Freelancing Series: It’s All About Knowing The Timing

Last week I mentioned that things were a little intense over here. People, my money is funny-I’m not laughing but I DID expect this possibility and I thought this would be helpful for other people who have a slightly messier approach to beginning their freelance life.

There are a number of people who landed into freelancing because of one of the following reasons: they were laid off, got fed up and quit, weren’t making a lot at their other job and thought why not? Or, planned but knew it might be a little messy because sometimes it takes time for things to come to fruition. The last one is me.

During my long notice I spent a lot of time working on saving cash, stocking up product, and getting my pantry set. But, I really didn’t have the energy to grow my online business prior to departure. I was freaking tired and when you’re as tired as I was it’s hard to serve people well. I needed some time to decompress before looking for works, so I didn’t start looking for leads until the first week of February (I was still in Sydney at this point in time).

That’s Freaking CRAZY!

So the tricky thing for me  was the following-once I returned to the U.S. I was starting fresh-with no clients.  I had to hit the ground running and make things happen-or I wasn’t going to eat. And, I had started using a cash only budget. So, no cash=no money because I don’t want to use credit cards anymore, yeah,  just a little crazy.

I’ve spent a number of years reading other people’s freelancing posts and haven’t quite read one that is super clear about the following issue: timing.

Timing affects everything and ultimately the most important thing which is your pay. I used to get paid once a month on the last business day of the month for 10 years. Being comfortable with being paid once a month is helpful for me as I get further into freelancing because I am able to just make do until the money comes in.

It’s All About Knowing The Timing

I knew that I had a certain amount of cash that I had to have flowing in or I was going to have some issues! As I started pitching businesses the following timing of the initial pitch to hired or not hired emerged.

Here Is The Timing (according to me) 

• The Initial Pitch-I should be clear and say that I just started pitching writing jobs the last week of March. Instead, I have been pitching businesses first. You may be answering an ad, or doing a cold pitch either way you need to mark down when you’ve contacted the business.

• Initial Contact-The business will do one of three things:  Never contact you, contact you quickly, or contact you after you’ve forgotten that you’ve reached out to them and want to schedule a meeting.

• Research, Research, Research-Take time to research the business that you’re hoping to collaborate with. You want to know what they do, who their clientele is and try to gage what your role could be in this organization. How can you help the business in the best way possible?

• The Meet-Like spies, you will need to schedule a meet. It could be virtual, or in person. Either way, you need to time your meet at such a time that you’re at your best.  I try to meet everyone after 10:00 a.m. because I am NOT a morning person. Even if I wake up at 5:00 a.m. meeting any earlier than 10:00 a.m. will suck for me and I will end up in rush hour traffic. You know how I feel about rush hour.

• Look Professional-I always look my best when meeting new clients. This feels like it’s pretty obvious…but, I want to be very clear…I dress up. The warmer it gets, the easier this is as I just wear a cute dress and nice shoes.

• Sell Yourself-No, we’re not talking the oldest profession in the world. You have to  be aware of your strengths and weaknesses and be prepared to honestly address those questions. I have hired numerous people in my previous job and have often hired people who weren’t perfect on paper but ended up being perfect for the job. The interviewees who were fairly well prepared, genuine, and able to articulate answers to the questions we posed were the ones who were hired.

• Wait-You may have to wait, and wait, and maybe wait some more, before hearing from the business that you’ve pitched/interviewed with. Some businesses will sign you on at the interview. I have had this happen. Other business will take exactly 3 months to decide to sign you on-I have also had this happen. And some businesses I might forget about and they may reach out later…  You just never know.

• Yes or No-Then, you’re told yes or no. No is always a little sucky! Yes, is always greeted with a rush of excitement and adrenaline. And then the real work begins.

• They Said “Yes!”-Start working and then invoice the business as agreed upon.

• Finally, You Get Paid-So, for some of the businesses  that I’ve been contracted to work with I’ve already been paid twice. For other businesses I am 3 months into the process and am now beginning to do projects for them and will get paid in about 3 weeks.

Please note: even though my money is funny right now-I knew 100% that this was probably how things would play out. I have been in the role of hiring other people and had a good gage of how the timing could possibly play out.

I do think, though, that it’s helpful for people considering a messy entrance into freelancing to be prepared for this type of timing issue. I am stressed out to a certain degree, but have been working and know that money is coming.

It’s important to consider timing and your overall situation before you do a messy freelance start. Of course it’s better to have an even larger savings than what I had (it was good but I was in Australia and Hawaii and they are expensive) I had to wait to start pitching because I wanted to pitch closer to my departure from oversees. I did have one terrible interview at a crazy time because of the 17 hour difference. After that experience I had to trust my gut and wait to start pitching. I’m glad that I did.

I am currently signed on with several businesses and have a final meet this week with a super cool organization (wish me luck!) It is also the start of the high season for Brand Ambassadors and I have booked a huge gig for this week. As it gets warmer I will become busier and the more money I will be earning. I will also begin pitching for writing gigs in earnest (hire me!) starting this week.

I hope this is helpful to those of you who may be encountering a messy beginning to freelancing. Or, just curious about the process.

Are You Are Freelancer? Was Your Start…Messy?

Is What I’m Describing What You’ve Experienced?

Freelance Series #2-Protocols

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Michelle

I am an obsessive foodie, but not self-righteous with it, love travel, meeting new people, helping you look good, and am freaked out by people who don't enjoying reading...something! Grab a Perrier, read my blog, feel free to drop me a line! Hope to hear from you soon.

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