Twenty things every trainer should know before going freelance

Thinking of going freelance? Or perhaps you face redundancy and working for yourself seems attractive? Sharon Gaskin shares some practical advice from trainers who have already created successful freelance businesses.






 

1. Have a business model
Decide on what sort of business you want. For example, do you want to work as an associate only, direct for clients or a mixture of both? How much money do you need to earn to pay the bills? How many delivery days are realistically available? What do you need to charge to ensure you get this? And is it realistic?

2. Don't waste money when you first start out
Business cards, graphics, website, brochures, networking events, business coaching – must haves or nice-to-haves? It can be very easy to get carried away, but you may not need it all right at the beginning. Only buy the essentials you need to run your business – and save the rest for when you have more cash.

3. Invest in your marketing skills
"There is an art and a skill to learn to successfully promote and sell training programmes – having a great service/product is not enough."
Julie French, Academy of High Achievers

4. It can take a long time to get work from prospective leads
"Keep in touch in an appropriate manner, so they don't forget about you. One day they just might phone you up with some work!"
Sarah Jefferies, CNN Consulting

5. Indiscriminate networking can be a waste of time
If you go to every networking event going, you will be exhausted and broke within the first three months. Work out your target market first, assess where they might hang out and choose your networking events accordingly.

6. A full diary doesn't equal a profitable business
It's very easy to accept almost any type of work when you first start out. But in the long term you can get trapped into a cycle of doing lots of low value work which doesn't produce the income you need, makes you feel devalued and de-motivated, doesn't give you the time you need to find high value work and makes it harder for you to charge what you are worth.