// TODO before quitting your job & going freelance
By: Sam Orgill
Tags: Entrepreneurship, Software Development, Freelancing, Freelance, Web Development

Save cash

The first thing I did was put into practice a savings plan. My plan was to save 6 months income so that if I literally found no work for 6 months I could afford to live.

In practice, I’ve secured enough work to exceed my previous salary for 3 months. But having those savings gave me the confidence that I would have enough runway that I didn’t have to panic and run back to a job. And I like as much certainty as possible.

The reality though, is that it’s not always going to go so good for me and there will be times I have no work. Having savings gives me reassurance that I’ll be ok during those times.

Caution: don’t loose a chunk of your savings on crypto like me. But really, truthfully, the price is so low now that it’s a great time to buy it, honestly. Please?

Get some clients on the side

Don’t wait until you’ve left your job to get clients. The reality is that it’s hard, you might talk to 10 people and get one potential lead, and that might not work out.

Start by building up some relationships on the side while you’re in work.

Having these clients and building those relationships builds your confidence and your portfolio. Word of mouth is the best form of marketing in my experience, and starting this a year before you make the jump saves a lot of leg work later.

For me, I ended up with a recurring client who wanted ongoing work. They’re a current client so I won’t say how much I’m paid but it was a big percentage of my employment salary, which with my savings allowed my runway to extend from 6 months to 12, even if I got no more work I wouldn’t have to run back to a 9 to 5 for a t least a year.

That’s a huge amount of pressure off to allow me to develop myself, my brand and get the right clients.

Get some clients on the side.

Build a portfolio

Build yourself a website and get your portfolio up there! You need to be showing the world what you’re doing otherwise nobodies going to trust you to get the job done for them.

This is why starting your thing a year before you quit is essential; it allows you to build your portfolio through clients.

I get that you might be desperate to quit your 9 to 5, but trust me, handing in your resignation before you’re ready will leave you ill prepared and risks you having to run back to employment when it all goes wrong.

Give yourself the best shot at success.

If you don’t have any clients yet that doesn’t stop you working on side projects and posting your work online. If you’re not a developer there are plenty of websites out there that will help you.

You can build sites on Squarespace (as a developer this makes me shudder) or hire a developer (like I don’t know, me me me?). Especially if you’re a designer and want your custom design bringing to life.

If you’re a designer there are also websites like Behance where you can publish your design. But you still need a website, it’s a central home where people can get all your info such as social links, contact info and other info such as your blogs. You need to develop your brand, and a blog is a huge part.

Tell people

This can be tricky because you don’t want your employer to know you’re cheating on them, but most of my first clients came from family or people family members knew.

Some of these projects then led on to projects with people who knew them. Get it? Word of mouth works.

In my experience, despite enjoying it, social media hasnt gotten me one client yet. I’m sure as my social media profile grows it’ll become a bigger part of my work but trust me, and I know it’s not as sexy as social media, word of mouth works a lot quicker if you’re just starting.