Full-Time to Freelance: How to Make the Leap and Prepare for Success
If you clicked on this post, chances are you’ve been kicking around the idea of going the freelance or consultant route for a while. More than kicking it around actually. It’s probably kept you up nights and been a topic of discussion with friends, family, and choice tight-lipped colleagues. Typically people who find this post didn’t wake up one day and decide to quit their full-time job on a whim. You’re a planner. You’re a researcher. You like to be informed before you make decisions. You may have even tried to talk yourself out of this transition for months, or if you’re like me, YEARS. I remember being a fresh college grad, wide-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to climb the corporate ladder, mainly because I didn’t know of any other way. The tried and true path of “go to school, get a good job” was a part of my psyche ingrained by parents and the media. These external dreams of well-dressed ladies with smart angled bobs and fitted blazers fused with my own, and I found myself seeking out one job to stay with for years, where I would slowly work my way up to a sweet title and comfortable salary.
Things sooo did not pan out this way.
Instead, I experienced many years of bouncing around from job to job, sure that the next one would be the one that would stick. It took me almost 15 years before I finally figured out that it wasn’t the job title or tasks that left me unfulfilled. It was that I wanted - no correction, NEEDED - to be my own boss. I craved freedom over my day; the ability to say when, where, and to whom my energy went to. It was actually the simplest thing that I really wanted most: to work and rest when I wanted to.
To be able to listen to my body, my own inner voice, and know that deep down I knew what was best for myself and how to organize my day.
For years, I over complicated things, telling myself I was “lost” or criticizing my career because I “didn’t have a skill.” I took countless career tests to find out the “color of my parachute.” When really, I knew what I wanted to do. I had accumulated a lot of skills and was actually quite passionate about my work. I just needed to give myself permission to truly work in the way I wanted to.
If you’ve ever felt “not quite there” in your career - like you are satisfied - but there’s something missing, continue reading this post and the ones that follow where I’ll outline how to make the move from full-time to freelance.
You may be successful in society’s, your friend’s, and family’s eyes but deep down you feel that something is off. My hope is that the resources I’ll be sharing allow you to question yourself without judgement and entertain a possibility that you may not have thought of:
The possibility of doing your job, but as a consultant.
The second, meatier goal of the Full-time to Freelance series is to give you five practical steps to make that move. Deciding to consult is all fine and well, but what does that actually mean? What does my day look like as a consultant? What do my finances look like? These are the questions we’ll address here, as well as somethings you may not have thought of.
As of today, it’s been over three years since I made the official leap. It’s also my pleasure to share my experience with you, in hopes that you’ll find the satisfaction, balance, and success you’ve been looking for! You will need to make adjustments of course according to your personal work style and career, but the points I’ll touch on provide a framework to set you up for freelance/consultant success. Within this, you can (and should!) tailor as needed.
Remember, you are making this move as a way to better listen to who? YOU. The final vote (and only one that matters) in all your decisions.
So as you go through this book, feel free to take what you want, tweak what you read, and leave behind what doesn’t serve you.
I can’t promise this transition will be easy, but this guide will make it easier. You won’t have everything in place (surprise, we never do), but you’ll have more things lined up. It’ll always be scary to make a change, but with a plan, it’ll be less scary. The only thing I can say for sure is that despite all the uncertainty and instability, I’ve never once regretted or looked back on this decision. Taking complete ownership of my time and work by consulting has been one of the best professional moves I’ve ever made. Wherever I end up, I’ll always be 100% glad I made this choice. And that’s what I can promise you too.