Does Freelance Mean Free?

Posted by bloggertone under Strategy
From http://bloggertone.com 5093 days ago
Made Hot by: dreamwithdeadline on May 11, 2010 6:06 pm

In starting out as a freelancer you might find that you have to volunteer a lot. Contributing can be enjoyable and it means that you can gain a lot of experience while bulking up your CV.

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Comments

Written by yoni67
5093 days ago

Fiona, when I started out as a freelance writer, I had my skills and knowledge of writing but no portfolio (except for my literary publications which didn't count for "jack") and no testimonials. It was a classic catch-22: no experience meant no jobs and no jobs meant no accumulating experience. I decided to offer "very deep discounts" to people who would allow me to include their projects in my portfolio and give me testimonials (if, of course, they were satisfied). The fact is during that period I almost worked for free. It lasted about three months but during that time I built a great portfolio and received glowing testimonials from clients. It is the best way for a freelancer to build experience and credibility. I think of it as an "internship."

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Written by FionaWhite
5092 days ago

Hi, thanks for your comment. I agree, in the journalism industry(and others) it is really important to have a good portfolio of work, and a great way of putting one together is by doing some writing for free. I don't think its avoidable when starting out! In a lot of other industries people start out doing internships, so writing/whatever for free is our equivalent!

Fiona

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