Going Freelance: Rules of Preparation
When I graduated from college 4 years ago, many of my programming and design peers spoke of starting their own business/studio. The idea seemed simple: work at home, charge the masses for your work, sleep in every day. However, I only know of one guy who pulled it off, mainly because he does really amazing stuff. Freelancing isn’t a walk in the park. That’s why most people work for someone else. And to be honest, I don’t think I could be freelance now if I didn’t work for three “someone elses” before making the switch. If you’re thinking about going freelance, here’s a few tips to help:
1) Save Ahead of Time: I wouldn’t say freelancing is riskier than a normal job, but the risk is all on you, so you better have a little savings. I personally had about 6 months of living expenses saved before making the switch. Good thing too, because believe it or not, on day one of “no more corporate health insurance,” I found I had major kidney stones, and had to use some sonic therapy that eventually cost me over $5K (thankfully I had new health insurance — without it, I would be almost $30K out.)
2) Already Have Clients: You should be doing freelance long before you switch to it full-time. I’d been doing freelance since college, and way back then, I was doing these large sites for pennies, and often, pro bono. Back then, I was unmarried and had only a couch and sheets of Taco Bell Coupons, so the “hard knock” education was worth it. It took four years of said education and experience to have the clients and the hourly rate I have now. And in the months leading to the switch, I made sure I had clients lined up, even starting some before I quit my day job (although be sure not to let your freelance buildup suck away from your day job — that’s just unfair and unethical.) Of course, it meant very little time with my wife for a couple months, but the payoff (freelance freedom now) is worth it.
3) Crunch the numbers: It’s exciting to land your first multi-thousand freelance website. But if you are a middle-class married American, you better be able to land those every other week and get paid on them too just to reach normal salary levels. Remember, you’re probably also paying double taxes, health insurance, any retirement plans, etc. Freelancing takes monetary discipline, and you better be ready for it. Don’t go for the midtown loft just yet, don’t buy the latest gadgets (except for maybe the iPhone), and count yourself lucky if you have a spouse that works.
4) Create passive income: Truth is, even freelancing, you have “employers,” deadlines, and the nagging truth is that if you don’t work, you don’t get paid. So find creative ways to create passive income. Start a specialized blog or website or service (after all, you ARE a designer/developer). Sell your goods (code, illustrations, programs). Try alot of things and eventually, one will pay off.
5) Work hard: Yeah, this is a no-brainer. But without a boss over your shoulder, it’s much tougher than it sounds. I prefer to work short days (4-6 hours) seven days a week, and in the down time, look for passive income opportunities. This schema is enjoyable for me, and as a freelancer, I have that freedom. I’m also willing to take on more than I can handle at times, and work 14 hour days, because I know there’ll be slow times too (i.e., November-December). Find what works for you, but remember, working hard has a very strong correlation to success.
Feel free to add any advice you’ve learned yourself…
6) Money promises don’t pay the bills. Try your darndest to collect 50% up front. When you start out freelancing this is hard, since the pickings are slim and work is work—-but the promise of payment is a lot better than no job whatsoever. Once you become a well-known freelance it gets easier to get the 50% up front. Until then, you run to the mailbox everyday hoping for a check.
7) Avoid scope-creep. Detail the project and price and get approval from the client. Then, be firm and charge for any extra changes. There’s nothing more life sucking than “oh btw can you add this?”, “how bout this?” Next to being tired, scope-creep is a freelancer’s worst enemy. Avoid it.
Use Pareto’s Principle. Always keep that in the back of your mind. Mark projects as being either an 80% or a 20%. Look for the 20%. Once you get well established, avoid the 80%’s altogether. If you can work 1/5th of the time and still make 80% of the money, you won’t miss the 20% at all.
9) Work smart. Keep a log of your work or make a special site with all of it showcased (either private or public). You’ll save endless hours looking for things you’ve done 6 months or a year ago. A great log and well-done code can possibly turn those 80%’s into 20%’s.
P.S. Nice site =)
Craig-ly
The freelance jump always seems a bit daunting to me, but it seems that with a little care, discipline, and sometimes being a hard-ass, it’s quite the possible path…
ME!
10) It’s a business! Doing favors for strangers or for a “friend of a friend” eventually hurts you, your family and future. It’s okay to run it like a business 
lornadoone
shane
#12) figure out what your value proposition is and turn it into an elevator pitch. You are there to solve their problem. Which problem can you solve best? How can you make it easy to understand.
I have a series on the topic in our blog.
eddywebs
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