Life Before Freelancing

When I first quit my job as a full-time Product Specialist at one of the World’s leading XML software companies, all my friends and family thought I was insane. I was making a lot more money than most people and I didn’t work any harder than them. In fact, in my second year of employment, I was making more than either of my parents who had both worked their entire lives in cushy government jobs. So why did I quit? Someone told me about freelancing my talents on online job "marketplaces".

Steps to Making a Real Living with Freelance Work

1. Create a business plan.
2. Market yourself like a real business.
3. Expect promotional expenses.
4. Work specific hours and turn off all distractions.
5. Complete all projects to the best of your ability within a reasonable time frame.

Online Tools to Promote Your Freelance Career

Use freelance services that are specific to your profession such as PostBidWin.com for creative/graphic design jobs or InteractiveVoices.com for voice actors. Stay away from the big freelancing sites like elance and guru. You will only get lost in a sea of freelance workers where the ratio of jobs to designers is downright depressing.

Some of the newer services are offering marketing solutions for your profile or portfolio to drive traffic to your personal website. Take advantage of these services before their true value is discovered and the prices sky-rocket.

Putting It All Together

These tips, along with a solid Portfolio of your sample work will build a strong foundation for your freelance career to flourish. I’ve gone from working 8 hours a day plus a 1 hour commute to less than 4 hours a day. And now I make almost twice what I did when I worked full-time. Try It.

About the Author

John Sutherland is a freelance creative artist with a background in graphic design, web design, programming, software design, painting and voice acting. He also moonlights as a bass player in a popular rock’n'roll band.