Welcome

- There are many reasons to start freelancing, but it's a tricky road to follow. How will you get your first projects? How will you survive until you do? What can you do to avoid difficult clients? These are some of the questions that this course aims to answer. Although this course is designed primarily for people who want to sell their services to companies, most of the lessons will help you even if you plan to sell goods or market directly to the public. In this course we'll look at what a freelance life is like day-to-day.

You'll see what's required to live it, and if you're missing anything you'll see how to get what you need. I'll show you how to narrow your scope by service, customer, and industry. You'll see how to build a professional network that leads to clients and partners who you want to work with. While we're at it, you'll see how to get what you need from clients in terms of payment, future work, and recommendations. Once things get going, you'll see how to stay motivated and grow your business. You'll see how to deconstruct big jobs and how to estimate how long they'll take, so you can plan and bill accordingly.

Finally, you'll see how to create schedules that will keep you relaxed, even as demand for your talent grows. Like a lot of people, I started my own career working the grind, nine to six. I got tired of that and set out on my own. But my freelancing business failed because there was just so much I didn't know how to do. Then I repeated the cycle a few times, making every mistake along the way. Finally I got it right in 2006, and I've enjoyed being a freelance writer and presenter ever since.

The lessons I've learned have continued to help me grown my business and I hope they'll help you start, run, and grow yours as well, no matter what sort of freelance career you want to launch.