How to start freelancing in 2026: My 8-Step playbook

In my experience, freelancing has changed a lot in 2026. It looks totally different.

You might still be competing on price, or still sending cold DMs to clients, or still treating every person like a one-time project.

But that's the old playbook, and it doesn't work anymore, at least for me.

If I had to start freelancing right now, here's what I'd do differently.

This is just my experience. My words. No sugarcoat. You like it or not, this is what I'll do.

1: I Will Focus on Making Impact, Not Money

First thing—I will not see everything as money. You have some passion inside you. This is how I started, sharing my design work online because it was my passion. I never had the intention that I could make money from this.

Because once you connect money to everything, you do things based on the money. You don't do things because you like to do them.

Because I shared my work, people loved it and eventually I attracted more and more clients to work with me. That's different.

2: I Will Keep Posting Real Work

First, I'll build a simple portfolio website. It is important. Even if I am sharing concepts, I will post them in my portfolio.

Concepts for me? I take an existing website or app. I redesign it. I show what's broken and how I'd fix it. That's a concept. Not some fake Nike redesign.

I will use social media to post my real work. Not fake work.

I will build my own website where I lead people. People see the post, they click, they see my work, and if they are interested in my services, I'm there.

3: I Will Focus on One Thing

Your website and social media should show your personality and what you do. Not everything. One thing.

If you do every single thing, you are a jack of all trades. Nobody can trust you.

You need to show one expertise. Website design. Mobile application. Whatever it is. Same reflection on your website. Same reflection on your social media.

Yes, when you have a call with a client, you can mention other things. "Hey, I also do this if you need." But publicly? One focus.

Let me give you a clear example:

Person A: Takes all types of projects like mobile app design ($10k) and website design ($4k). I believe it is a very stressful job putting yourself in multiple shoes.

Person B: Does ONLY landing page design. Charges $2,500. Completes in 3-4 days maximum. If Person B handles 10-20 clients per month, he earns more than Person A. And he's happier. I can guarantee that.

This is called mastering something. Successful websites have one thing, one focus. That's the pattern.

4: I Will Figure Out What Business Model Works

I will look at services. Fixed pricing or retainer pricing.

Fixed pricing? One month you make $20,000. Next month, you have no projects. Zero income.

Finding new clients takes a lot of time.

Maybe I will experiment with different pricing models. Nowadays retainer pricing is very trending and it is great. Instead of charging hourly, you can say to a client, "I can support you through the month. I charge $8k per month for this service."

And this works after completing a project too. You finish the work, then say, "Hey, I can stay on retainer if you need ongoing support."

This is the thing...

5: I Will Build Systems That Solve My Time

I'll use a tool to track leads. This is the most important part. By adding this, I earned over 6 figures in two years because I was able to track and follow up with clients.

I will build a system like my CRM. All the clients, all the projects in one place. I don't need to worry about anything. Systems are very important. Onboarding flows.

How to keep clients.Client communication. When you think like a business instead of a freelancer, everything changes. You stop reinventing the wheel every time.

[This is the exact system I use to run my 6-figure freelance business. Get it here →]

6: I Will Start Thinking About Scaling

Once I have a few clients, I will think about how I can scale my business.

There are a few ways I will use to scale. Creating more content. Posting more posts.

Writing captions based on things I have done and providing value. One very important thing: I put everything in my journal.

Most of my ideas come from my journal. Example: today I had a call with my client and this happened. I write it down. Then I share it. Sharing real experiences. Not fake. This is what I will do.

One hack that helped me a lot: mention your website in every post. "Need a website? Here's my work: [your link]"

People read your post, they like it, but they don't know where to go. If you don't tell them, they won't find you.

Add it in your captions. It brought a lot of clients to me.

7: I Will Learn More About Marketing

I will not waste my time just reading only design books. Design knowledge is important, but you unlock the next step once you start understanding how business works.

As a creative person, I spend my time learning not just about design but also about business, marketing, and psychology.

Over 14+ years, I learned a lot. I advise you to do the same. It will open your mind.

I will read these books.

• The Win Without Pitching Manifesto by Blair Enns
• $100M Leads by Alex Hormozi
• $100M Money Models by Alex Hormozi
• Hooked by Nir Eyal

These books really helped me a lot to grow.

8: I Will Hire People (If I Need To)

This is additional. You don't need to do this.

But if you can outsource—only for managing projects—you can free up at least 20-30% of your time.

For example, if you are working on main design, but you assign somebody else to change the content, it's really helpful. This is what I will do.

Bottom line

There is no good or bad or talented. You must have a roadmap for where you want to go. Decide what you want to do. Believe me, chasing everything will not make you feel satisfied.

Last thing: as I am growing. I am protecting my peace while working with clients.

For me, freelancing in 2026 is more about being intentional. It's about building systems that support you and make you work faster. It's about protecting your time because you have only one life.

This is what I wish I knew when I started. Now you know it too.
These are the things I'd do differently if I started today.

Want to know how I actually went from $0 to $10K months?
Read this: The 4 Steps That Got Me From Broke to $10K/Month →

See you in another one!

Let's grow together 🙌