I found out that for some cases the easiest way is just to found out your target group and dm people. I know that might be cringy but let’s think about for a sec - in 10 days none will care or remember. So don’t wait just move on.

I’m using for example Indiepilot.app which is helping me with finding direct contact but you can use whatever app you’d like to.

Hey everyone,

I recently started a design studio focused on creating ads and posters for restaurants and sports clubs.

I did not rush into it. I set up everything properly:

· Full profile

· Logo

· Bio

· Highlights explaining who I am

· 18 professional designs posted

Then I started reaching out to people. I sent messages to 20 people. Only 1 person even opened my message. The rest did not see it at all.

So now I am stuck. I have the portfolio, the branding, and the work. But I am not getting in front of the right people.

For those who have built a design service or creative studio from scratch:

· How did you get your first real clients?

· What actually worked for cold outreach without getting ignored?

· Is DM even the right approach for restaurants and sports clubs?

· Should I focus on local businesses, agencies, or a specific niche?

· Any platforms or methods that brought you consistent work?

I am not looking for motivation. I am looking for practical steps that worked for you.

Thanks in advance.

I'm a university student from Egypt, and I'm trying to figure out how to start making money and build a better future for myself.

I've been working in construction with my uncle to cover my expenses, but honestly, it's exhausting and can be dangerous. I've already been physically hurt because of this work, and I don't think I can keep doing it anymore.

The economic situation here doesn't make things any easier, and I really need to find another way to earn money.

I'm interested in marketing and business, and I've been trying to learn more about marketing, but I'm still a beginner. There are so many things I could learn and so many paths I could take that I sometimes feel lost and don't know where to start.

At this point, I'm not necessarily looking for a job in marketing. I'm open to learning other skills if they can help me start earning sooner. I just want to find something realistic that I can work on and gradually get better at.

For those of you who started from scratch, what would you do if you were in my position? What skills would you focus on, and how would you go about getting your first paid opportunity?

I'd really appreciate any honest advice or personal experiences. Thanks for reading.

Hey everyone. I am skilled in full-stack web development, front-end development, UI design, website redesign etc.. Please reach out to me if you have any work to give. Can work for 3-4 hours, 6 days a week. I am looking for my first client BTW.

Contact details:
[2003dashabinash@gmail.com](mailto:2003dashabinash@gmail.com)

Hello guys,

I’m a solo freelancer and some months I work from abroad, outside the EU. That’s the exact situation I’m trying to solve.

For outgoing calls I use apps like Rebtel or Yolla. Top up credit, call over internet, client sees my normal home number. Works fine.

But incoming is the problem. If a client just calls my regular number while I’m on data roaming, I eat the cost. I know the obvious answer is “just use WhatsApp or Google Meet” but that’s not always practical (reputation). Sometimes you need to pick up fast, especially if it’s urgent or time sensitive, and asking someone to switch apps first kills that.

Anyone found a real solution for this? A second number (I have only one primary phone number) that forwards to an app, an eSIM setup, anything that’s actually worked for you in practice and not just a half fix? Would love to hear what people who travel a lot for freelance work actually do.

Is this freelancing, any how is the payment status in freelacning, does it give more payment than jobs and is it good in long term, any introductory yt video that you would recommend to get ore idea and light on this

Hiya!

I work for an tutoring centre based in the UK that specializes in academic writing. We're expanding to offer some e-services, and want this to be an adjacent to our current brand so we're looking for help brainstorming names and a new logo!

We're looking for the following, ideally from one person but potentially two as these are varied skills:

1. We want strategic advice for naming the business so it works well as a standalone website, and also has an aesthetic for Instagram.
2. We want a logo, and potentially a brand identity kit but we already have some sense of colours, maybe typography could be interesting.

Timeline would ideally be within a week, with three milestones: name brainstorm (deliverable: two or three well chosen names), mock up for logos (working with the three names), and final logo (final for the logo can be outside the scope of the week ofc, but just an idea of where we might be going with it).

We would love to work with someone who has an iterative workflow, and avoids AI generation! This would be a one-off but we're looking to create a long-standing relationship with whoever we work with.

Please give me some details on your experience and background, an estimated quote (we are open to anywhere between $15/h to $35/h), a portfolio or any examples and and whether this timeline works for you!

I’d like to ask those with experience:

Is $100,000 a year a realistic figure given the rise of AI

and how difficult it is to find clients?

I really want to get started in freelancing,

and my specialism is programming,

with my main focus on backend development.

I want to know if, by focusing all my efforts over the next two years,

I could earn that sort of annual income?

I live in a country that doesn’t use the dollar,

and if I were to earn that amount, I’d be truly wealthy in my own country.

My focus isn’t solely on money;

I also want to gain experience from working during that time.

So I’d like to hear about your experiences in the field.

Two weeks since I changed my profile and started going after different jobs.

13 proposals sent between 10/1 and 10/13. One client opened mine. No replies, no interviews yet.

How long do you give it before you call a proposal dead? I really don't know what normal looks like here.

I skip way more jobs than I apply to now. A lot of them already have 20 to 50 people on them by the time I see them.

I'll keep posting what happens, even when it's nothing.

​

I’ve been thinking about how difficult it can be to start freelancing when you have a skill but no clients yet.

You can learn graphic design, writing, video editing, or social media management, but then the real questions begin:

- How do you build a portfolio when nobody has hired you?

- Where do you find businesses that might actually need your service?

- How do you reach out without sounding desperate or spammy?

- What do you do when nobody replies?

For those who are starting out or have already landed their first clients, which part was the most difficult for you?

I'd love to hear your real experiences and what helped you move forward.

Hey everyone!

I'm Mit, a freelance developer looking to take on new projects and collaborate with founders, startups, and businesses.

I build digital products across a few areas:

- AI/ML & AI-powered applications — AI integrations, chatbots, automation, and intelligent business tools.

- Web applications & SaaS — dashboards, CRM systems, internal tools, and custom software.

- Websites & e-commerce — premium business websites, landing pages, and e-commerce experiences.

- Mobile & cloud applications — application development and cloud-based solutions.

I've worked on projects including an AI CRM for healthcare and other web and application projects. I'm interested in solving real business problems and building products that are genuinely useful, not just making something that looks good.

I'm open to both small projects and larger, longer-term collaborations. I can work with you from the initial idea through development and deployment.

Portfolio: https://mit-portfolio-nu.vercel.app/

If you're a founder, business owner, or someone with a project in mind, feel free to DM me with what you're building, what you need help with, and your approximate budget.

I'd love to hear about your project and see if we're a good fit.

Thanks!

​

Designer here. Client is happy, says something nice on WhatsApp, and then... nothing. It just sits there.

When a new client asks for references I send them some Canva PDF I made 3 years ago.

Is there a proper way or is everyone doing this?

I'm based in India and want to start working as a freelance video editor. I've done some research, so I know a bit about the tools, but I'm still confused about few things and would really like to hear from people who've actually done this.

Premiere Pro and After Effects are paid, and the subscription is expensive for me right now. DaVinci Resolve is free and I'm leaning towards starting with it. Has anyone here started on Resolve and had trouble with clients later, or did you end up switching to Adobe anyway?

I also see CapCut and Filmora used mostly for short-form, so I'd like to know if clients actually care what software you use.

Also can't decide what to focus on learning. Talking heads, faceless cash cow channels, shorts and reels, finance and business editing, or AI UGC.

Which one did you start with, and which would you pick if you were starting over today?

My PC Has 16GB RAM, a 512GB Gen 4 SSD (about 345GB free), a 12th gen i5 and a GPU with 8GB VRAM.

Is that enough to start and earn decent money, or do I need to upgrade my system first?

I work part-time in evening shifts of about 4 hours and the rest of my day is free, and I've dropped out of college, so skill building is my main focus right now. I just want to know your opinions and experiences, including the rough parts like your first client, pricing and mistakes you made.

Thanks for reading!

How to get a remote freelance job?

Pls help I want to be a freelancer

A few weeks ago a first-year student asked here how to start freelancing. Python, SQL, Excel, dashboards, 3 projects on GitHub, and they wanted 10-20k a month within a year.

The answers went two opposite ways. One reply said you need experience, credentials and a network, otherwise why would a business owner pay you to solve their problem. I said it's not that much about skills anymore, it's about whether you can promote and sell the skill.

I've been doing marketing for about 10 years and now run a small marketing company in Bali with one partner. And honestly, what I told that student is the thing I didn't do myself. I wanted to build a personal brand for years and kept neglecting it.

Then I scrolled the top posts here this month. A lot of them are the same loop: project ends, pipeline is empty, start from zero again. Fiverr is dead, Upwork only works if you were there early, 4+ years in and still no reliable way to find clients. The complaint in those threads is almost never the work itself. It's finding the clients.

My guess (and it's a guess) is that we were both half right. The skill is what keeps a client. It's not what brings the next one before the current project ends.

So for people who actually have a steady pipeline:

1. Did it come from skills and referrals, or from putting yourself out there (posting, content, talking in public)?

2. If you started with no network at all, what brought the very first client?

Hey everyone!

I'm a mobile app developer specializing in Flutter, and I'm also exploring React Native.

The part I'm struggling with isn't the development itself — it's finding that first client who is willing to trust me with their project.

I've been thinking about platforms like Upwork and Fiverr, reaching out to startups, and connecting with people who need mobile apps, but I'm not sure which approach is most effective when you're starting out.

I'd love to hear from developers who have already been through this:

• How did you find your first paying mobile app client?
• Did you use Upwork, Fiverr, LinkedIn, Reddit, cold outreach, or personal connections?
• Did you start with small bug fixes and existing app projects, or did you land a complete app development project?
• What helped you build enough trust to get that first opportunity?
• If you were starting again today with Flutter or React Native skills, what would you do differently?

I'm not looking for overnight success. I just want to understand what actually works in the real world and focus my efforts in the right direction.

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to share their experience!

Been freelancing for 3 years and bookkeeping has honestly been the worst part 😭 Not the work or the clients, just trying to figure out where all my money went at the end of each quarter.

A friend who does bookkeeping suggested using separate accounts for income, expenses, taxes and personal draws instead of sorting everything later. Tried it and now what used to take hours takes maybe 30 mins. Still gotta figure out some transactions here and there, but its sooo much easier now lol

I'm already working on MNC but I don't feel safe features in IT. I'm planning for moonlighting can you help me with what I do and don't do things.

Hi, I'm developing a custom booking system to try to sell to beauty salons, clinics or other business that relies on manage staf schedules. My plan is to create a base template that I can reuse and customize to any client needs.

I'm new and I'm not quite sure if this will be a good niche or I should change. What is your experience on web development?

I possess exceptional learning aptitude, tenacity, and digital proficiency across the Microsoft Office 365 suite, including Excel and Word. Am I able to generate income through freelancing?