Last month, I published How To Become A Full-Time Freelancer Part 1 over on Diversified Finances. As I said last week, not everyone wants to become a freelancer. However, if you do, then continue reading!
Now that I have finally switched to full-time freelancing, I have received many e-mails from others asking how they too can be self-employed and freelance full-time.
This is a loaded question to answer, as there is no right answer for the steps that a person should take before they make the freelancing switch. Each person is different, but overall these tips are applicable to the average freelancer (including myself).
I have only been freelancing full-time for a little over one month, but I have been building it up for a couple of years and have been working on it for over 40 hours a week for quite some time.
I have learned a lot, but still have plenty more to learn.
When deciding whether to freelance full-time, there are many things that you should do and/or know about.
Don’t forget about your reputation.
As a freelancer, your reputation is very important. Many potential clients will ask others about you before they decide to use your services. Or they may look for reviews and testimonials. Always turn in work on time, listen to your client, provide high-quality work and so on.
Everything has the potential to affect your reputation. And, in the freelancing world, your reputation and portfolio is very important.
Provide great customer service.
No matter how small a customer is, you should be attempting to provide wonderful customer service. You don’t want to hurt your reputation by giving someone lower service than what you would normally provide.
Prepare for rejection.
As a freelancer, rejection happens. Someone may not want your services, your services may not fit what they are looking for, or they may not like your price. It’s life. This happens. You should not work yourself up and ruin other freelance work because you are dwelling over the past.
Be organized.
Being organized applies to many areas of owning a business. Be organized with your actual work and products, and also be organized with the financial side of your business. For example, you should not be intermingling business money and personal money.
Know your worth.
There will be times when clients will really low-ball you. How low are you willing to go? You need to know your worth and try not to take below that. If you normally charge $50 per article, should you also charge someone else only $10 an article?
Time is money after all. Know what the value to you is.
Be safe when dealing with customers.
If you are new to freelancing, then you may have not dealt with too many people who haven’t paid. However, as a freelancer, this does happen. You do all of the work and never get paid.
Know how to protect yourself. Provide contracts. However, contracts don’t always help you. Some prefer to receive 50% payments upfront, along with many other methods. Determine what works best for you.
Always keep some sort of notepad with you.
I always have my phone on me, and that is for multiple reasons. One reason is for whenever a new business idea or article idea pops in my head. This way I can type it into my phone quickly. I have well over 100 ideas in my notes on my phone.
You never know when your next genius idea will come to mind.
Is your plan to freelance full-time or to be your own boss? What tips do you have?
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I think being prepared for rejection is a huge key. If you can handle that, then get rejected a million times it is OK, because of those million rejections, maybe you get 5 amazing opportunities and 1,000 decent ones. You’d still be making it!
Yes, very true Lance!
Great post Michelle! I freelance on the side (not as a full-time job), and these are all spot-on!
Thank you Rachel!
My phone really works for me! I’m really bad with carrying around a physical notepad because I throw away everything haha
These tips are also very useful in sales jobs. Having a notepad is extremely helpful as there is often a lot of things to remember and it’s almost impossible to remember it all.
Knowing the value of your time is something I agree with. sometimes some work isn’t worth it if it undermines what you’re charging.
Yes, not all work is valuable. You have to way the pros and cons.
having a notepad is a great idea.
we all lead such busy lives, sometimes we (especially me) forget things / great ideas very quickly.
maybe its an age thing
Haha I forget EVERYTHING unless I make a note of it.
I definitely would like to freelance or own my own business full-time (which I think oftentimes starts with freelancing). My main tip is just get started and never stop learning. The more Excel/Spreadsheet work I do on the side the more I realize I have a ton to learn (there’s a reason consultants have a ton of experience).
Yes, the more I freelance in certain areas, the more I realize that I have to learn as well. There is just so much to know and learn!
Getting used to rejection was a big one for me. But I found with time the rejections didn’t bother me so much. Another big one is that you have to be persistent. It takes a long time to build up a client base. If you work on it each and every day you can definitely get to where you want to be.
Yes, being persistent is very important. Great tips Alexa!
Undercharging isn’t just an issue for your bottom line. My uncle works in the business of moving furniture for corporations (and often clearing out company offices that downsized). He charges a ridiculously low rate which guarantees he’s always busy, but when you’re charging $30/hr for a service that big companies charge $100-$150 an hour, you’re selling yourself short. I try to tell him to raise his rates event $20/hr but he won’t listen.
Yes, undercharging is a problem. So many people do not think about the negatives!
Thanks! And yes, setting up a system for your finances is very important.
Love the honesty of this post Michelle. I just recently got fired form a writing gig and it definitely hit me hard. You are so right that you have to move on and not dwell on it. Still learning to do that!
I’m so sorry that you lost a job. 🙁
Hi Michelle
I stumbled on your blog a few months ago and have been reading regularly. You’ve got some great articles and tips here, and it’s fantastic what you’ve done with your business to be able to quit your job and freelance full time.
Full time freelancing is something I’ve wanted to do for years, unfortunately I’ve been suffering analysis paralysis, and not taking sufficient action to get to where I want to go. It’s time to start actually doing the things on my ‘to do’ list instead of just writing them down, I’m sure my family and friends would like to see me move forward and achieve my goals instead of talking about them.
I’m looking forward to reading more!
Thank you Kasia!
Some excellent tips Michelle, and congratulations on reaching $11,927 extra income in october. Regarding the topic of “Knowing your worth” 🙂 I sometimes found in the past that one or two of my long term clients asked for quick jobs well below the usual rate. It’s finding the balance between doing someone a favour who has provided a lot of business in the past, and not being taken advantage of.
Thank you!
I would think rejection would be the hardest part and having to chase people for payments. That’s a great idea about writing down ideas. I always forget to do that and I’m sure I’ve lost many good ideas.
Yes, chasing people for payments is never any fun!
I love these posts! I know that I definitely intend to freelance/be a digital nomad and every post that I read like this just cements that idea. However, it’s not going to happen overnight and after having a while off due to sickness, I’m going back to two part-time jobs. My goal is to give one of them up when I start bringing in some sort of side-income, since I honestly don’t need too much to survive.
I hope you reach that point soon! What type of freelancing do you want to do?
Great tips. I love reading about this stuff so much, one of these days I have to suck it up and actually take the plunge!
Aww thanks! What type of freelancing would you do?