How Freelancing Can Help You Make The Leap Into Entrepreneurship
Ali Hale has jumped in with this post explaining the virtues of becoming a freelancer as an in-between step to become a full on entrepreneur. Since this is the exact path she is walking now, Ali in a great position to help explain what it is like.
If you’re feeling the fear regarding quitting your job to start up a business because you’re worried about the financial strain, freelancing as a cash flow source is a great idea. Here’s what Ali has to say about it…
Entrepreneurship. Attractive, enticing … and risky. Let’s face it, however attractive the idea of quitting your day job to start your business is, it might just not be a realistic option. Maybe you have a family – or an expensive gadget habit – to support. Maybe you’re not convinced that your dreams can stand up to reality.
The problem is, starting up a business venture while you’re working full time is hard. You might well have already experienced this – either you end up with lots of plans but no energy to put them into action, or you work evenings and weekends and quickly burn out.
There is, however, a middle road between employment and entrepreneurship. It’s called freelancing, and it can help you over that chasm between where you are and where you want to be.
How Freelancing Can Get You Over the Gap
Five Rules To Live By When Hiring A Writer
This is a guest post from Anne Wayman, who is a freelance writer, ghostwriter and blogs about writing at aboutfreelancewriting.com, a blog for freelance writers. She’s also taken all three of my programs, Blog Mastermind, Membership Site Mastermind and Become A Blogger Premium (yay Anne!)
So You Want To Hire A Writer?
Until you’ve actually worked with a writer you have no way of knowing how well that writer will write for you. Even when you’ve checked every reference, and read every sample, a writing project can still go wrong.
As a writer who has been hired by many clients, I have developed five questions that when answered clearly almost always result in a satisfied customer.
It boils down to this…
How to Find and Secure Freelance Writing Clients
by Chris Bibey
It is easy to show people how to make money through freelance writing. After all, once you have clients, the writing part usually comes a bit easier. In fact, many freelance writers will openly admit that they have a more difficult time marketing their services than the actual writing process. If you are going to be successful, you need to learn how to find freelance writing clients. From there, your writing ability will take over, and you can do your thing.
Every freelance writer finds clients in their own way. I have my own strategy for doing so, and it is safe to say that it is much different than that of many others. With that being said, there are basic steps and details that will allow you to get a good start. Let’s take a look at a few now.
How Much Should You Charge As A Freelance Writer?
by Chris Bibey
There are many obstacles that new freelance writers run into. But when it comes down to it, none are bigger than trying to put together a pricing schedule or rate sheet. No matter what you call it, you need to know what prices you are going to charge potential clients. This can be a tricky proposition because charging too much will scare away potential buyers, but selling yourself short will result in leaving a lot of money on the table.
When I began my freelance writing career, I must admit that my pricing schedule was a bit out of kilter. I was spending so much time on other tasks that throughout my first month I never really had a solid pricing schedule in place. Instead, I did what I thought was right at the time. While this ended up working out in the end, looking back I can see that I lost several clients and that I probably worked for too little when I did not have to.
Here are three tips to follow when putting together a pricing schedule.
Five Steps to Starting a Freelance Writing Career
Chris Bibey has joined the Entrepreneurs-Journey.com feature writing team and he’s beginning by covering his specialty – How to start a freelance writing career. Chris is very qualified to teach the topic because he’s walked the talk. He left his 9 to 5 job, become a full time freelance writer and within three months was earning $5,000 per month. In October of this year he topped $7,000, not bad!
Chris is going to teach you how you can do the same by telling his story and offering tips to budding freelancers in a new weekly column on a trial basis. If you like what he writers, you can expect to see Chris as a regular at this blog, so please be generous with your feedback comments.
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Five Steps to Starting a Freelance Writing Career
The number of people who aspire to become freelance writers is astonishing. Unfortunately, most of these people never take the time to chase their dream. Instead, they work their 9 to 5 office job, take orders from a crabby boss, and get paid less than what they are worth. If you want to be a freelance writer and are tired of any of the issues above, it is time to make a move. The more you procrastinate the more time you are losing.
Even though it will take time to build a successful freelance writing career, the steps to actually getting started are simple. No, these steps do not guarantee loads of money, but they will put you on the right path to earning a solid income sometime in the future.
Here are five steps to starting a freelance writing career.
