Being a freelancer means doing all of the background work as well as the job itself. No matter what your career is, you need to have the same skills as your corporate competitors, just on a smaller scale.
Using guides from sources like The Confident Freelancer can help you stay motivated. But picking up on these 5 skills will make you stand out from the crowd.
Understanding Programming Languages
Not only can you become a freelancer by working on code for your clients, but you can use coding skills to make your own projects more efficient.
Many businesses use JavaScript as their main programming language. When you look up freelance sites such as UpWork, you’ll see JavaScript programmers as one of the most requested job types.
If you already know how to use this or any other type of programming language, you can sell this skill to do one-off jobs for small and big companies alike.
If you don’t know this skill already, you should take a few beginner classes to learn how to use the organization methods and create an easy management style for your freelance career. The simpler your website is, the more likely the client will stay interested.
App And Website Design
It’s one thing to have a website that is easy to use but to really make your content stand out, you need it to look good too.
Website design and app design are different skills that a freelancer needs to navigate. What might look good on your website, could seem clunky or miss-placed on your app.
Apps shouldn’t require too much data, as it can drain your client’s battery and force them into refusing your business due to the hassle. The website, however, can handle a lot more data, and so any interaction that requires a large processor should be redirected from the app to the website. Doing this seamlessly, without extra steps, will stop your clients from getting frustrated.
Making designs like these is a skill. You need to understand programming languages first to reach this step, so take a beginner’s course in the subject to ensure your online sites fit your client’s needs.
Project Management
Surprisingly, project management roles are being offered out to freelancer workers. The idea is to hire someone who can look at the businesses from an outsider’s perspective, suggest a new route to increase productivity, and then leave again once the job is done.
You can sell your skills as a project repairer, helping companies that have slowed their progress and aren’t sure why.
Circling back to your own work, you need to know how to manage your projects and deadlines effectively. Knowing this skill will help you organize your work, keep ahead of your client’s needs and create a respectable business based on reliability.
Data Analysis
Understanding how to utilize data is the key to reaching more clients. Interpreting the data, spotting trends, and then creating predictions can help you see where you are going right and where you need to improve.
You can also see where people are getting your advertisements from. For example, if you are getting the most clientele from Instagram, but others in your field are finding more customers on LinkedIn, then you can use data analysis to learn why their advertisements are getting more traction on that platform.
Data analysis can be difficult to learn, but invaluable in unpicking your strengths and weaknesses. If you have this skill already, you will find that many companies would be eager to hire data analysts to improve their business.
Video Production
With platforms such as TikTok becoming ever more popular, it’s imperative that freelancers make their presence known before large companies start dominating the space. Knowing how to direct, film, edit and produce a viral video will make your adverts more eye-catching. A professional video will also suggest a knowledgeable and well-put-together product. Essentially, you should follow the “If it looks good, people will buy it” mentality.
If you’re already great at these skills, then guess what, many companies aren’t. Big and small companies alike will hire freelance video producers to bring in the audience base they are failing to attract.
Summary
Many of the best skills you need to create a successful freelance business in 2022, can also be used in a freelance job.
Once you learn how to analyze data, produce videos, design a website or write a programming script, you should use that new skill as a feature in your freelance contracts.Â
