From Start Up Nation…
Maintain your focus
You’ll want to establish a solid book of business, enjoyable and reliable clients, and a significant backlog of work before turning off the afterburners for awhile and relishing your newly established independence.
Expect to be lonely at first
“It’s a shock, even if you’re expecting it,� says Ted Demopoulos, who has been freelancing as an IT consultant for 16 years in Durham, N.H. “You’re not working toward a common cause with others. You’ve got to realize that freelancing isn’t for everyone.�
Solve the cash-flow challenge
Photographer Steve Kovich’s solution to this problem, when he began freelancing two decades ago, was to quickly work up a financial reserve so that the vagaries of short-term cash flow wouldn’t bother him or leave him working hand-to-mouth.“I try to keep a six-month buffer,� says the 42-year-old, St. Petersburg, Fla.-based photographer, “and I put it in a CD account so at least it’s making a tiny bit of interest.�
Prioritize marketing
Many freelancers say the biggest surprise to them has been how much marketing is required to keep their enterprise afloat and advancing.
“I only go after companies that are within an hour of where I’m located, because in my business, having face time is important,� says Josh Feinberg, owner of Computer Consulting 101 in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Limit your exposure to major clients
A dilemma that eventually confronts most freelancers is how dependent to become on one or two large clients. When the relationship is humming and you’re fielding all the work you can from your biggest customer or two, the temptation can be amazingly great to make yourself essentially an outsourced arm of these cooperative clients.
But what happens when your key contact at the client unexpectedly leaves or is fired, or the customer’s business suddenly turns bad, or any manner of other ill fortune befalls your sugar daddy? Then, your dependence could quickly sink your freelancing business.
For this reason, many freelancers limit themselves to tying up no more than half, or maybe a slight majority, of their time and revenue potential with their largest client or two. “And what’s almost more important than that percentage,� says Demopoulos, “is that you have at least a few other big clients available to you. They don’t have to be ones that you’re necessarily doing a lot of work for right now, but maybe you have in the past or could in the future – if you need to turn to them because your biggest client disappears.�
Our Bottom Line
Freelancing is a growing trend – and it should be. The barriers are falling and the technologies available are greasing the skids for many a freelancing business entrepreneur. The key is recognizing that you don’t have to head into this form of entrepreneurship willy-nilly. Following these five guidelines can dramatically increase your chances of success in freelancing your skills.
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