Daily office routine, underpaid wages, and inability to manage time on their own - all these factors force decisive people to go freelance. Becoming a freelancer is the dream of many, however, one desire is not enough. You need to protect yourself as much as possible, so that later you do not regret that one day you left the position with a stable income and plunged into the world of freelancing.
Instructions
Step 1
Get ready in advance. You must be completely confident in the correctness of the chosen path. Until you’re fully prepared to go free-floating, it’s best not to quit your old job. Only go freelance when you are completely confident in your future.
Step 2
Create yourself a "safety cushion". You must be clearly aware that when leaving almost nowhere, you must foresee all the difficulties that lie in wait for you at the initial stage. Save more money so that you can calmly choose your first customers later, and not grab hold of any orders - just earn at least some money. It takes several months to prepare for the transition to freelance. The optimal time is about a year.
Step 3
Don't burn bridges. When you go freelance, don't cut ties with your former colleagues, even if you know for sure that you will never go back to the office. Do not withdraw into yourself. Participate in industry conferences regularly, be in public more often, and actively keep in touch with former coworkers. This will help you to always seek professional help, of course, on a paid basis. Maybe later you will even offer your former colleagues additional income, because during the time you worked together, you managed to study their business qualities well.
Step 4
Assess your capabilities objectively. The main problem of a freelancer is the lack of self-discipline. Instead of a lot of money and a lot of free time, a freelancer often feels completely helpless and unable to manage his work schedule. There must be a good reason to go freelancing so that you have the motivation to move forward in times of recession.
Step 5
Build yourself an eye-catching portfolio. It can help you accelerate your generous customer rollout. Train yourself to constantly update your portfolio: add new works, links, stay tuned.
Step 6
Choose one area of your freelancing activity. Customers are very wary of freelancers who are always ready to do any job: write the selling text, create a website, and develop a company logo. At first, it is still better to focus on one activity. Over time, of course, you can expand the list of services provided and amaze regular customers with your talents.
Step 7
Think a hundred times before you start making money from your hobby. This idea looks very tempting: to receive money by doing what you love. However, on this path, you can face emotional burnout, because before this hobby was an outlet for you, which helped to relieve tension and escape from the routine. If you still intend to turn a hobby into a job, then you need to prepare for the fact that you will have to do it constantly, regardless of your mood. Think well before turning creativity into work and obeying the wishes of your customers.
Step 8
Do not miss all orders in a row - treat employers selectively. The aspiring freelancer strives to build a portfolio faster. However, cheap orders threaten to turn into an unproductive waste of creative energy. It is clear that a large customer is unlikely to immediately turn to an unknown freelancer, but this is not a reason to take orders that contradict your inner convictions.
