In today’s tech-savvy world, freelancing has become a go-to career choice for many IT and tech pros. The appeal? You get to enjoy flexible hours and a wide range of exciting projects. But with so many options out there, you might be wondering: which industries are actually hiring the most tech freelancers in the UK?
The financial sector is one of the leading employers of tech contractors, especially in the UK’s thriving FinTech space. Banks, investment firms, and insurance companies rely heavily on technology for digital transformation, cybersecurity, data analytics, and automation.
Healthcare providers and medical technology companies are adopting digital solutions faster than ever. From patient data management to telemedicine, the healthcare industry is seeking freelancers with tech expertise to modernize systems, ensure data security, and improve patient care.
The retail and e-commerce industries are investing in digital solutions to enhance customer experience, improve supply chains, and build smarter platforms. With online shopping and AI-driven personalization becoming standard, these businesses often rely on freelancers to stay competitive.
Telecommunications companies are continually innovating to improve network infrastructure, mobile services, and 5G technology. Many hire freelance IT and tech professionals to work on short-term projects related to these advancements, creating a thriving market for specialists.
With the rise of digital content, streaming platforms, and interactive media, the media and entertainment industry increasingly depends on technology. Freelancers in this sector can contribute to everything from app development to video game programming.
Yes, the UK government and public sector organizations increasingly outsource tech work to freelancers for digital services, cybersecurity, and infrastructure projects. With a focus on improving online services for citizens, IT contractors have plenty of opportunities in this sector.
Whether you're a seasoned IT contractor or just starting out, the demand for freelance tech professionals is growing across multiple industries in the UK. By targeting sectors like finance, healthcare, retail, and telecom, you can position yourself for success.
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It takes a special person to succeed at freelancing… but when you do, the advantages are incredible. Do you have what it takes? Here are seven top strategies for fresh newbies and seasoned freelancers alike. If you can execute on these, you’ll not only succeed as a freelancer, but stand out as a top-performer. Ready to dive in?
Simple - they won’t hire you. But that’s okay! Trust me, this is the same miscalculation that most other freelancers make. The truth is, the pie is big enough. Don’t focus on the size of the pie. The reason freelancers struggle to get hired is NOT because there aren’t enough projects in the world… it’s just because they don’t win the bid.
If you were to choose “Roofing Websites” as your niche, like our example above, there would always be enough work in that industry to make you a six-figure salary. There would be enough work to make a 7 or 8 figure agency in it.
When you declare your focus on a single niche, you truly become an expert. Fast. After just your first five websites in a particular field, you’ll have unique insight into the businesses you serve.
If you work in a new niche with every project, so much of your time will be taken up by researching the industry, recreating resources and systems, and just being slow (since you’re NOT an expert).
Truly, the key to sales is confidence, and not knowing your pricing beforehand makes you feel unconfident and makes you look incompetent. It will be obvious to the client that you don’t have a plan, which is bad for two reasons:
Setting pricing “packages” also implies having more than one package. If you have a productized service, setting pricing tiers is a great strategy. If your service isn’t productized, you still want to roughly know what your different pricing tiers are so that you are prepared to negotiate confidently.
Note: I’m NOT saying that you should negotiate downwards like it’s no big deal… you still take your time and let your client know that you are hesitant and truly want the project to be a win-win scenario. It just helps to know what your options and boundaries are up front.
You get the idea. Develop at least two solid marketing strategies. If you’re looking to expand your channels, this article is a great summary of the top 9 marketplaces for designers looking for work, and this post covers 18 unique ways to find new clients.
HOWEVER. Also avoid the temptation to try and focus on all the marketing platforms… as a freelancer, you don’t have the time and resources to really succeed doing “everything”. Each marketing channel takes work. Don’t spread yourself too thin and put in a lackluster effort on too many platforms.
Hire a HackerNeeding to get a new client as soon as possible will also make you a worse marketer. It’s the definition of short-term thinking, and will make you act desperate instead of confident in sales situations.
It’s amazing how a client will sit on an idea for years, thinking to themselves that they need a new website or new product designed… but then when they decide to actually do it, they want it done yesterday.
Make it your goal to eliminate as much waiting time on the part of your future client as possible. If the client is receiving multiple proposals, it helps to be the first. Begin the conversation with them. By the time they gather more proposals, they’ve already spent time building rapport with you, and will be biased towards hiring you.
For example, when running Facebook ads, I’ve had the most success when setting up a Zapier automation that sent me a text as soon as someone submitted their info through the ad, and yep, I would call or text them immediately.
Another reason why it’s crucial to be super responsive with potential clients is because, whether consciously or subconsciously, they are using that time period to make a judgment of how it will be to work with you on a freelance project.
As with many other soft skills and business skills, your competition isn’t that tough when it comes to communication. Most freelancers are trade professionals who happen to be running a business, not business professionals who happen to possess a trade skill.
My point is, you should aim to be in the top 5% of best communicators in freelancing. Even if you have a bit of a language barrier between you and your clients, you can leverage written communication well.
Getting tons of updates is part of normal human society in 2022. Every day, you are getting dozens of notifications that you don’t “need”, but you still get a little hit of dopamine every time one comes in… so you like it.
Same for your clients. No matter the stage of the project, they should have already paid you a good chunk of change to build something for them… and it’s pretty nerve-racking as a client to not hear anything for two days and wonder if your freelancer just disappeared.
Of course, it also goes without saying that if the client sends you a message, respond as fast as possible. I know I’m guilty of seeing a new text message and deciding I’ll respond later… DON’T do that with clients!
Do that, and your clients will love you, and THAT’S how you get referrals. Doing great work is important, yes, but that’s a given. It’s an expectation. You don’t get any bonus points for being a good designer. You get bonus points (and raving fans) by being a human being that clients love working with.
Maybe you’re familiar with the “belt system” that’s common in many martial arts: white, blue, brown, purple, and finally, s xgdpblack belt. This system of milestones is ingenious. It gives the practitioner reasonable goals to achieve, and instills in them a sense of progress, a feeling that they know where they stand.
Milestones also make it much easier for you to split up payments throughout a project. For larger projects, 3 payments might be less risky for you and better for your cash flow than one or two payments.
It’s truly amazing. I’ve been a freelancer for so long, I can hardly remember what a fixed schedule is like. I try to carry more gratitude for how lucky I am to have this lifestyle.
There are lots of designers out there. But there are not a lot of designers that can also handle the roles of marketing, sales, and customer service. Therefore, if you can be that person that does everything, you’re more valuable to the marketplace and will get paid more.
This is the one that initially drove me to be a freelancer. Honestly, I had a hard time imagining myself at a desk every day just clocking in to complete a task. Over and over and over. For years.