11 fundamental tips for success as a freelancer

How to succeed as a freelancer 🔥

As a successful freelancer, you can set your own price, you can determine your own workload, and you basically have no ceiling on your income.

In Denmark, a large number of freelancers thrive on this free and financially attractive life. But becoming a successful freelancer is certainly not something you can just do.

You have to chase clients that don't always come by themselves - and life as a freelancer is not for you if you want to be guaranteed the same income every month. There will be periods when the workload is smaller and none of your leads push the button - and you need to be able to handle that.

If, on the other hand, you thrive on a life where you are your own boss and are constantly in control of negotiating your own worth and how you spend your time, freelancing is an excellent career path for you.

In this post, we give you our top 11 tips to succeed as a freelancer.

1: Give up the dream of the perfect business plan: Execute, execute, execute!

Endless planning is a dangerous time waster and can create a false sense of security. You need to go where you can't go - out and test your idea and yourself.

There's no way around it: You need clients to make a living as a freelancer, so you might as well get started right away.

Talk to everyone who wants to talk to you. Your first target audience is everyone who is a potential buyer of your service. Find out why they are not currently choosing the service you sell. And then try to fill that gap.

Working on a business plan until it's perfect can be a safe bet. The problem is, it never will be. If you know what you want to do and you have a website (a simple digital business card), you're ready to chase customers.

Then the rest will take care of itself.

2: Chase the first customer hard

Speaking of the first customer - which is by far the hardest to get, but also very special.

We know many successful freelancers who still have their first client to this day - and these are people who have been in business for 2, 5 and 10 years.

Do everything you can to find that first customer - break some rules - show that you really want this. And eventually someone will see your value and invest in your service.

You will naturally go through fire and water for this customer and it will be appreciated. The customer is likely to be your entry ticket to new customers, so your new customer doesn't just represent the deal you make here and now. This is important to keep in mind.

The moment you send your very first invoice to your very first customer is special. Savor it.

3: Find the tangible value of your service: How do you help your customers make money?

Let's say you design logos. You're talking to a new client who wants something extraordinary. You know how much a unique logo is worth and what it requires of you. You therefore quote a price of 22,000 kroner.

Customers find it hard to understand how it can cost so much - it's just a logo, right? For some businesses, it can be difficult to see the tangible value of your service and it can be frustrating. But that's part of the game!

So keep your cool and describe the impact the right logo can have on your company's bottom line - and make no mistake: using freelancers is in your company's best interest.

You present your logical arguments with great conviction and confidence. And the customer listens - understands - and buys.

Remember: You're selling the hole in the wall - not the hammer.

4: Pricing: How are you neither too expensive nor too cheap?

What price is fair to charge as a freelancer?

First and foremost, you need to be able to pay your rent and bills - and of course, have a little extra to spare. You can calculate your job salary here.

Remember that you have to pay your own vacation pay, pension, administration and healthcare costs - and your customer does not.

On the other hand, your customers need to be able to afford to pay you - and they need to see the cost of your service as an investment rather than an expense.

This is the sweet spot you should try to hit when setting prices for your services.

Which strategy works best varies from customer to customer.

Here are some general guidelines you can follow:

• Never sell yourself too cheaply - unless you're brand new and struggling to get that first customer.

The psychological signal when something is very cheap is that it's not worth much. And if you're not worth much, why invest in you at all?

• Don't go the other way and price yourself unrealistically high either.

You're probably not the only one with your service your customer has talked to - and they know the price range they can expect. If the market price is 700, don't charge 1500 per hour unless you have the results to back it up.

• Be willing to negotiate the price.

But be aware that the customers who end up with the cheapest hourly rate are often the most difficult. In addition, avoid the discount temptation and only bring it up as a last resort.

• Know the market price and follow it.

Once you've been at it for a while, you'll quickly see which freelancers you're on par with and what they charge for their services. Charge the same as them - and then make sure you deliver an exceptional service. That makes for happy customers who stay in business.

• Be ready to say no.

Ultimately, both price and project scope must make sense for you. If it's an exceptionally exciting client, either because of the project or the references it will give you, it makes sense to go after the job with everything you've got. Price and scope are your direct motivation to cross the finish line with a happy customer in hand, and if one or the other factor doesn't get you up in the morning, be ready to let the job go to someone else.

Not sure what your price should be? You can download our template for calculating your hourly rate right here.

5: Learn to master personal branding

Reaching out to new customers is hard - and you're certainly not the only one trying. It may seem like the only option is to grab the bone and run cold canvas until the order book is filled. Because how else do you get companies talking?

But cold canvassing is a slow process - and you can be sure that the company in question will receive many calls similar to yours. This makes it hard to stand out from the crowd, no matter how sharp you are on the phone.

Instead, we recommend that you position yourself so that customers come to you - not the other way around.

One way to do this is with personal branding. Platforms like LinkedIn and your own website are ideal for this.

Find your own unique angle. Tell stories about your work. Present your success stories. Share a lot of knowledge for free.

Slowly and steadily, you'll gain followers who turn into leads, which eventually turn into paying customers who become the foundation of your success as a freelancer.

6: Close the order with value-added offers

Making the connection is important. The follow-up dialog is even more important.

But there's no money in the till if you can't follow up with a value proposition that the customer can't say no to.

It's trial and error and you will inevitably get better as you gain more experience, but here are 3 good pointers for making a good offer:

1. Keep it simple and clear. Above all, make it easy to understand the final price and what the customer gets for their money.
2. Provide several different pricing models. Your service isn't static and your customer won't necessarily know what they want if you don't present several different options.

• Outline the tasks, but don't go into detail - it can muddy the important messages. At the same time, you may need to justify why the task takes 30 hours and not 3 hours. Find a good balance.

Your customers need to be confident that you add value - help them on their way.

7: Spend more energy on retention than attracting customers

A new customer is exciting - but it's the regular customers that put food on the table.

Imagine you get a new customer with an instant order for 20,000 DKK. It's a strong order that really makes a difference in the month's revenue.

You already have a regular customer who generates DKK 5,000 in revenue each month. This means that the new customer is worth 15,000 DKK more in that month.

The problem is that for the new customer, it's only a one-off task. The new customer is only there for a single month.

But the regular customer is there every month - and continues to be. This means that in one year, the regular customer accounts for 60,000 in revenue compared to the new customer's 20,000.

That's a difference of 40,000 in the regular customer's favor.

Keep your regular customers happy. Prioritize them every single month. It pays off!

8: Focus when you work - and keep evolving

Arrogance is the biggest enemy of a successful freelancer.

You're only as good as your last job, and every day new, hungry freelancers start up to compete to be the best in your field.

Stay focused when you work and remember why you started. Aim to do your best every day and find joy in the task itself - not just the payment.

Your customers can feel it when the passion disappears.

9: The good customer meeting: Understand customer needs and make value-added sales

A good pitch will naturally come with practice and experience, but there are some things you can be aware of from your first customer meetings:

• When you say something about yourself or your performance, it should be with conviction. Confidence means
• Learn to ask questions to understand your customer's real needs - and sell your solution on those needs.
• Talk less than your customer in general - and use your own talk time to talk value and need solving.
• Be as specific as possible about things like price, schedule and any commitment periods.

Your offer is much more likely to hit the mark if you've spent time with your customer to find out what they really want - and how they may have been burned before.

Use it to your advantage.

10: Find out how you differ from your competitors - and use it as an active selling point

No matter who you are, you will have qualities that set you apart from your competitors. This could be, for example:

• Your price
• Your execution time
• Your previous results/competencies
• Your ability to understand needs and collaborate with your customer

Once you get to the core of your freelance business - your unique place in the market - you can start actively working on it. Get testimonials that specifically mention what's special about you.

Your future customers check your reviews. And if you hit the particular point they're looking for, you'll be way ahead of the game even before the first meeting.

11: Become a professional networker

In the sense that you need to focus on making a good impression every single time you meet someone. Because you never know who could be the gateway to your next super customer.

And it's just good manners to be nice and polite, no matter who you meet on your way.

Don't be disappointed if you leave a networking event without a single customer or coffee meeting. A casual conversation can turn into an acquaintance, which can turn into a lead, and that lead can, perhaps a full year later, turn into a paying customer.

Active networking is essential when your goal is to create a steady flow of customers.