4 Essential Tips for Transitioning to Freelance After a Long-Term Career

Professionals with years of experience may find they’ve hit a glass ceiling. Designers, marketing professionals, writers, editors and IT professionals may find that opportunities to increase their income and rank are limited to their immediate department. Eventually, the only way to increase salary and try new things is by striking out independently. 

Moving from a 9-to-5 job to a freelance career can be daunting. Fortunately, you can prepare now and have a successful transition with less stress. 

Assessing Your Skills and Experience for a Successful Transition to Freelance

There are approximately 9.1 million unincorporated self-employed workers in the United States. As a new solopreneur, you’ll compete with others with more experience working under contracts. 

Before giving notice to your day job, assess where you are as a freelancer. To be successful, you’ll need these skill sets:

• Time management

• Communication

• Marketing

• Flexibility

• Project management

You likely already possess the needed technical skills from your career. If any areas feel weak, take some courses or ask for assignments at work to help increase your skills in each category. 

Tips for Transitioning to Freelance

Some may find it’s easier to start freelancing on the side while working a full-time job. The day job gives you a safety net and covers insurance. Ensure you’ve gained the knowledge you need before walking away from a position where coworkers have skills you do not.

Choose your initial clients carefully and network their contacts, asking for referrals. Once you have enough clients and you’re ready to transition to your freelance career, follow these steps to thrive:

1. Set up a Solid Financial Plan

Financially speaking, freelancing is different from working for a company. Instead of a steady paycheck every pay period, you may have times of feast and famine. A big client pays you for a project with a chunk of change, but the next month, you could wait for unpaid invoices. 

It’s wise to have some money in savings before you strike out on your own. An emergency fund and extra savings give you something to fall back on while you wait for clients to pay you or learn how to keep a steady client stream coming through your business. 

When preparing, limit as much from your budget as possible before leaving your career. Pay off credit cards and reduce monthly costs. 

2. Build a Strong Network

When transitioning to freelancing, it’s wise to build a strong network of contacts before making the move. The size of your network plays a role in your success.

A reliable mentor can help you expand your social network, opening the door to new opportunities. Those who learn from mentors are more productive and benefit from the other person’s experience.

Additionally, you can invest in some business cards with your name and contact information and share them with people you’re working with already in your role. Remember any noncompete clauses you’ve signed with your current employer. Your goal should be to expand your network without stealing clients from your job. 

Ask freelance clients you’ve worked with to tell other business owners about your work. You can also join local chambers of commerce to interact with like-minded entrepreneurs and build more connections. 

3. Establish a Personal Brand

Your image as a freelancer is crucial to attracting word-of-mouth marketing. Think about what you want to be known for. Your brand could have a unique value proposition, such as fast turnaround, polished work or value.

Ideally, you will have a professionally designed logo that reflects your services and style. Set up an online portfolio or website people can visit. No matter where they encounter your business advertising, it should look similar.

If you have a presence on Facebook and a website, both should have similar color palettes and messaging. 

4. Find Work-Life Balance

People transitioning to freelance work may feel a lot of pressure to perform. The desire to succeed quickly can lead to overworking yourself and burnout. Pay attention to work-life balance. Set specific working hours and times for family and friends. 

The voluntary quit rate is 25% higher than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. People often choose freelance to have more time to pursue what they enjoy outside of work. However, it’s easy to get sucked into working longer hours than you did in your career. 

If you feel overwhelmed, see if you have the funds to hire outside help to take over some repetitive tasks, such as billing clients or follow-ups when they haven’t paid. You can also farm out marketing and various touchpoints for each project. 

Overcoming Common Challenges in Switching to Freelancing

Going from steady office work to freelance may present some unique challenges. One of the most significant issues for any new business is cash flow. One solution is going part-time at your current job if they allow it. You still gain a regular paycheck and keep your skills sharp while building your client list. 

You might also lose access to health coverage. Check the marketplace and see how much it will cost to take out a policy. You need insurance in case of a sudden illness. At a minimum, you should invest in a catastrophic plan.

A lesser thought-of problem can be getting family and friends to understand you are working even though you are at home during the day. Solutions include renting shared office space to avoid interruptions or refusing to answer the door or phone while working. 

Let everyone know what your work hours are and stick to them. If you feel you must pick up a call or answer a text, make it brief. “Hey, I’m in the middle of a project. I finish at 5 p.m. I’ll call you then.”

Decide Never to Quit

Finding success isn’t a straight path from start to finish. You will have potholes, hills to climb and rainy days. Through it all, if you keep your determination and vow to keep trying, you’ll eventually get where you want to be. It’s OK to take a part-time job to make ends meet, discount your services temporarily to bring in new clients or ask family and friends to help you spread the word about what you do. 

A career may bring personal satisfaction, but you’ll also build a business for someone else. Freelancing is a rewarding way to build a legacy you can embrace and pass down to your family after you’re gone.