
Last month, I celebrated my two year freelance anniversary with an almond croissant and latte from my favourite local cafe. As I brushed the flaky remnants of the croissant off my lap, I took the time to reflect on my freelancing journey thus far.
In the two years I’ve been writing full-time, I’ve almost doubled the entry-level salary I started my career at, worked with international clients, and somehow also kept myself afloat through the COVID-19 pandemic. I stumbled into freelancing with very little preparation, which meant there were plenty of things I ended up learning the hard way. Here are 8 things I’ve learnt in the past two years of prospecting, pitching and publishing.
- Prepare for the leap, if you can
You’ll be off to a much better start if you can properly prepare for your switch to freelancing. While Betty’s inane workplace chatter or Gary’s microwaved tuna dishes might have you wanting to storm out right then and there, it’s worth waiting until you’re ready.
Save a solid emergency fund and do some freelance work on the side to start building your client base and experience. Once you’re so busy with your freelance side hustle that it’s hard to balance it with your full-time job, you’ll know you’re ready to take the plunge!
2. Get ready for the not-so-good, the bad and the ugly
While freelancing is often glamourised (think: sleeping in, working in your PJs and “being your own boss”), it’s important to be prepared for the ugly side of it too. It took me five months to break even, draining my savings in the interim. It took another five months for me to feel like my business was actually profitable, and even then, I had some slow months. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
3. Treat yourself as a business owner, not a gig worker

It’s important to recognise what sets you apart from the thousands of freelancers and side hustlers out there. You’re a full-time business owner, and you need to start acting like it!
It took over a year for this concept to really sink in for me. I realised I was solely responsible for my own career — no one else could give me a promotion, a pay rise or even a pat on the back.
With this realisation came the drive to be more proactive. As a business owner, you can’t go on autopilot just because you’ve had one really profitable month. Clients can suddenly pull out. Projects can fall through. Heck, a global pandemic could even crop up. Start treating yourself as a serious business and you’ll be less susceptible to the feast or famine cycle.
4. Set yourself up for payment success
Now that you’ve recognised you’re your own business, you can have greater agency over your payment terms. The first year or so of my freelancing career, the biggest thorn in my side was late-paying clients. I was also expending an awful lot of energy chasing up these people. After dealing with countless late-paying clients, I realised I needed to set my payment processes up for success at the outset.
I now take deposits from all new clients. I’ve also generated a higher-quality client base who actually want to pay promptly or before I’ve even started on the project. You might also want to consider booking fees, rush fees and late fees to further protect yourself (just make sure any additional fees are clearly mentioned in your contract).
5. Make room for business admin days
It is so worth getting on top of all your admin tasks well before tax time rolls around or you hit a peak period. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to get stuck in the hamster wheel of scoring more work. When your workload inevitably dies down, you’ll realise you haven’t done any of the admin tasks or groundwork needed to keep your business running consistently.
Automate and simplify your processes to ensure you can keep on top of admin. I use a Google Sheet to track everything that comes in and out of my business. This means I always know where I stand financially, and can quickly see which clients have proven to be most profitable. I can also see what percentage of my income each client represents, ensuring I’m not overly reliant on one source of income. (I learnt this lesson the hard way — came back from an overseas holiday only to be ghosted by the client who was my main source of income, leaving me broke and without work!).
Then once a quarter, I do a deeper business audit to ensure I’m on track with everything.
Some other tasks you could execute on your admin day include:
- Updating your website
- Scheduling your social media posts
- Applying for jobs or pitching to projects
- Connecting with new people on LinkedIn
- Revamping your logo
- Paying your taxes or super (!!!)
6. Know when to say no
In the early days of freelancing, you probably won’t feel like you can be picky about your clientele. You take every opportunity you can, worried that this might be the best one you’ve got coming your way for a while.
However, blindly grabbing any opportunity that arises can be incredibly detrimental — you might find yourself working long hours, not getting paid enough, dealing with toxic people or otherwise slugging it out for the duration of the project.
As you become more sought-after and gain more bargaining power, it’s important to say no to the clients that just aren’t a good fit. They might have a limited budget, or might be in an industry that just isn’t interesting to you. Or maybe you’re just not in a place to take on more work right now. Say no with confidence, knowing that you’re skilled enough to attract an even better opportunity in due time.
7. Opt for value-based pricing
Revise your prices often. Stop underselling yourself. You have to remember that while you are a full-time freelancer, you do not have 40 billable hours a week like someone who is employed full-time. Dozens of hours a week can be swallowed up by emails, pitching, networking, accounting and business admin, leaving you with very little time to earn money if you’re billing on an hourly basis!
8. Keep your own projects going

Most freelancers are driven by a creative passion, whether that’s illustration, photography, poetry or something else altogether. But when we’re monetising these skills to make ends meet, we can sometimes lose our passion for our craft.
To remedy this, you’ll need to consciously make time for your own passion projects. This is incredibly hard, of course, as there is no immediate reward for working on your passion projects like there is for paid client work. You might even feel like you’re “wasting time” by doing your own unpaid work instead of cramming the day with client work.
This is still something I’m trying to improve on, actively putting time towards personal blogging and creative writing. I recently entered a writing competition for the first time in years, which was completely reinvigorating. This practice is a particularly good idea if you’re in a slump, as it can reignite the fire that got you freelancing in the first place!
Everyone’s freelance journey will be different, and there’s certainly no right or wrong way to go about it. Learn from the successes and failures of those around you, and frequently reflect on your own journey to ensure you’re always evolving.
Originally published on my Medium page.
Recent Posts

From Content Writer to Designer: Tackling imposter syndrome & perfectionism in my content design career shift

8 Lessons I’ve Learnt In My Two Years of Freelancing

How I Went Freelance After Getting Fired — 5 Actionable Steps

5 Hard Skills All Freelancers Need

5 Soft Skills All Freelancers Need
About Hania

With an education in Creative Writing and 7+ years of professional writing experience, I have the skills necessary to create content that is both beautiful and effective.
From onboarding flows to thought leadership pieces, I've got the words you've been searching for.