Freelancing from India is real, and so are the questions.
I had most of these questions myself when I started freelancing at five dollars an hour. It took me eight years to get to $150 an hour, and by now I have found answers to most of them. Now I am writing them down here, so you don't have to spend eight years finding them the way I did.
Questions from people I coach and from Indian freelancing forums. More answers on the blog.
What do you want to know first?
Pick the question closest to yours. Each one opens the best place to start.
- A step-by-step planCan someone with my job and experience really earn from clients abroad?
- A guideHow much should I charge a client in the US?
- A guideHow does a payment in dollars reach my Indian bank?
- A guideWhere do freelancers actually find their clients?
- A guideCan I start freelancing while I still have my job?
- A guideHow do I write a proposal that gets replies?
Four step-by-step plans, from your first thought to regular clients
See all four plans- Stage 1Thinking about freelancingYou are still in the job and wondering if this is real for someone like you.5 steps
- Stage 2Getting ready to startYou have decided to try, and you need a profile, a portfolio and a price.6 steps
- Stage 3Finding clientsYou are sending proposals and want more of them to turn into work.6 steps
- Stage 4Growing your workYou have clients, and now the question is how to keep them and not burn out.5 steps
New articles
All 27 articles
Article, Leaving the job, 5 min readIs freelancing legal with a job in India? Moonlighting rulesWant to freelance alongside your job in India? What the law says, what Infosys and TCS allow, how to read your contract, and how to declare both incomes.
Guide, Finding clients, 9 min readHow to start AI automation freelancing from IndiaThinking of selling AI automation to businesses abroad? What owners actually pay for, the tools to learn first, and how to find and win your first client.
Article, Getting paid, 5 min readHow to ask a client for payment politely, with samplesClient abroad late paying your invoice? Polite payment reminder messages you can copy, when to send each one, and when it is fair to pause the work.How much should you charge per hour to earn more than your salary?
Move the sliders to match your situation. The number changes as you move them, and nothing you enter is saved or sent anywhere.
Read the full guide on pricingTo match your salary, charge at least
$23 an hour
That is about ₹2,127 for every hour a client pays for.
- Salary plus costs your employer paid
- ₹23,40,000
- Hours clients pay for in a year
- 1,100
This is your minimum, not what the market pays. Below this rate, freelancing pays you less than your job does.
I'm Bharat Devana.
I spent seven years in a job where the people setting our targets had never done our work. I quit, started freelancing at five dollars an hour, and eight years later I was charging $150 an hour.
Today I build automation systems for small and medium businesses in the United States and Europe. My company is called Clik Works.
What I will not do here
- I won't post income screenshots or "I made X lakhs in 30 days".
- I won't hide a course pitch inside a free guide.
- When something didn't work for me, I will write that too.
- It took me eight years, and I won't pretend it takes six weeks.
One email every Friday, written by me.
Each Friday I send the week's new articles, one thing that worked for me, one that didn't, and questions other people are asking. You can unsubscribe any time.