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March 19, 2010If you want to become a freelance consultant, but are currently working full-time you are actually in a good position because you can do the detailed preparation work needed to make it a success. If you can plan to spend the next six months working full-time and also developing your network ready to freelance you could have a great start to your career. Here are some of the things I recommend you do:
1. Start building up a spreadsheet of all your contacts in the industry
This is the most important thing you can do. I recommend a spreadsheet rather than a database or Outlook etc because it is very easy to setup and use. You can do this in Google Docs, or in an Excel spreadsheet etc. There are other tools available but, as a freelance consultant I think that Excel should be fine for now.
Remember to include columns for name, position, telephone number and e-mail address, website address and some space for comments and status.
Now, put in all of your contacts -people you have worked with in the past, people you currently work with, people you meet at networking events and all the other relevant contacts you can think of. You want to spend the next six months building up this spreadsheet by reaching out to new people, doing all of the research which I recommend in this blog. Ideally, you want 100 to 200 new contacts, maybe you will not call them or e-mail them before you finish your current work but they will be there ready to go.
2. Build Up Your LinkedIn Network
Related to point one, you will also need to do the same for your linked in network. Ideally you want 200 or 300 direct connections, the more the better especially in your industry and in consulting in general. You can contact all the people on your Excel spreadsheet and also the new contacts you are making.
3. Network Like Crazy
You will want to use these six months to go to as many industry events, general networking events, seminars, conferences and exhibitions as you can. Work out what you can do for the people you meet, you could recommend them for things or find ways to help them. That is the essence of successful networking-what you can do for others not what they can do for you.
As stated in the point one, you can also spend a lot of time using the Google, linked in, direct marketing databases and all the other tools to find new contacts to put into your Excel spreadsheet. Ideally almost all your free time will be on building up your spreadsheet so that when you are ready to go freelance you can just send out hundreds of e-mails.
4. Save 3 Months Salary Minimum
You also want to be saving now so that you have at least three months salary available for you when you start freelancing. This will cushion any problems you might have from periods out of work or when you are looking for new business. The best way to do this is to talk to your office or HR manager and arrange for automatic 10% of your salary to go into a savings account. Perhaps more if you can afford it.
5. Research Actually Becoming A Freelancer
I have put this as number five and not number one because the key to being a freelancer is to actually get work not worry about what kind of company you will have or the more administrative matters. They are of course still important but should not get in the way of you building a huge network of potential clients and also people with whom you have worked in the past and who you know.
One of the best ways is to download the free guide available to nonmembers of the professional contractors group PCG. It is a guide to becoming a freelancer: http://www.pcg.org.uk/cms/index.php?option=com_pcg_download_request
Also, look at other books and websites related to becoming a freelancer. This can help you with some of your planning in terms of lifestyle business operation changes.
These are just some of the things you can do in order to help yourself prepare to become a freelancer. I actually forgot one of the most important things you can do which is to speak with as many freelancers as you can. Especially in the area you want to go into. You can ask them about how the going to it, what life is like including utilisation and day rates, how they find their clients and more.
Find them on LinkedIn, ask people in your network if they know any freelancers or do some Google searching to find relevant freelancer associations etc. You can also join freelancing forums and websites where you can post questions and review answers from other experienced people.
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