Becoming a freelance writer is a dream for many people. But when you step out of the office on your last day working for someone else, the challenge facing you can seem incredibly daunting. Sure, you know how to write well, but there’s more to being a freelancer than skills.
Knowing where your next “paycheck” is coming from and understanding that your income will fluctuate is essential. This means that you need to plan your personal and business expenses. While you could go for a financial MBA degree, let’s look at a few freelance income basics first.
Manage a Fluctuating Income
As a freelancer, you will have a fluctuating income and will need to know how to manage your money properly.
You can start by creating a budget that covers the essentials like rent or mortgage payments, bills and food. From here, add some discretionary costs like dining out, going for drinks with friends, buying clothes and other miscellaneous expenses and activities. This tells you how much you need each month.
The best advice, though, is to save any money you earn beyond these expenses and build your emergency fund. Also, try to stay ahead by saving money every month.
Diversify Your Offering
While writing may be your main talent, as a freelancer, you have a great position to diversify your offerings. In addition to writing content, you could also teach others through local workshops or even sell an online course. Similarly, you could expand into other areas such as social media, general marketing and PR services.
As a freelancer, you’re unlikely to work full time all the time which leaves you the chance to spend time developing other creative business ideas. Having a fun side hustle is a nice way to earn a little more disposable income doing something you enjoy.
Be Confident in Your Pricing
Pricing services is a challenge all freelancers have. Although it’s difficult to know how much your services are, you shouldn’t let a lack of confidence bring your rates down. Knowing how to increase your income is essential when you are your own boss and understanding the value of what you offer is just the beginning.
As you gain experience and work for more prestigious clients and projects, you have every right to increase your prices. While you should try to remain competitive, you should charge for all services you’re providing in a single project. Otherwise, you are leaving money on the table.
Managing your income as a freelancer is always going to require discipline and creativity. Over time, you’ll get used to balancing your costs; and as you establish yourself in the market, things will get much easier.
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