GrapeImages / Getty Images The freelance wave is here, and millions of people are getting on board. For instance, the number of freelancers in America increased from an estimated 53 million in 2014 to 59 million in 2020. People decide to freelance for many reasons: lower commuting costs, increased flexibility, work-life balance, poor local job market, etc. Some freelancers even make more money than they made while working full-time. Find Out: Do You Really Need To Keep Your Emergency Fund Separate From Your Savings Account? See: With a Recession Looming, Make These 3 Retirement Moves To Stay On Track While there are reasons aplenty to freelance, the transition isn’t always easy. Freelancing comes with responsibilities that aren’t in the picture for full-time workers. Here are some things you must do to ensure a seamless transition from full-time work to freelancing . Identify Your Skills and Services Before you even start freelancing, you must determine your skills and what you will offer as a freelancer. It may seem obvious, but people sometimes switch to freelancing when they hear about its perks. But freelancing is a business, and in order to thrive, you must identify what sets you apart from other freelancers. The best place to start is often with the skills you’ve learned at your full-time job. For example, if you are a registered nurse, you might decide to become a freelance healthcare writer. If you work full-time as a graphic or web designer, you can do those jobs as a freelancer. Once you have identified your skills, you should research the market. Find out if there is demand for your skills, and if so, assess the rates. If there is demand at rates that suit you, then you might have a viable business as a freelancer. Set Up and Manage Your Finances Whether you work full-time or freelance, money is important — but freelancers have more to consider. This is because if you are a self-employed freelancer, you are the employee and technically the employer as well. That means managing the finances for both sides of the equation. These are just a few financial tasks you will have as a freelancer. One could also mention health insurance here, as most Americans have health insurance through work. You can enroll in a or buy private insurance as a freelancer. Unfortunately, these plans are often more expensive than you had while working full-time. This article originally appeared on :
