You should know about freelancing
full-time
For
most of us, freelancing full time seems like a dream come true. We get to be
our own boss, work our own hours, and are responsible for our own success. It
all sounds great – and it is, but freelancing full-time isn’t for
everyone. While some freelancers thrive on being their own boss, others find
that they’re not as good at working for themselves as they were working for a
company, or in their 9 to 5 job.
A
lot of people thrive on working full-time in a traditional office setting.
Whether it’s because they love working in teams, like to bounce ideas off each
other, and be able to share a joke with a colleague sitting in the cubicle next
to them, or because they are too used to it to be independent, there are people
who may not be suited for the freelancer‘s life. So before you take the plunge,
consider the following aspects of a freelancer’s life to see if it is your cup
of tea, things like
1. You Will Be Working Alone
Freelancing
can be a lonely profession. While previously you work right in the middle of
the hustle and bustle of an office environment, now you’re working from your
home, isolated from society.
The
kids will be at school, your significant other would be at work and you will
definitely be home alone working on your laptop, Mac or PC. Apart from when you
go for interviews to pitch your services or to meet partners you can
collaborate with, sometimes you could go an entire day without using your
voice! Before long the isolation will start to affect your mood and work.
If
you’re used to having people around while working, consider sharing an office
with someone or go rent a desk or cubicle and embrace the co-working
phenomenon.
2. You Hold Yourself Accountable
Freelancing
full time means you’re responsible for yourself and your work more than ever.
There’s no one around to monitor how much work you’re getting done or whether
you’re meeting your targets.
For
you to be successful as a freelancer, you need to be accountable for yourself.
Otherwise, you might end up spending half the day tweeting and going through
your RSS reader.
Your
work will suffer and your clients will see the effect in the work you turn in.
There are plenty of tools, apps and methods to help you stay focused at work
but at the end of the day it boils down to having the self-discipline to run
yourself and your work.
3. You’ll Need Self-Discipline
When
you first start freelancing full time, it’s so tempting to give it your all and
work late nights. But what those late nights really do is make you so tired
that getting up in the morning is difficult. Then you think, since you’re
working for yourself, you can set your own hours making it okay to sleep in.
That’s
where you’re wrong.
If
you sleep and wake up late, your entire day gets realigned. Instead of working
through the morning, you’re working through the night. Not only is that
unhealthy, it turns all your waking hours into working ones.
Stick
to your office-going work hours and your freelancing business has a good chance
of making it. After all, clients don’t burn the midnight oil – they keep to
office hours and that’s also when they are most likely to contact you with the
latest updates. Keep yourself available.
4. You have to Deal with Clients
Unless
you’ve directly dealt with your company’s customers and clients during your
office years, your very first roadblock is going to be dealing with clients.
When
interacting with clients you need to be courteous, direct and helpful in your
communications with them. There’s no room for exasperation or sarcasm – even
when they are horrid to work with. Think of it this way: your client is now
your boss and you have to treat them like one.
A
lot of clients stick with freelancers who are easy to work with and always go
out of their way to deliver 100%. So impress your client, and you’ll have
smooth sailing for the most part.
5. You must learn to negotiate
In
a full-time job you’re paid a fixed salary each month with a raise every year,
medical insurance, paid leave and other perks. In freelancing your earnings are
directly dependant on your rates and there are no perks in freelancing.
In
order to succeed, you need to be able to negotiate reasonable freelancing rates
for yourself. There’s nothing wrong with starting out with low rates – as long
as you steadily raise them as you gain a reputation for yourself and are always
improving your skill set to deserve higher pay.
Failure
to negotiate rates means that you’ll be stuck with low rates – and nobody else
is going to help you raise your rates.
Here’s
a quick tip for raising rates: always quote a rate that is higher for your new
clients compared to your present clients and work your way up as you get more
projects.
6. You Mustn’t Let Emotions Take Over
Freelancing
doesn’t give you a buffer against irate clients, unreasonable demands and
rejections. Instead of hearing the news from your boss or a colleague, you’ll
be hearing it directly from the client.
Whether
it’s a rejection (they’re the hardest to take), an unreasonable demand or just
a disgruntled client, you’ll need to handle the situation with tact.
Keep
your emotions in check and instead of going on the offensive, do damage
control. Clients are your life line; you can’t afford to alienate them.
7. You must know what’s Trending
As
a freelancer, you’ll need to stay on top of the trends in your industry to stay
ahead of the game. It doesn’t mean you waste time trying out everything, but
figure out which trends affect you directly and how you can use them to your
advantage.
A
few years ago, when blogging became the next best thing for business,
freelancers who quickly establish their own blogs managed to not only get more
clients but also established themselves as leaders in their niche.
As
a full-time freelancer, you need to keep an eye on emerging trends and have the
ability to quickly figure out which trends would benefit your freelance
business the most.
8. You Need Your Family and Friends
Before
you make the jump, make sure that your family supports your decision. When you
start freelancing, things are pretty stressful. You’re spending a majority of
your time finding clients and are constantly worried about making ends meet.
If
you don’t have your family’s support (and I’m not takling about just financial
support) your stress level is going to spike through the roof.
There
are going to be days when you’ll feel like it might not work. That’s when
family support matters the most. Just having someone – a partner, spouse, your
parents or even one of your big-eyed kids – tell you that it’ll all work out or
they believe in you, can go a long way in boosting your confidence.
Friends
are also a great source of support during the first few months too. They can
help spread the word about your services and refer you to folks in their social
and professional circle if they are looking for a freelancer.
9. You Must Have Extra savings
Before
you leave your full time job, start freelancing on the side. It’ll help you
gauge your chances of success and when you do switch to freelancing, you’ll
have some clients already.
But
here’s the catch. After a while, you may feel confident that their payments can
keep you afloat, but don’t expect when you do go full-time with freelancing
that you’ll have the same clients beating down your door with work.
Think
of it as setting up a business from scratch. You’ll eventually need to go out
there and find clients – which takes a lot of time and networking, something
you will be disadvantaged after removing yourself from the scene by quitting
your job.
Until
you’re making enough to make ends meet or turn a profit, you’ll need to dip
into your savings to get by on a monthly basis. Try to have enough savings to
last 6 months before you quit to go full-time freelancing.
The Secrets to Success
The
secret to succeeding as a full time freelancer is to treat it as a business.
You’re the CEO of your freelance company. You’re the one responsible for
everything related to it.
Stick
to the work ethics you conform to during your office-going days and you’ll be
fine. The only difference is that you can take a break when you want to, and
work extra hours when needed. You get to spend more time with your family since
you’re spending less time getting stuck on the way and back from work and not
to mention those epic-length meetings.
Set
your own hours: if you can get your work done in 4 hours instead of 8, no one’s
forcing you to stay in the office. How cool is that?
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