I am sure many of us will be more than happy to get an extra 10k USD doing what you love to do and today I will not only share with you why I make so much money doing freelancing but will also suggest, how you can also do the same.
Let’s begin on why I make $10,000 doing freelancing.
1. I Refuse to Give Up On Freelancing
Freelancing is a very small part (less than 5%) of my total monthly revenue and yet I don’t prefer to give up on freelancing because it actually adds to my overall revenue without much of an effort from my end. Yes you heard it right – without much effort from my end. Many freelancers make it harder than it actually is.
2. I decide what to work on
I am programmer at heart but if you check my Elance Profile you will hardly see any development work. Development projects usually are big budget projects but also needs more time and effort from your end on a continuous basis. I prefer to concentrate more on my own blogs and forums and yet make some extra income and so small size jobs are perfect for me. Small sized projects not only help me getting in touch with more number of clients but they also help me in learning more new things.
3. I decide on the pricing
Many freelancers think that if you want to be among successful bidders on sites like Elance you have to quote lowest price. This is completely a MYTH and you can take my words on this and quote me anywhere. There are innumerable feedbacks on my Elance Profile like this
This means I charge clients premium rates for being professional and maintaining the quality.
Let me go ahead and frame a golden rule for bidding. You should be able to show your expertise to whatever project you bid for and win the project bid even if you are not offering the lowest price. People select the best suited person for the task and not the cheapest.
4. I decide when to work
If I have a very busy schedule for my own work I decide to decline new work and also let existing client know about my non-availability. I only choose the best projects for myself at the price I am comfortable at and this way I can not only setup my own working hours but also my own working weeks and dedicated more time to my own websites. Many freelancers think that this may hamper reputation but on the contrary many clients thanks me for letting them know my availability and expertise well in advance.
5. I decide where to work
I shared sometime back I how to work from the comfort of your home and I love doing it but remember every coin has two sides. Working from home needs lots of discipline and many of us (including me) lack that discipline.
Final Thoughts
You may be wondering why I did not answer the question on how you can also earn $10,000 doing freelancing. Don’t you think the answer lies in the above list?
Just don’t give up on freelancing and work for what you can show you are best at.
Share the reasons why you’re still freelancing in comments below.
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{ 60 comments… read them below or add one }
This is really a hard work done by you which is giving you good response from your client..hope you do more of these work and gain more fame!
Thank's for tips i try my best
I like what you do for the majority of us who are interested but i have a problem getting started how can you help me
What kind of help you are looking for and I will be more than happy to help to the extent I can.
Hi.
I’m a b.tech CSE student. I know c and c++ at introductory level (i can make any type of noob programs given in introductory books like ‘Let us c’), but i want to learn to make practical programs, rather than tiny console ones. Could you please guide me how to proceed further and how to enter the open source field?
I think my writing skills are also good enough to be harnessed for some $$. I’m also trying to increase my lousy typing speed. Could you please suggest me some legit data entry sites?
Thanks.
Chetan, I am yet to see any legit data entry sites and if you find one do let me know. Yes you can definitely find data entry jobs on sites like Elance but nothing more than that.
Thanks for such a quick reply.
Would you please also advise me how to reach professional level in programming?
Also please suggest some job sites for ameture programmers and writers.
Sites exists for Pro’s and so I don;t think I can suggest you sites for beginners.
Would you like to get a software from a person who has not done anything or can’t show me experience?
hi shabbir,
i am a BMS student..almost done with my graduation..
i am looking for some work from home or income from internet type patr time jobs just for a side income…
i’v found a website but dats not worth doing.. dataentrywork.net
do let me know if ders nethin for me..
Siddharth, If you are looking for data entry sites like those are just waste of time. Instead I will suggest you to start here and also go through my free course.
Shabir,
I read your articles becuase I am also interested in frelancing.
I have a suggestion for your website Shabir. Now, your website have large number of articles. It woud be great if you incorporate a search option within your website. It will save time when we search for some important information within your website.
I hope you will do it asap. This will definitely improve your visitors and popularity. I myself found it very difficult to get some information when I am in a hurry.
Thanks
We already have it in the sidebar and probably need to move it in header.
Shabir,
My blogger got approved by adsense. Should I try their existing adsense or the NEW ADSENSE interface? DID YOU EVER TRY THEIR NEW ADSESNE INTERFACE?
Waiting for your comment.
Thanks!
New interface is only for reporting but the ads on the site is still the same no matter what interface you use.
Hello Sir,
It would be very kind of you if you could please explain on how to start Freelancing. I am a 3rd Year Computer Science Engineering Student and am very pleased with the whole idea of it. I made an account on elance but how do I start.
Please Help
Thanks,
Nikhil
Start placing your bids where you think you can complete the projects on time maintaining the quality.
Shabir,
I read your suggestions. I think one should start working for free or for very less price initially. It is to just set a base. After few assignments, then start bidding for your rate.
What is your opinion Shabir? Did you work for free or for very less amount initially to get project from these freelance sites initially SHabir?
YOur feed back is valuable. Some people says: If quote less price then our efficiency will be under question.
No Salma. It is not the pricing that decide the final Winner. It is your expertise that you can show. Yes pricing is a factor but it is not the only factor. You should understand that as a buyer I will award the job to a person who has a bid within my budget but only to those who has an expertise to show me (not necessarily with older job). I can always show my expertise even for the first job in my bid.
I almost got my first project after couple of bids only. Probably I place less bids because of very good award ration because I decline if something is not what I can get it done with Quality.
Shabir,
I agree that the expertise matters the most and the price comes next.
In my case, I have detailed all my expertise in my profile. Since I yet to land in my first work why should any one choose me out of tens or thousands who have already have few projects in hand in the same freelancer account?
So for people like me, what is the option left out to get that first project?
WHY SHOULD AN EMPLOYER AWARD PROJECTS TO A FREELANCER WHO JOINED RECENTLY? ( EVEN THOUGH THAT FREELANCER HAS ALL THE EXPERTISE)?
Because employer will not check your profile but will read what you have mentioned in your bid. Show them that you have done such things and you can get it done. Show them what can be potential issues going forward and how you can over come those.
After how many unsuccessful bidding you won your first assignment on elance?
Not many hardly 2-3. I am still doing the job for the client who awarded me the first job and these days he sends me the work to my email and then when done I send him the invoice. He even don’t care to check if it is done or not because he assumes my Done mail goes only when it is done.
That is great Shabir!
Hello Shabir,
You mentioned: “Because it actually adds to my overall revenue without much of an effort from my end”
How you are able to carry out your work without much of effort? How you manage without any effort?
Shabir,
I am about win my first project in one of the leading freelance site.
I was asked to include ecover for the ebook format I created in Word document.
Shabir, can you suggest any site or any tools net to create or design impressive ecover ( Cover page) ?
Please suggest as it is very important. Thanks in advance.
Salma
“Small sized projects not only help me getting in touch with more number of clients but they also help me in learning more new things.”
- I totally agree with that,
When I first entered into the industry of freelancing, I really thought it was hard because I never really had the chance of getting a job. I thought everything is just a scam. But I never gave up until I’ve had a job. Though I was not really earning much that time, I still continue freelancing since i can really help add some bucks in my pocket.
Right now I’m earning enough as much as what others earn as a regular employee. I was searching some tips on how to earn much or even double my rate and found this one. It’s a great article on how to double up your earnings as a freelancer of courrse with the same effort =)
The bidding system is indeed a very frustrating thing that freelancers have to deal with as some employers haggle over price to save money. But once you get to establish your name and reputation online, your chance of making a decent income from freelancing is pretty much guaranteed that clients will constantly come to you instead of you looking for them.
Hi Shabbir,
We are specialized in logo, web designs, market research web research and many more . We deal with Indian market for past 3 years and looking for international business. I dont have idea about freelancing till a week before . Kindly help me with some good site for getting jobs.
Qubil services are categorized into 9 main sectors
Advertising Services
Branding Services
Marketing Services
Multimedia Services
Internet Solutions
Print Solutions
Analytic Report Solutions
Web Research Solutions
Custom Software Development
Check our web for more details http://www.qubil.com.
Siddiq, what all options you have tried or trying?
Hi Shabbir, I am trying in freelancer web sites . But can you give some ideas or techniques
I have shared lot of ideas here and you can look around those. Let me know if you can’t find them and will redirect you to those links.
Hi Shabbir,
Even I bid my bids get rejected I dont have feedback from the client bcoz i am new to this area.
You need to show your expertise and commitment to the work and I am sure you can grab lot of work.
Thanks Shabbir I will try
The pleasure is all mine Siddiq.
Shabhir,
Do you suggest Elance for beginners? If not, which freelance site you suggest?
Thanks and regards
Salam
Lot depends on the beginner as well. If he is a pro, Elance is best to start or else he can try oDesk and vWorker to get the feeling of the bidding system
Hi Shabir,
What is pro?
I am learning about Wordpress set up.
What are the things one should know about Wordpress to a Wordpress set up professional? Can I learn it by self?
Regards
Salam
I am sorry there are some typing error cropped up.
I meant to ask:
What are the things one should know about Wordpress in order to be a Wordpress set up professional? Can I learn all it by self from net?
Thanks & Regards
Salam
If I am your client you need to show me WP Setup pro will do things for me that others may omit when doing the WP setup and yes everything can be learned online if you are willing to put the effort.
I learnt by doing it and so I think anybody can. By pro I meant if you are not starting out.
Hello Shabir,
I am also a freelancer and working on oDesk and earning handsome money. I am thinking to start my blog from a long time and reading professional’s blog regularly. I am first time here and very inspired by you. We have many common things and hopefully i will be on your path.
Hi Amrit, good to see that you are using oDesk for your success and also planning to blog about it. Do share your blog here when you have one.
Hello Shabir,
Which is the best place to sell my one year old website? I know you sold one of your web site earlier time so I asked. Any way, please suggest some of the most authentic places on line where I can sell my site. ( It is related fitness and health)
Can I use Ebay.in platform to auction my site and sell it?
How do I find how much worth is my site. I came across many places online to check that but different site give different prices.
I hope you will able to give some inputs on this.
regards
Salman
No I have not sold any site but yes I have purchased them in the past.
You cannot use ebay.in to sell digitally deliverable goods and so I don’t think you can use ebay to sell your site.
The best place to buy and sale website is flippa.com
I visited the site. seems to be good. Thanks!
They support : payment methods – escrow, electronic transfer, and others
Which is the best way to get payments? I mean less charge and more reliable for us indians?
Regards
Bank Deposit.
Willl they do it for indian banks? I am asking this because this company is based outside india.
If so, which indian bank accounts are supported.
Is there any charge for it when they do bank deposit from abroad?
Yes Elance does it for me in India and they support Indian banks NEFT payment.
No. I am asking flippa.com support check deposit in indian banks when sell my website on flippa.com?
How the payment is made here?
Flippa does not process payment and you have to use other payment methods like PayPal or Escrow or any other method suitable between buyer and seller. Flippa is just marketplace.
Yes I come to the same.
Among, Escrow and Paypal, which is more reliable and cost effective for indians?
PayPal does not have an option of escrow which means you need to pay the buyer seller before you actually get the site and vice versa and so is not used for large transactions.
Escrow has the option that you pay them and once the domain and hosting is transferred they pay the other party making it more safe for both the buyer and seller.
Shabir,
I got Paypal Business account.
My personal HDFC bank account ( It is in my personal name, SB, not a current account) is added to this paypal account (Bank account staus : Primary Auto Withdrawal)
My question: Is it possible to withdraw my paypal balance through this attached bank account? If so , how many days it takes to credit in my bank?
Look forward to your response
Yes you can withdraw funds from your PayPal account to your personal savings account provided the last name in your PayPal account is same as your last name in your bank account. Normally it takes 5-7 Working Days for the amount to be credited in your bank account.
Thanks Shabbir for clarifying.
Recently I enrolled with an online company for a freelance work. They asked me to update payment option I prefer. They give options 1. Paxum 2. wire details
I heard about wire transfer but what is this Paxum, any idea? How much I will be charged if I opt for wire transfer from a company abroad?
Which one you suggest? I am concerned about charges
Regards
I Google about paxum and it looks like a payment processor and I have no idea about their services and so cannot comment much on it.
Hi,
To day I got reply from Paxum support person. It work exactly like Paypal where you can add your VISA or MASTER credit or debit cards and get money transferred to the added bank account
I spoke to HDFC manager but surprised to see that these people are not having much idea about Paypal or Paxum. Many of them ignorant.
They know only about their products and not even heard about these systems.
Pity.
How is it possible to add fund from Paypal to Credit card. How can anyone withdraw fund from Credit card. It will be addtional charge i believe. Adding Debit card is more economical.
Salman, Banking people are expected to know their own product but they lag that as well and so expecting them to know about PayPal is far beyond.
HDFC people even have no clue as to what is the charges HDFC Bank will deduct if you deposit USD checks and I have asked this to my personal banker, branch manager and many others. In case you are interested in knowing more issues of HDFC Bank’s classic customer read here – http://shabbir.in/hdfc-bank-review/
Now about your PayPal to Credit Card would be paying the credit card company like you do and so I don’t think it should be an issue but yes I do recommend using a debit card or better if you have option to withdraw to your bank account and not into debit cards.