In her 20s, Michelle Goodman left her desk job and launched a freelance career with just one client. 15 years later, she’s built a successful business and authored a book on the topic, The Anti 9-to-5 Guide: Practical Career Advice for Women Who Think Outside the Cube, along the way. Below, she tells us how to become a homepreneur and offers advice for other women hoping to “flee the cube.”
You offer up various scenarios for women who want to “flee the cube” in some capacity. Before we get to the “dos,” what are the major “don’t”s or biggest problems you see beginning freelancers make concerning money?
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Tricking out their office with the latest gadgets and gizmos before they really need (or can afford) them. Neglecting to save up some sort of nest egg before they quit their day job. Failing to cultivate a fallback skill or secure a part-time job that isn’t necessarily their first choice of work but will keep food on the table while they get their name out there and build up their business. Assuming that they’ll be able to fill their schedule overnight. Not having an escape plan (i.e., “If this doesn’t work, I know I can get a temp job testing software or proofreading legal texts or walking dogs…”). Putting all their eggs in one basket and feeling hurt and surprised and anxious if/when that client dries up. Failing to market themselves or learn their way around running a business at the outset. Thinking they can get by without befriending other freelancers to bounce ideas off of, even ideas about how much to charge or what to do when your dream client suddenly morphs into Clientzilla.
You talk in the book about setting rates and “knowing your bottom line.” I was once offered a rate from a certain magazine, which sounded good to me, and I agreed, only to find that a friend had been offered the same rate, insisted that her usual fee was twice that, and got it on the spot. How early on in your freelance career should you start asking for more money and what’s the best approach to take?
That’s an interesting tale because it sounds like you never would have thought to ask for more had your friend not spilled the beans. I think you should start asking for more money as soon as you find yourself in the position of being offered a rate below what other editors or publications are paying you. Because if publication A is paying you $1/ word and publication B is paying you $.50/ word, you lose 50 percent of your potential earning power each time you write for publication B. That said, you should have an idea of what a publication pays before you do ask for more.
To ask for more money, couch your request in language like, “You know I love writing for you and think your publication rocks, but I’m in the tough position of being offered twice as much money to write for all my other editors [or clients]. Any chance you can come up in price? I’d like to keep working with you, but I have to wear my business hat, too.” Subtext: Eventually, dear editor, you’re going to lose me if you don’t show me the money.
How should a freelance writer go about setting their rates, and how much consideration should be given to the generally accepted going rate of a given publication?
Setting your rates doesn’t come into play quite as much when you’re publishing articles as it does when you’re writing and editing commercial copy. With the former, you start at the highest rung of publication that will have you and you work your way up from there. With the latter, you pore over a guide like The Writer’s Market and talk to other freelancers to see what price someone of your experience level and skill can command. A great book I like to recommend to commercial freelance writers is Laurie Lewis’ What to Charge: Pricing Strategies for Freelancers and Consultants.
| Two of the most important skills a homepreneur can have are the ability to crack her own whip and the ability to sell herself. |
If you’re new to freelancing and new to a particular publication, you’ll often need to honor that market’s going rate, unless of course it’s well below the rate you’re getting for all your other articles and publications. If you’ve done your time with that publication and it’s paying you well below what your other markets pay, I’d ask for more or move on. You can’t afford to sell yourself short forever. That said, there are times when it’s worthwhile to work at a lower rate than you normally command — for example, when the market or assignment is high profile despite not having quite the budget you’re used to. These gigs can often lead to plum assignments from other (bigger and better) publications, and sometimes, book deals, as has happened to a number of writers I know.
You offer “seven habits of highly effective homepreneurs,” including marking your territory, pimping your virtual office, and pressing the flesh.
Two of the most important skills a homepreneur or home-based freelancer can have are the ability to crack her own whip (stay disciplined and crank through her projects, despite the 879 distractions the home office affords) and the ability to sell herself. A lot of people tell me they “suck at marketing” or they “never have time for marketing.” To that I say marketing is just telling people what you can do and how you can make their life easier. An email introducing yourself to a new editor, a Web page that displays your recent clips so editors can find you online, a little face time at a quarterly networking event — all this falls under the heading of “marketing.” And to those who “don’t have the time” I say make it because marketing will boost your career. Just build researching new markets, pitching new editors, and meeting one new writer you admire every couple of months into your schedule, even if you only allot one hour a week for it. Otherwise, how else are you going to move on up the freelance food chain?
Four Things To Know Before Embarking On A Freelance Life
1) Your finances will fluctuate
“It’s okay to not make the same amount of money every month, season, or even year,” Goodman says.
2) Split your time between well-paying corporate gigs and less lucrative projects.
“The longer I live this crazy freelance life, the more I become the person who works her ass off for three to six months to stockpile enough money to finance some ‘time off’ so I can then focus on less lucrative writing projects for a significant stretch of time.”
3) Early on, don’t shy away from temp work.
“It’s easier to make more money temping because you eliminate the need for all those unpaid hours spent marketing, invoicing, and generally wheeling and dealing,” says Goodman.
4) If work gets tight, return to past employers.
“I do have a big enough freelance contact base that I can usually scrounge up infinite work if I spend a couple weeks making calls and hustling.”
Rachel Kramer Bussel is a writer, editor, and blogger.
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