Start Freelancing While You Have a 9-5 Job

Let’s say you’re a writer or designer in a creative agency or in-house at a corporation.

Now is the time to get a few freelance clients on the side.

That means you’ll be working evenings and weekends. Yes, I know it’s easier to go out for drinks after a day of work.

But while you have a job and a secure income, start building your own business. Whether you want to become a solo freelancer or make something bigger, it’s easier while you’re still getting paid.

Benefits of Having Freelance Clients

The obvious benefit is the extra money.

But the real benefit is that you’ll learn all the other aspects of the business:

• Taking client briefs
• Creating estimates and invoices
• Developing relationships with clients
• Setting your Terms and Conditions (I wrote about Terms and Conditions for freelancers here)

Take Advantage of Your 9-5 Before Freelancing

While you’re working, you should be looking at how the company runs and manages processes. You’ll likely be able to use this for your freelance business.

I asked some freelancers about the benefits of working a 9-5 before freelancing. Have a look.

Ethics and Freelancing While Employed

Two things to keep in mind:

First, it’s quite common for employees to freelance on the side. As long as your day job comes first, there should be no issues with working freelance. (But just to be sure, if you signed an employment contract, see whether it mentions anything about freelance work.)

Secondly, you should not work for a client that is a competitor to any clients your current employer has.

For example, if your employer has a soft drink client, whether or not you work on that account, you can’t freelance for another soft drink company. It’s clearly unethical, a potential conflict of interest that could cost you your job. Although the offer may be tempting, there’s only one answer: “No”.

Where do You Get Freelance Clients?

There are many ways to get started with freelance clients:

• If you know other freelancers you could team up with, contact them. Common teams include writers and designers, videographers and editors.
• If you know anyone working at a large company with an internal communications department, ask whether they use freelance talent.
• People may come to you and ask for your specific services. These are likely friends or friends of friends who have businesses that need your services.
• If you’re in your second or third job, contact friends from previous jobs. Let them know that you’re looking for freelance work.
• One of your clients may have left their position (Started their own company, gone to a smaller company) and may contact you about providing services. That’s why you want to establish relationships and keep up with them.
• Once you get your first freelance client, and assuming you were both happy working together, ask whether they know anyone else who might use your services.
• Get active on social media. Twitter and LinkedIn are especially good for people looking for freelance help.
• Look for clients on websites such as Upwork or Fiverr, where projects are posted, looking for bids. This would be my least favorite recommendation, but I know some people have made it work. Often it boils down to how cheaply can you do this? Generally, you don’t want to compete at that level. I wrote about how to be successful on UpWork here.

Starting a freelance business can take time. That’s why you want to start when you still have a full-time job with a dependable income.

There’s lots more about freelancing in my book, How to Start a Successful Creative Agency. It’s the essential business guide for graphic designers, copywriters, filmmakers, photographers, and programmers.

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Over 300 pages and 23 chapters, available at Amazon (Paper & Kindle), Kobo (ebook), Apple Books (ebook), and?Gumroad (PDF).

The book is packed with useful information to help creatives start and grow their business.

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