Watch the video or scroll down to read this lesson instead.
It’s time to figure out what skill you’re going to build so you can make money online with freelancing.
To do this, you’ll need to answer the following three questions:
- What are you deeply passionate about?
What is something you enjoy doing (or at least don’t hate)? - What can you be the best in the world at?
What is something you can do (or learn to do) better than most people? - What can you get paid to do?
What is something there’s an established online market for?
Representing the above in a venn diagram, we get this:
Your mission now is to pick a skill that lies at the intersection of those three circles.
That’s your “Hedgehog Concept.” 1
Let’s go find it.
1. Something There’s An Established Online Market For
We’re going to start with this one because it’ll weed out a lot of impractical skills right off the bat.
We want to figure out where the money is online.
What skills are already in high demand, or are on the up-and-up?
We can answer that question by going to Upwork.com, the biggest freelance marketplace on the internet.
Upwork is by no means the only place to find work online 2 but because it’s so big we can poke around and get a solid overview of the digital workspace.
In particular, below are three things I recommend you check out related Upwork.
A) Skills Index
Upwork produces this report every few months listing the fastest-growing skills in the US freelance job market, which is a good indicator for the worldwide market.
From that report you can clearly what there’s an increasing demand for.
B) Best Paying Freelance Jobs
This is a list of the best-paying jobs on Upwork, based on an analysis of 2 million freelancer profiles.
Take some time to browse the list. Click through to see the profiles of different freelancers. Check out the jobs they’ve worked on.
This will give you a feel for the exact kind of work on offer and how much money you could earn doing it.
C) Category List
This is a list of all the top job categories on Upwork.
Click through and view the latest job postings for the categories you like the sound of.
Take note of how many of the listed jobs are accepting “entry level” freelancers (as opposed to “intermediate” and “expert”).
Assuming you don’t have any experience right now, those jobs will be your bread and butter starting out, so the more the better.
- Do any of those jobs, skills or categories sound interesting to you?
2. Something You Enjoy Doing (Or At Least Don’t Hate)
Based on your research in the previous step, you now want to come up with a list of 5-10 jobs you think you would enjoy.
- ________________________________________
- ________________________________________
- ________________________________________
- ________________________________________
- ________________________________________
Again, it’s important to actually dig in and look at the jobs posted in each category to get a feel for the type of work you’d be doing. Don’t write off any category too easily.
3. Something You Can Do (Or Learn To Do) Better Than Most People
Some things to keep in mind here…
A) Time Constraints
I tend to believe you can learn pretty much any skill to a professional level given enough time and practice, but our aim is to get you earning as quickly as possible.
(Of course, if you’re in no major hurry and have more than three months to devote to skill-building, you can set your sights on higher-level skills.)
So we want to select a skill you can learn well enough in three months that clients will be happy to pay you at least $10/hour consistently.
B) Your Strengths And Weaknesses
Your strengths and weaknesses go a long way to determining how quickly you can become proficient at a particular skill.
For example, some people can pick up programming concepts rather quickly and be writing and debugging their own functions in a matter of days, while others will find that kind of work frustrating and unintuitive.
Questions to help figure out your strengths and weaknesses:
- What kind of work have I been praised for in the past?
- What kind of work have I been most proud of in the past?
- What kind of work have I found frustrating in the past?
- What kind of work have I found easy in the past?
C) Resources
Lastly, you should take into consideration how much help there is available for learning certain skills.
For example, there are tons of resources online — many of them free — for learning skills like web development, programming, and social media marketing.
Not so much for skills like interior design and paralegal services.
For each skill you’re interested in, do a quick google search to see what resources are available.
- Are there online courses? (Check Udemy and Skillshare.)
- Free tutorials?
- Interviews with successful online freelancers you could contact for advice?
Let’s Review
Our mission in this lesson was to figure out a solid skill that you can use to freelance online.
As per the Hedgehog Concept, we’ve been looking for a skill that lies at the intersection of these three circles…
To find that skill, you should have run through the 3-step process laid out above.
After that, it’s time to start narrowing down your options and making a firm choice as to which skill you’re going to focus on.
If you’re really hesitant to commit to anything right now, that’s okay, but it’s good to at least choose something (anything!) to start experimenting with. You can always come back and try something different later. Doing nothing now isn’t going to help you figure it out.
So, with that in mind:
Which skill are you going to focus on?
Let me know in the comments below.
Written by 
I’ve been thinking about proofreading, possibly wider into editing as well.
The skill that I’m going to focus on is proofreading
, and I will do it well
At the moment, I’m trying to find the intersection between a reasonably priced course I can study on my Chromebook and an in-demand skill that has a low entry level.
Very grateful Niall, for all this information and leads to follow-up. I’m closer to my end goal than ever.
Digital marketing
After careful consideration, I think I will focus on Web Development and some Writing related tasks. I believe that I am already a proficient writer, although I can brush up and improve upon my skills. My hope is that, while I am learning Web Dev, I can pick up a few Writing gigs. Wish me luck!
After watching the video (thank you for it) and reading a lot of responses, I would love to say something like ‘web development or designing’, but due to a disability I have now, my brain just doesn’t work that way anymore. I worked in property management and knew all the Florida statutes and never lost in court, now I can barely remember what or if I had breakfast at all (concussions and/ or meds) but I do like to write, so I’ll explore more with that.
Based on my research and previous skills I have some experience in, my focus will be on web development with HTML, CSS, Javascript and React.js. I also have skills with Shopify and Python so my list is Front End Developer, React Developer, Shopify Developer, Python Developer and Customer Service Success. Tall glass to drink eh lol
The skill that I’m going to focus on is proofreading.
I would go for graphic design and web development. I already have a little background about it, though I’m not confident but I still wanted to try. Also, even though it’s doesn’t pay much, it seems interesting, such as data entry, voice over and transcripting. This way maybe, I can have enough time to further learn and develop skills in software development. Am I doing it right?
Hi Fay. Yes, you’re doing it right. Start with smaller/easier types of businesses like that so you can earn money ASAP and build your confidence.
writing or virtual assistant wold do for me
I would go for writing skills. I have already started researching for online courses that can improve the skills.
I am also very much interested in social media marketing since I use the platforms frequently, especially Facebook.
One other skill that interests me is proofreading.
SEO is like web designing is to you. I like it but I got to work harder on it. Most recent Upwork jobs require this skill.
The only work I know and have done all my working life is typing, which I do enjoy.
Giving this some thought over the past few days, my thoughts keep going towards bookkeeping. While browsing Upwork, there are a lot of titles and categories I am unfamiliar with, but I don’t hate bookkeeping.
I think either virtual assistant or some type of writing. I’ve worked in an office for a long time, and did so by specializing in accounting but I don’t even “like” it enough to do that any more. I am totally burned out on that topic.
Hey Lynne, thanks for going through all these lessons and leaving your comments. Please keep me updated on your progress with your online business.
Freelance copywriter /content writer both for me r in-between the hedgehog’s guide to skill selection ,I wish to checkout ghostwriting too
Data collection looks interesting, there are lots of courses and even a few free ones for beginners.
Photography and writing are good options as well.
Was thinking of photography and writing but after looking around Data collection looks like it might be interesting. Nothing to glorious. I think it will eventually lead to something better. Lots of courses and some free ones to get started with.
Very good lessons but all the resources are US based so not very helpful. Is there UK based alternatives that will help us here?
Hi Mave,
I’m not sure what you mean. The same resources would apply to the UK. I reference Upwork a lot in this lesson and you can use that in the UK. There are lots of UK-based freelancers and clients on there.
I haave 3 I believe are similar but different, I could be wrong.
1) E Commerce Development
2) Web Research
3) Email Marketing and Research
Digital Image editing. What do you think Niall? I figure there would be hundreds of thousands of digital images needed per month for blog posts, social media ads and posts etc. …
Hey Arron,
There’s definitely a need for that kind of service. Probably the most you could earn doing it though is $20/hour. It’s a fairly low barrier to entry so there’s lots of competition. Don’t let that deter you though. I could be a good “bridge business,” giving you a nice baseline of income while you build other skills that you can use to earn even more money.
Or another way to look at it: what could you combine with image editing to provide a more valuable service? Perhaps copywriting or Facebook ads, that kind of thing. There are lots of digital image editors out there, but most of them can only do digital image editing.
Thanks, Nail!
I’m pretty much starting from scratch in the skills department. I do have some WordPress experience from previous years, but I would NOT consider myself professional with WordPress. Although I know these skills can be learned, and I’m willing to do the work.
I’m also seriously Considering learning WordPress or Sketch/adobe XD. What are your thoughts on this?
Also, just so you know this freelancing gig is meant to be a an intermediate/stable income generator while I spend the rest of my time working on starting and growing an affiliate marketing blog or vlog
Thanks brother
Hey Arron,
Yeah, that sounds like a good plan.
As for learning WordPress and/or Sketch… it’d be worth researching both to see where the best opportunities are. WordPress will have more competition, but there’s a big market for that kind of work. Not sure about Sketch. You might be able to charge more for that since it’s a rarer skill.
Thanks Niall!
I do have a little bit of previous WordPress experience from years ago but I definitely don’t consider myself a WordPress expert.
So I kind of consider myself as starting from scratch for any skills. Which is fine by me since I know that I can learn almost any skills.
Just so you know, This freelancing gig is meant to be an intermediate steppingstone /stable income generator For me. In my spare time I plan to work on my long-term goal which is building a successful affiliate marketing blog or vlog.
So my shortlist will be to start with one of these skills, what do you think?
-WordPress Website designer
-Digital image editing/graphics creator using photoshop? Canva?/gimp?
– Mobile app Flow creator
Using SKETCH And/or adobe XD
Thanks brother
–
Hi Niall!
I have found that my biggest waste of time, money, and effort has been because I have been following fake gurus and their fake courses that contain well-marketed , but crappy non-Income producing advice. Whether it be free or paid how do I know that I’m listening to sound advice from the publisher of the information. My biggest concern now is to waste more time, money and effort following someone who will get me no results, yet again.
I follow these guys down the rabbit hole far too many times and wasted so much of my resources and time. It’s very discouraging. Nowadays I don’t know who to believe.
Hey Arron,
Most of the over-hyped courses are about affiliate marketing, dropshipping, or some other type of online business that I don’t recommend for beginners. If you stick with freelancing to start you probably won’t even need a course. Or at least, if you want to take a course on that topic, you’ll likely find them a lot more reasonable, much less hype and big promises.
Thanks Niall! What sources did you use to develop your web design skills?
Thanks
I’m mostly self-taught, started back in the early 2000’s. I don’t recall taking any web design courses. The main way I learned was by trying to build my own website and googling for answers when I got stuck. W3schools was a website I referenced a lot back then.
I definitely think Software Development and Social Media Marketing can produce a great combination to start with. According to demand, I could definitely learn video editing, copywriting, and basically any skill, provided it can be learned online.
I am thinking about Office administration, Microsoft Office, Virtual assistant or Data entry since I am super organized, like to take a mess and put everything in order, lots of experience in administration, but it is not very specialized… also thinking about Social media management it could take me a little more time tough to learn and gain experience.
We actually enjoy what we are doing now (Body,Mind and Spirit health), there is definitely a market for it and more and more people are gravitating to natural healing (it has been paying the bills for years), and we are always learning and innovating.
Now we want to explore: writing a book, blog or vlog, teach at weekend retreats, public speaking at seminars, write articles for publication, develop a video library of “how to handle this”.
I’m going to sit this one out… I’m wide open and want to really spend some time working this part out. I’ll try to come back to update this after I’ve given it some time.
I would like to focus on writing, I don’t know what type of writing I would like to do though, there is copywriting, content writing, and such, so all I know is I would like to start with writing.
My list of 10 was very easy to come up with, difficult now to choose which one I will go with as
Hi Niall,
Thanks for your great content! I’m lucky I was able to discover you through a review for a product I had considered to purchase, and luckily didn’t thanks to your detailed review. Now on your beginner course for online work. For this section, I think I’ve narrowed it down to starting off with content writing as there’s more entry level positions, then gradually gaining experience for copywriting and SEO work. I have some prior experience with social media and content writing, but I’m a bit rusty since I haven’t looked for work in that field. Do you have suggestions on how I should improve my plan to find work, like to find a particular niche or change the way I approach this plan? Or should I continue with the rest of the course? 🙂 Thank you again for your content!
Hey Katie,
Thanks for the comment. Go through the rest of the lessons in this series and you’ll get some tips for finding work. Let me know if you’re still stuck after that.
I have decided that I will do WordPress development and E-Commerce websites. After doing a bit of research I think will be able to learn these skills quick.
What do you think of the above mentioned skills with regards to learning quickly and established market ?
Thanks Niall , your courses are very helpful
Those are good choices, Bheki. You might want to look at going even deeper and picking a more specific niche. Maybe you could focus on helping people using WooCommerce for WordPress, for example. You could take a look on sites like Upwork and see if there’s much demand for something like that.
As for learning the skills quickly, it will help if you have some experience with coding or website design already. If you don’t have that kind of experience, what do you have? If you have some writing experience you could look to help people in that niche with their website copy or product descriptions. If you have some marketing experience you could help them with that side of things. Try and leverage your existing skills and experience as much as possible.
That said, you can and should also be learning new skills and developing those you already have. There are lots of courses online to help you do that quickly. More skills will pay the bills 😉
writing and proof reading. Had a look at Upwork but you have to create a profile to get on it? Is there anyway to just look at the jobs? I might be able to learn something else if I knew what was being looked for
Hi Kathleen,
Yes, you can look at job postings on Upwork without having an account.
For example:
https://www.upwork.com/search/jobs/?q=editing
https://www.upwork.com/search/jobs/?q=proofreading
Thanks Niall, nice to know someone actually reads and gives advise for a change instead of being left to work it all out by ourselves. Love the way this course has been done by the way 🙂
I will look at the links, now that I have organised my time 🙂
I am really benefiting from your lessons and I wish I have found this article before now but I still believe it’s not late and it’s not over until I achieve my dream.
Right now I want to focus on web development and I’m broke is there any free online tutorial for this?
Hi Gabriel. Udemy has a bunch of free development courses, including many on web development. Have a look through the list here.
You can also find some good free tutorials on YouTube.
I would benefit from concentrating on marketing skills, social networking platforms to obtain traffic.
Writing and proofreading.
I want to focus on Marketing related skills like copywriting, digital marketing, social media marketing.
Web-Development
Proofreader.
Legal secretary as I was one for 25 years.
Copywriting: would need to learn how to do the best way and then get experience.
NO time like Now, after all I’m home with more free time because of all this COVID-19 craziness.
I am going to focus for right now on writing.
Hello Niall.
I am French and the translation would be natural for me.
subtitling/+translating
transcription
translation
/although I have to check other opportunities as well/
I think I can do better with data analysis same as an artsitic work
i like to do 3d Rendering and i do not know how to go on with it,also no idea about online marketing, i hope you will be teaching me how to do it.
thank you .
I plan on focusing on Word Press Development and Web Design.
I would like to get into online travel work as I’ve been in hospitality/ travel industry for (eesh) almost 20 years but might also look at Virtual Assistant/ data capture type work.
Thanks for all the great & honest advice! It is really easy to follow your videos and keep super motivated.
Writing!
Awesome article! I’m considering writing, transcription as well as editing and proofreading.
Nice one, Tshepi 🙂
A couple of links you might find interesting:
https://ebizfacts.com/sulet-subtitling-netflix/
https://ebizfacts.com/how-to-be-successful-on-upwork/
Much appreciated Niall ☺️
Admin /accounting
I am going to explore the field of all that’s included under the graphics field (including graphic design, photo/video editing…) and then see what suits me the best. I will try doing a few courses to see what I could learn faster and be good at. Do you reckon that’s a good idea ?
And thanks for all the free advice !
Hey Fabio,
From your other comments it sound like you already have some solid graphic design skills, so if I was you I’d take a look at sites like Upwork first and see what kind of graphic design jobs are listed there and how much they pay.
Then ask yourself:
– Is this the kind of work I want to be doing?
– Can I make enough money doing this kind of work?
I’ll have a look, thanks !
I want to focus on writing – copy, articles, editing and proof reading as I was a journalist intern for a year before I decided to go travel…
Really great post – thanks Niall. Now I’m off to answer the circle questions….
I love you man! i never knew I could do project management remotely at the abundance of offers i see. well at least theyre some there which i could start applying once i am ready and see the acceptance. And best part i am already a seasoned project manager
One of the best articles I’ve ever read and the first time I come across this perspective. I’m so glad that I don’t have to choose the passion of my life in order to earn some money. I feel relieved. It felt like such a responsibility to find that one true thing I have to do in life in order to be happy 🙂
Thanks Niall, great article. Really helpful! You have really got me thinking with this! I really need to sit down and go through these lists now. Will fill you in when I get closer to deciding – Your article has given me a lens by which to go about finding it. Thank you
During colege i was a journalist for schools newspapers…and i think i might use modest writting skills to create rules for (example) payed ads to pop up ..i do not know if i m on the right track over here..
Journalism was side thing but i m marine electrical engineer so to go back to the thing i did pressure free and no strings attached ..yes
Correct me if i m wrong
Hey Boris,
I’d recommend taking a good look at freelance writing. You can make a good living doing that, always lots of companies looking to hire writers.
Great article Nial and one I always send to people who are looking to try and start earning money online in some way. Thanks
Thanks Niall i couldn’t believe all live resources you are taking us through. I thought it was kind of college education but this is practical its like internship at its best.Before i went through your email i was clueless like a headless chicken. Now everything is clear no chances to guess just plain simple. I also like the way you advise straight to the point for someone to be prepared or wait until such time when they are ready. Thanks for the journey begins. Atleast we have you as our GPS i cannot wait to take your paid 3months course in near future.
Knowledge is Wealth Information is Power.
Hi Bongani,
Thanks, glad you’re enjoying the series 🙂
I should note that I no longer have a paid 3 months course. I closed it down at the end of 2018.