Working as a self-employed freelancer
You’re an expert in your field. You’ve read about people with less experience than you who are consulting for $100 an hour. You do the math, and immediately quit your $45 an hour job to make more than twice as much money. Two months later you find yourself begging for your old job back; the wife and kids are tired of livinang on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while you beg the local food bank for just one more exception. Eventually you find a firm that will take you on as an apprentice. What went wrong?
Lack of preparation for one thing. You quit without talking to your current clients about following you. You quit without building a “war chest” to sustain you and your family until the big bucks begin flowing in the door.
Math
For another thing, your math sucks. You cannot possibly bill eight hours a day, five days a week. You need to take time to market yourself. Get invited to blue-ribbon committees to investigate issues in your field. Present papers at conferences. When I started on my march toward being a consultant I sat on commissions as often as possible. Each one required hours of preparation. I presented papers at conferences, which took yet more hours.
I had administrative tasks such as cashing checks and keeping track of what I had said previously on the same or similar topics. I had to make travel arrangements. I spent time on the phone talking to conference organizers. Add time going to and from the post office to mail things, and I spent probably ten percent of my time in administrative tasks.
Holidays took up another ten percent. When I started, I spent probably 20 percent of my time traveling. I no longer travel due to my health.
Reading
Reading was crucial. I still maintain a subscription to the New England Journal of Medicine to support my Substack articles on medicine. I spend at least an hour and a half every day, seven days a week, reading professional journals. That’s eleven percent of my available time.
Negotiation for compensation took up some time, I’m not certain how much.
Selling
Selling was the big thing.
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