Whether a newbie or an experienced freelancer, you should know that working more will not automatically increase your income. However, working more can also lead to burnout, which will cost you money and flexibility. Therefore, it is essential to focus on how to make more money by developing your core skills. The following are some ways to make more money as a freelancer. Read on to find out more.
Creating an emergency fund
Creating an emergency fund as a freelancer is an integral part of your financial plan, as it can protect you from the pitfalls of freelancing. The freelance lifestyle can be fickle, with months of high income followed by months of almost no pay. To protect yourself from financial emergencies, experts recommend setting aside three to six months’ expenses in an emergency fund. You can build this fund as you earn and even channel the money into an investment. In addition, the Motley Fool’s Rule Breakers program can benefit your portfolio. Its unique investment strategy and membership area are filled with educational articles, research reports, and stock trading tools.
Dropshipping
Dropshipping is a very low-cost way to sell products on your website. Unlike selling your products, you do not have to invest in inventory, building, or warehouse expenses. Plus, platforms like Shopify and Etsy make selling easy. This is because you already provide a product or service.
Sell your products
An online store for your products and services is a great way to expand your brand while reducing overhead. Another great way to make extra money as a freelance is to sell products online. You can list your designs on digital marketplaces like Merch by Amazon, and they will take care of the rest. Instead of maintaining your website, you can use Shopify to build your personal sales site. Not only will this diversify your income, but it will also open doors for future side jobs online.
Running a successful blog
While thriving blogs require considerable time and effort to maintain, they can provide a steady income stream. The key is to diversify your sources of income, as one change in the Google algorithm could spell disaster. Aside from paying you to write articles and blogs, blogging also pays for content creation, social media scheduling, and backlink outreach.
Choosing a retirement plan
As a freelancer, you probably work on a tight budget and don’t have much money to invest in your future. However, suppose you’d like to get ahead financially. In that case, you should consider investing in a retirement plan that offers tax-optimized investing and help and support for freelancers. A good financial adviser can help you create a retirement investing account and suggest tax-efficient investments. Most importantly, they should charge less than 1% of your assets to help you get started with your retirement savings.
Project-based gigs
If you want to make money as a freelancer, you have to find project-based gigs. Project-based gigs are full-priced regardless of the hours you spend on them. For example, a website designer might charge a flat rate of $3,000 to create a new website. Ensure to communicate the number of revisions needed and the timeframe before submitting the website. A retainer package is ideal for most freelancers. This gig requires you to agree to an ongoing payment for your services.
Affiliate marketing
If you don’t like going to work, affiliate marketing may be the perfect option for you. This freelance work allows you to set up campaigns from home and receive revenue from sellers’ products. However, you need to remember that starting a business requires a considerable amount of cash flow and up-front startup costs. Affiliate marketing is low-cost and requires no startup cost or product creation.
Retainer packages
There are several benefits to offering retainer packages to your clients. For example, they’ll have a set amount of time each month to spend with you, whereas you’ll be able to purchase that exact time for a flat rate. If you offer 20 hours of service for $2,000, you’ll be free to charge $100 per hour. Retainers also enjoy the flexibility of billing on a quarterly or annual basis, which makes them particularly attractive.
Identifying a niche
Once you’ve identified your unique skill, you need to find a niche that will appeal to a targeted audience. You may not be able to find many clients because there’s insufficient demand. Your skills won’t translate to money if you don’t see many clients.
While working at your day job, you can also start a freelancing business. The sooner you start, the more confident you’ll be about taking the plunge. Of course, you’ll go through slow periods, stress, and ebbs and flows, but eventually, things will pick up again. In the meantime, plan for the slow period. By taking action now, you’ll have more financial confidence when you start your own business.