Dreaming of leaving the 9-to-5 behind and becoming a freelancer? It's not a pipe dream at all.

Many careers lend well to freelancing and with the online tools that are available today, it's becoming much easier to reach customers around the globe.

Here are a few key steps to starting your freelance career on the right foot.

Step 1: Identify a service you could offer

What skills do you have that could translate nicely into a freelancing career? For example, if you are an accountant, could you transition into becoming a freelance bookkeeper?

Look at the skills you are using in your current, or past jobs, and leverage them into a marketable service. You might even have a passion or hobby that could translate well into a freelance career.

Step 2: Determine your ideal client

Once you've determined what service you want to provide, it's time to figure out who you want to serve.

You may not know yet who you want to serve but having an idea will make marketing yourself much easier. Your niche could be a certain industry (doctors, hair stylist, coaches, etc.), or a certain type of person (busy moms, working parents, stressed pet parents, etc.).

Step 3: Determine your offerings

Now it's time to figure out your offerings. 

Decide what services you want to offer and then package them into 1, 2 or more offerings that will appeal to your customers. You may need to do a little research here to figure out what people want. Look at other people offering similar services. How are they packaging their offerings?

Step 4: Set your prices

Setting your prices can be tricky, but it doesn't have to be. Figure out what the going rate is for your services and go from there.

The key is not to under value your services. You don't need to be the cheapest in town - and you probably won't attract the right client if you are.

You may want to offer some first time deals to get new customers in the door, or even a pro bono project here and there to get testimonials, but don't low ball yourself in the long term.

Step 5: Set a timeline

Now it's time to set some goals for your big exit from the 9-to-5.

Goals are great because they can help you take action toward your freelancing goal. Your goals are personal to you. Start with a big goal, and then break that goal down into bite size chunks.

Your goals should work for you. Just be sure to break down your main goal so you can see and feel the progress you are making towards it! One big goal is often hard to achieve without the roadmap provided by smaller goals.

Step 6: Get your process in place

Getting your workflows and processes in place takes a bit of time. But once you get your first freelance client, you'll want to refine this and make sure your process is good for you and for your clients.

You’ll want to get agreements/contracts in place, your business identity set up (any state business licenses or insurance you may need) establish workflows and systems for actually doing the work and set boundaries.

After a few freelance projects, you should be able to refine this much better!

Step 7: Gather your marketing materials

You'll want a few marketing tools to help you present yourself in the best possible manner. A professional website, a social media presence and possibly business cards, will be necessities depending on your services and customers.

Don't get hung up on this though. You don't need to spend thousands of dollars and months getting a website made. 

Depending on your industry, you may want to get some business cards, especially if you plan to attend networking events. 

Step 8: Start networking

Networking is the best way to get clients! Start telling everyone you know about your new services. Offer a referral gift to anyone who sends you a new client. This is important! You'll want to show gratitude for those who are helping you grow your dream business!

Word of mouth is the best way to get new clients, so take good care of your existing clients and deliver exceptional service and you will have more feast than famine!

If you are starting a home-based freelance business or trying to grow an existing service-based business, then having a quality website is going to be an important piece of your marketing plan.

These days, a quality website doesn’t have to cost you thousands of dollars. You can start by setting up a WordPress site and choosing a quality theme to showcase your brand.

Keep in mind that your website should be generating leads for you. Putting up a low-quality site with the wrong messaging could hurting your business more than helping it.

Here are the seven elements to help make your website appealing to potential customers.

1. Say what you do and who you do it for, in a clear, concise way

Make sure that what you do is clear on the homepage. For example, “Virtual Assistant Services for Busy Entrepreneurs” is a clear, concise tagline that states exactly what you do and who your ideal client is.

If you offer services to a specific niche, such as writers or real estate agents or coaches, be sure and state that loud and clear on your homepage.

For example, you could use, “Virtual assistant services for busy coaches” or “Social media management for busy real estate agents”. 

2. State the benefits first and foremost

Try to stay away from getting too wordy about what you do on your homepage (or any page!). Focus on the benefits of working with you. 

Instead of, “I offer social media and blogging services using top notch tools”, use something more benefit-focused such as, “My VA services can give you back hours in your day so you can focus on growing your business and making more money. Leave the social media posting and blogging to me!”

See the difference? Always focus on the benefits your new client will receive over the specifics of your services. You can focus on the specifics on your services page.

3. Have a clear call to action

On your homepage, be sure and include a call to action for your potential client. 

It can be a “Contact Me” button or a “Click here to find out more” link…just something to lead them towards learning more about you and an easy way to contact you.

4. Have an F.A.Q. page

This is of course optional for your site but having a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, is always a good idea. It’s helpful for potential clients who may have questions that can be addressed right on your website.

If you are providing answers to common questions without a potential client having to reach out to you to ask them, then you’re already saving them time, which they will appreciate.

5. Include a picture of you

Have a picture of you on your website to help your potential clients feel like they know you before they even meet you. 

It doesn’t have to be a professional picture, but make sure it is a good quality photo. 

6. Testimonials

If you have done any work for anyone using your services, even if you did it as a favor for a friend, get a testimonial.

Testimonials are great social proof that you are good at what you do! Even if you have 2-3 that’s a great start. If you can get a picture of the person that is giving the testimonial, even better.

7. Keep it simple

Try not to overthink your website or get overwhelmed by it. The main goal is to get the benefits and facts up and you’ll be ready to go.

Keep it simple and follow these tips to help showcase your business in the best light online.

freelance ideas

Are you a detail-oriented person looking for home-based business, or freelancing ideas?

Here are five that could be a great fit for you if you are a detail-oriented person.

1. Freelance Bookkeeping

If you are a detail-oriented person and like working with numbers, then starting a bookkeeping business could be a fantastic option for you.

Small businesses all need good bookkeeping help, but most don't have the budget to hire a bookkeeper full-time, which leaves a huge opportunity for those who have bookkeeping skills.

Of course, to be good at bookkeeping you need to be meticulously detail-oriented and enjoy working with numbers. But the huge benefit of this type of business is it's a recurring service, which means recurring income.

Most bookkeeping is done on a monthly, on-going basis. This is good news because you can establish a relationship with clients and potentially work with them for years as I did with my diaper bag business client. That helps make your income much more predictable.

2. Proofreading

If you have an eye for detail, then proofreading is a fabulous way to earn money from home.

Think you can't make decent money proofreading? Think again!

Will you get rich proofreading? Probably not. But we're not talking about getting rich we’re talking about finding work that allows you some flexibility, no commute and the ability to be more present for your family while earning a living.

3. Virtual Assistant

Virtual assistants (VA’s) are in high demand. You can specialize in areas that compliment your skills. For example, you can be a technical VA, a VA who does writing, a social media VA, or a general VA that does a variety of tasks.

Being organized and detail-oriented are key skills you need to succeed, especially if you are juggling multiple clients, which many VA's do.

4. Resume Writer

Do you love updating your resume and helping others jazz up their resume? Most people find this an overwhelming, but necessary task. 

Resume writing requires meticulous attention to detail. The last thing you want to do (or have a client do) is submit a resume with typos and spelling errors. There is a definite level of creativity that goes into resume writing as well.

If this type of work interests you, you can always start by doing resume writing for a company to get your feet wet, or you can launch your own home-based business as a resume writer. Obviously, it will take some time and a lot of networking and marketing to get clients flowing in, but you can do it.

5. Freelance Writer

With all the content marketing happening on the internet these days, there is a huge demand for good content writers and copywriters. Even brick-and-mortar businesses are using blogs and email marketing to reach their customers and acquire new ones.

This is where you could use your fabulous writing skills and detail-oriented skillset to earn a living.

It will help you to market your writing services if you have a particular style of writing or a niche in mind. 

Do any of these businesses appeal to you?

There are a ton of other side hustles, home-based business ideas and remote jobs that you could pursue with your detail-oriented skill set. This is a small sampling of home-based business ideas to get your creative juices started.