About to quit your job? Here’s how to go freelance

You’re so over your job, your manager, working from home, the clients you’re servicing and trying to be everything to everybody, solving everyone else’s problems but your own.

You’re burnt out. You’ve drafted your resignation letter. You are ready to quit and want to go freelance.

This is how to get organized to make the transition to freelance as smooth as possible.

Get clear on your role

If you’re a freelance writer who specializes in baseball reporting, you can become a true expert at your craft, and that’s valuable when targeting your ideal client. The more specific you can be about your offering, and how your skills and services are going to help a client solve their problem(s), the more money you’ll make and the more likely you’ll enjoy your work as a freelancer. Once you’re clear on what you do and don’t do — i.e. the baseball writer probably doesn’t handle fashion-magazine interviews — find a way to talk about your offering in two or three sentences. That quick summary is your “pitch” when you’re trying to get hired and catch the attention of a potential client.

Define your target audience and how you’ll reach them

Who do you want to be working with? Why are they so great? Not sure where to start? Think back to a time when you were working on something meaningful and exciting, and where the outcome of the work exceeded everyone’s expectations. Who were the stakeholders involved and what made them great partners to work with? You’ll want more of those kinds of clients on your roster and less of the annoying ones that only act as roadblocks.

Now, make a list of these awesome clients (and people), where they work and start networking! If you work with an agent — maybe you’re a high-end corporate photographer and need to have an agent to get your foot in the door — they can do the networking on your behalf. Once you’re in for a meeting, don’t forget to ask the if they know other people who could use your services, too.

Blanket emails to people you don’t know won’t work. Instead, take time to really connect with your network. And ensure you have a well-designed website you can point prospects to.

Form a strategy for your pricing

Make friends with other freelancers and consultants. Ask what they’re charging and how they landed on their prices. Creep on freelancer websites for comparable rates. You will win business if you charge well for the value being delivered. Fun fact — the lowest quote doesn’t mean you’ll get the deal. In fact, it can work against you and might send a message to the potential client that you’re inexperienced. Do your research and possibly even test your prices for a few months to get reactions.

Do the best work you’ve ever done (and highlight the best from the past)

The fastest way to win more business is by blowing the doors off of client expectations. If they love working with you, and love the outcomes of your work together, your business will grow. You’ll probably also get referrals to other potential clients. Ask for client testimonials and always keep your work portfolio up to date; you may find it valuable to publish both on your website. If you have amazing work from previous projects before you went freelance, include this work in your portfolio too.

Be ahead of the curve

The reason freelancers and consultants get hired is because they have something unique to offer (otherwise the work would be done in-house). My advice is to keep on top of your learning — new trends, technologies that can make your work even better and so on. Ensure that proposals you’re drafting showcase the uniqueness of your skills, so that your contributions are considered invaluable.

Organize your finances

If you’re serious about freelancing or consulting for your career, talk to your accountant about the right business structure (e.g. sole proprietorship or a corporation). Your banking will also need to be established. To keep your business and personal banking organized and separated, it’s fairly standard to have a basic business operating account where money gets deposited and bills get paid, including your personal income. I also recommend a tax account where you set aside a portion of your earnings for future taxes, and a profit account where you set aside money just for you for the future. Keep your costs lean in order to maximize your profits.

As the freelancer pool grows faster than ever before in history, it’s vital to find a way to stand out from the crowd. Focus on what’s going to make you an unmissable resource to the people you really want to be working with.

This article was originally published in The Star. Lesley-Anne Scorgie is a Toronto-based personal finance columnist and a freelance contributing columnist for the Star.