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?  

* Your Freelance Strategy Answer  these  ques9ons:

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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?  

* Your Freelance Strategy Answer  these  ques9ons:

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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.

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Better, happier, more successful freelancers.

Find us at www.freelance.org.au