So, I’ve finally made “the switch”.  From working for someone else to working for myself.  I’ve always “known” that I would.  My grandfather, my stepfather, and my father-in-law are all entrepreneurs.  Growing up around them, helping them, and never hearing them complain about “the man” helped solidify my resolve to be my own boss some day.  Plus the fact that it’s nice making your own rules : )

On one hand, it’s great.  On the other, it’s much more stressful than you’d think.  When you work for a company, they have people that do marketing, and marketing only.  They have a team dedicated to sales, to customer service, to accounting, and to answering the phones.  When you make “the switch”, you take on all of those responsibilities, and more.

Now, I was fully expecting all of this.  I didn’t just decide one day to quit my job without first looking at my options.  I did some research on freelancing, read some books, and kept up with a ton of blogs.  I wanted to see if this was a legitimate career choice, one that I could make work.  One of the greatest things I read before I jumped off the cliff was this: “freelance in your free-time while you have a day job.  Do this for six months.  If you can live off the freelancing without the help of the day job, you can probably make it.”  Basically, this indicates that you have the dedication to self-promotion (which can be an art in and of itself),  attention to detail, and the drive to succeed, even when things seem to be falling apart.  And guess what.  You’re the only one there to pick up the pieces.  So, I did some graphic/web design and audio engineering on the side in my free-time (which wasn’t much to begin with).  I’d work from 8am to 1am, or sometimes later.  As soon as I got home from my day job I’d begin work on my freelance projects.  The stress built up, leaving no free time for enjoyment.  I had to literally force myself to stop doing work of some sort and just relax.  This proved extremely difficult.  Now that I’m freelancing full-time, I have an easier time “clocking out”.  If I were to continue working like I was, relationships and my health were sure to suffer.

So, here are a few things I’ve learned in my short time working for myself:

1. Set your hours. This is imperitive, for many reasons.  You will maintain a normal sleep pattern, allowing you to be more energetic during your work.  You need this energy to multitask, since it’s just you now.  Also, it ensures that you get into a routine, helping you to accomplish big tasks regularly and on-time.

2.  Learn how to budget. There’s no one else looking at your books.  Nobody keeping track of your reciepts.  You need to research about the different things you can write off on your taxes, depending on your industry.

3.  Consistently promote yourself. This can be difficult.  Many people (myself included) do not like to shamelessly brag about themselves.  So, we have to find ways to let others know that they need our services.  We also have to figure out ways to let them know that they should pay us what we deserve, not what they think we deserve.  And all without looking like we’re tooting our own horn.  How to go about this?  Why not have your past clients and colleagues do it for you?  Use Twitter, Facebook, and blogs to spread the word about your services.  Send out messages that link to your portfolio or to a clients website.  You want to showcase your work, but without saying “look at me!”.  If you can get a potential client to look at a website you’ve built or a logo you’ve designed, your work should speak for itself.  If you’re good at what you do, you’ll last longer.

4.  Be in constant communication with your clients. This shows your client that you care enough about them to take a few minutes out of your day or week to talk with them.  Notice that last three words of that sentence: talk with them.  You never want to talk to or at your client, but with.  It should be an open channel of two-way communication.  Going along with constant communication is honesty.  Both to the client as well as yourself.  Let the client know what it’s going to take to realistically accomplish the project.  And be honest with yourself, and don’t think that you can crank it out in two days.  There is perceived value in your services that correlates to the amount of time you propose it will take.  If you undershoot the schedule and wind up going way over in time, you have devalued your service; however, if you give them a realistic estimate (and tack on a week or two for a safe buffer) and then come in with the finished project a week early, you’re the hero.  Be honest with yourself, and in turn, the client.

5.  Have solid contracts and proposals. This will take time to get nailed down, but make sure that you learn from your mistakes.  I did!  Early on, you’re just happy to be getting work, and you send out your contracts in a hasty manner.  Only to realize 3 months later that the client is still emailing you for updates after you’ve finished the project a month and a half ago.  But there was nothing in your contract about maintenance or revisions, just the bottom line.  Anytime you have a little thought about something that could go bad in a situation with a client, write it down.  Make a note of this scenario so that you can work that into your contract.  This not only helps protect you but also streamlines your proposal method and gives the client a better impression.  You’ll look more professional and the client will be able to tell that everything is black and white.  This is for your protection as well as theirs.  If everyone’s on the same page, this minimizes the potential for miscommunications and mishaps.

6.  Implement a form of project management. This is pretty straight forward.  Use a Gnatt chart or other means of tracking your projects, time/money spent, and the quality of the client and project.  After a few months this data will become extremely useful in evaluating where you spend the most time and money, and on which projects.  This also helps show where your most profitable clients are coming from, what industry they’re in, and which type of clients are wasting your time.

All in all, it’s one big learning process.  However, the key is to make it a fun and enjoyable experience.  I look forward to each day at the idea of landing new clients, building new relationships with them, and getting to be creative in everything I do.  What more could I ask for (other than five people to staff my office with)?

If you have any helpful freelancing tips, let us hear them by commenting below.

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