How to Transition From Being an Employee and Becoming a Freelancer
What is the difference between a freelancer and an employee?
This may seem obvious, but I think it’s better to make things clear whenever we can.
An employee works for someone, receives a fixed income and has business benefits like health-insurance, dental-care, and retirement plans. His everyday task is to do his work and only that. Each new job comes to him, usually with a ready briefing and he does what he is being paid to do.
A freelancer works for himself, he doesn’t have a fixed income(that’s one of the biggest troubles) and his job perks list is empty. His everyday task is to do everything. A freelancer must wear many hats and lead both negotiations with client as well as his own work. That’s one of the worst things for many people, but indeed it’s one of the best things you can ask for. I’ll tell more about it later.
Also, When you are a starter, you have to find your clients and jumping into the sea of opportunities to grab a client and work in his project can be stressful.
As you can see, just the concept of being a freelancer seems like a bad choice in life. Fortunately, things are better than they look.
What it means to become a professional freelancer?
It’s common to have people that consider freelancing as a moonlighting opportunity and do it only to have an extra income at the end of the month.
A professional freelancer can be either a full-time or a part-time freelancer and he must take his job seriously. He must honor deadlines, his approach to work and the importance of the work his doing for his client. Because of that, he’ll be abe to charge better rates, have happy clients, great case studies and constant jobs coming to him.
When you’re a professional freelancer you’re able to have a better quality assurance of the project you’re creating. The reason for that is that now, you’re the owner of the project.
It can sound a little selfish, but being able to conceptualize something you believe in and create it is one the most rewarding feelings that freelancing life will be able to give you.
How to overcome the challenges of being a full-time freelancer?
Becoming a freelancer have many challenges and I would take hours writing about them — If you’re interested, let us know — but I’ll stick with what I consider to be the biggest challenge.
Money and clients are a result of good work, but to do good work you need a very unique and stubborn tool: You.
As you see, most freelancers don’t have an office and they end up creating a home-office. Since you’re usually alone, at home, it’s common to deviate from work because of the infinite kinds of interruptions that can happen when you’re at home: Your kid can enter the room, your wife may need a help, someone can call you on the phone, your bed can be too tempting and the list goes all the way down.
Learning how to deal with possible distractions and eliminating your risks is the key for you to improve your work space.
When you are at the office, working with other people, with a boss or at least a business owner there, the whole environment is forcing you to be productive or just to stay focused. That’s why many people choose to be a freelancer working in a coworking space.
If you don’t what it is, it’s a place where you pay a relative small fee to have a space in a table, internet connection, coffee, snacks, a room for meetups, an address and even a telephone receptionist. It’s also a great place for creative minds because you’ll be next to many different people from different fields and networking for a freelancer is a key point.
How I overcome my personal challenges
I have a home office space and I had a rough time at the beginning before I was able to work well in my space. The tips I’ll be highlight below were things that worked for me, so I hope that most of them are able to help you too. They key here is to build a routine.
- Choose a specific space and create a configuration of all the assets you need to work and how they will relate or be positioned in your work desk.
- Always start to work with a clean desk, remove any temptation that can deviate your attention from the work.
It can be your kid’s toy on the desk, piles of papers or notes, fingerprints in a glass table,… - Make your workspace clean.
It gives me a sense of fresh start to start my work in a non-cluttered space - Even though you’re free to work in the time you choose, try to make a schedule and follow the same pattern of hours for your work.
For example, 3 hours in the morning and 4 in the afternoon or 3 hours in the afternoon and 6 hours in the evening. - Discover what kind of things and actions can change your behavior.
I discovered that if I drink too much coffee trying to focus I’ll end up with a huge anxiety, but I discovered that running or skateboarding is able to empty my mind of problems even after a 7 hour workday and give me a boot of energy to work for more 5 hours If I want to. I also discover that I can’t do exercise in the morning and I have to eat almost nothing during my meals, otherwise I get sleepy.
Even though the hardest thing of being a freelancer is dealing with yourself, it’s a magical thing to know so much about you and how both body and mind work.
And about the whole negotiation with a client, proposals, and money-related things?
You may not know that, but this is easier than it looks. There is a logic, method and common sense attached to it to make things easier. The tips I can give are:
- Thing of your job as investment for your client and because of that, you must always find ways to guarantee a ROI(return on investment).
- Don’t do hourly rates, it’s bad for everyone.
Whenever you try to rush in a job, your client will lose value. It’s really common to see people making things faster because they don’t want their client to know they stayed 3 hours working on small details of a typography, even thought it was necessary. Your rate must give you the security to do the best job you can. - Know that your client is at risk. He’s taking is own money and investing on your work. Do your best to explain your process, your approach and the risks of each project. Make them feel safe and respected.
Becoming a freelancer can bring meaning and passion and help you building your own character and mind.
Originally published at mowestudio.com on October 15, 2015.
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