Hello again. It’s time for part four in the “Are You Ready to Make the Leap?” series. In case you’re just joining, I’ve already provided a rundown on three signs that you might be ready to pursue a freelance career full-time. But there are still a few more to go before we’re finished. So we’ll jump right in with number four, after I catch you up with the first three.1. You’re restless.
2. You’re looking for flexibility.
3. You have the right personality.
4. You have steady work. Now, I don’t want to scare you, but if you’re making the leap without a single freelance writing assignment or project lined up, you’re going to be in trouble. Applying for open freelance positions, marketing yourself, sending out letters of introduction, writing queries—all of these things take time. Then you still have to do the assignment, invoice for it, and wait for the check. If you don’t have something lined up before you get out of your current position, you may be waiting a long time before you see any cash coming in—I’m not talking weeks here, I’m talking months.
Plus, if you haven’t dipped your toe in the water to see what work you can get, how can you be confident you can make a go of it? That’s why so many freelance writers get started part-time, writing in the mornings or evenings or on weekends around their full-time jobs. It gives them a chance to build their portfolios and their confidence, to make industry contacts, to line up assignments that hopefully lead to even more assignments.
There isn’t a magic formula for how much freelance work is enough to go it alone. I didn’t have enough to fully replace my full-time income when I quit, but I got to the point where I couldn’t take on any more work if I was still working full-time. I had reached the point of no return, where I either had to stop pursuing freelance work, focus on what I already had, and keep my day job or ditch the day job and forge ahead with freelancing. I chose the latter.
What will you choose?
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