想创业，但却不知道从何入手？对于很多有想法的人来说，这是一个面时常困扰他们的问题。

参考答案就是：从自由职业开始！

“自由职业”这个词听起来很吓人，但实际上，这种工作理念很简单。你需要做的就是找到已经具备的技能，然后寻找愿意为这些技能付钱的人。你将在不知不觉中，进入商界。

下面说说具体怎么做:

1、列出你所具备的技能清单。

你目前正在做做的哪些工作，已经有人在为此给你支付报酬的工作？你给大公司提供的服务，能否提供给个人客户？

事实上，如果你目前有（或者曾经有过）一份工作，你便已经证明，你可以为别人提供有偿的服务。

例如：

如果你是行政助理，你的组织能力或许对客户很有用。

如果你是网页开发者，你肯定能兼职帮助人们构建项目。

如果你是一名会计，你可以帮助客户处理税务事宜，或者帮助小公司做账处理各种账户。

这些想法只是为了启发你开动脑筋，你还可以通过其他渠道寻求帮助，想出更多。

2、确定你所提供的服务的真正价值。

人们很容易纠结于定价问题。最开始，没有人知道恰当的收费标准！

记住：你所提供的服务的真正价值，并不是公司直接向你支付的报酬（你的工资/时薪），而是公司向使用这些你的服务的对象收取的费用。最终用户付出的成本才是你的真实价值所在。

比如下面这种情况：

你是一名律师助理，负责诉前事务和处理案件的时薪为30美元。你认为，客户会为你的工作向事务所支付多少的费用是多少？我想，对于你代表事务所处理的这些工作，事务所至少会按150美元/小时向客户收费。

所以，现在你知道，你的时间至少价值150美元/小时。这意味着，公司从你身上赚取了120美元“业务介绍费”！

你不觉得这听起来很过分吗？你能不能利用同样的技能，自己去赚这笔钱？

我能想到的一种赚钱方式是离婚申请。离婚程序代价昂贵。申请离婚的费用可能是数百或者数千美元，但事实上，多数律师助理都知道如何处理这类案件。你可以创建一项“快速”业务，以更有吸引力的费率提供这项服务。

这项业务的市场无限广阔，而且人们愿意为此付费！

3、寻找客户（提示：客户无处不在）。

在最开始的时候，寻找客户最简单的两种方法是合作和自由职业求职平台。需要你提供服务的公司，可能有人已经在与你的理想客户合作。与他们建立合作关系，是迅速获得大量客户的最快途径。关键是要为其他公司提供巨大的价值，以此换取他们的合作。

通过提供服务，帮助其他公司树立在客户当中的形象，他们便会投桃报李，给你介绍大量的客户资源。这是一个双赢的过程。例如：

如果你是一名私人健身教练，你可以与有健身房的当地公寓大楼合作，为居民提供健身课程。

如果你是网页开发者，你可以与平面设计师合作，帮助他们的客户建立网站。

如果你是代数家教，你可以与本地的学校和课后项目合作，帮助辅导他们的学生。

你会发现无数种可能，但前提是你要愿意跳出固定思维，想方设法让这些人脉为你所用。

如何利用自由职业求职平台。

目前，网上有十多个专门帮助自由制造业者求职赚钱的网站。其中最受欢迎的是Elance和oDesk。

这类网站是不错的起点。当然，你不能把它们作为寻找客户和发展事业的“永久”解决方案，但对于刚起步的自由职业者来说，它们确实具有许多强大的优势：

它们可以帮助自由职业者坦然接受出售自己的服务这种想法，调整报价，了解客户的具体需求。

它们可以帮助你不断完善营销技能宣传材料。

它们可以帮你建立自信，让你克服被拒绝的恐惧，享受首次成功带来的奇妙感受，即便你只是得到了几份小工作。

走出去，行动起来！这些建议，对于开启自由职业来说只是冰山一角！

任何人都能成为自由职业者。你还在等什么？

译者：刘进龙/汪皓

审校：任文科

So you want to start a business, but you have no idea where to start. Many beginning entrepreneurs have faced the same dilemma.

The answer: start with freelancing.

The word "freelancing" may sound scary but the concept is pretty simple. All you have to do is find skills that you already have, then find people who will pay you for those skills. Before you know it, you're in business.

Here's how it works.

1. Take an inventory of your skills.

What are you currently doing that someone is already paying you for? Could that same service you’re providing a large company be offered to individual clients?

The reality is, if you currently have (or have ever had) a job, you've already proven that you can provide a service that people will pay money for.

For instance:

If you’re an administrative assistant, there’s a good chance your organizational skills will be useful to clients.

If you’re a web developer, you can definitely help people build projects on the side.

If you’re an accountant, you can help clients with their taxes, or small businesses with their accounts.

These are just a few ideas to get your brain working but you can get the help you need thinking of more.

Related: The Freelance Economy Is Booming. But Is It Good Business?

2: Determine what people are paying for the services you provide.

It's easy to get caught up on pricing. In the beginning, nobody knows what they should charge!

Remember: the true value of your services isn’t how much a company pays you directly (your salary/hourly rate), it’s how much they charge other people for you to deliver those services. The cost to the end user is your true value.

Consider this scenario:

You’re a paralegal who gets paid $30/hour to do pre-litigation work and settle cases. How much do you think the clients are paying the firm for your work? I’d guess the firm probably bills clients at least $150/hour for you to handle this work on their behalf.

So now you know your time is worth at least $150/hour. That means the firm is taking $120 from you as a “finder’s fee!”

Hmm…seems pretty steep, don’t you think? Couldn't you take those exact same skills and make money by yourself?

One way that comes to mind is divorce filings. The divorce process is expensive. It can cost hundreds or even thousands to file, but in reality most paralegals know how to do this work. Maybe you could open up an “express” business to offer this very specific service for a better rate.

There’s clearly a never-ending market for it and are people willing to pay!

Related: How Much Should I Charge Clients?

3: Find clients (hint: they are everywhere).

When you're first starting off, the two easiest methods for finding clients are partnerships and freelance job boards. Forming partnerships with people who need your services, and already work with your ideal customer, is the fastest way to get an instant flood of clients. The key is to offer other businesses massive value in return for their partnership.

Provide a service that really makes the other business look great to their customers, and they will reward you with a mountain of referrals. It's all about the win-win. For example:

If you’re a personal trainer, you can partner with local apartment complexes with gyms to host classes for residents.

If you’re a web developer, you can partner with graphic designers to help their clients build websites.

If you’re an algebra tutor, you can partner with local schools and after-school programs to help their students.

The possibilities are endless, but you have to be willing to think outside of the box to see make some of these connections work.

How to use freelance job boards.

There are dozens of websites out there that are specifically designed to help freelancers find work and get paid. The most popular are Elance and oDesk.

Sites like these are fantastic starting points. You shouldn’t think of them as “forever” solutions to finding clients and growing your business, but they do provide some powerful advantages for the beginning freelancer:

They help you become comfortable with the idea of selling your services, tweaking your offer and understanding what clients are looking for.

They help you refine your pitch.

They build confidence by helping you get over the fear of rejection by enjoying the initial feeling of success, even if you only book a few small jobs.

Get out there and get started! These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to starting a freelance business!

Anybody can do it. What's holding you back?