Why blindly chase overseas projects as a beginner freelancer?

Yay! I’m in Maldives for my first-ever international trip with my family funded by my client. So, I’ve turned off work mode for a week.?

Though I’m quite occupied right now, I chose to share my second newsletter with you today.

I worked with overseas clients before I worked with Indian clients. Yes, as a beginner freelancer, I worked with multiple international clients through different freelancing platforms.?

Be it, Andrew, Nash, Sean, X, or Cathy,?my first 5 clients were so kind?& offered me genuine feedback. This instilled confidence in me as a freelancer. (Ah! Forgot to mention, I wanted to work on overseas projects, not local projects because I was traumatised by a toxic job experience & was afraid that local clients wouldn’t treat me fair)

All those projects except one were short-term & were small gigs that helped me earn 50$-200$ for a blog or appraisal request letter.?

I loved the virtual work culture they/ their organisations offered me. Also, I was impressed by the way they respected & trusted me though I was way more junior considering their professional experience.?

I'm not writing to you to brag about my kind overseas clients. I'm here to do something else: to rant about some ex-potential clients of mine & in the process help some beginner freelancers.?

Do you love to go on a trip to the Maldives with your dear ones? I bet you won't hate the idea. What if the trip is free of cost???

Well, a free Maldives trip with my family, that is what a travel agency based in Maldives offered me last year.?

Even after 9 months, I still haven't gone on any international trips, not alone the free trip to Maldives. Why??

I'm not willing to be exploited by an overseas client for the sake of a Maldives trip offer. (By now, you might have understood that I, being a shameless liar lied to you that I’m in Maldives while I’m managing client projects from home??)

Following the Maldives trip offer, I came across potential clients who promised free electronic gadgets & festive vouchers, but nothing to be mentioned in our contract.?

They wanted me to:

??work for ? or ? of my deserving payment.?

??work as their employee while I was not open for jobs.?

??offer a free service for 1 month in exchange for a testimonial.?

I couldn't onboard them due to such requirements from their end which I can not stand.?

What I tried to convey is, having an international tag doesn’t mean all international projects are promising. Especially if you are a beginner with no or less authority established through your personal brand with no notable achievements, you tend to get exploited (not in every case).?

So, the blind chasing of international projects even when you don’t have a strong personal brand might not be the right move.?

If you are a beginner freelancer who targets overseas inbound lead generation through LinkedIn, let me share this with you:

When you are in the initial phase with a basic skillset, it’s better not to blindly focus on the overseas market & neglecting to focus on your native market. Because the challenges you face in overseas projects might be greater than that of many local projects like:?

??Language/cultural barriers

??Need of adapting to the market requirements?

??Time zone difference (pretty hard when clients are from multiple countries)

If I managed to overcome these challenges, you can do it too.?

But I suggest you not forget the significance of having local clients. Because if you are a beginner, generating local inbound leads is easier than generating overseas inbound leads. (Be it inbound leads from LinkedIn or projects I closed through freelancing platforms, I made it only because I had close to 5 years of experience in the service I offered)

There are many promising projects in your country itself. When you are yet to take baby steps in freelancing, do you need to tire yourself out for the sake of overseas inbound leads (which you find hard to generate)?

#rosepensit #leadgeneration #linkedingrowth