Trying to quit my agency job and go freelance full-time but it's been so hard!! I can't commit to many freelance projects because I still have work to do from my full-time. How do you make the transition? Do you just dive into freelance even though you don't have enough clients to sustain yourself? Or do you have sleepless nights so you can manage both and quit your full-time when you feel steady? How did others on the bowl who have already done this approach it?

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I would recommend looking at the freelancers bowl. But I would really think about if you want to give up the stability of a full time job given how unstable everything is at the moment. Some of my full-time freelance friends have gone 5+ months without finding something given how competitive the market is.

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Thanks!

It's a slow game. I'd at least give it a year of juggling both before you decide to stay with just one. It took me 2 years of managing both to realize I actually prefer my stable full-time rather than working freelance because I'm not good at creating a structure for myself and a job really forces you into it.

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If it's not enough to live off a couple clients you should prob raise your prices.

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There’s a freelancer bowl that might be more helpful. Yours speaking with employees here..


Freelancing is INCREDIBLY hard. Most people can’t do it.. don’t know how to.. if you’re serious, you educate yourself, find support, and go all in.

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Don’t quit your job to go freelance, start freelancing while working your current full-time job. Do your best to maintain good relationships at that current job, because that’s where future work will come from, but other than that your second option is right. Work the full-time job, do the bare minimum, and work late if you have to to maintain your freelance work.

Unless you manage to book an in-house 40 hour a week position as your first gig as a freelancer, that first year is going to be really tough. Having your full-time job as your safety net will make a huge difference.

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I get it, but still: book at least one client before you do anything with your current FT job. That’s true always, but ESPECIALLY true this year.

The successful freelancers I know made the leap—they quit their jobs and committed fully to freelancing. It’s a bold and scary move, but often necessary to truly succeed. Trying to balance a full-time job with freelancing rarely leads to a fulfilling life. And to thrive as a freelancer, you need to be just as skilled at finding work as you are at doing it.

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I’ve always simply managed both. If it requires late nights and occasional weekends, so be it.

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Woah, so inspiring. I just value sleep a lot to be able to actually follow through with this but I'm going to see what I can do to time manage better.

Following!!

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Think of freelance as your new job. Yes, you’re working for yourself but it’s a business and should be seen as such rather than a way to find freedom from working for a company. In many respects it will be more difficult, but having independence is rewarding. In starting a business it is a sound practice to have six months to one year of income saved. Lean towards the one year. Until you have that amount invest all freelance earnings building your savings. It’s your investment to launch your business. You can give full attention to building your business and have a better chance of success. It takes courage but with careful planning you can do it.

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I started my agency when I was providing freelance work for two allied companies to the one I was working for full-time. After 6-8 months of serving all three, I called a meeting of the 3 principles, and made the offer to continue all the work I was doing for 65% of what each were paying me, and told my full-time employer that they could cease covering all my employee benefits (insurance, too), and begin to use me as contract staff (which saved that company considerable money in addition to the 35% lesser base pay). Thus, I immediately increased my income, had enough to cover private insurance, and started my own savings account.

Within another month or two, I was able to add a few more clients, and, within a year, added contract creative employees as needed to answer the needs for more new clients, added a bookkeeper, and paid a monthly fee to an accounting firm to handle my financial obligations.

By the third year, my income had increased by >350% from the salary and contract income I had been earning before I began handling those initial businesses as my own company’s clients,

Over the next 10 years, my client base grew to @45 companies (private and public) with ongoing needs, with another 15-20 accounts that just needed start-up, restructuring assistance, or occasional help with their advertising/pr campaigns, and/or promotional materials.

By the 15th year, I had added book editing, design, and publishing services to our répetoire, and have subsequently published 12-16 books and manuals (some were privately published, some were textbooks for learning institutions, and 4 were picked up by large publishing companies).

I hope this shared info might be helpful to you and others on this thread! Best of luck and good fortune to y’all!

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BUMP because same

Do NOT give up the staff job. Add 1 freelance project at a time. Do one. How does that work out? If not too bad, take on another. I’d definitely reconsider any notions of quitting a staff job, for sure

Thanks for this!

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You just do

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