Have you ever thought about what it would be like to work for yourself — to have all the freedom to choose your own clients, charge the rates you think represent your work, and work from anywhere in the world?
Starting your freelance business might seem like a dream, but it can be scary. No matter how well you've planned everything or how long you were preparing for it, there will always be unforeseen challenges and obstacles.
Our student Beatriz went through the same journey — starting her career in management and marketing and continuing to launch her freelance digital marketing consultancy firm.
But just after a few months in, she realized that to succeed in this day and age, you must know how to create digital products and use technologies to provide complete services to clients. This meant either losing clients or learning to code. But that's where she discovered no-code development and that you can achieve all that without writing a single line of code.
Early career in marketing and change to freelancing
Beatriz has always been curious and excited to try different things. So, when the time to pick a degree came, she was unsure about her future. She wanted to try medicine, veterinary, technology, and other fields, so it was impossible to choose just one subject. Eventually, she decided to study management, which allowed her to combine multiple fields and interests.
Soon after starting her bachelor's degree, Beatriz learned more about marketing and began a marketing internship. Later on, she tried a business consultant role, but her love for marketing has always drawn her back to working in a creative field. So when she was about to graduate, her professor recommended her to one of the largest radio groups in Portugal to work in a new marketing department.
It was a fantastic opportunity for the young marketer. She had the freedom and resources to experiment and explore all parts of marketing and help the radio to attract more people. And while the position was great, after almost four years working in the same job, Beatriz realized it was time to pivot her career.
It was a perfect storm, as Beatriz said. She learned all she could in her previous job, and now it was time to pass this knowledge to her own clients. So, she decided to launch a freelance digital marketing consultancy firm where she worked with small and medium-sized businesses and helped them recover after the COVID-19 pandemic. "When the pandemic came, I saw many small and medium businesses closing. And it changed me because I started looking at people and seeing that they were masters of their fields, but everything just fell apart because they didn't know how to exist in a digital world. And during the pandemic, everything was moving towards digital. So, I thought maybe I should take what I have and what I know to help these small and medium businesses."
The first six months were amazing. Beatriz worked with many clients, attended workshops, and landed great deals. But the new business wasn't very profitable. Instead, she wanted to focus on long-term projects helping companies to create and develop a marketing strategy to grow in the long term. But her clients were reluctant to recognize the benefits of a well-structured approach, instead, they wanted quick and visible results.
That made Beatriz realize that running a profitable freelance business was more challenging than she thought. Before she could even start offering her services, she had to prove to her clients why a strategy is a foundation for a successful digital marketing plan. So she was left with a problem — how to prove to potential clients that they need a strategy before investing all their time and resources in more temporary things like social media. And she came up with a solution — learning to build websites and other digital products.
Am I going to be a developer now?
Outsourcing work to a freelance programmer is expensive, especially for a new business. So, Beatriz thought, "well, I'll need to learn to code websites myself." She was searching for suitable courses to expand her services, but most coding courses were expensive, long, and complicated. Fortunately, before she enrolled in one of the courses, her partner suggested she try a no-code program. Their friend recommended a special program for women to help them upgrade their work and gain valuable tech skills. That's how Beatriz came across No Code Institute and our No Code Foundations program.
It was a sign to apply, and she did. But when the course started, all her high hopes disappeared because the program wasn't what she imagined it to be. The first three lessons were focused on building community and the right mindset, and for a freelancer who's solely responsible for her income, each hour not working meant losing money.
But after the first classes, everything changed. Students started learning no-code development and implementing it to practice right away. Step by step, Beatriz realized that, after all, it was a great decision. Now, she's in the middle of the course and working with a real company. Her task is to build a web platform to help businesses manage projects, also a form to insert data and processes to manage people and projects later.
Now, Beatriz is excited to learn new things and implement them into her digital marketing consultancy practice. She wants to gain more experience to be able to sell web design and development services in addition to building a marketing strategy. She's excited because she knows that technology opens the door to success. "Marketing and business are all about technology. You can't manage a business without the help of technology. Technology is your best friend. And if you know how to play with it, you can do whatever you want. Especially with automation, it's life-changing."
No-code skills to boost your freelance business
Beatriz's example shows us how important it is to adapt to your client's needs and market trends. If you're also wondering how to advance your freelance business or career, look no further because no code is an excellent solution in any field. No Code Institute No Code Foundations program takes only a few weeks, but it teaches you the fundaments of no-code development and prepares you to implement them into your real life.
Many students have done the course and now successfully use their web development, app, database, and form building skills to boost their careers and earn more money. You don't need prior tech experience because everyone can learn no code. The No Code Foundations program is designed for everyone curious about how the digital world works and those looking for something new to add to their resume. Take your chance to elevate your freelance business to the next step. Register!
