For Some, Solo Works: Living the Freelance Life

THE ECONOMY STINKS. People are losing their patience, their 401(k)s and their sanity. And they're afraid of losing — or have already lost — their jobs. To some, it may be the ideal time to consider taking a leap of faith into the big, bad world of freelancing.

Michelle Goodman wrote "My So-Called Freelance Life" (Seal Press, $15.95) to teach people how to survive and thrive as a creative professional going it alone.

» EXPRESS: How do they know they're ready to cut the cord and jump in?
» GOODMAN: The hardest part is knowing when to jump ship. That's a decision that has to go with their comfort level. But they shouldn't be holding out for the very best gigs only. If they're a writer, they shouldn't say, "I only want to do travel writing." They need to be willing to do work that is not their first choice, because that's the kind of work that's going to be their bread and butter, and will get them out of their day job.

» EXPRESS: How do you make the leap from a steady paycheck to freelancing?
» GOODMAN: For me, I always felt four months' salary would be enough. I've heard 12 months is the appropriate amount, but four months' worked for me. But a lot of people are making the leap right now through no fault of their own — they've lost their jobs and are faced with this decision. Some people have a full freelance workload in a few weeks or months, and sometimes it takes a couple of years.

» EXPRESS: I love your dedication in the book — "To anyone who's ever hit the snooze button five times on a Monday."
» GOODMAN: Oh, yeah. I've been there! I still do it now. It's not 100 percent bliss to work for yourself. It's not a Disney movie with singing chipmunks. Like any job, it has its ups and downs. Maybe it's because you're working on a project that isn't going right, and there's more room for miscommunication, or unpaid invoices. But, overall, it's great to be in control of your work life.

» EXPRESS: What if you're already freelancing and your workload's plummeting faster than the Dow Jones?
» GOODMAN: One way to ensure that you're gainfully employed as a freelancer is to diversify. If you are a bookkeeper and you have traditionally been working for small businesses, diversify the industries you're working with. A creative worker can't just rely on print anymore, as much as it pains me to say that. As I mentioned, you can't rely on aspirations of only wanting to shoot pictures for travel magazines ... but you'll ensure you have the work to do that if you take photos for the wonky trade magazines or for individuals, too.
Even if you have a cash cow client, diversify, because you never know when the money will dry up. Force yourself to make three new contacts a week, send out pitch letters, or carve out an hour a week for marketing. Most important, continue to make contacts within the freelance community. That's where a lot of your recommendations will come from.

» EXPRESS: What would you tell others who are afraid they don't have the discipline?
» GOODMAN: If you are the only one responsible for your livelihood, it comes down to the fact that if you don't work, you don't have rent or grocery money. To make it easier on yourself, take away the distractions. Working on a set schedule is incredibly helpful. Deadlines are also really helpful. ... Give yourself hard deadlines and stick to them. One tip: Don't give yourself a Monday deadline, or you'll wind up scrambling on Sunday.
As far as the motivation thing, you may need to play tricks on yourself and rely on delayed gratification, or pop in a CD and work until it's done. If you have to, unplug your TV until you finish. Also, having a set starting time and having something you do before you go to work each day, like morning rituals, will help.

» EXPRESS: What if you're not a whiz with money or a technical guru?
» GOODMAN: I'm neither of those things. I have a technical helper, and I'll trade things like dinners if my computer's too expensive to fix. But if you don't know the first thing about running a business, you have to learn because that's half the game when you're on your own. My general advice: Make sure you have an army of consultants in place, whether it's people you barter with or professionals.

» EXPRESS: Describe your client from hell. How would you know how to delicately handle them or when to give them the boot?
» GOODMAN: For me, the clients from hell are the ones that change the deadlines all the time so that the project comes in too early or it's late, which means I'm waiting for work, or that I suddenly have to scramble and mess up another client as a result.
Often, if clients are making demands that seem unrealistic, it's because they think you're sitting around waiting for them. Some people haven't worked with freelancers enough. It's your job to delicately tell them that you want to accommodate them by saying, "Here's what I can do." Ask if you can have an extra day.
And should you choose to work with that client again, you can always charge a "pain-in-the-butt rate."

» EXPRESS: Any regrets?
» GOODMAN: I did it on a whim. ... It was not with planning or forethought or clients or money in the bank. I had all the sense of a golden retriever. And it was so much harder then! There was no Web, and it was much harder to meet other people working for themselves. But I made it work — not very eloquently the first couple of years — but I made it work, and I'm so glad.

Written by Lynn Thorne for Express
Photo courtesy of Seal Press