Freelancing 101

I read a blog post somewhere in the blogosphere recently, posing the question of what qualified someone to tell others how to write or how to develop their freelancing career.

My answer to that query would be having both experience and success! And since I have both (15 years of paid writing; freelance income that equals or exceeds my full-time salary during weeks when I have the capacity to take on 20 or more hours of contract work), I thought I'd start to offer my 2 cents in an ongoing series.

Welcome to Freelancing 101.

So...you want to be a writer.

Maybe you think you're good at writing.

Maybe you believe all of those web sites that claim that ANYONE who can scratch their own a$$ can write for the internet.

Think again.

Seriously. Freelancing 101 isn't meant to discourage you, but the simple fact is that to be truly successful as a freelancer - whether writing, editing, or performing other creative services - you have to have some degree of talent.

Sure, you can crank out web content at a penny a word and if you write "prolifically," you'll have enough cash to pay your rent.

But do you really want to do that day in and day out?

Nope, didn't think so.

So with that in mind, here is your first lesson:

Get 5 blank sheets of 8.5 x 11 paper.

1. On sheet number 1, brainstorm your talents.
   
2. On sheet number 2, brainstorm everything that you think might hinder your budding freelancing business.
   
3. On sheet number 3, brainstorm the areas that you need to learn more about before you get started or as you're striving to learn more.
   
4. On sheet number 4, brainstorm the time you have available to freelance and what you can do to properly schedule yourself.
   
5. And on sheet number 5, brainstorm the money you hope to make on a weekly basis.

When you've got all of that done, come back for Freelancing 102, when we'll put those 5 sheets together to create your business plan!

READER RESPONSE TIME:
If you are already a freelancer, what steps did you initially take to get started?