Your first client is most likely someone who already knows you or someone they know, so start there before marketplaces. 1) Pick one service for one kind of client, such as Shopify stores for small D2C brands, and make a couple of samples for that client type, even spec work for a real business. 2) Tell your network exactly what you do and ask for introductions; a narrow offer is easy to refer. 3) Pitch businesses directly with a short note showing what you would fix for them. 4) Use marketplaces alongside: Upwork charges freelancers 0% to 15% per contract, and Contra is commission-free. 5) Price the first job low but not free, ask for a testimonial, and put scope, payment and who owns the work in a short written agreement. In India, GST registration is compulsory once service turnover passes ₹20 lakh, Indian clients are usually billed 18%, and an LUT lets you bill foreign clients without GST. Rule: one small paid project with a testimonial beats any portfolio.
Part of Freelancing on eChai Explore.
6 resources, 6 link-checked.
A ten-minute talk on landing the very first customers by reaching out directly, one person at a time.
On youtube.com by Alex Hormozi 10 min
An Indian creator's guide for students on earning a first freelance income within a month.
On youtube.com by Ishan Sharma 12 min
Upwork's own explanation of its freelancer fee, which ranges from 0% to 15% per contract, with worked examples of pricing so you net what you want.
From support.upwork.com by Upwork Help page
This is the clearest plain-language walkthrough of the one thing that trips up Indian founders billing abroad: your foreign revenue is a zero-rated export of services, but only if you tick all five conditions and have a live LUT on file. It spells out the LUT versus pay-and-refund choice and why you keep a FIRC against every invoice, with practical Q&As instead of legalese. Treat it as your starting map, then confirm your exact case with a CA.
From TaxGuru by Mohd Muaz Malik Long read (with 23 Q&As)
This lays out the one fact most first-time founders get wrong: under Indian copyright law your freelancer owns the code they write unless they assign it to you in writing, so no clause means no ownership. It walks through the exact assignment language you need and a smart safeguard of tying the transfer to full payment. It is written for the Indian legal context, not lifted from a US template, which is why it fits a founder here better than the generic explainers.
From iPleaders (blog.ipleaders.in) by iPleaders ~20 min read
A freelance platform that is commission-free for freelancers, with a capped fee on client payments.
From contra.com by Contra Pricing page
The same ground, over in Launch & get your first customers, our D2C track.
How founders actually use AI for this, over in Sales Prospecting.
The same ground, over in Build pipeline, our GTM track.
