Comments on: How To Start a Freelance Business Today (Tools for Beginners)

By: Five Ways to Start a Freelance Business Right Now | Easiest Way To Make Money

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 03:22:24 +0000

[...] addition to the suggestions that we’ve made in this post, you might wish to know some more details about getting started as a freelancer. Remember, the steps that you just took got you started. To succeed it’s also important to [...]

By: Jayansh

Jayansh — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 06:57:21 +0000

Hi Laura,

I am really very thankful to you. You have shown me a path to start my own business. I am a software engineer, and going to quit my job and start my new business. I have made a checklist for all points you have mentioned. This is very helpful.

Thanks

Jayansh

By: Nikhil

Nikhil — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 11:38:59 +0000

Just awesome writing. I am happy that i am already following the path you shown. I have just started my blog about freelancing and psd tutorials and for my portfolio.
Once again Great Post

By: Carla

Carla — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 22:09:45 +0000

I think it’s a good idea to have freelance projects when you’re employed if that’s possible. Even if you love you job/career, you never know when the shoe will drop and its good to have a few things in place just in case. If you suddenly lose your job, you may not have time to start and intense job search AND start freelancing.

By: Amy

Amy — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 09:10:45 +0000

Thanks Laura. I like the idea of setting up hours of availability. :) Keeping that in mind, I am also thinking of using Skype as a work contact thing so I can be offline after the my set work hours are over. My normal gtalk etc can be for personal use.

By: Laura Spencer

Laura Spencer — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:19:24 +0000

Hi Joe!

I’m glad that the post could help you. Sometime timing on things like this is eerie. Congratulations and best wishes and all that!

Amy – You bring up an excellent question.

My take on it is that you should not include your chat ID unless you are going to have it up on a regular basis. (You could publish hours of availability.)

Otherwise, a client who thought that they could get a hold of you might get frustrated when they try to contact you through chat and you are not there.

I’d love to hear what other freelancers think about this.

By: Amy

Amy — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 19:29:39 +0000

Excellent article. The best thing about thinking your freelancing work as a business is that you also dedicate yourself to seeing it through. By the way, what do you think about putting up your gtalk or hotmail chat ID on portfolio? I am putting together my website for my business and I notice that in most websites a lotta freelancers (in their portfolio) have stated how to contact them through chat. Am not sure about stating my ID just yet. What do you think?

By: Joe

Joe — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 03:59:52 +0000

Laura,

You’re timing was impeccable. I had a short but intense conversation with my bosses on Friday morning and the end result is that I am now an official, fulltime freelancer. This was not necessarily a bad thing, it just came a little earlier than expected. The ironic thing is that when I arrived home and plugged into my own computer, your Freelance Folder entry was the first e-mail I received. It was like getting a message that this was meant to be.

I have known for a while now that this was my ultimate destination, and I’m actually glad that I am heading down the right road. I will make this work — and with a ready-made mentor pool such as Freelance Folder and the folks who post here, I feel like I am entering this new stage of my life with the Verizon guy and his network behind me.

I’ll be following this blog closely in the next few months, more so than I have in the past, and if anyone is interested, I will touch base with Jon to see about occasional posts on my progress. Wish me luck.

Joe

By: randy bragg

randy bragg — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 22:59:49 +0000

Totally agree with that, keeping focused is a big issue for me….

By: Laura Spencer

Laura Spencer — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 16:35:26 +0000

James,

LOL. I try not to touch vague specs, but I’m all about picky and making it good.