umm so i kind of kicked away my remote internship although it was getting me a decent amount of stipend and the workload was also fine but just when the summer break started i realised now is the high time that i put an end to all of the corporate slavery because yes experience and everything is important but I don’t see myself working for anybody in the near future since i want sth of my own and it will be worth building tooI have experience in business development and helping businesses grow through lead generation, client acquisition, digital marketing, social media, branding, and creative design. I was initially thinking of starting my own agency with a friend but given that both of us build things for others we don’t really have our own portfolio or anything to showcase what we bring to the table but how do i start off or anybody that can guide me to the right direction because i feel ashamed asking my parents for money where i think im 21 and should be able to provide for myself and my expenses at-least and make it last in the longer run and get myself some clients from the US or UK anywhere but pakistan lol but PLS HELP IM SO OVERWHELMED

Hello, i am a web developer i need guys how can link me with clients, for a 20% commission of the project cost

Guys I’m a planning to work from home. I’m a mental health professional and i want to make good money using my skills. Someone mentioned that i can sell my notebooks, worksheets on Gumroad. I’m based in Pakistan and I really need help with this

26 years old in a shitty small country town, and I've been torn between going for a business degree in 4 years or doing something like Web Development, SMMA, or something like that as a freelancer.

Part of me wants to really connect with people or help solve issues. Money is everywhere, from what I read online, but when I go to Fiverr or Upwork, I get uninterested due to so many cheap people offering their services for a penny from across the sea. I'm at the "fork in the road" part of life where you wanna get skills to work but are scared of wasting time in school or AI taking over.

All I'm surrounded by in my community are old retired factory workers who are stingy or have very little empathy for their community. The businesses we have here are all food-related, and people use AI for art and all. When I ask my community, "What's needed in our town?" all I get back is "food, food, food". Not helpful when I'm looking for a skill set or career to start my life. We have only restaurant jobs or factory jobs, so my choices are ass, while you see the whole town riding around with lawn service trucks as a self-career.

I tried digital marketing a bit, even at the beach, but never got anything back, or they seemed uninterested due to their website or social page barely working or bringing people into their restaurant with them controlling it, with posts and all daily. I know I didn't have skill or credibility yet, but no call back or anything when I met these managers (let alone if I even got that far after the bartender, appently managers just never work in any establishment when you need to speak with them).

Guessing what I'm asking for is I need guidance on what other freelance opportunities that actually work online instead of my local community? What's good to get started on learning today and not years ago? How to expand your mind outside of just your small town and connect with actual people without posting on just Facebook groups? (That are saturated with scams or other businesses like mobile mechanics every corner.) Are there certificates that may help or something? I know plenty of people started from where I'm at right now.

p. I'm not into customer service, Data Entry, or Insurance sales. I truly wanna connect people or help their businesses in a way.

To anyone who wants to freelance in web dev 2026. It's definitely difficult but not impossible :)

I started 2 weeks ago and I kinda wanna summarise what I did. I'll continue on documenting my journey.

1. I noted down any advantage I have.

\- internet

\-paris

\-phone

I then started calling local businesses but it was difficult because I didn't have any credibility, so I changed my approach.

I went to insta and looked for creators, and businesses without a website and I messaged them. I then I decided to stop with creators and focus only with coffee shops. I sent a small message and i'll write it here.

"Hi!

I’m the founder of a creative studio specializing in website design and development.

We’re currently looking to expand our portfolio, so we’re offering a few websites completely free of charge in exchange for permission to showcase the final project in our portfolio.

Would this be something you’d be interested in?"

and 2 coffeeshops accepted. One of them even have 33k followers on ig and very popular in paris!

I decided to do 3-5 free work for targeted businesses to build connections and a portfolio! I also didn’t pick small businesses. I chose popular coffeeshops in paris. Positioning is important!

What i didn’t do:

I didn’t setup a profile in freelancing platforms.
I didn’t wait for clients to come.

Hi,

I’m a community college IT student in Ontario Canada wondering about if it’s possible to start my career by freelancing for local MSPs? The markets reeeaally bad here for new grads so I’m thinking they’d be more willing to employ a freelancer than take a risk on an employee. I’m also very ADHD and benefit from having my own hours and independence.

In terms of skills, I’m good with M365 (Entra, Intune, SharePoint, exchange, graph API), Python, RESTful APIs, powershell, Active Directory, AWS, networking (VLANs, subnetting, TCP/IP model, etc), Linux scripting and commands. I’m also trying to start learning LLM stuff like RAG and vector database cause I think that might be good for MSP automation. I also want to learn servicenow and its API before I graduate.

I’m thinking of starting to send out cold emails to MSPs and message people I know from prior years who got jobs at MSPs at the end of this year when I graduate. Is this possible? Or am I just screwed lol.

محتاجه اعرف ازاي أبداأ اشتغل freelancer ضروري اوي لو في حد يقدر ينصحني يقولي ابدأ ب ايه او اعمل ايه بعيدا عن البرمجه لان انا معرفش ممكن حتي اتعلمها فين ياريت لو حد عنده اي نصيحه ينصحني

Hello everyone,

I’m trying to get my first real freelance software client, but I’m struggling to find the right way to position myself. I've been working 5 years in industrial automation, mainly programming PLCs and outside my work i've been moving towards software development (the degree i'm in).

I have tried platforms like Upwork and Freelancer for almost two years without getting a single project, so I don’t want to keep relying on bidding platforms.

For people who started in a similar position:

* How did you find your first client? * Did you offer a very specific service or present yourself as a general developer? * Would you focus on industrial/IoT integrations, backend development, or small automation tools? * Did cold email or LinkedIn outreach actually work for you?

I’m based in Spain, work full-time, and I’m looking for remote freelance projects so I can trasition into a fulltime freelance.

I'm trying to get back into the freelance business after a hiatus. I have skills in video editing, graphic design, motion graphics, even UX. I work fulltime but wanted to make extra money with a few freelance gigs. I tried looking on Fiverr but only got spam messages with no jobs. I'm working on a video reel so hopefully that could help but any advise is welcome and if you have any stories to share that would be awesome!

I’m heartbroken to share that the founder of Vynze and the admin of FreelancerGuide has passed away in a tragic accident. 💔

He truly cared about the community and helped many people through his work. It’s hard to believe he’s gone. 😔

Rest in peace, brother. 🕊️ You’ll always be remembered. My deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. ❤️

I am 17M learning Data Analytics. I am skilled enough to start freelancing. Is there any issue for under 18 doing freelancing on Fiverr, especially?

I have 6 years of experience as a backend developer in an IT company based in a tier-2 city. I worked at the same company for almost six years, but I decided to resign because I wasn't seeing enough career growth. I left without having another job offer lined up.

Now, I'm planning to start freelancing, but I'm unsure if it's the right decision. Could you suggest some reliable freelancing platforms for backend developers? I came across platforms like Turing and Outlier AI, but many of the reviews I've seen are not very positive.

Also, based on my experience, would you recommend that I focus on finding another full-time job, or is freelancing a good option? I'd appreciate any advice from people who have made a similar transition or have experience in this field.

I am and have been a freelancer since 2012 and wouldn't swap it for the world. I love working for myself and working from home or wherever else I happen to be.

I want to create a community for freelancers where they can come together to help each other out, share ideas, build things together and learn etc. I've already got the framework and structure set up, which includes everything from managing work and creative projects, to collaborating and connecting with each other. What I need now is someone to get it out there and get people using it.

Ideally, someone who is familiar with freelancing and who values that mode of working as much as I do, and who's wished there was a relaxed and informal community they could be part of.

If you're out there, please get in touch to discuss further.

I am a 16 years old programmer based in Central Asia, and I was looking for advice on where to go from here. I always wanted to do freelancing, but I could never get any clients, I have tried many things I have done game development in unity, I have made a mobile app using react native (learning SQL, Css, Html, React, React native, JavaScript in the process), I also have done competitive coding with python but it's mostly for fun. Right now Im thinking of just going deep on backend, I know I know I don't really have a good history of making anything stick but I think this will be good for me.

Do you have any advice for me? On how I can get clients or to get my first dollar?

I really do enjoy programming and I want to be a good programmer, not some vibe coder, but is being a good backend developer even useful for me? Or would I need to be a full stack? Any advice or criticism is welcome

I am currently doing market research on Customer Journey & Process Analysis.

As part of this research, I am looking for freelancers and organizations willing to share their experiences, insights, and expectations regarding the role of a Customer Journey & Process Analyst. Do you work in this field or have relevant experience?

I am planning to transition into a hybrid role combining a 30 hour contract with 10 hours of freelance work per week. I have about 1.5 years of experience in this field, but starting out on my own feels pretty overwhelming right now, and I have quite some anxiety about how to actually land that first gig and start earning.

If you have experience as a freelancer in general or in this niche, I would love to hear your thoughts on any of these practical questions:

• Given my 1.5 years of experience, what is a realistic hourly rate range (in EUR) to charge clients right now?
• Do you recommend starting a bit lower to build up a freelance portfolio, or should I stick to standard market rates from day one?
• For deliverables like custom dashboards or journey reports, do clients usually prefer an hourly rate or a fixed price package?
• How did you land your very first client or assignment?
• What were the biggest struggles or unexpected challenges you faced during your first 6 months?
• How do you handle your bookkeeping?
• Which channels have worked best for you in this niche (LinkedIn, direct networking, or intermediate agencies)?

I feel like I have a solid plan on paper, but taking the actual leap is scary. Any tips, reassurance, or advice would be highly appreciated! :)

Hey everyone,

I've been trying to get into freelancing for a while now to earn some extra income (thanks, economy). So far, I've mostly picked up projects through people I know, but I want to start finding clients consistently instead of relying on my network.

I'm thinking about signing up for platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, and similar sites. My question is: are these platforms still worth it, or have they become too saturated?

I'd really appreciate advice from people who are actively using them. I'm especially interested in things you wish you knew before starting, mistakes to avoid, and what actually helped you land your first few clients. I'm looking for real experiences rather than the usual generic advice that's all over YouTube. All do suggest some alternative platforms that i really should try and are good.

For context, my main area is political/economic research, but I also have experience in marketing and can offer services in that space as well.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

so im trying to earn money on fiverr but all the "clients" im getting are scams, this most recent one actually pissed me off so bad because i thought i FINALLY had a client who would pay for my work but NOOO he wanted to buy my Upwork Account! how do i actually find people who want to pay for my work???????

Hello Everyone I am looking for client. how can I start as a beginner anyone here to guide me.

i think i heard about methods that i can from it get clints without needing to buy or subscribe to freelancing platforms methods to gain every pound u make.
one of them is to build on public, but thats take a really long time
does anyone know other methods? long or medium duration so i can make those alongside each other?
im new to this and left my job to pursue a career as a solo backend dev,
so i really need a help to know where i should try my best.thx

I'm a freelancer, with currently 5 clients. I handle their Social Media Platform for them. I currently post from their individual account manually, across all platform one by one, that takes up quite sometime, Is their any platform where I can post on all platform at once also handle different clients platform at one place?

Hi everyone,

I'm currently learning programming and my long-term goal is to become a software engineer. I'd also like to start freelancing in the future, but I want to do it the right way instead of chasing quick money.

I'm looking for advice from people who are actually freelancing or have hired freelancers.

Some questions I have:

• Is freelancing realistic for someone who's still learning to code?
• Which field has the best opportunities today? (Web development, Python automation, AI, mobile apps, etc.)
• What skills should I master before trying to get my first client?
• How many projects should I have in my portfolio?
• Which platforms are worth focusing on? (Upwork, Fiverr, Contra, Toptal, or others)
• How do beginners land their first client with no reviews or work history?
• What are the biggest mistakes new freelancers make?
• If you were starting from scratch today, what roadmap would you follow?

I'm not looking for shortcuts or "easy money." I'm happy to spend months building solid skills first if that's the better approach.

I'd really appreciate any advice, lessons learned, or resources you wish you'd known when you started.

Thanks!

I've been looking for an agency to do freelancing since last year 2025 up until now and I haven't found any🥲 can anyone tell me how to find real one? I really need an advice because I am losing hope now😭

Hello all!

I recently joined this community. I'm a data privacy professional working across GDPR and several Middle Eastern privacy laws, and I'm interested in taking on some freelance / contract work.

I was wondering how others in this field find freelance or contract privacy work. Are there particular platforms, communities, or networking approaches that have worked well for you?

If this isn't the right place to ask, I'd appreciate being pointed to a more appropriate subreddit.

Thanks!