelancing with school work?
It's all about setting boundaries. You can try to work only 1-2 hours on Sunday afternoons or on a weekday if you have a free day. And the key tip is: don’t extend working hours to other days when you’re supposed to study or have a social life.
Can I freelance without any experience?
Yes, because nobody started with fancy portfolios. You can build your portfolio slowly by taking on mini jobs and learning on the job.
