How to start freelancing in 2025

I got my first freelance gig from an obscure job board.

It was 2017, and I discovered the job as I was browsing the internet during one of my shifts at my part-time job. I emailed the job poster my resume and a few writing samples that seemed relevant (actually, they were the only writing samples I had at the time) and crossed my fingers that I’d hear back.

They hired me the next day, and I completed my first writing assignment and got paid (a whopping $40!) within a week. It was quick and relatively easy to get started.

Today, that experience would look very different.

My freelance friend Kara Detwiller of Wishful Working summed it up pretty well here:

The landscape has changed, there’s no doubt about that. As of 2024, there were 76.4 million freelancers in the US and that number is expected to increase to over 90 million by 2028 — that’s over half of the total workforce.

More people are freelancing and more companies are open to hiring freelancers. Which is exciting! But IMO, it seems much harder to start freelancing in 2025 compared to 2017 when I first started. Especially if you’re starting from scratch.

If I were getting started now, here’s how I’d do it.

Note: This advice mainly applies to people who are starting from scratch or have little work experience. If you’re a seasoned career person transitioning to freelance, you may have more resources to tap into!

Start small 

Anytime I see a freelancer or creator online saying things like, “You can make $10K a month as a freelancer in just a few months, here’s how I did it.” I wince a little.

Statements like that are misleading. The freelancers who sell the idea of (easily) making six figures within a few short months usually share their advice through the lens of their current position. They tend to leave out the years they spent grinding or getting paid pennies — or simply getting lucky! (Luck and timing play a huge role in freelancing, but that’s a story for another time…)

Yes, you can make $10K months as a freelancer (if that’s your goal) and work with dream clients, but it can take time. If I were getting started freelancing right now, I’d start small — as in, don’t expect high-paying projects and a perfect client list right out of the gate. Instead, here’s what I suggest: 

• Get as much experience as you can by trying different things (services, projects, industries, etc.)

• Narrow down what you like/what you’re good at/what there’s demand for 

• Get really good at that one thing and build from there

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the idea of being a “successful” or “in-demand” freelancer in just a few months but that’s not the reality for most. Spend time exploring and learning if you want to build a solid foundation for your freelance business.

Subcontract with agencies or other freelancers

Reach out to agencies! In my experience, agencies are always in need of support as their internal teams are focused on high-level strategy.

Working with agencies helped me get consistent work early in my freelancing career. It also helped me determine what type of clients, tasks, and industries I like. As a bonus, I got to learn about the ins and outs of running an independent business — from client management to sales to business admin. 

I know some freelancers subcontract their work, so this could also be an option.

Look for a unique angle/offering 

Freelance writing is saturated. I can’t tell you how many of us are “B2B/SaaS content marketing writers” (myself included 🙃).

That’s not meant to deter you from pursuing that path if that’s what you want to do. But when you operate in a saturated niche, it’s harder to stand out and you have to get creative with how you find clients.

If I was getting started from scratch right now, I’d look for a less saturated niche. 

For example, I’ve seen more demand for AI editing (as in, editing AI-generated content to make it sound more human) and I can imagine that demand will increase over the next year. The newsletter space has also taken off. I can see services tailored to newsletter operators doing really well, whether that’s designing, writing, or growth marketing.

Pick a rate (and raise it later)

Figuring out your rate is undoubtedly one of the most challenging parts of freelancing. But when you’re stuck trying to figure it out, that can get in the way of applying to gigs or reaching out to potential clients.

Instead of spending countless hours determining the perfect price, my best advice is to choose a number you feel comfortable with and go from there. You can always raise it later. In fact, a good rule of thumb is to increase your price with every new client. 

Same goes for the pricing structure. Many freelancers discourage using an hourly rate (I personally don’t like hourly rates, either), but if it makes sense for a project that comes your way, I’d just go with it. I definitely took on hourly work when I was getting started so that I wouldn’t lose a potential gig and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s all a learning experience.

If you really want to get an idea of what freelance pricing looks like, find out what other freelancers charge for similar projects. A couple of resources I like to reference are the Freelancing Females rate sheet and Wethos. Wethos has an entire library of proposal templates that real freelancers created. You can see exactly what other freelancers charged and how they structured their proposal for everything from a marketing strategy to a logo design. 

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✍️ What I’m Up To

• Doing: Documenting life more. Inspired by Austin Kleon’s 100 Things That Made My Year, I’m working on making my own list this year in an effort to capture little joys in life. 

• Planning: A trip to Tokyo! My husband and I booked tickets to Tokyo, Japan for October and I’m deep in planning mode! I can’t stop watching cute travel vlogs on YouTube and taking notes of all the restaurants, shops, and neighborhoods to visit. Send me your recs if you’ve been! 

• Reading: Currently reading The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. I’m only a few chapters in and I think(?) I like it but it’s too early to tell.

I’ll be back in your inboxes on February 4th 💌 In the meantime, let me know what you’re working on and how I can help!

Rough Draft is a bi-weekly newsletter where I share tips and musings on creating a freelance career from scratch. Subscribe here. You can also find me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Threads, or my website. 👋