The access, interconnectedness, and convenience that come with the internet age have brought down physical and geographical barriers and enabled people to start working and remain productive regardless of their location. With this trend, there has been a lot of diversification in terms of the work that people have been occupied with. Whatever the profession or business, you must require client consistently. In this article we discuss the tips to find clients for your freelance business.

As full-time employees have also begun supplementing their income with side hustles, freelancing is generally considered to help provide an additional source of income. Freelancing is not always a profitable endeavour when starting out, but also used as a conduit for exploring interests and pursuing passions that can be accommodated along with a full-time job.

In the UAE, especially, freelancing is increasingly gaining popularity. The government has announced multiple visa provisions for freelancers to start up and scale their freelance businesses in the UAE. The primary advantage of freelancing is the control it gives you, not just over the type of work you do but also over the time you dedicate to it, your client base, and also—to an extent—the income you derive from it. However, this control can only be achieved once you have significant experience and an established presence in the industry.

Regardless of whether you are just starting out as a side hustler or pursuing freelancing as your primary occupation, one single factor is of foremost importance that can help determine the success or failure of your endeavour—finding work regularly. Although this is not the only determinant of a successful freelancing endeavour, it certainly is the most important one.

How to find clients for your freelance business?

The first question that arises with respect to regular freelancing engagement is—how to find clients. Freelancers often struggle with this question in the initial stages, and while there are a variety of ways in which you can answer it depending on the type of services you offer and the work you specialize in, here are some important tips you should keep in mind when looking for clients as a freelancer:

Create an informative portfolio: If you are wondering how to find clients for your freelancing work, the very first step you should take is to build a portfolio. Create a website as a portfolio. Regardless of the type of freelancing work you specialize in, building a portfolio or website to demonstrate your experience, skill, aptitude, and work samples can help convince your potential clients. Websites highlight projects you take on, know how to develop a website for a freelance business.

You can also use sites, such as LinkedIn, to upload and update your portfolio on a regular basis for increased visibility.

Word-of-mouth: This is probably the primary and most popular means of acquiring new clients for your freelance business. Just as you are thinking about how to find new clients, there are plenty of people on the lookout for freelancers. Recommendations based on prior experience and a solid portfolio often supersede any other form of promotion or marketing that you can do as a freelancer. You can also market yourself through social media platforms. Check out the blog on how to market as a freelancer.

You might be interested in these articles:

- Steps to Easily Find Freelance Jobs in the UAE

- How To Set KPI As A Freelancer To Grow Your Business?

- Work Habits to Scale Your Freelancing

- Pricing Strategies to Earn More as a Freelancer

Networking and coworking: Another prominent way to help you find clients for freelance work is through networking and coworking. There are plenty of marketing, designing, editing, and photography conferences and meetups that you can use to network and build connections. Other than potentially finding new clients, you can work with other freelancers to tap into their existing client base and even collaborate on new projects. Read our previous blog on how to build online network.

Creating content: Most experts and guides on how to find clients often ignore one of the most obvious ways in which you can market yourself to find more clients—your work itself. Doing work in collaboration with other freelancers, writing about the work you do, and providing free samples of your work are all effective ways in which potential clients can access your work and decide whether it suits their requirements.

Positioning yourself: Once you have an established presence in the market, the question you should ask yourself then is not how to find clients but which clients you want to work for. Positioning yourself as an expert in one particular field, providing specialized services, and carving a niche for your brand can make you indispensable to your existing client base and also help you attract new clients as someone who is the best in the business.

These tips and more can help you find new clients for your freelance work. Follow us at freelance2freedom.co and Freedom2Work for all things freelancing. We provide efficient and reliable guidance to help you scale your freelance career in the UAE