How to Make the Jump From Full-Time Staff Writer to Freelancer

There’s a suspended moment of time in every working adult’s life, perhaps after a mentally exhausting meeting or a particularly treacherous morning commute, when you contemplate doing something better with the rest of your career. Some people chalk it up to being a bad day and shake it off. Some interpret it as a final straw, update their resume and start poring over job sites in hopes of finding a grand new position. And some, perhaps the most adventurous of us, take all of the field experience and knowledge we’ve earned at a 9-to-5 and become full-time freelancers.

According to a recent survey from the McKinsey Global Institute, 58 percent of employers are planning to bring on more temporary, part-time or contract workers during the next five years. That’s a dark cloud gathering over the full-time workforce, who has to operate under the threat of being ousted in favor of benefit-free labor. But it’s a potential goldmine for current freelancers and a promising forecast for traditional employees hoping to convert their existing duties into a regular freelance gig.

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“In the last year, we’re seeing a lot of people who really want full-time jobs because they want the stability,” explained Sara Horowitz, founder and executive director of the Freelancers Union. “But they’re realizing the opportunities are in freelancing. As work becomes more short-term, it’s just realistic for people to be prepared and nimble. Their mindset is evolving.”

Ideally, before a wannabe solopreneur makes the decision to take the freelance plunge, they would have built up an arsenal of outlets, contacts and clients to allow them to make the smoothest transition possible. And they wouldn’t be so excited to leave the ol’ cubicle behind that they miss the opportunity to turn their current job into a client. If you dream of the freedom freelancing affords, here’s how to build your case for a working partnership before you sashay out of your company’s doors:

Demonstrate how invaluable your services have been.

If you were any degree of good at your job, there’s some skill or expertise that makes you an asset to your team. Perhaps you are a whiz at capturing the company’s voice in marketing materials or you write speeches that garner rousing applause for the otherwise tongue-tied president. Use what makes you stand out and shine as an employee to leverage continued contractual work once you’re ready to strike out on your own.

“The key is to present a business case to senior management and get their approval,” said Sherri Thomas, president of Career Coaching 360 and author of The Bounce Back. “I recently had a client who worked in the energy industry as a first-line manager and successfully transitioned into a very cool consulting gig. She found a business problem that the company needed to solve and she focused all her efforts on becoming an expert in that area to help solve it,” Thomas explained. “Eventually, she became the only person inside the company doing the type of work she was doing. She weighed her options, decided how she could add value to the organization by becoming a contractor, presented her business case to senior leaders and they were sold.” Having already earned the confidence of upper management, you may be better positioned than a replacement colleague assigned to take over your duties because higher ups are saving time and money on training.

Still, freedom to do the job as a freelancer has a fresh set of companion concerns. “One potential trap is not being prepared for all of the ‘extras’ that come with being your own boss,” Thomas warned. “One of my clients transitioned from being a full-time employee to a contractor and didn’t expect having to work more hours to meet deadlines and obligations. It’s a learning curve on estimating the job scope, managing the business responsibilities like invoicing and finalizing contracts, not having an IT department to handle computer and e-mail snafus, and not being able to take a day off when you’re sick.”

Have the conversation before___not after___you decide to leave.
Casual conversation with your bosses while you’re noshing on your “farewell and best wishes” cake is not the time to reveal your interest in freelancing post-resignation. Before you even unveil your plan, do a little background research with human resources. See if your employment contract allows any kind of continued relationship beyond the scope of regular hiring and firing. Also understand how the non-compete clauses may affect your ability to freelance for other companies if and when you take your soon-to-be former employer on as a client.

Being pigeonholed into a commitment may be worth it financially, but you still need a heads up beforehand or run the risk of violating the stipulations down the line. “You could probably easily go from working to freelance, but you want to start by looking at the employment agreement and making sure that if you want to freelance after working, you start the conversation as soon as you know your position is going to end,” Thomas explained. “Doing it while you’re there ends up being a way to sort of segue out.” Plus, it’s easier to get the information you need as a current employee than as a former one.

Set up meetings with key managers before you publicly announce your departure to get feedback on your plan to continue on as a freelancer. You’re not looking to solidify the details of a deal___you’re just reminding them of all of the fabulous things you’ve done for the company and putting feelers out on their reaction to shifting your existing relationship. If they need time to think, give them that and circle back in a week. The last thing you want to do is tick off the very people you may need relationships with down the line.

Set and negotiate your own terms.

You’re not schlepping stacks of unstapled grant proposals across the suite for $20 an hour anymore. You’re an independent contractor and as such, the terms and conditions of your working relationship with your previous employer may need to be tweaked, perhaps even completely redefined. But this time, it’ll be according to your specifications. If there was something you always hated doing, you can write it out of the list of responsibilities you’ll take on as a freelancer and instead hand it over to some other unfortunate person who remains on staff. Of course, your old boss turned new client will need to agree to those details and your freelance offerings still need to be palatable to them.

That means you’ll need to prepare for negotiation by knowing the current market value of your work. The Small Business Administration suggests following this formula to avoid undercutting yourself: Pare your annual salary down to an hourly rate ($X divided by 52 work weeks, divided by 40 week work hours). Then mark it up 25-30 percent. The figure should cover your professional worth, but it also budgets for other expenses needed for the successful operation of your business, something Horowitz says many freelancers fail to anticipate.

“The most important thing for you and them to really understand is the scope of the work. What’s the project? What are the deliverables? When are they due? That’s where you see the most conflict arise,” she added. “Freelancer’s Union website has a free Contract Creator. That’s really one of the best things you can do.” Be sure to include a payment schedule, Horowitz stressed, because many freelancers end up getting paid at 60 or 90 days. “Thirty days is reasonable, but anything above that is not,” she said. Horowitz recommends reading her book, Freelancer’s Bible, not just because she wrote it, but because it details tips about making the transition, from contractual soup to financial nuts.

Janelle Harris resides in Washington, D.C., frequents Twitter and lives on Facebook.