Thinking about Going Freelance? Here’s a Few Tips

If you’re thinking about going freelance, there are a lot of things to consider beside the joy of becoming your own boss. There’s a reason why people at the top of successful businesses get paid as much as they do, and that is responsibility. If you’re the boss, the buck stops with you. You’re in charge of finances, marketing, customer service and human resources, even if the only person you’re employing is yourself. You have to be motivated, manage your workload and keep your customers happy. Even with the freedom to work in your pajamas, being your own boss is a lot of hard work.

That said, if you take the time to plan carefully and put into place some of the best practices right from the start, going freelance can be great. Follow these tips and you’ll never have to be up for a nine o’clock meeting again, unless of course, you want to.

Become a Business Owner

You know you have the skills necessary to succeed and you’re familiar with design industry practices, but becoming a successful business owner takes more than talent alone. Typically, working for yourself requires you to register as a business in order for you to pay appropriate taxes, as well as develop policies on how you will conduct yourself.

The two most common reasons that small businesses fail are poor management (due to lacking skills) and under-capitalization. To avoid these pitfalls, it’s essential to plan properly for your new lifestyle. Becoming a successful freelancer takes complete commitment. It may seem surprising but you will have less time for your personal life at first, so be prepared for this. Assess the advantages and disadvantages of working for yourself to find out if you are really ready.

Hire an Accountant

Managing your finances is often the most difficult part of going freelance. Accounting requires a whole new skill set that may be completely new to you. You need to decide where to price yourself in order for your business to be viable, and then deal with invoicing, expenses and taxes, as well as your wage. Your business needs to make enough money to sustain itself, and make a profit. Don’t confuse turnover (all the money you pay into your business account) with profit (how much is left when all your expenses are paid). If all of this is already starting to sound a little confusing (and believe, me it’s just the tip of the iceberg), then hire an accountant and free yourself up to get on with designing.

If you do decide to tackle your finances alone, then plan ahead, set up a cash flow projection and try to maintain a cushion to fall back on if necessary.

Pay Attention to Project Management

Managing your time and staying productive can be challenging at first, but try to get into good habits early:

• Set business hours
• Create a calm working environment
• Manage your workload carefully and keep an eye on your deadlines

There are multiple tools available to help you do this, so make sure you utilize them to their full potential.

Don’t Forget Marketing…

We all know the importance of branding, so pay close attention to your own. You have your logo and website to contend with, but luckily, as a designer, you already have the advantage in this area. It’s not impossible to do it on a budget as there are lots of free photo resources available to help you.

Remember that as far as marketing goes, there are tons of options to help get you started. From blogging to business cards, partnerships to professional sponsorship, marketing (as we all know) is a career in itself, and is essential if you want your business to succeed and grow.

… Or Customer Service

A huge part of freelancing is customer service, dealing with customers promptly and appropriately in order to maintain a bulletproof reputation. Good customer service means taking into consideration the needs of the customer or client and exceeding their expectations, building relationships that ensure they’ll keep coming back to you, instead of someone else.

Finally, Look After Yourself

When you employ yourself, getting the balance between your personal and work life can be difficult, especially when you’re driven to succeed. Taking on more than you can feasibly handle can be extremely tempting, but should be avoided at all cost. It can lead to rushing projects, shoddy workmanship and dissatisfied customers, all which could harm your ability to get work in the future.

Take time off when you need it, and reward yourself. After all this hard work, you deserve it.