There are plenty of people who dream about quitting their regular 9-5 and forging their own path as a freelancer. This doesn’t have to be just a dream, however, as getting started isn’t that hard, even if you can’t quit your 9-5 just yet. To get the ball rolling, you need to go about it in the right way so that you can build your business as time goes on and keep the money coming in.
To make sure that you get these vital first steps right, you need a basic checklist to follow that covers the essentials. You might think that you already have these covered, but being a freelancer is very different from being an employee in a number of ways.
#1 Set yourself up a workspace
If you are considering becoming a freelancer full-time, then this is one area that you will need to pay special attention to. However, your setup for working extra hours in the evening or at the weekend will not suffice for a freelancer, so you need to define a space that is free of distractions. The obvious candidates here are a spare bedroom where you live or maybe a garage or basement.
Get your tech set up
You will also need to make sure you have all the tech that you need, as it is highly unlikely that your current boss will let you use your work laptop for private work. A new desk and chair might also need to be added to your shopping list, as remember you are planning on doing this for eight or more hours a day.
Don’t forget reliable internet
Something else you need to think about is your internet connection. You need something that is reliable as you will be connected to it all day, and it is no understatement to say that your income will depend on it. For that reason, you need to check out the internet providers near Tampa or wherever you are to find the most reliable, fast, and secure service.
#2 Build a portfolio
You might think that you just need to make sure that you have a presence on all of the freelance websites, but while this is true to a certain extent, there is something that you will need to do first. Building a portfolio of work that you have done in your niche, whether it be website design, graphics, or writing, is essential, as prospective clients will need to see what you can do before they hire you. If you don’t have examples of previous work available because they were done for an employer, you should create some so that people can see what you are capable of.
#3 Use agencies effectively
While you may have ideas of landing big job after big job, this will be unlikely, especially at the start. To make sure that you have enough work to keep you ticking over, you should approach agencies who will supply you with regular jobs. These might not fit in with exactly what you want to do or pay as much as other jobs you might have seen, but they can make the difference between staying afloat or sinking. Better still, build a relationship with an agency and use this as a foundation of your work, taking jobs from other clients on top and around this steady flow.
