Before I took the big entrepreneurial leap in 2010, I had always worked for a single employer. But you know how the story goes— suddenly the cubicle walls start to feel claustrophobic, the beck and call of the chain of bosses starts to grate, and you yearn for something, well, more inspired. You feel confident enough in your own skills and personal networks to leave the ‘system’ and start your own freelance business.

The highs are higher— exhilarating and thrilling; and the lows are steep drops, where you battle self-doubt and worry about scoring the next project.

When we first started, we worked out of my partner’s San Francisco apartment to save on overhead costs. My co-founder worked alongside with me. He had his corner. I had mine. Our breaks during the workday were lunch and pots of tea, and our meetings took place over walks to Golden Gate Park, just four blocks away.

While no one was there to observe our work patterns (like most internet-based businesses, our client interaction takes place over e-mail and Skype), we managed to stay fairly disciplined. One of the great perks of working for yourself is the freedom to set your own schedule. No one dictates that you have to clock in at a certain hour. No one’s looking over your shoulder.

Ah, the sweet freedom of being an un-tethered freelancer. But there are downsides, too. At a job you don’t worry about the next paycheck if you slouch a little one week. But on your own, if you don’t produce, you don’t get paid. Every moment for a freelancer is precious.

So once you make the leap, what’s the best way to structure your new work life as a freelancer? Know that by “going indie” you’ll need to prepare yourself for the emotional roller coaster of running your own shop. The highs are higher— exhilarating and thrilling; and the lows are steep drops, where you battle self-doubt and worry about scoring the next project.

While there are numerous and inventive ways to maximize your precious time and work more productively as a freelancer, you’ve got to first master the basics.

Here’s a starter kit of essential productivity tips to get you grounded and organized as you make the transition to the exciting and unpredictable life of a freelancer. Continue Reading

Starting out as a freelance writer is not as easy as it appears. Learning how to become a freelance writer requires business considerations, not just writing chops.

Beyond getting out there and securing contracts, you need to be self-motivated and organized. This is a difficult transition, especially if you don’t have colleagues or friends who have been in the field and can help you along.

If you’re just starting out and hoping to make your livelihood writing, take a look at the seven tips below. Keep in mind that these are geared toward beginners who are pursuing freelance writing as a full-time job—not for those who simply do a little extra writing on nights and weekends. Continue Reading

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As freelancers, there are times when it is essential that we save money or spend it very economically. But there are other times when being cheap will wind up costing more.

I learned this the hard way when I set up my freelance writing business in January 2004. The biggest mistake I made, over and over again, was thinking of myself as having a home office, not a home business. I thought of myself as being small – and as a result, wound up spending money twice. Here’s how:

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Freelancing on the side while keeping a full time job can be a good way to test the waters and save money before plunging in full time. In fact, I freelanced part time for three years while building up the confidence and the clips to succeed as a full time freelance writer.

Though it’s often the sensible thing to do financially, it’s certainly not the easiest. Any part time writer, designer, coder, or other freelancer will tell you that it requires careful discipline and superior time management skills.

Here are several tips on tackling freelance projects while keeping a full time job.

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As the new year is just around the corner, some of you might resolve to take a step forward into becoming a freelancer. According to what’s been written in the comments at FreelanceSwitch, there are those of you thinking about this.

With the way the economy has been, it wouldn’t be too surprising if the freelancer ranks grow in the next few months. Here are a few tips to get you started.

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My youngest nephew, Will, is on the cusp of two years old—that adorably maddening tipping point between babydom and full-functioning Big Boy.  Sometimes he struggles to communicate his needs, at which point he defaults to a full-throated, full-fake cry; sometimes, he’s clearly and efficiently out-sentencing most reality show contestants.

And sometimes he switches from one to the other within no interval between the two.  Recently he was struggling to open a toy, and, seeing a facsimile of an Official Adult nearby in me, he wailed aloud.  I bent down to unfasten the latches for him. I might not be willing to endure labor, breastfeeding, and adolescence, but I can unlock the plastic stops on a Fisher-Price barn. Most of the time.

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Starting out as a freelancer can be an exhilarating ride, but those first few miles can be littered with frustrating potholes if you don’t know what to watch out for. If you’re just about to make the plunge into freelancing – or you’re trying to make your existing freelance life run more smoothly – take a moment to read these “rules of the road.” They may save you from the late nights and nail-biting stress that await you just around the curve.

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You’ve got the blog going–great! Maybe you’re building readership from your customer base, or from others who are interested in what you do. That’s great, too! Now you’re thinking, “Maybe I should do a podcast…”. Maybe you should. And maybe you shouldn’t.

A podcast is a bit like a radio program–it’s an audio recording that is distributed in the form of a digital audio file, such as an MP3, that can be downloaded, transferred to a media player device, such as an iPod or a Zune or one of the others, and played back whenever the listener chooses. It can be a recording of a single person talking about a particular subject, providing information, dispensing opinion, or just making observations. Some podcasts are recordings of two or more people having conversations about the subject matter at hand. Other podcasts are more like interview shows. Some podcasts are like audio books, others are like music programming on the radio. Podcasting has been around for several years now, and it has flourished–chances are that someone is out there podcasting about whatever interests you.

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The idea of freelance writing had always been appealing to me. Although my background in fitness and nutrition prepared me more for personal contact. After a few years spent in the gyms and working in academia, I knew I wanted to help people, not one-on-one, but through my writing.

Unlike many there was no leap of faith involved in my decision to begin working towards my goal. To avoid missing a once in a lifetime opportunity, I left my office job and set off on an adventure to live abroad for a couple years due to an assignment with my husband’s employer. With the language barrier and those ever frustrating document issues, I had no plans to work in our new city. Fortunately, this gave me the perfect opportunity to launch my freelance writing career.

It took me a while to get my ducks in a row, toughen my skin and start tackling the process of learning about freelance writing and blogging. I never once thought it would be easy, but I also soon realized there was a lot I didn’t know.

These are some questions I ask myself on a daily basis and some answers I’ve come to discover through both my external research and that all-important internal reflection about my desire and will to write.
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If you’d asked me on January 1st what my plans for this year were, the word “freelancer” wouldn’t have appeared.

No, I was going to launch a wildly successful weblog, make a fortune from Google AdSense, and sign a six-figure book deal…

…I’m not quite there yet.

But I have managed to arrive somewhere wholly unexpected. I’m earning money from staff-writing on two blogs, both major players in their niches (Diet Blog and Daily Writing Tips) and my own blog has a small but regular readership. I’ve made about $800 so far; not “quit the day job” money, yet, but enough to make me realize that freelance blogging could be a viable way to earn a living.

You might well have a blog, though perhaps it’s a personal one based around a hobby or passion, rather than a professional one. And since you’re reading this on Freelance Switch, I’m guessing you have some interest in freelancing. If you’ve read through the “Getting started” articles, if you spend hours staring at your cubicle walls and dreaming up your next blog post (or typing away on the sly), and if you’re waiting, waiting, waiting for that first job, first client, first check, you might be closer than you think. Here’s how to fall into freelance blogging by accident… Continue Reading

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When I decided to start my freelance copywriting career months ago, one of the biggest obstacles I had to overcome was my lack of experience in the field I wanted to get into.

I decided to explore the idea of freelancing when several people from the office complimented my writing one after the other. My problem was that I had no idea what I wanted to do exactly. Yes, it was going to involve writing of some sorts. I discovered I had a knack for words (my boss even trusted me to write a press release about a new product we were launching — not bad for someone 6 months out of university!) but I had never been specifically hired and paid by others just to “write stuff.”

The biggest question running in my head was: who the hell was I to be charging people for a bunch of words I put together?

Luckily, I managed to push through that hump. Within a month or so, I went from being clueless about freelance copywriting to consulting with my first client over Skype.

If I were to summarize what I learned during that period, I would narrow everything down to these 5 steps:

1. Learn

Let’s face it — no matter what field you’re in, you won’t be able to get anywhere with your career if you don’t actually have any idea what you’re doing. Continue Reading

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A friend dropped me an email about a new site he was launching, StudentFreelance.com, and it got me thinking about my own freelancing experiences in college…

For my money, students comprise one of the most overlooked and underutilized freelance communities. Even though tons and tons of students are learning extremely valuable (and marketable skills) on a daily basis, we seldom think about college students as potential freelancers, particularly when it’s time to fill the next freelance gig.

Back in my own college days, when I wasn’t hitting the books or drinking eggplant juice (my older brother somehow convinced me it would help with hangovers – it turned out he was just messing with me), I was fortunate enough to freelance on a fairly consistent basis. While my java pressing compatriots earned their beer money concocting frappacinos at Starbuck’s, I was discovering amazing synergies between my studies and my work. Like the time I was able to use a class on VRML to impress a client who only wanted a “3D-looking” kiosk menu programmed in Director, with a real immerse/interactive 3-D world! (For those not fluent in “tech,” allow me to translate: I did something pretty awesome.) Not only was it rewarding for me to apply skills from the classroom to the real world, but I feel pretty confident that I was providing my clients with high-quality services.

Certainly, some old and grumpy types might stereotype college kids as too young to understand the responsibilities that come hand-in-hand with freelancing. (These are probably the same types that don’t appreciate re-runs of Seinfeld or a good “yo mamma” joke.) But for those of us with even a little bit of open-mindedness, college kids represent an incredibly useful, and underutilized, talent pool. Continue Reading