With over 54 million Americans opting to forego traditional careers and start a freelance business that gives them more flexibility to create a lifestyle they love, we’re seeing an unprecedented shift in the way companies function around the world. Hiring freelancers is becoming not only more acceptable, but more attractive for many businesses. This creates an incredible opportunity for people with useful skills to start a freelance business on the side, and eventually grow that into a sustainable self-employed career. That’s exactly what I’ve done with my content marketing consultant business. 10 Steps to Start a Freelance Business While Working Full-Time CLICK TO TWEET Fewer taxes, lower employee-related expenses, no healthcare, less office space, the list goes on. These are but a handful of the reasons many companies are seeking freelancer writers, designers, marketers, and developers to help grow their businesses. A recent study by the University of Phoenix, polling 1,600 adults under the age of 30, found that 63% of people in their 20’s either own their own business or want to in the near future. Of those who are not already entrepreneurs, 55% identified as wanting to be, one day. How to write a winning freelance proposal. So, how do those of us, regardless of age, who want to be gainfully self-employed go about getting started with our careers as entrepreneurs? Well, choosing to start a freelance business is one of the most feasible, realistic, and attainable side businesses you can start while keeping your day job. We all have bills that need to be paid and expenses that don’t just magically go away overnight once we decide to chase our dreams. Choosing to become an entrepreneur comes with great responsibility. I recommend reading this post all the way through from top to bottom, but if you prefer to jump around, here’s a hyperlinked table of contents that’ll take you straight to each stage of how to start freelancing. 10 Steps to Starting a Freelance Business While Working Full-Time 1. Define Your Goals 2. Find a Profitable Niche 3. Identify Your Target Clients 4. Set Strategic Prices for Your Services 5. Build a High-Quality Portfolio Website 6. Create Examples of What You Can Deliver (on Your Portfolio Site) 7. Thoughtfully Choose Your First Clients 8. Mention Potential Clients in Your Content 9. Learn How to Pitch Yourself 10. Don’t Mix Your Day Job Priorities with Freelance Business Now, let’s dive into my guide to learning how to start freelancing. But First… Why I Started a Freelance Business While Keeping My Day Job I grew my freelance business to over six figures in revenue on the side before quitting my job in 2016. I live in San Francisco, which happens to have one of the highest average rent costs in the US. For me, immediately quitting my day job to pursue my passions is not feasible. That’s why I chose to get serious about starting my freelance business on the side and building my brand as a content marketer, while I still had my day job to pay the bills. Since my eventual goal was to work full-time creating more in-depth content and courses for my online community, if I can first transition over to a lifestyle of running a profitable freelance business, that could afford me the flexibility to spend more time working on creating courses and investing the time I’d need to fully validate that idea in the short term. In this sense, I view starting a freelancing business (in my case as a freelance writer) as a necessary in-between step in my progression toward getting back to gainful self-employment, on my terms this time around. This strategic progression is backed up by the journeys many top entrepreneurs have gone on—check them out and learn more through my picks for the best business books and top online business courses for entrepreneurs. Unlocking more of my time, which I wholeheartedly believe to be my most precious resource, means I’ll be able to get my passive income business off the ground much quicker than just squeezing in time around my day job. During the average month while freelancing on the side of my day job, I earn about $9,000/mo in dependable extra income, which also goes a long way toward funding my website & course creation.
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