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There are many great reasons to transition from salaried work to freelance work. Freelancers typically earn a much higher daily rate than their full-time counterparts. They also get to work in many industries and can work across employers. This means you’ll not only earn more, but you will also have a massive network that can open unique doors that you would never have access to working full-time in one location.As you work temporarily, you will also be constantly renegotiating your contracts. This way, you can continue to improve your working conditions so that they suit your needs and what you deserve to be paid. Once you get in the swing of things, working as a freelancer can help your career, can boost your salary, and can help you enjoy a much more fulfilling work/life balance.

To help you get started you’ll want to follow these steps:

Understand What Freelancing in Your Industry Looks Like

The first step is to understand what freelancing looks like in your sector. If you work in media, then this will mean knowing the right people, talking about what you want to do, and being willing to help others get to where they want to be. If you work in the medical industry, however, then the process will be slightly different. The good news is that there are many go-to platforms online today that help connect employers with pharmacist locums in their area and vice versa, so you can find shifts, negotiate your salary, manage your schedule, and send invoices quickly all in one place.

Applying for Work

By knowing what to expect when freelancing in your industry, you’ll have a better idea of what steps you’ll need to take in advance. Sometimes it is straightforward, but in other times it will be a slippery slope before you get your footing. Use your network, advertise your services, and even look on job boards. The beginning is always going to be the hardest, so having the right expectation is the best way to prepare.

Prepare Your Finances

As it can take time to build up a career-level worth of freelance work, you will want to prepare your finances and get those in your life ready. If you have a partner and children, for example, the hit, in the beginning, may be tough, but the pay-out, in the end, is often worth it. To financially prepare, you’ll want to sort out your budget, improve your emergency fund, and find ways to offset your costs until you can get enough work to start supporting yourself fully by working freelance.

Getting More Work

Freelancing means doing a great job every time. If you do a great job, you’ll usually become a go-to hire no matter your industry. Not only that, but you’ll grow your network and the good work that you do will be spread by word-of-mouth. Eventually, you’ll have more opportunities than you have time, at which point you’ll need to bump up your rate expectations and work on improving your schedule so that you have a work/life balance that pays well without burning yourself out.