How to build credibility if you are just starting

These days, a university degree is nothing. Everyone urges you to go get a skill but no one tells you how to land clients after getting skills and this has created a society of young people with skills and no money because they cannot find jobs to express their skills to make money. If you’ve learnt a skill and you are finding it difficult to get clients, I have the practical keys you can use to unlock a ton of clients.

So you’ve got the skills but nobody is hiring you? Do these in the next 30 days

Build up your portfolio

Yea I know what you are thinking. How can you even build a portfolio when no one will give you a chance? Crazy right? Companies have tough hiring requirements - 2 years minimum experience! But relax, I have a way out for you - do a lot of free work! Yes, you heard that right. No one is going to hire you if you don’t have a track record or a portfolio to back your claim. So the easiest way for you to build a portfolio is to do a lot of free work for people, start with your friends and family then go a little outside your immediate network. Be open to criticism and actually effect changes when they are requested.

Ask for reviews

Reviews rule the world. When you follow step 1, your goal is not to make money of course, your goal is to get reviews which sets the base for how good you are. People often look at reviews before they make purchase decisions and this is more so in this digital age. Right at the point you are marketing your product or service to someone, they are googling you and your product up. Reviews will either make or mar you…by all means, get good reviews from the people you did free work for.

Be loud, don’t build in isolation

In case you’ve not noticed, we live in a world designed for extroverts. This is a little sad because you can be greatly skilled and qualified but if people don’t know you, the loud ones will get the jobs. Now, I’m careful when I use the word loud. Meaningful noise is what you want to make - talk to everyone about your product don’t build in isolation and hope to shock the world when you launch.

Optimise your social profiles

Across Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Linkedin, Whatsapp, Instagram, Tiktok and the weird rich social networks you are active in, have the same profile picture but more importantly, have the same bio writeup. You can’t risk having an inconsistent image. When someone checks Facebook, your bio reads you are a copywriter then on Twitter, you are a football analyst. Linkedin shows you just graduated from Igbobi boys college and your Youtube bio is reading movie lover and traveller. Inconsistent image keeps people down.

Offer money back guarantees

When you are just starting out, trust is not something you have. People are doing business with you with their hearts in their mouth hoping you don’t mess it up because, beginner. You all know how you drive when you see that the car in front of you has the LEARNER sign on it. Yes, thats the same way people treat beginners in business as well. Without credibility, a track record or a strong voice backing you, offer people money back guarantees. This will calm them down and they’ll be more at ease doing business with you - then you do a fantastic job and blow their minds. Trust gained. Next!

Tier payment in batches

Now I know you are eager to collect payment … thats alright because you’ve been waiting a while to land a paying client. But now, one thing you don’t have is the full trust of anyone patronising you at this early stage so how do you overcome this objection? Offer a tiered payment structure tied to delivery milestones. So you take 40% as your engagement fee to get the project started, then when you deliver a major milestone, it triggers a 30% release of cash and when you deliver the complete job, the remaining 30% is released.

40+30+30 = 100

Just checking to see if my math is right. It checks out.

Now go blow peoples minds.

THE END

At Hala, we believe that consistency is greater than intensity. Thats why we are building our community around the principles of improving with just 1% daily; which compounds overtime into something remarkable. Hala is going to be a fine blend of creatives, experienced doers, starters and dreamers. We are founded on the strong belief that ultimately, we hold a duty of care to others in need. We want to balance access to opportunities regardless of colour, background, faith or income level. We value Integrity and highly regard dignity of labour within the Hala community. As a community, our success is measured by how many dreams are achieved, those broad fulfilling smiles when help arrives and how well we are able to impact humanity. These principles are consistent with Bible teachings where we draw our faith and inspiration from. You are welcome to join Hala, you’ll discover practical tips you can start implementing today to stay ahead in business.

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