Begin Your Freelancing Career With 0 Tsh

In this blog, I share how I started my freelancing journey with limited resources, offering tips on how to work from home with what you have, and how to gradually invest in your business for success.

11/22/20242 min read

When I started freelancing, I had no savings, no office setup, and I didn’t even own a laptop – I was borrowing my mom’s. At the time, I worked wherever I could find space, usually the dining or coffee table in the living room. Distractions were everywhere – my family watching TV, conversations I couldn’t ignore, or my mom and dad asking me to help out with house chores, on top of it, I have ADHD, so focusing was tough, and by 6 p.m., I was often still on my second task of the day!

Before I received my salary from my administrator job, I had to set a budget for my freelance workspace essentials:

  • A wooden table – 50,000 Tanzanian shillings

  • A notebook – 8,000 TZS

  • A tripod for content creation – 55,000 TZS

Since I could use the dining chair, I didn’t buy one at first. After I got my salary, I found a carpenter who made my first desk for 50,000 TZS. My family thought I was wasting money. They told me it was a scam and they were worried I wouldn’t be able to manage both a full-time job and freelance work. I tried explaining but soon realized that showing them results would be better.

After three months, I landed my first client, and once the client learned I didn’t have my own laptop, he bought one for me – (the same one I use today!)

Starting from Scratch – How You Can Begin Too

If you’re looking to freelance but don’t have funds or clients yet, don’t stress. Here’s how you can start with what you have:

  • No laptop? Borrow one from friends or family until you can get your own.

  • No desk? Use any available surface – dining table, living room table, or even a pillow on your lap.

  • No Wi-Fi? Visit places with free Wi-Fi, like restaurants or a friend’s place, or use mobile data.

These makeshift solutions are temporary. Once you start earning, reinvest in your setup to grow. Here’s what I did with part of my salary:

  • Started a website

  • Paid for Canva

  • Bought my desk and tripod

  • Got monthly internet bundles for 30,000 TZS

  • Sacrificed smaller expenses to make bigger wins later on

Essential Items for Your Home Workspace

Once you’re earning and can invest in a home workspace, here’s what you should consider:

  1. Desk – Starting from 50,000 TZS (wooden options are more affordable)

  2. Chair – 200,000+ TZS (choose ergonomic designs for comfort) -for me I still use the dining chair

  3. Notebook and Pen – 8,000+ TZS

  4. Laptop – 500,000+ TZS (used ThinkPads can be budget-friendly for basic tasks)

  5. Mouse (if needed) – 25,000+ TZS (Logitech is reliable)

  6. Internet – 50,000+ TZS per month for bundles, or a Vodacom router for 300,000 TZS upfront but later on monthly its 150,000 TZs

  7. Extension Cord – 15,000+ TZS

Useful Software for Freelancers

To streamline work, you’ll need various tools:

  • Content Creation – Canva, Adobe Spark, or others

  • Time Management – Any.do, Google Calendar

  • Admin Tools – Trello or Asana, Notion for project management

  • Communication – Slack, Zoom, GMail, WhatsApp

  • Accounting – Wave, QuickBooks, Google Excel

Some tools are free, while others may require investment. I’ll share more details in an upcoming blog. So stay tuned

Next Blog: What to Include in Your Professional CV

I post three times a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with daily TikTok updates from Monday to Friday, and a new YouTube video every Friday. For free consultations via Zoom, or for inquiries, email me. See you in the next blog!

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