Leaving full-time work to pursue a freelance career can be quite a scary prospect. It can also be a very rewarding and extremely exciting avenue to pursue. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be hiccups along the way or the occasional issue, learning to navigate these is an important part of becoming a freelancer (almost as important as learning how to make money in the first place).
For that reason, here are a number of ways that you can start moving from a full-time working position and into a more flexible freelance role. These steps should help you to navigate a few of the more serious hiccups along the way.
1 - Get Some Contacts
And no, we don’t mean the kind you put in your eyes.
The more people you know as a freelancer the better your prospects will be. It can also help to know a few people, especially during times of poor cash flow, as they can be the contact you need to find new forms of income. The better your list of contacts, the more likely you will have a long-term cash flow enabled for your freelancing efforts.
Networking is one the best ways that you can work to gain these contacts, especially if you have none to begin with. Online and offline, there is a world of networking events out there for you to take part in and it doesn’t necessarily have to be the awkward affair that you imagine it to be. Simply the act of putting yourself out there can be enough to expand your network at a good level.
If you’re at a loss, reach out to past employers and even coworkers. You never know where your next freelancing job or contract might come from?
2 - Work Your Passion
The more you love what you do, the more it comes across in your person and your work. For that reason, to get the most out of your freelancing efforts it is very important that you look to pursue your passions. Or at the very least something you could work to become passionate about.
Whether you love to create images and therefore become a freelance graphic artist, or even simply love to write and so seek a freelance writing career, it doesn’t matter much. Just so long as you have the passion - as well as the skill - to complete these tasks to the best of your ability should be more than enough to make a difference.
3 - Don’t Shy Away from Negotiation
As a freelancer there will be something which comes up that may never have entered your regular working life: negotiation. The fact is that the amount you get paid for each individual contract or piece of work will be dependent on factor and that is your ability to negotiate. The better you are, the better your rates can be pushed and the more money you will make in the long term. Learning to negotiate and do so well is vital.
If you’re looking to get away from a confrontational style of work - i.e. you’re looking to freelance in order to ‘get away’ from people - then you’re probably not going to like what freelancing is actually like. There is a LOT of talking. Whether you’re negotiating payments, talking through the work or even just little bits in between it will be very likely that you have to talk to people on a daily basis. If this is a problem, then it’s better advised to stay clear of this line of work.
4 - Switch at the Right Time
Making the switch between full-time work and freelancing can be quite difficult, but only if you do so at the wrong time. For example, with no savings in the bank, no prospective clients or work lined up, and no real plan. That is a bad time to forsake your job in order to try to make it as a freelancer. Much better to have savings, clients, and a business plan - even if it’s very basic - to guide you through your first few months as a freelancer.
5 - Get a Website
Not having a web presence - whether as a freelancer or a business - can be akin to shooting yourself in the foot, especially in the early days of your freelancing efforts. The more you can get a website to do work for you, the easier your sales pipeline will become.
Of course, web development can be a costly purchase. But, there are plenty of ways that you can work to cut costs, especially if you take a DIY approach and try to learn as much as possible beforehand - designing your own website can be the best approach to take. The more you do yourself the less money you have to spend after all. It’s not necessarily the easier path to take, but it could lead to some interesting new skills. Ones that you could, potentially, also advertise yourself as having on your new website. Web development is a very in-demand skill right now after all. Once you have your website you might take things a step further and hire an SEO agency to increase your organic visibility.
6 - Work from Home
This may seem simple and easy, but you would be surprised by the number of people who continually think to pay for a small office or coworking space in their early days of freelancing. It makes sense in a way. It gets you out of the house and more likely to feel that you are leaving the home environment and entering the working space. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the right thing for your freelancing wallet.
Set yourself up at a desk at home or even the kitchen table! It will save you money and be the best way to work, at least until you are making a considerable income from your freelancing endeavours.
7 - Get an Accountant
Unless you’re planning to be a freelance accountant, then getting your head around your freelancing financials can be as much a full-time job as freelancing itself. Which is why having a good accountant on your side is vital to the whole process. You don’t want to be caught not paying the right amount of taxes, miss out on recovering your expenses or anything along the lines of that, as you may be likelier to do when not seeking financial advice.
In conclusion, moving from a full-time position into freelance can be quite a challenging prospect. But, it isn’t the end of the world by any means. Keep these seven steps in mind and you should be well on your way to becoming a freelancing superstar, making the transition as easy as possible from your regular experience of the 9 to 5 jobs.