How To Be A Freelancer

Are you tired of the rat race? Want to enjoy more control of your time? Want to spend more quality time with your kids, and perhaps to pursue a hobby or vacation more often? Then freelancing may be the answer for you! There's a growing number of freelancers all over the world -- here's how to join the ranks! What A Freelancer Is Freelancers are sometimes called “independent contractors.” They are professionals who serve multiple clients instead of being employed by a single company or individual, and often operate independently. Some say the term “freelance” comes from the middle ages, where mercenary soldiers with “free lances” were hired by powerful lords to fight. While there's no actual fighting going on these days, freelance professionals are still in growing demand today. More and more employers are recognizing the benefits that freelancers bring -- they save money on training, overhead, and benefits. Some companies even have a “manager of freelancers!” Advantages Of Freelancing Of course, freelancing also has many advantages for YOU! The most obvious advantage is that you have more control over your time. You choose which hours you work, which projects to take and clients to work with, and how much to charge. There are a few drawbacks, of course -- if you choose to quit your day job and freelance full-time, you lose any benefits you may have enjoyed under your previous employer. In other words, there IS a risk involved -- but once you find the balance, you'll be well on your way to a rewarding new lifestyle! How To Freelance The first step in starting your freelancing career is to decide what service you'd like to offer. Do you notice a nagging need in society you'd like to fill? Do you have a useful skill you can offer? Do you have a hobby that you'd like to develop a freelancing business around? Deciding which service you'd like to offer is probably the hardest step you'll ever make. To make things easier, answer these two questions: (1) What are you good at? (2) What do you like doing? That's it! Write down your answers to these two questions, and if you find things that you're both good at AND like doing, you're on the right track! Once you've decided what you're going to offer, it's time to sell yourself. Develop a marketing strategy! Reach out to companies and individuals who may need your services. Leave them your business card, service flyer, fee table, and other marketing tools. Help your prospects find you! How To Get Started Now here's a very important bit of advice -- DON'T quit your day job! You may be tempted to resign from your job to start your freelancing career. Here's a better idea -- keep your day job, but start freelancing on the side, perhaps a couple of hours every day. That way you'll learn the ropes without risking going hungry! Quit your day job only when your hourly income from freelancing surpasses your salary (paid AND benefits combined). By then, you'll be well into the freelancing lifestyle and enjoying its rewards! Ericrn