Why I Got into Freelancing as a Data Analyst
Freelancing offers data analysts immense opportunities to experiment, learn and advance their careers. It gives data analysts easy access to the time, money and connections that they need to establish themselves in the field.
My journey into data analysis began when I started engaging in the field as a side job, while I was doing a 9-5 as a lab assistant. Although I was very passionate about the field back then, I never imagined it would be possible to possess the technical know-how and the business acumen to build a full-fledged business around the passion.
I became drawn to data science when I went probing for reasons why a lab project I thought was going to be the bomb turned out to be a dud. The innovation didn’t pan out well with the client’s customer base for reasons obviously different than how well the final product matched its original specifications. My probe led me to data science, and I immediately fell in love with the field.
Appealing Attributes of Data Analysis
Luckily for me, I went on to work for a number of companies that provided analytics to industry heavyweights and the ‘big fishes’. While this might be a dream for wanna-be freelance data analysts, I’ve come to realize in retrospect that some of my most memorable work experiences have been times when I was working for small and medium-sized business, helping them acquire insights from data to successfully improve their lead generation and marketing strategies, business process management, and customer engagement.
Most of these companies were overwhelmed by the amount of data they had to track. But I was able to help them determine the most vital datasets they needed to focus on to achieve the desired market indices and growth rate they hoped for.
All in all, nothing gives me more joy as knowing that as a freelance data analyst, there’s always an adventure awaiting me in my immediate horizon, where I’ll be getting to harness insights from data to identify and solve problems for a business. As my breath of experience continues to widen with every successful service I deliver, I get even more excited about the next project and the solutions that I can possibly offer there.
The Rough Road Ahead for Beginners in Data Analysis
It wasn’t always as exciting in the beginning when I was just learning how to fish. I would spend most of the time I dedicated to the field just prospecting, looking for companies and businesses that needed some data analysis job to be done. I didn’t make much progress in this phase, but I did manage to secure a handful of gigs.
Also, in the beginning, I was frequently forced out of comfort zone into uncharted territories where my experiences as a lab attendant were inconsequential. The pay was good, but the learning curve was quite dramatic. I had to spend so much time learning new things. Every once in a while, I came across gigs in which my experiences in my previous field was relevant. But the challenge of having to learn about things that had almost no bearing on my current experiences was frequent and frightening, and I had to take up the gigs because I ran short of choices.
But the major break came when I signed up on TERAWORK. It was the best thing that happened to me at that point in my career, as it provided me with access to a rich variety of data analysis and data science jobs. TERAWORK provided me with the opportunities to experiment and determine my area of specialized expertise. I was also able to manage my customers to the very best of my ability with the numerous important features TERAWORK provided.
Mistakes You Should Avoid Providing Freelance Data Analysis Services
One fatal flaw that held me back on this platform was my profile. I should have focused more on the clients instead of myself in my freelancing profile. But I was too eager to put myself out there as a competent data analyst in order to land gigs, so it never crossed my mind that my self-centered profile didn’t really resonate with most of the clients.
But when I realized this short-coming and doubled down on the clients and the possible problems they were most probably looking to solve on my profile page, my proposals were accepted at a much quicker rate, and the jobs began to roll in hard and fast. In addition to that, I also put a few tricks into practice to increase the rate of accepted proposals. I offered to do pilot projects to prove my skills to clients, and I deployed some effective follow-up strategies.
My success ratings experienced a quantum leap when I was finally able to identify the best categories that I had the sharpest skills in.
