Let me be upfront with you. When I started freelancing, I had no portfolio, no reviews, and no idea what I was doing. My first job paid $8 an hour. I applied to 40 projects before landing my first client. There were weeks where I made nothing.
But after about three months, I hit €1,000. And a year later, I was charging three times my original rate, working with clients I actually liked, in niches I genuinely found interesting.
Step 1: Setting up My Upwork Profile and Researching in-demand Skills
Before writing a single proposal, I spent time researching what clients were actually paying for, not what sounded cool to me.
If you want to learn more about in-demand skills in 2026, click here to read the full article
I looked at Upwork and Fiverr job boards and filtered by volume and competition. The skills with the most job postings and the fewest experienced applicants were the obvious starting point. In 2026, the most in-demand entry-level skills are short-form video editing, social media management, copywriting, virtual assistant work, and data analytics, with hourly rates ranging from $8 to $25 depending on experience.
I started with transcription, data entry, and virtual assistant tasks. Not high-paying tasks, but they required zero portfolio, had fast turnaround times, and made it easy to get those critical first reviews quickly.
For the profile itself, I treated it like a search engine result, not a CV. Your title and bio need to contain the exact keywords clients type when they’re looking for someone like you. “Virtual Assistant for Wellness Brands | Notion | Google Workspace | Email Management” performs infinitely better than “Freelancer | Hard Worker | Available Now.”
Step 2: Getting My First Client as a Freelancer (the hardest part)
I’m not going to sugarcoat this: getting your first client without any reviews is genuinely hard. Most clients filter by rating, which means with zero reviews, you’re basically invisible for the majority of job posters.
What eventually worked for me was a combination of three things:
- I only applied to jobs with fewer than 10 applicants. newer postings in niche categories where I wasn’t competing against 50 experienced freelancers.
- I wrote every proposal from scratch and referenced something specific from each job post, not a copy-paste template.
- For jobs I really wanted, I offered to complete a small test task upfront to remove the risk for the client.
That first review (even for a $12 job) changed everything. My profile started appearing in search results. The second client came within 4 weeks. The third in a month.
Step 3: Starting Lower, and Raising Rates over Time
I started at a rate that felt embarrassingly low.
In months one and two, I charged $5–8 per hour for transcription and data entry work. By months three to five, I was at $12–15 doing VA work and basic social media scheduling. By month six to nine, I had moved into social media management at $18–22 per hour. By the end of year one, I was doing Pinterest management and strategy work at $25–30 per hour.
A year in, I was charging three times my starting rate. Not because I got lucky, but because I accumulated reviews, improved my skills, stopped being desperate enough to take anything, and raised my rate after every three positive outcomes.
If you start low, that’s okay. Just don’t stay there.
Step 4: Continuously Developing New Skills
The skills that get you your first client are not the skills that will build your career.
I moved from transcription to VA work to social media management, and eventually into Pinterest management, which turned into a real specialization. Each new skill came from noticing what clients were asking for that I couldn’t yet offer. Pay attention to the jobs you have to decline. That’s your roadmap.
I learned everything for free: YouTube, Meta Blueprint, Pinterest Academy, and free Coursera course audits. You don’t need to pay for courses to get started. Later on, I invested in courses.
Step 5: How to Start Freelancing – Your First Week
Day 1–2: Pick one in-demand skill and spend two days learning the basics. Not what sounds fun, but what clients are actually hiring for right now.
Day 3: Create your Upwork and/or Fiverr profile. Write a keyword-rich title and bio. Fill in every single section, because the algorithm rewards complete profiles.
Day 4–5: Create one or two sample pieces of work before you have any clients. A mock social media plan, a transcribed audio clip, or a Canva post set. You need something in your portfolio before you start applying.
Day 6: Apply to 10 jobs. Write every proposal from scratch. Reference something specific from each posting.
Day 7: Follow up. Keep applying. Expect to send 20–40 proposals before your first reply. That’s completely normal; it’s not a sign you’re doing something wrong.
The students who make real money freelancing aren’t more talented or more experienced. They started, stayed consistent for 60 days, and adjusted as they went.
That’s the whole strategy.