Who am I?
I am Wolo, the main scripter of the Roblox RTS game [( ✦ ) [RUSSIA] Conquest: Napoleonic Wars] ([RUSSIA] Conquest: Napoleonic Wars [Pre-Alpha] - Roblox) and ( ✦ ) Ages Of Iron 2: Punic Wars [Early Alpha]. I have been interested in RTS from 13. Over 2+ years of experience in Roblox scripting and 3+ years as freelancer.
I also have a short video about my experience as a Roblox RTS developer: My experience as a Roblox RTS games developer - YouTube
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Introduction: What is a freelancer?
Freelancers are independent professionals that offer their services in websites like Fiverr. Programmers, artists… Discord bot developers, for example.
Being an independent freelancer has advantages; you have a lot of flexibility and freedom. A lot people have chosen this path, and a lot of them live dedicating their life to it. With a good enough computer, a decent internet, the skill and enough time and passion anyone can become one.
This has motivated a lot of young people to join this world; no going outside and working your ass of in a McDonalds, do not have to be necessarily 18+, can enjoy your passion while working online, flexibility, etc, etc. But when you are just starting, there is some knowledge that it is very nice to have. As a freelancer with 3+ years of experience, I am making this guide in order to help you if you decide to be one.
The guide is mainly aimed to scripters / programmers, but it can also be useful for any other kind of freelancers.
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Not every skill works for freelancing!
Lets say you are a programmer, and you want to start getting money. You are young, can not go to work in any restaurant, or freelancing just seems better for you. But you have to ask yourself something:
Does your skill work to be a freelancer?
If what you want to be a programmer that offers to make, for example, drivers for linux. You have to be conscious that it will be unlikely that you will get commisions for it; its rare to find clients willing to pay for that to a freelancer.
Now, take in mind what was explained before and think about it; do you really have good chances in the freelancing work with the skill you wanna freelance of? If not, try to think about an alternative. If your main skill is developing Linux drivers, maybe you can become a website dev and find clients interested in that!
But talking about website development…
Lots of clients, but lots of competitors aswell
Lets say you have chosen a freelancing market with lots of clients, like bot development. Great! but you have to know something; the more clients there are in a freelancing market, usually, the more competitors will be there aswell.
Bot and website development is a very good example; saturated markets. If you want to have the chance to at least have some clients, you HAVE to make u stand from the others. Make projects, make posts, be active, get to know other freelancers…
There a lot of people you are gonna compete against if you choose a freelancing area with a lot of clients. Just saying you are a developer and showing a photo of some of ur work will not do much.
Make a portfolio and LinkedIn profile
Having a portfolio allows you to show your work in a clear and simple way; just remember these things
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The portfolio should be as easy and direct as possible; no one will like to spend a lot of time searching for your projects.
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Show your previous client reviews (if you have any yet) with ways to contact them. Facebook, Discord, Email, whatever. People will trust you more if they can confirm you are a good freelancer.
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Make your website design at least decent. The better it looks the better the impression of the potential client. Just try that the portfolio does not look extremely ugly, it will leave a very bad impression.
Making a LinkedIn profile is also recommendable, to have a base to start working for companies if you ever decide leaving the freelancing world or just to look more professional when looking for clients.
Just remember to make your LinkedIn profile look as completed as possible. Fill every section, every detail possible about yourself (not personal, your career and knowledge ones) and dont be lazy when writing what your skills or projects are.
Half upfront, the other half later
You will save a lot of wasted time if you request to be paid, at least, half before starting. ONLY accept being paid when the job is fully completed if the client is a VERY trustworthy person. Otherwise, decline and wait for the next one. Trust me, you dont want to spend weeks or something just for the client to not pay at the end.
How do I get myself known?
You have completed your portfolio and LinkedIn profile, you are absolutely ready to start freelancing; but how do I get myself to be known?
The complicated part is not getting good enough, the hard part is getting known enough to be hired by people. There is no secret trick, but I do have some recommendations for it.
First of all. You will most likely start requesting very little pay. You have to do that to get the first clients, that will be the most important ones for reputation, getting known and experience.
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Join Discord. Use the search bar and google to search for freelancer server / servers with the theme of your freelancing area. If you are a programmer, join programmer groups and let yourself be known. Talk with people, talk about your projects, maintain a professional Discord profile. It all helps.
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Use different freelancing websites. Fiverr, for example. Make a good profile, show projects, add every detail possible.. And remember to add the fiverr profile to your LinkedIn, Portfolio and Discord profile aswell!
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Make posts in the social media you use, in groups with the theme of your freelancing market. This will help you to be known by other people, and have an easier time finding clients or even a permanent job. Do not make lazy posts! Elaborate, add details, images if possible. Make them worth it to read!
Getting known as a freelancer is a very long process. Dont get desesperated or frustrated! It will all pay off eventually. You may be lucky and get a lot of clients, or you may not get lucky at all.
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I would like to thank u for reaching this part. Being a freelancer is not easy, you must have a lot of patience and be willing to tolerate a lot of frustration. If you go on you may get lucky soon and get a lof of money of it, or it may take a long time. Patience is key.
If you wish to support me, you can do so by joining this game and donating: Wolo - Donation Place - Roblox. It motivates me to continue making useful guides! : )