I Thought I'd Never Have A Freelancing Career At Age 30. Here's How I Did

When I was a kid, I had no idea what I wanted to do when I grew up. But in my late 20’s, I still didn’t know what career path to take. It wasn’t until my 30’s that I found a career that not only fit me but also allowed me to work from home and spend more time with my family.

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Takeaways
Starting a freelancing career at age 30 is possible and can lead to success.
Overcoming doubts and insecurities is crucial in pursuing a freelancing career later in life.
Building a strong network and seeking mentorship can provide valuable support and guidance.
Developing in-demand skills and continuously learning are essential for staying competitive as a freelancer.
Embracing flexibility, adaptability, and a proactive mindset are key traits for thriving in freelancing.

Table of Contents

Being A Freelancer Is Incredibly Rewarding

Being a freelancer is incredibly rewarding. As I mentioned, I love the flexibility and freedom to work from home. I also really enjoy being able to pick my hours and choose projects that interest me.

One of the things that have surprised me most about freelancing is how much money you can make. When I started as a remote editor, I didn’t expect to make much at all because it was my first job in this field.

However, over time I’ve managed to build up several contracts with very generous rates sometimes more than twice what my full-time jobs paid in their busiest seasons!

More importantly, though, being a freelancer allows you to work on projects that are meaningful for you while making an impact on your clients’ businesses; this makes them even more rewarding than many traditional jobs could ever be!

Freelancing can offer numerous advantages, even if you already have a full-time job. Check out our article on the 6 reasons to be a freelancer in addition to having a full-time job to discover the benefits of pursuing freelance opportunities alongside your current work.

When I Transitioned From Journalism To Freelancing, I Knew It Was Risky

When I transitioned from journalism to freelancing, I knew it was risky. As a journalist, you have the safety net of access to resources and benefits. You can also earn a guaranteed paycheck each time you write an article even if it’s small (as mine often were).

But freelancing comes with many risks: losing access to resources and benefits like health care; losing income if clients don’t pay on time or at all;

Failing at your work and being unable to find new clients because they’ve heard bad things about you; competing against other writers who are better than you at writing; feeling overwhelmed by all the work that needs doing.

We Had Just Started Trying To Have A Baby

The night before I took my freelance job, we were trying to have a baby.

We had just started trying to have a baby and it was going well much better than the first time around when she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, so they put her on bed rest. That meant no sex for two weeks (which is how long it takes for sperm to die in your system).

But now that we were starting again, I was worried about all these things: What if she got sick? How would we pay rent if both of us lost our jobs?

Would the stress of being unemployed make my husband’s health worse? What about his career? It seemed like everything would fall apart if he couldn’t find another job soon.

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Learning To Market Yourself As A Freelancer Is Important

If you’re new to freelancing, it can be helpful to think of marketing as a process, not just a product. The goal of business is to make money and grow your customer base. Marketing is a way of thinking and doing business that maximizes the possibility of those two things happening.

Yes, marketing includes selling: you need to convince people that what you do is worth their money, whether it’s copywriting or data entry, or making peanut butter sandwiches for dogs (I made these once).

But selling doesn’t stop there; spending time on social media or in person with potential clients helps build trust and rapport between them and you as well as building up your reputation as someone who does good work at fair prices.

Do Things For Free To Build Your Credibility As A Freelancer

One of the best ways to build your credibility as a freelancer is to do things for free. It’s easy to get started, and can put you on the right path toward building a portfolio of work that will help you market yourself in the future.

If you’re just starting, it’s better to start small and work up from there. Getting one or two small projects done for free will help boost your resume enough so that other people will consider hiring you for paid projects later down the line.

Marketing Yourself Can Feel Like A Full-Time Job

Marketing yourself can feel like a full-time job. There are plenty of ways to promote yourself, but the best way is to create a strong online presence.

Start by creating a website with your portfolio and contact information on it. This gives potential clients an easy way to find out more about you and your work. If you don’t have any experience in web design or copywriting, check out these tools that make it easy:

WordPress

Get started with this free platform that allows you to set up your website without having any coding knowledge whatsoever! Just follow their step-by-step guide for adding content and uploading images to your site’s pages (you can do this in under an hour).

Squarespace

This premium option gives users access to beautiful templates for building websites with ease no coding required! Go here for more info on pricing plans available at different levels of customization (they start from $8/month).

Wix

Another popular option among freelancers is Wix’s drag & drop builder toolkit which makes putting together professional websites simple (though not necessarily cheap).

The basic plan starts at $4/month; however, if you sign up through one of my affiliate links below I’ll get a 20% commission on everything purchased through there too!

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I Learned People Skills Were Crucial To My Success In Freelancing

The best ideas are the ones that you can communicate to others. This is a lesson I learned from my previous job, which involved me coming up with ideas for marketing campaigns and then pitching them in meetings.

It was also one of the most important lessons I learned while freelancing: if you want to succeed as a freelancer, you need to be able to communicate your ideas to sell them (to clients) and get them approved (by clients).

If people don’t understand what you’re selling or why they should buy it, they won’t be interested in hiring or working with you.

People skills are crucial for success in any field not just freelancing! Anyone who has ever worked on a team knows how important it is to know how other people think and react so that we can work together efficiently without wasting anyone’s time by bringing up issues that have already been discussed or suggesting solutions that have already been rejected.

People skills are also helpful outside of work: being able to empathize with others makes us better friends and family members too!

I Learned How To Tell People My Ideas Confidently

It’s hard to believe that we aren’t born knowing how to do this. I mean, you should be able to tell people your ideas confidently, right? You know them well enough and they are yours after all!

So what is it that stops us from saying them out loud?

Well for me, it was fear. Fear of rejection and embarrassment. But as time went on, I started practicing my pitch in front of the mirror every morning before work.

And then when I got home from work at night I would record myself doing it on my phone and watch back the next day so that way even if someone rejected me, at least I knew exactly where I went wrong!

Some Of My Best Ideas Came Out Of This Process

Once you figure out what you want to do and how to do it, it’s time to get going. Don’t worry about coming up with an idea that will make you rich overnight; the focus should be on making a sustainable living from your freelancing career.

Some of my best ideas have come out of figuring out how I could sell my skillset or the services I offered. Coming up with ideas like these is easy the hard part is putting them into action!

Here are some things I did during this process:

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Asking For What I Was Worth And Getting It Took Some Practice, But It Got Easier With Time And Experience

So, you’ve decided that you’re going to ask for what you’re worth. Great! You’re in the right place and time to do so.

The best way to start is by knowing exactly what your work is worth and being prepared to articulate it.

If you don’t know how much something should pay, a good go-to is asking people who do similar work or have been doing this type of thing longer than you have how much they charge, then adjust accordingly based on how much value (and stress) goes into each task at hand.

Once that’s done, it’s time for the selling part: let them know that this isn’t an opportunity for them it’s an obligation!

You want them as clients but only if they can afford what they need from their freelancers like yourself. Don’t apologize or justify why you deserve a certain amount just state facts: “We’ll be working together every day” or “The project will require X hours/days of work” etc…

Then get ready because once they realize their needs aren’t going away anytime soon they’ll come back with another offer so long as there are no legal repercussions involved (which I’m sure there won’t be).

Freelancing Is Both Challenging And Rewarding

First things first: freelancing is hard work. It’s not for everyone and it’s not a get-rich-quick scheme; you will not be able to quit your day job tomorrow and expect to be making six figures by the end of the year.

Freelancers have to hustle, but if you’re up for a challenge and want full control over your career path, this could be a great career choice for you.

Freelancing also comes with its own set of challenges (like managing multiple clients at once), but as long as you’re willing to put in the time and effort into learning new skills, there are plenty of rewards that come along with working independently.

Freelancing is undoubtedly challenging, but the difficulties are not what you might expect. Discover the real challenges freelancers face and how to navigate them by reading our insightful article on why freelancing is hard, but not for these reasons. Gain valuable insights to help you thrive in the freelance world.

Conclusion

I hope this article has helped you see that it’s never too late to start a new career. The freelance life is not for everyone, but if you’re willing to put in the work, you can make your freelance career happen.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s Your Advice For Someone Who Wants To Freelance?

I don’t know what the best way is, and it depends on what you’re doing. For example, if you’re a graphic designer, then maybe starting with a client or two may be better than trying to get all of them at once.

But if you’re providing some sort of service that doesn’t require a lot of tools (e.g., legal services), then maybe starting with multiple clients at once might work better for you!

How Do I Find Clients? And How Do I Price My Services?

Honestly, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer here. In general, though, networking is key! Think about the people around you who could benefit from your expertise and reach out to them personally via email or social media message boards (such as LinkedIn).

If it makes sense for their needs, offer up some free advice before asking for payment so that they’ll know how valuable your skills are when buying into them later on down the road when paying customers to come knocking

What If I Don’t Have Any Experience?

That’s okay! Being able to show clients proof of your abilities will indeed help you in the long run.

But don’t let this stop you from trying out freelancing if anything, it’ll give you a chance to learn more about your skills and what type of work interests you most before deciding whether or not this career path is right for you.

You may even find a client who needs exactly what kind of expertise that experience-less person brings to the table!

What If I’m Not Good At Marketing Myself?

It takes some time and practice, but anyone can learn how to market themselves effectively as a freelancer we wrote an entire article on it here (and another one here).

And remember: There are plenty of ways besides advertising yourself on social media that aren’t as expensive or time-consuming as they might seem at first glance (for example: sending cold emails!).

No matter where your strengths lie, though, don’t let fear hold back from any aspect of starting the only way we learn is by doing!

What Are The Benefits Of Becoming A Freelancer?

Being a freelancer means you can work from anywhere, anytime. This also gives you more time to pursue other interests such as travel and spending quality time with family and friends. You’re in control of how much you want to work, so it’s easier on the wallet too!

What Do I Need To Start Freelancing?

You will need a computer or laptop depending on what type of work you want to do. A fast internet connection is also important so that clients can easily reach you when they have questions or concerns about their projects.

Herman Edward

I am a content writer, and I love what I do! Writing makes me feel like the words are flowing through my fingers, and then onto the keyboard, like magic. My experience as a writer has taught me that writing makes me feel good, as well as helps others to feel better too!

I Thought I’d Never Have A Freelancing Career At Age 30. Here’s How I Did