It’s official. I am leaving work behind at the end of this year to freelance full-time!
I’ve talked with all of my current clients and I’ll be retiring as a financial advisor on 12/31/14. Whew, that’s a load off my shoulders!
I’m equally excited and nervous! These are my top three concerns as I make the transition.
1. I’m the Breadwinner
This means all income creation is squarely on my shoulders. The hubs may be looking into some side projects/getting his own creative business going, but for the most part we’re focusing on me to still bring home the bacon.
Don’t worry, being the financial guru that I am means I do have my own plan! I’m fortunate in that I’ll be able to sell the small book of business that I built up. I will also continue contracting with my current office for at least the next year, one day per week to do the financial planning for the practice.
Between the two, I’ll have a foundation of income for 2015 in place. This means that if I haven’t made significant progress building my freelance business by the second or third quarter of 2015, I may be looking for a real job! I’m planning on hustling my heart out and not having this be the case!
2. I Can’t Work from Home
I love my kids, but trying to work online while at home with a one and three year old doesn’t bode well for getting much done. My hat is off to you moms that can make both work – at this point I don’t see myself as being one of them. I feel guilty for working when they want me to play with them or vice versa for playing when I should be working.
I may be transitioning our downstairs guest bedroom into a joint guestroom/home office (so I can close/lock the door!) or more likely will be working from the local library or nearby coffee shops for awhile. Both appeal to me for different reasons. I’ll probably do a little of both.
3. I’m Nervous about Keeping On Task/Schedule
Right now I’m at my desk for eight hours per day. If I’m completely honest, I probably have a good four hours of work to do each day. That means I take my time. And surf the web.
I can’t do this when I’m freelancing full-time. Part of my goal is to build a lifestyle business that allows me to work 4-6 hours per day (4-5 days per week) and still make an income our family can live off of. I want to spend more time with my family and be uber-productive while I’m working. That’s the plan anyway.
I’ve been brainstorming a future schedule in my head for weeks. I’ll probably post an outline in the future; both to give others an idea of what a freelancer’s schedule looks like and to have something to compare it to down the road. To assess my progress if you will.
Some of the things that I’m looking to make “rocks” are blocking time for my VA client(s), writing, research, self-study (which I think is often overlooked, but hugely beneficial), social media, working out and misc. admin work. I’m sure I’ll be adding more to the list over time – it’s only a rough draft right now.
The real trick will be allocating the right amount of time per area and sticking to it! No getting sucked in to Facebook or Twitter for an hour, because I’m avoiding XYZ task. Since I’ll have control over my time, I need to own that and be productive when I’m working, so that I can be engaged with my family when I’m not. I don’t want to be thinking about all of the things I should be doing when with them.
Current full-time freelancers, what do you struggle with the most? Those of you still in the aspiring stage, what would be your biggest concern?
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