Freelance Writers, Read This Before Quitting Your Day Job

• Freelance writing portfolio should always be future-facing. 
• As you gain more experience, you should also be updating your website with testimonials. 
• Website and portfolio are more than storage for your past work.

• Do you have a process for onboarding new clients?
• Do you set aside money for taxes when clients pay your invoice?
• Do you find yourself procrastinating and submitting work last minute?

Look at your professional habits. Do you find yourself procrastinating and submitting work last minute or possibly missing deadlines? Before leaving your day job, build the discipline needed to operate your freelance business full-time.

• When you decide to do freelance writing full-time, income stability is often the tradeoff. To hedge risk (as investors would say), save at least three months of living expenses saved up before quitting your day job — this will offer some relief during slow months and emergencies.
• Make sure your freelance writing income is enough to sustain you. Ideally, you should be making equal to or more than your day job. 
• Increase your freelance writing rates so you can afford to live on them.

Client retainers are useful for providing stable, predictable income. 

If you’re working one-off clients, try convincing them to sign a three-month (or more) retain with you before quitting your day job. 

Don’t burn your bridges. Make sure you give your employer at least two week's notice (ideally, more) before going freelance full-time. 

Also, offer to help facilitate the transition by helping train your replacement. 

When you’re self-employed, you have total responsibility. You have the potential to build a highly lucrative enterprise or go broke. 

If you’re not a self-starter that delivers high-quality work while simultaneously nurturing business growth, quitting your day job may be a bad idea. 

If you desire income stability and you’re not a self-starter, it may be best to stay at your day job.

Freelance writers that possess discipline, business management skills and a willingness to learn and adapt are better suited to freelancing full-time. 

First, ensure that your freelance writing business has the right systems and is producing enough revenue to support the lifestyle you desire.

Consider choosing a niche, building an impressive writing portfolio and securing client retainers for stable income. Also, be sure to have a savings buffer of three months’ living expenses to tide you over during slow months. 

Yes. Many full-time freelance writers generate enough revenue to support their lifestyles. 

Financially successful freelance writers tend to be self-starters nurture both their writing and business management skills. 

Beginner freelance writers can potentially earn money after completing their first freelance writing job.

As they grow their writing portfolio and experience, they can eventually work with higher-quality clients that offer better pay. 

If you already possess excellent writing skills, first focus on building your freelance writing portfolio.

 You can create relevant writing samples (usually unpaid) through guest blogging and pitching to Medium publications, which you can then list when pitching freelance writing clients.