Doing Free Work Is Not Worth It
Do this instead
Having a great portfolio is the key to landing clients as a freelancer.
But when you’re just starting out, you won’t have a portfolio to show off to clients as proof of your skills.
At this stage, most freelancers look for ways to do free work to build their portfolio.
There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, I encourage you to go do some work for free and add it to your portfolio. It’s better than sitting around hoping for clients to fall in your lap.
However, just know that it’s not worth it!
Doing free work to build your reputation is not worth the effort. Because there are more creative alternatives to get that job done.
If you’re a writer, you can start your own blog, publish some killer articles, and show that site as your portfolio.
If you’re a designer, you can create an account on Dribbble or Behance and upload some cool templates, sell them on Gumroad, and show those as your best work.
If you’re a programmer, contribute to GitHub projects, create something useful, sell it, and show your success on your portfolio.
That way, you will be able to monetize your work while building your brand at the same time.
It’s much better than selling your work for free in exchange for shoutouts, mentions, and case studies.
Go and get back to work!
See you next time,
-Roshan
Check out my book, FREELANCE LIKE A PRO, to learn how to start freelancing and earn $1,000 per month in 21 days.