Are You Ready To Start Freelancing?

I started my freelance journey more than a decade ago. At the time, all I knew what that I wanted the freedom and independence that a freelancer’s live afforded. I didn’t know much more than that.

Fortunately, in some of my prior jobs, I had been able to learn a little about writing proposals, estimating projects and closing sales. But, my practical experience was limited.

In reality, when I started freelancing, I found out that there was so much I didn’t know. Worse yet, I didn’t know who to ask for help because I really didn’t know WHAT questions to ask…

I didn’t know what I didn’t know…

I was a hard-working person who was skilled at my craft, But my college education and work experience didn’t give me what I needed to know to how to start freelancing and to become a successful entrepreneur.

Instead…it took me years to learn everything I needed to know.

Fast-forward to today.

I’ve had the privilege of watching my oldest daughter get ready to start her college. During this time, I thought back to my own college experience and recalled graduating and wondering where I would I would work. I had done part-time freelance for small companies, along with friends and family, and loved the freedom of doing my own work. In the back of my mind, the idea of freelancing was so appealing to me. But, I was held back from launching a freelance career because of my own self-doubts and lack of knowledge. I wanted to freelance, but I was afraid of failing, so I put the idea down.

For the next several years, I worked in the corporate world. I worked for some great companies, with some wonderful bosses and talented co-workers. But, the grind took its toll on me. The days turned into months, which turned into years. Before long, I started feeling tension and frustration from the work I was doing. I had lost the excitement and energy I had right after college. 

Ok, I wasn’t miserable all of the time. In fact, I did like most of my bosses and co-workers. What pulled me down was the long hours and the tight deadlines.I found myself leading large projects which required extra time and focus. I became discouraged and started to lose my creative edge. I felt like I was missing opportunities and not being true to myself.

After working in the corporate design world for several years, the freelance dream awakened in me again when a friend of mine shared his leap in to the freelance world. We had similar backgrounds. We were both designers with passion and a desire to use our gifts for bigger purposes. I watched and listened to my friend talk about his new entrepreneurial launch with excitement and success.

I knew I had to do something. So, I started… I didn’t know what I was doing, but I started anyway.Earlier

Earlier in my corporate career, I had learned some of the business skills that I knew I would need to survive as a freelancer. I learned how to bid projects and sell them to clients. I learned how to work well with customers and provide them with service that brought back a lot of repeat business.

After a while, my confidence level grew and I knew it was time to take the leap.

And, I did it…I launched my freelance career!

It was awesome! I was on my own and I was finally set free, but then it happened.

Reality struck… Finding the clients and keeping the working coming became very real to me.

Very quickly, I learned that I still didn’t know everything yet. Not only did I have to find the clients, but sell the projects, do the work, bill the client and manage the books. Over the next several years, I learned more hard lessons.

But there is good news… One day, everything started to click. Work started coming to me, my bill rates started going up, I started having more free time and ultimately…

I reached my goal! But, it took me years of hard learning to get here.

So as I thought about my daughter going off to college, the voice inside my head got my attention. I heard it say,

“Wouldn’t it have been nice to have a wise coach who could have showed me how to start freelancing without all the time, trouble and mistakes?”

My response, “ABSOLUTELY!”

The good news is… I am here to help you.

So, I’ve decided to offer other freelancers the guidance, support and encouragement that I would have loved as a young professional. I could have literally shaved years off of my pursuit and could have been enjoying the benefits much earlier. If you’re interested, contact me and I will tell you more.

I’d like to invite you to do two things before you leave.

1. I’d like to give you my FREE EBOOK called The Guide To Finding Perfect Clients. It’s a great tool if you want more and better clients.
2. I would like to invite you to join our free Facebook Group. Here you will meet other freelancers like yourself. It’s an amazing group of people who are support, encourage and share one another, and there’s always room for one more. To join our group, click here.