Have you been perplexed about how to make a portfolio with no experience? You really do need a portfolio if you want to be able to get clients. However, you realize that you do not have a portfolio, because you have not done any work for some clients yet. If you are feeling in a rut because of your situation, the fact is that you do need to get busy making a portfolio, even if you have not done much for clients yet. How to start a business portfolio?
There are some things you can do to make a strong portfolio, even if you think that you have nothing much to contribute to your portfolio. Otherwise, you will remain in the same situation, which is having no paying customers. But you will likely see an increase in paying clients when you demonstrate a strong portfolio. So here are some tips to help get your strong portfolio underway.
1. Change your thinking.
See yourself as a valuable professional. This means that you will not be thinking of yourself as a job seeker. Rather you must believe in yourself as a professional who has valuable services to offer to clients. Put this in your portfolio. Yes, do mention that you are professional and state the services that you can provide to potential clients.
2. Rely on your past experiences and knowledge.
You have a lot of knowledge and much past experience. Mention this in your portfolio. Explain this knowledge and experience in relative detail. This will make you look experienced and trustworthy to new clients.
3. Be actively seeking opportunities.
You can find opportunities on job boards and online sites. You can also find opportunities by building relationships with people and letting them know what kind of services you can provide for them. Always point them to your portfolio. Then as you do some work for people, be sure to add this to your portfolio.
4. Include testimonials.
Once you do some work for a few clients, do not be afraid to ask them for testimonials. Share those testimonials in your portfolio. This adds much credibility to your portfolio. The fact is that once clients use your services and are pleased with your work, they will likely continue to use your services. Thus, there is much power in adding testimonials to your portfolio.
5. Provide samples of work.
Even if you have not had any clients yet, you can do actual projects. You can imagine what a client may need and then you can complete the project. Place the work in your portfolio. Keep doing this regularly. Creating as many samples of your work as possible will truly make your portfolio credible. When people can examine the work that you have done, this builds their confidence in you and they will believe that you are truly committed and qualified to do the work that they need to be done. They will then hire you to do some work for them.
6. Use free and paid advertising to promote your portfolio.
Use free sites to advertise your portfolio. You will not mention every single item in your portfolio when you advertise, but you will provide enough of an enticement for people to want to visit your portfolio. You will then be able to gain more clients. But free advertising may not be enough. You may want to use paid advertising such as Google Ad words to attract even more customers to your portfolio.
After leaving Wells Fargo Bank in 2014, Daniel began a career as a finance consultant, advising companies and individuals on economic policy, labor relations, and financial management.
At Nimblefreelancer.com, Daniel writes about personal finance topics, value estimation, budgeting strategies, retirement planning, and portfolio diversification.
Read more on Daniel Smith's biography page.
Contact Daniel: daniel@nimblefreelancer.com
