You are planning to start your own business and you want to know how to become a freelancer? This little guide is for you.
We are going to offer you a set of advices that will allow you to start your freelance activity correctly and to accumulate the chances of success.
We invite you to participate in our forum if you have any questions, and to use our platform to find new clients when you start your business.
How to become a freelancer?
Content of the article :
- How to become a freelancer?
- Setting up as a freelancer
- Organizing yourself as a freelancer
- The advantages and disadvantages
Understanding and finding your motivations
Before you get into the nitty-gritty, you should first ask yourself what your reasons and motivations are for doing this freelance job.
Take the time to think it through:
- Why do you want to become a freelancer more than anything else in the world?
- What are you looking for in creating your business?
This adventure will be exciting, for sure, but it will also be filled with difficulties and doubts. Your strongest motivations will help you to keep going in these moments.
Find the motivation and cultivate the strength within yourself that will keep you working hard, stay the course when in doubt, and lift your head when in difficulty.
Choose a status
Before you start, find out about the different statutes for freelancing. Which one corresponds best to your project, your experience and your context.
Do not hesitate to come and ask your questions on the forum, we have a discussion on the different statuses, feedback and advice.
Take the time to make your calculations
Get inspired by what is done on the market and make your forecast. Calculate your average hourly income and have an idea of the turnover you need to bring in per month to live properly. Does this seem feasible to you? Good, let's continue.
Our advice
Use an invoicing tool such as Facture.net (free).
Define a strategy
Grab a pencil and think about your strategy.
Define:
- Who would be your ideal customer? (type, sector, need etc.)
- Why would they choose you?
- How will you make a difference?
- How will you market to them?
Start capitalizing
To become a freelancer, you need to give yourself time to get started.
It's important to have months of available cash in front of you to get through the slow times and the arrival of the first contracts.
Start reading the best practices
Explore the web for information, feedback and useful training on :
- Starting a business
- Finding and working with clients
- Personal development (organization, efficiency and production).
Participate and ask questions on forums
Find and participate in forums to get help and find specific answers to your questions such as:
A good opportunity to learn and exchange with other freelancers.
Becoming a freelancer
You are now ready to take the plunge and join the big family of freelancers. Here are a few tips to help you succeed.
Adapt your context
If you work from home, you must create a context that is favorable to the smooth running of your business.
It is therefore important to clearly define the space and time allocated to work and personal life.
- Preferably work in a room that is separate from the life of the house.
- Inform the people around you of your unavailability times
- Explain your rules of operation to the inhabitants of the house
Treat yourself to a nice office
Don't do things by halves on your desk. Find an office that inspires you and create a world that makes you feel good every day, 8 hours a day.
Mandatory
Remember to work in a bright room!
Getting organized as a freelancer
Find customers
- Have a starter kit: business cards, website, profile on social networks...
- Professional social networks (Linkedin, Viadeo, Twitter)
- The telephone!
- The events
- The web apéros
- Partner networks
- The recommendation
The customer relationship
Also think about organizing your work with the client.
Try to standardize as many things as possible to avoid spending too much time on document construction.
Our advice
Create a method for creating a customer account, writing a proposal, etc. Leave as little room as possible for improvisation.
To save time with your clients:
- Be clear in your requests, questions, and definitions of need
- Do not accept an assignment if you do not feel the client or your skills
- Standardize the exchanges as much as possible
- Ask for a recommendation at the end of the mission
Best practices
We regularly share tips and best practices to help you become a better freelancer.
But, if we had to give you one last piece of advice, it would be to never stop learning. Be curious and take the time to learn more about your skills and personal development.
The advantages and disadvantages
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the freelance life?
Pros:
If you don't build your own dream, someone will hire you to build theirs.
The first advantage that you will hear from most freelancers is the freedom and autonomy. It is indeed easier to take an afternoon when you need it, it is possible.
Then, there is obviously an advantage related to the salary! As a freelancer, you are free to determine your salary and will probably earn much more than if you were an employee, provided of course that you want to.
If we stay on the subject of salary, charges, etc., you actually earn by saving your expenses related to commuting, gas, tolls. But also by saving your rental charges thanks to the office you will have set up at home, as long as you do not rent a co-working space, of course.
There is no such thing as a routine among freelancers. You'll learn more and more every day and expand your knowledge base. What better feeling than having your life in your hands and being able to prove to everyone that you can manage it on your own, without a boss?
Finally, what could be better than being able to enjoy the calm of your personal office, without colleagues, open spaces or long meetings...
Disadvantages:
The first disadvantage and one that seems relatively obvious, is the isolation and loneliness of working as a freelancer, in case you don't work in a co-working space. It can indeed seem difficult or even impossible to do without a certain social link that you find in a company.
A second disadvantage, and not the least, is linked to the management of aspects far from your competences, namely the administrative management (invoices, reminders, accounting, etc.). This can indeed seem difficult to manage, despite the intervention and help of your accountant (on whom you should not hesitate to rely).
Distinguishing your professional life from your personal life is complicated, whether you are a freelancer or an employee. However, as a freelancer, you will sometimes have to leave your home to have some peace and quiet, or to fight not to be disturbed all day...
Finally, the notion of freedom can be difficult to manage for many: you have to know how to adopt a "work" rhythm and stick to it, otherwise you will have spent a completely unproductive day. You also have to take into account the complexity of setting up a professional structure by yourself, not to mention the RSI and the level of charges in France.
Reconciliations:
But freelancing does not mean working alone in your corner! It can indeed happen on some projects, but there are also projects where you can work with several people, projects where you have to work with the client's team, etc.
Then, the fear of not knowing how to do a task, of reaching the end of your freelance skills or simply of not finding a solution by yourself on the spot... Wouldn't it be too easy if you knew how to do everything and easily answer all your clients' questions? Or even to never be confronted with doing something you have never done before?
Finally, administration is indeed a part you can't do without as a freelancer and it seems very complex. Turn your quarterly VAT into half-yearly VAT! Today, the administration does all the calculations for you and your accountant is there to take care of it all, take advantage of it and rely on his knowledge. The freelancer has less administrative work to do than the entrepreneur of a structure of 10 employees or more.
In closing
I hope this guide will give you the right resources to help you get started and become a happy freelancer.
Feel free to ask your questions and share your feedback in the comments of this article.
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