By Tim Hillegonds.
The freelance daydream has been permeating the minds of closet word nerds in corporate America since the invention of the cubicle.
It’s my theory that the first person to be locked inside the three-sided Eradicator of Creativity immediately sat down and started typing query letters—the literary equivalent of digging an escape tunnel with a spoon. There’s just something about vanilla colored walls, industrial carpeting, and annual “Biggest Loser” competitions that has a certain group of us questioning the meaning of our lives.
From inside the cubicle, freelancing looks a lot like Canaan—the land of milk and honey and setting your own schedule. And although there are parts of freelancing that are indeed akin to the promise land, it’s not all manna and miracles. In fact, if the jump from corporate America’s private jet isn’t thought through, the landing can be pretty darn violent.
But, as I’ve learned over the course of the last six months, it doesn’t have to be. And since clichés around taking chances are abundant—and leaving the corporate world to freelance is akin to skydiving—here are three things to think about when taking the ultimate plunge.
1. Check your equipment
I spent ten years in the insurance industry. That’s ten years of making connections, writing emails, saving phone numbers, going to conventions, and putting up those stupid folding booths at trade shows. And while most of the people I met I’ll probably never talk to again, there are a select few people that I stay in touch with.
Prior to leaving the cushy job, take a look around and ask yourself a few of these questions.
- Who can help you once you leave? Mention your plan to a few close colleagues and do everything you can to exploit every connection you have. Assignments can come from anywhere, even the places you’d least expect. You’re last job before you leave is to prime the pump and make it a little easier to land that elusive first job.
- What other businesses do you work with that are potential markets for your writing? In my case, the insurance industry is filled with brokers, appraisers, reinsurance markets, accounting firms, industry periodicals, and a vast array of other businesses and associations. Each one of these is a potential client or market. I’ve got insider industry knowledge that the average writer might not have. Plus, certain people at these companies know me, which means I’m sitting on warm leads, rather than shivering my rear end off on cold ones.
- Can you sweet-talk your media relations (or marketing) specialist into allowing you to write copy once you’ve left? It might seem like a tough sell, but most corporate marketing departments are one-size-fits-all operations. Just because someone holds a position in the marketing department doesn’t mean they know how to write compelling copy. (This is especially true in the insurance industry.) Before you leave, show them what you can do by rewriting a product description or sales one sheet. There’s nothing better than leaving a job and still finding a way to have them pay you.
2. Jump and free-fall
Once you’ve actually made the jump, the fun begins, right? Well, not always. Most people find that freefalling is tough. The structure that you’ve become accustomed to is suddenly gone. You’re now totally self-reliant. Oh, and that nice paycheck you used to get every other Friday? Yeah, that’s gone, too.
Some people panic, but I can assure you, panicking doesn’t help. So, what do you do? Simple: You organize. Remember all thos
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