Be Your Own Boss - An Introduction to freelancing

BE YOUR OWN BOSS. an introduction to freelancing

www.freelance.org.au

THANKS TO GA FOR HOSTING! #BYOBJune16 @freelanceORGau @MelbourneGA

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* What we’ll cover today 02

•  What is freelancing?

•  Why freelance?

•  What should you freelance in?

•  Star5ng smart

•  Finding clients?

•  Your freelance strategy

Important note:

THIS CLASS IS DESIGNED FOR BEGINNERS

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and it’s the second time we’ve run it! J

* Practice Principles 04

•  Par5cipate in ac5vi5es -‐ they are designed to help you understand the content

•  Give the workshop your a@en5on for the one hour it takes place •  Ask ques5ons if you have them -‐ it’s be@er to ask and be sure

than to keep quiet and not understand or be able to use a point.

* Objectives 05

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 Rambert

Founder, Freelance Australia Author, White Collar Pajamas (Spring 2016)

Freelance marketer, digital strategist and copywriter for fast growing tech startups. Past

clients include Twi@er, ANZ, Amnesty Interna5onal and RMIT University.

Antonia is one of those freelancers that has trouble describing what she does – her porOolio of ac5vi5es includes policy development, consultancy, project

management, lecturing and social media management.

INSTRUCTORS A little bit about us

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Antonia Mochan

Co-Founder, Freelance Australia Innovation Projects Lead - CWL

* About Freelance Australia 07

•  Membership based not-‐for-‐profit organisa9on founded in 2015 •  Dedicated to achieving one thing:

To create happier, be@er and more successful freelancers. •  Membership is free and members get access to:

•  Jobs from recruiters before it hits the market •  Invita5ons to freelancer-‐only networking & social events •  Access to professional development workshops •  One-‐on-‐one mentoring •  SoZware perks and discounts … and much more!

PLEASE FILL OUT THE WORKBOOK AS YOU GO

http://bit.ly/BYOBJune16

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

* What do we mean by ‘freelancing’? Characteris9cs 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 shiZing •  Businesses prefer to hire freelancers

•  PorOolio 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 ‘crea5ve worker’)

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

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• Work remotely •  Do more purposeful work •  Gain professional experience •  More capacity to work on other hobbies and passions •  Go back to study •  Control your professional des5ny •  Take professional development into your own hands •  Create a start-‐up •  Start or spend more 5me with the family •  Spend more 5me 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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*questiontime What type of freelancer are you currently or aspire to be in the near future?

*questiontime Why do YOU currently freelance or want to freelance?

* What should you freelance in? 17

Demand

Market opportunity

What the market wants

Obvious, yet consistently ignored.

Skills What you’re good at

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

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•  Leverage your own domain exper5se •  Research industry reports, blogs, ar5cles 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 poten5al clients

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

* What should you freelance in? 19

Art What excites you

Skills What you’re good at

Your best and most lucra5ve work

Demand What the market wants

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* Starting Smart Know the journey ahead

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* Starting Smart Know the journey ahead

* Starting Smart Build 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 transi5on into a freelance career.

•  A buffer should cover: –  Your mortgage or rent –  Your monthly expenses (bills) –  Incorpora5on costs –  An addi5onal 10-‐20% on top of these costs

–  Tax liabili5es

•  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 posi5ve.

* Starting Smart Map 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-‐5me employee, you can moonlight on the side un5l you have found two or three well paying clients, and only then transi5on away from full-‐5me employment.

•  The other alterna5ve is to start working part-‐5me and freelance part-‐5me un5l the freelancing earns enough to support you full-‐5me.

•  Whichever the pathway, ensure that you know what is realis5cally and specifically manageable to your situa5on.

* Starting Smart Pathway examples

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* Starting Smart Build support networks early and join communi9es to make the transi9on easier

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•  Social & emo5onal support

•  Financial support (if possible)

•  Educa5onal support (eg: up-‐skilling)

•  Business support (eg: mentoring, marke5ng advice)

Better, happier, more successful freelancers.

* Finding Clients Common sources of finding freelance work.

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•  Exis5ng personal networks •  Industry recruiters •  Networking events •  Content marke5ng •  Freelance Marketplaces •  Referrals

•  Job boards •  Social networks •  Volunteering •  Prospec5ng / Outbound •  Adver5sing

* Finding Clients Common sources of finding freelance work.

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•  Exis5ng personal networks •  Industry recruiters •  Networking events •  Content marke5ng •  Freelance Marketplaces •  Referrals

•  Job boards •  Social networks •  Volunteering •  Prospec5ng / Outbound •  Adver5sing

Essen5ally, your best performing channels (oZen the ones highlighted) are a result of more efficient forms of client transparency, established trust and verifiable credibility.

* Freelance Marketplaces X

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

Niche or Local marketplaces •  Gigster www.gigster.com (Web / Applica5on developers) •  Toptal www.toptal.com (Web developers / programmers) •  Cloudpeeps www.cloudpeeps.com (Marke5ng professionals) •  Expert360 www.expert360.com (Local gigs) •  Sidekicker www.sidekicker.com.au (Local gigs) •  Fiverr.com www.fiverr.com

* Portfolios 28

As a freelancer, your 9me and tes9monials are the currencies you play with. A collec5on of tes5monials with associated samples of work make up your por`olio. Your capacity to earn and find future work depends on the quality of your porOolio.

* Where to display a portfolio 29

•  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 (ar5sts/designers)

•  Print (where relevant)

*questiontime Fill out the rest of your workbook!

* Your Freelance Strategy Answer these ques9ons:

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•  What transi5on pathway should you take?

•  Which people or communi5es can you turn to guide and support your freelance career

transi5on? (financial, emo5onal, prac5cal)

•  Where are you now and what type of freelancer do you want to be in twelve months 5me? –  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?


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•  What skills or areas of exper5se do you have that are either currently in demand or

you can test the demand for?

•  Which of these skills or areas of exper5se which most excites you?

•  What opportuni5es 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?


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

porOolio?

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

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

are freelance opportuni5es available?

QUESTIONS? feel to use this time to complete your workbook

AS A THANKYOU FOR PARTICIPATING: 2 MONTHS FREE ACCESS TO ROUNDED (RRP $40)! for today’s workshop participants who complete the workbook and accompanying survey.

5 RANDOMLY DRAWN PARTICIPANTS OF TODAY’S WORKSHOP* WILL RECEIVE: A FULL YEAR’S SUBSCRIPTION TO ROUNDED (RRP $240)!

* workshop participants who complete the workbook and accompanying survey.

Thanks for coming! Be Your Own Boss: An Introduction to freelancing Twitter: @freelanceORGau Facebook: freelanceAU Instagram: freelanceau

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Better, happier, more successful freelancers.

Find us at www.freelance.org.au

Small Business & Entrepreneurship

Be Your Own Boss - An Introduction to freelancing