Hello Devs!
Did you know 99 out of 100 developers who try to start a freelance business and make money outside of a job fail?
Yup, It sucks. The main reasons why they fail are:
- They don't know how to select a niche.
- They don't know how to create great offers.
- They don't know how to bring traffic to their business.
- They don't know how to sell their services.
- And so on...
Times have changed, selling only web development services won't work unless you tie it up with either "health", "wealth", or "relationship".
Businesses don't want a website, they want a website that converts and brings more revenue.
Hi, I am Swastik. A software engineer developing software for companies and freelance clients for 4+ years now.
Over the years I have developed a 6-step framework for web developers to start a profitable freelance business in 90 days.
This is the exact framework that I and my close developer friend circle use.
- Stop creating your Fiverr and Upwork profile.
- Stop bidding for minimally paid gigs.
- Stop trying to compete with thousands of commodity freelancers.
If you follow this system step by step and be consistent you won't believe what you can achieve in 3 months.
So, here I reveal the system.
Step 1: Skills Needed
To be honest you don’t need to know any crazy technologies. If you know how to build websites and landing pages, you are good to go.
No matter how you build it plain HTML-CSS, React, Next, WordPress, or anything else.
If you are not sure or don’t feel confident, start by learning NextJs, that’s what I use. If you know basic Js and React, it won’t be tough to learn.
Also, NextJs is the standard nowadays.
That’s why you should learn NextJs so your skills don’t hold you back.
Skill problem solved!
Step 2: Niche Selection
Niche is simply whom you serve as a freelancer. If you accept to work with every type of client under the sun, you'll soon become a commodity business and die.
But being a niche expert will allow you to charge for value and you won't be competing over price.
Use any AI tool for Niche selection research. I prefer Google's Gemini here because of its better ability to search the web.
Come up with a list of 8-10 niches for yourself and then Use the following prompt.
-- AI Prompt For Niche Selection Research --
I am starting a service business and want your help to decide on a niche.
I have listed a few niches, I want you to do some research and figure out the following 2 metrics for each one.
The 2 metrics are:
- What is the average order value in that niche?
- What is the demand for the services the niche provides?
Here are the niches [*these are my list of niches, insert your list here*]:
- Medical Spas
- Beauticians / Makeup Artists
- Packers and Movers
- Cleaning businesses
- Real Estate
- Dentists
- Dermatologists
- Pest control
- Gym
I want you to give a score to each niche I provide. Give a score based on Demand "1 for low, 2 for moderate, and 3 for high" and AOV "similar to demand". And then rank or sort the niches according to the score.
This will rank your list according to the 2 metrics we gave. Choose one from the top 3 niches.
Once you choose a niche, stick with it.
Step 3: Offer Creation
Your offer is the promise you are making to your clients.
Selling only web development services is difficult because everyone is doing that. You have to offer something that no one else is offering.
- Don't just offer a website, offer a website that'll increase their conversion rate from 1% to 3-4%.
- Don't just offer a landing page, offer a landing page that will 2x their revenue in 90 days.
You get the idea.
Make an Offer so good people feel stupid saying no. Watch my video where I went through this checklist and closed a client, you'll understand what I am talking about. [Video link at end of post]
But make sure to be practical and don't promise anything that you can't deliver.
Step 4: Traffic Source
Your offer doesn’t mean anything if no one knows about it. No matter how good of an offer you made.
You are probably here from my cold DM, content, or Ad. That’s how I bring traffic.
There are only 4 core ways to bring traffic and make people know about your stuff.
- Warm outreach
- Content
- Cold outreach
- Ads
The only purpose of traffic is to get leads and make strangers want to buy from you.
Watch the video and see how I brought traffic to freelance business.
Step 5: Sales
If your offer is really good, sales will happen on its own. And you’ll do just fine.
But if your offer is bad, you’ll have to put some effort into sales. And you can still do just fine.
Now imagine, what'll happen if you:
- Have a great offer.
- Are good at sales.
Sales is not forcing your clients to buy, but giving them as much value as possible until they are ready to buy.
Give them so much value upfront that they feel obligated to pay you.
Step 6: Service Delivery
Once you close a client.
Now the real work begins. Service delivery is the most important aspect of your freelance business. Because if you don’t deliver your promises your business will die fast and steady.
A great service delivery fulfills your promises and keeps getting repeat clients and referrals.
Follow this system and be consistent for the next 3 months. You'll thank me later.
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