Do Freelancers Need a Business Plan?

by Stephanie Foster

Published on this site: October 3rd, 2006 - See more articles from this month

So you've decided to be a freelancer. Now all you need to do is go out there and get some clients, right?

That depends. How serious are you about this freelance thing? Does your success matter to you?

A solid business plan is part of being a serious business owner. This isn't something you need to slave over for months before you get started. It is a way for you to create direction for yourself.

Start out with an objective. Think about what you want to accomplish as a freelancer.

• What kind of work to do you want to do?
  
• Do you want to work full time or part time?
  
• Are you supplementing your income from another job or do you dream of using this as your sole income?

Now you need to think about how many hours you are willing to commit toward achieving your objective. Be realistic about the amount of time you can commit. If you are planning on working around something else in your life, be it another job or caring for your family, you need to know how much time you can spend without overdoing it. Nothing causes burnout faster than working too hard.

You may want to have a calendar, whether you prefer a day planner style or a large wall calendar, and write down the times you plan on working on your freelance career.

Decide on a time frame for your goals. Maybe you want to give yourself a year to get established as a freelancer, or maybe you think a few months is all you need. You need to decide on definite points to review your progress toward your goals. This can be a frustrating or an exhilarating experience, but it is very helpful to see where you are going.

What kind of freelancer do you want to be? There are so many options out there. Technical writing, copywriting, reporter, artist... there are all kinds of ways you can be a freelancer. Some will appeal more to you than others. Decide on how firm you are about your specialty too. You may decide to accept the occasional assignment outside your specialty.

Now the fun goal - how much do you want to earn?

This one takes a bit of research. You need to take a look at what hourly rate is realistic for the kind of freelancing you want to do.

When calculating what you will be earning, remember that you must break down the hours per week that you are willing to work into two parts - billable hours and time spent finding work and other details of running your business. Early on you will spend more of your time looking for work than actually working. Assuming a 50-50 split between the two is a reasonable way to calculate your early goals. Later on you can adjust them to reflect the amount of time you typically spend on each part.

Now that you have some ideas on what you want from your business, it's time to start reaching for your goals.

Stephanie Foster - started http://www.find-freelance.com/ to help those who want to freelance get started. You can learn more about freelance writing and other topics at http://www.find-freelance.com/writing/