Creating a Business Out of Your Freelancing Efforts

The fact that there are many types of online freelancing opportunities has become common knowledge to most people - even the people that are stuck in the Dinosaur age and do not have an Internet connection.

If you have been freelancing online for a while, whether it be in content creation, graphic design, programming, web development, link building, or any other form of Internet marketing service, you are probably very accustomed to grinding it out day by day, and working your tail of for a profit margin that - let's face it - isn't that good.

How does one transfer from freelancing to owning and running an online business?

First of all, stay away from sites like Freelancer.com, that is basically just a hit and run site for companies or individuals that are in need of very short term work. There are tons of different ways to pick up freelance opportunities and none of them involves putting the word "freelance" in your search queries for freelance opportunities.

Second, one turns there freelancing into a business by bringing home one or two long term clients. But how does one bring in long term clients? The answer to that is simply to constantly be looking to do as much networking as possible why you are plugging along as a freelancer. And the best way to network is through forums, Twitter, LinkedIn, commenting on blogs, etc. But out of these, using forums is the best place to pick up long term clients. Most forums have job boards where people are looking for high quality services - services that you have spent a lot of time doing as a freelancer. All you have to do is find the right forum and stick around for a while.

What to do when you pick up these clients?

First of all you have to remember that as a freelancer you probably took care of every single aspect of the project - from point A to point Z. What works on a small scale does not always work on the large scale. Your initial thought might be to hire a couple more "you's." While that may work in some cases, in most cases you are going to have to develop a unique set of systems for whatever it is that you will be doing.

This is because once you get a hold of your first couple clients you are going to want to begin outsourcing or hiring as soon as possible. Data entry is one of the first things you will be outsourcing as it is one of the most tedious things you can do and can cost you hours during your daily activities.

There are many different types of software you will have to take on if you are providing services through your home based computer. Not all of them will be the same, they will be different depending on what niche you are working out of - but for the most part if you are taking on new employees or outsourcing then you should look into getting the following three types of software:

• File and Folder Sharing


• An Internal Collaborating System


• Public Relations Management Software

Those three types of software will definitely help you get by in the beginnings of your online startup. They will allow you to work with your co-workers more efficiently, and will also help you keep track of all your online contacts a lot better. Once you get started you will be working very hard - but the beginning can be very fun!