Nervous...

tifferbugz · Post by **tifferbugz** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 10:04 am

I put my two weeks in at my "day job" today. I'm still trying to breathe properly because I'm both nervous and really excited. I have enough freelancing jobs going at the moment to come close to my normal salary and I love writing FAR more than being a financial analyst.

Any advice for the newbie full-timer?

Celeste Stewart · Post by **Celeste Stewart** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 1:16 pm

Wow, that's a big step. I did the same thing in December last year. Congrats!

Since I worked from home part time before, I already had a routine and knew how to stay focused. My best advice is to treat it like a business and consider writing your job. You have to write to earn money so you don't have the luxury of sitting out writer's block.

I set up a daily budget that I must earn each day - kind of a quota so to speak. That way, I can target a specific dollar figure and have a clear understanding of how much I need to write to reach my goal.

I also immediately sock away 40% for the tax man. I also realize that it can be feast or famine so I have three months of house payments earmarked in advance so that I can weather a full quarter of poor sales. Haven't had to dip into it yet, but I like that cushion.

Take a deep breath and follow your dream!

cbhrbooth · Post by **cbhrbooth** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 7:02 pm

Wow! Congratulations on making the break!

As far as advice: ditto Celeste's suggestions.

Looking forward to reading of your successes.
Mary B.

tifferbugz · Post by **tifferbugz** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 7:43 pm

I really like the idea of setting a daily quota. Thank you so much for the suggestion.

Thank you both for the encouragement! I really appreciate it.

Thanks to Catnipp333 too for congratulating me on another board!

Celeste Stewart · Post by **Celeste Stewart** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 10:45 pm

Any time. The quota/daily budget is a good tool to keep you on track. At my old job, we had numerous service technicians that had to perform at a certain level each day to hold up the entire company (I was in marketing). These techs and their daily performance served as a gauge that measured the company's overall success. If each tech performed at budget or above, we were all good. If daily budgets weren't met, bills didn't get paid, employees lost their jobs (not just techs - across the board), and so forth.

Someone has to bring in the money. This was a valuable lesson and I have applied it to my own freelancing business. I don't have a team of techs to do it for me, so I plug away doing the best I can. I look at what I want to earn per year, per month etc. and break it down to a daily figure that I can live with. I do factor in the holidays, vacations, etc. I am also learning that summer is harder because the kids are home and the work seems more scarce.

With a baby at my side (an extremely cute one at that), I do this part time and have been fortunate enough to make a decent living so far. It's only been about a year but it's been awesome. I'm glad I took the leap and quit the old day job. Besides, working at the day job was costing me money. Each hour spent toiling there was one less hour I could spend making far more freelancing... even after the extra taxes.

catnipp333 · Post by **catnipp333** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 4:42 am

Tifferbugz,

You're welcome & CONGRATS again!!! -- you DID the right thing. You will love it!

Catnipp333

Alexandra Heep · Post by **Alexandra Heep** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 9:17 am

Congrats and what an inspiration.

I am a long way from this, maybe in 10 years or so I can do this full time ...

Constant Content

Nervous...

Nervous...

Good luck!