How I Got My First Freelance Client as a Student

Introduction

When I started learning web development, the question of how to earn money was the most common thought. Similarly, the question of how to earn money must be the same for you every day. In today's blog, we're going to look at how you, as a student, can earn money and how to get your first client. If you follow my steps carefully, you'll definitely get a client.

When I wanted to land my first client and earn money, I faced many challenges. But you don't need to worry; I'll walk you through it step by step. You will get your first clients but one thing to keep in mind is that you must be an expert in some skills otherwise you will not be able to do anything.

My Situation Before Getting My First Client

When I was looking for my first client, I had no experience, no reviews portfolio, or referrals from other clients. This caused me a lot of problems. When you freelance, all your clients are online and new, so they don't know us, nor do we know them. This is the biggest problem. A client only trusts you when they see your previous work, reviews from previous clients, or you act like a brand.

If you want to get clients and show them trust, you'll need to create a portfolio that showcases your work. What you have to do is based on your skills, showing them to the client that you've created this, and the client will automatically assume that you're smart and understand the work you're doing. Look, many times the client, after seeing our work, messages us saying, "I want you to do this."

So, you'll have to create some projects, which will require hard work and won't bring you any money, but when the client comes, it'll be a great thing because you don't have a network or client reviews yet.

The Biggest Mistake I Made

This mistake was the biggest one of my life, and it's a mistake student are making even today. Many people go to freelancing sites, create accounts, and then wait for 1-2 years, hoping they'll find clients. It's not certain that they won't. If you're lucky, you might find one Those clients are found only by those who created accounts early, with good reviews, etc., so it's difficult to get your number on there.

This often happens because we create accounts with SEO in mind. I do and I am talking only about new freelancers but those who have already created an account there have reviews but you do not have it because you have just started so if any client notices your account less then he will not want to give you any commission because I have already told you that the client needs trust and you cannot provide this right now so he will give the commission to the one who has already done it so the meaning of saying this is that you should not create an account on the freelancing website.

Building My Skills First

If I were you, I wouldn't chase the client first; I would build my skills first, because this is most important. If you lack skills, you can't do the client's work. Suppose a client came to you and asked you to show your work, you wouldn't show it. Or else, if the client asked about the work they want done, like how it would be done, what technology would be used, you would remain silent.

And this would be your biggest mistake: you wouldn't tell them clearly, and then the client would think it was no less. The client comes and you will not get the client that comes; hence it is important for you to learn the skills. You can develop skills according to your interest, for which if you do not have money, then you can also learn for free from YouTube, where you will get all the information.

Creating My Portfolio

Now let's talk about portfolio, I have already explained it in detail in the article, you will get the link below, but portfolio is necessary for every student freelancer who wants to build trust in the client, wants to showcase his work so that he can earn money from his skills, so you will have to create a portfolio because in the portfolio, apart from your bio data, you can also include your skills, client reviews if any, as well as most importantly your projects which you cannot add in the resume, but in the portfolio website you can add everything nicely which everyone can see.

See, everyone can add a project. Nowadays everyone has portfolio skills but they do not know how to implement them. See, if you want to stand out from a crowd of 100 people, then you will have to do something unique. You will have to add premium unique projects in the portfolio instead of normal projects. If the client or company sees it, then they will feel that they can do something unique.

How I Found My First Client

I got my first client through Instagram, which I did within two or three months, because I realized at that time that freelancing websites weren't worth it. So, I leveraged social media to get my first client.

And this is the most important point: if you have the skills, you'll need to put in some effort. All you have to do is use social media. Nowadays, everyone is very active on social media, which you can use smartly to get clients. You need to showcase your skills to people through reel videos. People will watch them, and you'll start receiving messages, and from there, you'll start getting clients. You'll also get your first client.

Look, the most important thing here is consistency, which not everyone can maintain. You need to have some patience to progress in freelancing. This isn't something that can be done overnight, but if you work hard, you'll definitely get clients. You need to work on a daily basis, or as much as you can accommodate.

Conclusion

In the end, I want to tell you that you have to work hard and if you have some patience and work hard then you will definitely get clients because I have told you all the problems that I have faced in my life and how I fixed them. If you work hard and understand this then you will get a lot of benefit with less hard work. It is not like that if you share a reel today then a client will come tomorrow and when you get a client then work hard and get a review from him, even if he pays less money but you have to work well which will build your network.