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Do not go bankrupt
No matter how fed up with your boss, resist until you have a solid freelancing plan. Find out what you need, prepare the ground, and lay the foundations for your freelance project to work in the short and medium term.
An office job is a freelancing school
A face-to-face job is stressful and exhausting but allows you to gain experience, hone your strengths, and make contacts who know your skills. And the best thing is that this “training” takes place in a controlled environment where not everything that happens is entirely your fault.
Accept freelance jobs if you have a job
These first projects will allow you to measure your production times, calculate your costs, and evaluate your skills without the pressure that your income depends entirely on it. In addition, you will make your work known as independent and have something entirely yours to include in your portfolio.
But do not freelance at work
Or at least hide. Some companies do not like you using their equipment or your time to do something that is not about them. What is more, yes, do it; use the hours that force you to be there in whatever you want.
Prepare financially
Make a small file that is exclusively to start as a freelance because, at first, it is hard, and it will surely take you no less than a year to return to the salary that the office had you used to.
A tip from the first world
Ryan Robinson, a famous freelance writer who creates content for freelancers, recommends keeping your job until your freelance income is at least 75% of your regular salary.
Separate your freelance Lanita
Ryan (Gosling, obviously) also recommends saving 100% of the profits from your freelance projects. And preferably in a bank account other than where the fortnight falls. This way, you will have a clear record of your monthly income as a freelancer and make little savings when you get fully involved in your project.
But do not let money limit you either
Save, but do not set a distant goal to leave your job, or you will risk never daring to do it.
Study!
The main door to success as a freelancer is to be super good at what you do. If you like something that works for you, this is your chance to become an expert. Read, take courses, research the profiles of people recognized in that area, and learn something from them.
Make your little things
Get yourself a nice desk, an ergonomic chair (so your sciatica does not hurt), and everything you need to be materially comfortable in your new office.
Have tools to keep up with you
Soon, you will be your boss, community manager, accounts manager, José Luis from systems, and Don Victor from maintenance. So have a computer and a cell phone you can trust.
And use digital tools in your favor
When you are a freelancer, you become your own boss and the person in charge of all areas. To that, add the task of maintaining the relationship with your clients: a CRM is a tool that can help you manage these relationships; it is usually a tool used by the sales and marketing department, but as a freelance, you can get many more advantages.
How and Where to Get Clients
Having a presence in the social networks most related to your area is another place where you have to appear in Google. The only method to get there is with a website or blog where you can highlight your work, the projects you have worked on, what you know how to do, and your view of the world.
Another option that will give you the professional bonus you want to show your clients is to create landing pages to offer your services and, even from there, generate leads you will fall in love with to finish converting them into your clients. We already told you about Send Pulse, a platform that concentrates your mailing service, CRM, and landing pages at no cost.
How to Define Costs?
Charge more than you think you should
This advice brought from the first world establishes that you do not set your prices only considering the offer (that is, how much others charge) but also add to your prices the value of your talent and your experience.
But we already saw that Ryan is a man who looks like Ryan Gosling. He can charge whatever he wants.
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