Freelancing opens doors to career flexibility: choosing your clients and projects, setting your own hours, and building your career on your terms. In theory, freelancing sounds simple: work with multiple international clients, do good work, and grow your income. But it’s rarely that straightforward. Beyond the work itself, there’s a lot you’ll need to figure out, such as finding the right clients, managing workload, and staying on top of your finances in what can be a very unpredictable setup.
This is where many new freelancers get stuck. It’s not just about being good at what you do; it’s knowing how to navigate the business side of it, too. If you’re a freelancer who’s just getting started, here are three practical tips from freelancing experts on how to set yourself up for success.
Build yourself as much as you build your client base
If you spend all your time on client work, it’s difficult to grow your freelance career long-term. At some point, you hit a ceiling, moving from one deadline to the next, with no time to actually build anything beyond your current workload.
But while you might be great at copywriting, design, or accounting, as a freelancer, you’re also responsible for finding leads, keeping up with new technology, staying updated on trends, and regularly updating your portfolio.
Arnel Legaspi doing freelance work
As Arnel Legaspi Jr, CPA, shares, “When I started, I thought if I was good at social media marketing, learned enough tools, and delivered well, everything would fall into place. But freelancing tests your boundaries, your self-worth, your discipline, and your money mindset.”
Putting time into improving yourself doesn’t guarantee instant results, but it does make a difference for you. Over time, it helps you price your work higher and expand what you can offer to a broader range of clients.
Build structure into your work and into your days
To build yourself, you need to be intentional about how you manage your workdays. Time management is part of this, but building structure goes beyond simply blocking off your calendar. It’s about creating systems that make your work easier to manage and more efficient.
Ehdina Tindoy doing freelance work
One way to do this is by creating templates and workflows you can rely on. Ehdina Tindoy, founder of Spark Creative Solutions, says, “Having predefined frameworks for planning, execution, and review significantly reduced decision fatigue and improved turnaround time. In addition, I tracked how I spent my time, from planning and outsourcing to execution and revision. This helped me identify bottlenecks, optimize my process, and continuously improve efficiency.”
When you add structure to your work, you spend more time getting things done and free up time for other activities beyond just chasing deadlines!
Build your money system
The income of a freelancer can be unpredictable. Delays in payments, issues with transfer platforms – without a system in place, it’s easy to find yourself in a panic. As Arnel points out, “Protection is just as important as saving and investing. Income growth is good, but income protection is critical.”
One tool that can help you manage your income is the new GCash Virtual US Account, designed to help freelancers earning in USD avoid losing money to steep exchange rates and platform transfer fees.
Powered by technology company Meridian1, the GCash Virtual US Account provides you with your own ACH and Wire Routing Number that you can share with US employers to facilitate direct transfers. This allows you to receive the full amount of your earnings.
You can then move your USD to your GCash e-wallet and choose exactly when to convert it based on when rates are most favourable to you. With live, updated, and competitive forex rates displayed in the app, you always know how much you’ll get. It’s safe and easy to use!
Once your funds have been withdrawn to your e-wallet, you can do more with your cash all through the app, such as pay utility bills and other necessities, save, and even invest.
Creating a GCash Virtual US Account is easy in just a few steps.
Open the GCash app. Tap US Accounts in the Explore the App section
Tap Continue and verify your information
Complete your account creation
1 GCash Virtual US Accounts are issued and maintained by Meridian Payments US under a “for benefit of” arrangement. These are not bank accounts and do not qualify as deposits; hence, they are not covered by any deposit insurance schemes.
