From Business 2 Business Community — Scarlett Wilson provides great advice to anyone considering a freelance career. She writes:
Are You At The Right Stage In Your Career?
If you’ve been used to working under somebody then moving to a career in freelance can be a big step up. One of the most important things to consider is whether you’re ready or not – if you’re going to be offering a service then you need to make sure that you’re a specialist in that area. If you’re still in your office job then it might be worth evaluating how reliant you are on your colleagues – if you think you’d struggle then it might be worth reconsidering your decision.
Have You Got A Plan In Place?
It’s all well and good handing your notice in ready to launch a freelance career but you need to make sure you’ve got some kind of plan in place. Establishing a client base is the most important thing because if you don’t have customers then you won’t have any money.
Something else you need to prepare for is the amount of admin you’ve got to do – you’ll have to look after your accounts and your holiday and sick pay. You need to make sure you’ve got some kind of plan in place – you don’t want to have to go back to your boss with your tail between your legs because you’ve been a little hasty.
Have You Saved Some Money?
Setting up a business will have some costs involved and a lot of new businesses are renowned for having quiet periods especially at the start. So it’s important that you’ve got some savings in place to avoid falling at the first hurdle – before you begin it’s important to work out your financial situation and don’t forget to be realistic!
Are You Prepared For Busy And Drought Periods?
Following on from my last point you need to be prepared for extremely busy periods and some very quiet times. It’s the way businesses works unfortunately, but as long as you save a bit of money for those quieter times you’ll be fine. A really important thing to remember if you’re starting out is to always be prepared – this way you’ve got nothing to worry about when you go through those quiet times.
Read the full story at Five Things To Consider Before Starting A Freelance Career.
