Did you know a lot of freelancers started out doing bits and pieces in their free time, around their full-time jobs, families and other responsibilities? Taking the plunge into full time freelancing can be, well…..terrifying! But free time freelancing is totally doable, and a great way to test the waters.
Read on for my guide on how to get started as a part-time freelancer…
Choosing what to do:
You can do anything! Here are a few of the most popular options:
- Virtual assistant – admin generally.
- Social Media
- Pet sitting
- Baby sitting
- Baking
- Cleaning
- Ironing
- Graphic design
- Blog design
- Make Up
- Hairdressing
- Teaching/Tutorials
- Wedding planning
- DIY jobs
- Decluttering
- Gardening
- Renting – You can rent out anything, from items you own to your home for filming!
Where to find freelance work:
When you want to find freelance work, but don’t have the time or money to promote yourself or network, there are plenty of tools you can use.
- Fiverr – This task marketplace lets you offer a small service for $5. This is a great way to make a small amount of money while building up your portfolio.
- People Per Hour – Another bidding marketplace, People Per Hour can be useful for picking up the odd job you can do during the evening or at the weekends. I occasionally pick up writing work through PPH, so it’s worth signing up for.
- Task Squad – I wrote recently about Task Squad. If you’re 18-25, you can do ad hoc jobs through Task Squad, ranging from public stunts to event supervision.
- Get your friends involved. Do you offer a service like baking, sewing, graphic design or child/pet care? Ask your friends to keep their ears open for any potential opportunities.
- Get social. Creating a Facebook page for your work is a great way to promote your product or service, with no costs and little time commitment.
Tax and finances
If you’re hoping to freelance on the side of a full time job, you’ll need to get legal. When it comes to tax and NI, HMRC has a pretty detailed page about this. Essentially, your tax situation at work shouldn’t change, but you’ll need to start putting money aside from all your freelance earnings, to pay your tax bill and NI. I usually try to put 30% of my income away for tax/NI/business stuff (then whatever I have left after paying my bills goes on fun stuff.)
Work/Life Balance
One of the important things when considering free time freelancing, is working out how much time you want to dedicate to it. While it might be tempting to fill your free time with extra work to earn extra money, you’re not doing yourself any favours. Try to keep at least a couple of evenings or a day at the weekend free from work, so you have a chance to recharge. You might also want to check your contract, as some employers prefer that you don’t do the same work for other clients, especially if they’re possible competitors.
Are you tempted to do some free time freelancing?