BE YOUR OWN BOSS.an introduction to freelancing

www.freelance.org.au

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FIRST UP:A special announcement from our friends at GA

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* What we’ll cover today

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• What is freelancing?

• Why freelance?

• What should you freelance in?

• Starting smart

• Finding clients?

• Your freelance strategy

Important note:

THIS CLASS IS DESIGNEDFOR BEGINNERS

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and it’s the first time we’ve run it!

* Practice Principles04

• Participate in activities - they are designed to help you understand the content

• Give the workshop your attention for the one hour it takes place

• Ask questions if you have them - it’s better to ask and be sure than to keep quiet and not understand or be able to use a point.

* Objectives05

Head• You will leave with some understanding of the pros and cons of

freelancing

Heart• You will feel empowered to make a choice as to whether you wish to

pursue a freelance career.

Hands• You will leave the session with tools for building your own freelancing

strategy as well as a clear sense of your freelancing purpose.

Cameron RambertFounder, Freelance Australia

Author, White Collar Pajamas (April 2016)

Freelance marketer, digital strategist and copywriter for fast growing tech startups. Past clients include Twitter, Gigster, ANZ, Amnesty

International and RMIT University.

Antonia is one of those freelancers that has trouble describing what she does – her portfolio of activities

includes policy development, consultancy, project management, lecturing and social media

management.

INSTRUCTORS

A little bit about us

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Antonia MochanCo-Founder, Freelance

AustraliaInnovation Projects Lead -

CWL

* About Freelance Australia

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• Membership based not-for-profit organisation founded in 2014• Dedicated to achieving one thing:

To create happier, better and more successful freelancers.• Members get access to:

• Jobs from recruiters before it hits the market• Invitations to freelancer-only networking & social events• Discounted/Free tickets to professional development workshops• One on one mentoring• Software perks and discounts … and much more!

PLEASE FILL OUT THE WORKBOOK AS YOU GO

http://bit.ly/freelanceWB

*questiontimeWhy are you here today? Please fill out the first section.

* What do we mean by ‘freelancing’?Characteristics of ‘freelancing’

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• Self-employed

• Service driven business

• Solopreneur (ie; a one person show)

* What do we mean by ‘freelancing’?Types of freelancers

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• Professionals

• Moonlighters

• Diversified workers

• Contractors

• Micro-firms

* Why freelance?Freelancing & the Future of Work

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• The economy needs more freelancers

• Societal values towards ‘work’ are shifting

• Businesses prefer to hire freelancers

• Portfolio careers will become the new normal.

• Technology is bridging the flexible working gap.

• The skills a freelancer learns are synonymous with those needed in the

future of work (‘knowledge worker’ vs ‘creative worker’)

* Why freelance?Below are just some of the most common reasons for freelancing

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• Work remotely• Do more purposeful work• More capacity to work on other hobbies and passions• Go back to study• Control your professional destiny• Take professional development into your own hands• Create a start-up• Start or spend more time with the family• Spend more time with family or kids

* Freelancing essentially comes down to one fundamental thing…..

PROFESSIONAL INDEPENDENCE“Which is the ability to influence when you work, where you work, how you work, what you work on and with whom you work with.

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*questiontimeWhat type of freelancer are you currently or aspire to be in the near future?

*questiontimeWhy do YOU currently freelance or want to freelance?

* What should you freelance in?

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Demand

Market opportunity

What the market wants

Obvious, yet consistently ignored.

SkillsWhat you’re good at

* What should you freelance in?How do you know what the market needs?

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• Research industry reports, blogs, articles etc• Talk to somebody in the industry.• Consult a recruiter• Go to ‘Future of X’ events• Put it to the test it. Pitch your services to potential clients

and see if people actually need what you’re offering (freelance marketplaces are great for this)

* What should you freelance in?

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ArtWhat excites you

SkillsWhat you’re good at

Your best and most lucrative work

DemandWhat the market wants

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* Starting SmartKnow the journey ahead

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* Starting SmartKnow the journey ahead

* Starting SmartBuild a buffer

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• Depending on your tolerance for risk, it helps to create a financial buffer of anywhere between 3-6 months before you transition into a freelance career.

• A buffer should cover:– Your mortgage or rent– Your monthly expenses (bills)– Incorporation costs– An additional 10-20% on top of these costs– Tax liabilities

• If you can’t produce a buffer before you get started (eg; if you were fired from your last job or on welfare payments), then your goal should be to build one up once you are cash-flow positive.

* Starting SmartMap a pathway

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• Pathways are your roadmap from where you are now to where you want to go as a freelancer.

• Eg: As a Full-time employee, you can moonlight on the side until you have found two or three well paying clients, and only then transition away from full-time employment.

• The other alternative is to start working part-time and freelance part-time until the freelancing earns enough to support you full-time.

• Whichever the pathway, ensure that you know what is realistically and specifically manageable to your situation.

* Starting SmartPathway examples

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* Starting SmartBuild support networks early and join communities to make the transition easier

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• Social & emotional support

• Financial support (if possible)

• Educational support (eg: up-skilling)

• Business support (eg: mentoring, marketing advice)

Better, happier, moresuccessful freelancers.

* Finding ClientsCommon sources of finding freelance work.

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• Existing personal networks• Industry recruiters• Networking events• Content marketing• Freelance Marketplaces• Referrals

• Job boards• Social networks• Volunteering• Prospecting / Outbound• Advertising

* Finding ClientsCommon sources of finding freelance work.

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• Existing personal networks• Industry recruiters• Networking events• Content marketing• Freelance Marketplaces• Referrals

• Job boards• Social networks• Volunteering• Prospecting / Outbound• Advertising

Essentially, your best performing channels (often the ones highlighted) are a result ofbetter client transparency, established trust and verifiable credibility.

* Freelance Marketplaces

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Global marketplaces• Freelancer www.freelancer.com• Elance www.elance.com• Upwork www.upwork.com• People Per Hour www.peopleperhour.com

Niche or Local marketplaces• Cloudpeeps www.cloudpeeps.com (Marketing professionals)• Gigster www.gigster.com (Web / Application developers)• Toptal www.toptal.com (Web developers / programmers)• Expert360 www.expert360.com (Local gigs)• Sidekicker www.sidekicker.com.au (Local gigs)• Fiverr.com www.fiverr.com

* Portfolios28

As a freelancer, your time and testimonials are the currencies you play with.

A collection of testimonials with associated samples of work make up your portfolio.

Your capacity to earn and find future work depends on the quality of your portfolio.

* Where to display a portfolio

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• Social networks (Linkedin is a key one)

• Personal website• about.me• Squarespace

• Community/Industry credible websites• GitHub (developers)• Content.ly (content producers)• Behance / Dribble (designers)• DeviantArt (artists/designers)

• Print (where relevant)

* Your Freelance StrategyAnswer these questions:

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• What transition pathway should you take?

• Which people or communities can you turn to guide and support your freelance career

transition? (financial, emotional, practical)

• Where are you now and what type of freelancer do you want to be in twelve months time?– Professional, Moonlighter, Contractor, Micro-firm, Diversified etc

• What are your top three reasons to freelance? Write them down.

• How big of a cash-flow buffer do you think you will need to get started? One month? Six

months?

* Your Freelance StrategyAnswer these questions:

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• What skills or areas of expertise do you have that are either currently in demand or

you can test the demand for?

• Which of these skills or areas of expertise which most excites you?

• What opportunities exist to build on these skills (ie; what new skills can you learn

or new industries you can move into to guide you to becoming more valuable to

the marketplace?

* Your Freelance StrategyAnswer these questions:

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• What are your best three examples of work you could use to start building out your

portfolio?

• What three places can you set up or promote your portfolio?

• What three new freelance job sources could you start reaching out to TODAY to see if there

are freelance opportunities available?

*questiontimeFill out the rest of your workbook!

QUESTIONS?feel to use this time to complete your workbook

SPECIAL OFFERfor today’s workshop participants

* Offer to new members:VISIT: http://freelance.org.au/membership

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New members receive*:

• Free VIP ticket to National Freelance Day 2016 (RRP $197)

• Free Copy of Cam's forthcoming book "White Collar

Pajamas” (April Release, RRP $27)

• An extended one-on-one with either Antonia or Cam

OFFER VALID UNTIL THURSDAY 17th March

*applies to annual memberships only

Thanks for coming!Be Your Own Boss: An Introduction to freelancingTwitter: @freelanceORGauFacebook: freelanceAUInstagram: freelanceau

Better, happier, moresuccessful freelancers.

Find us at www.freelance.org.au