Going freelance sounds like freedom. And for the most part, it is. However, there are certain things you want to consider before diving in.
I launched my freelance graphic design career in 2017. Honestly, I’ve never looked back. Here are a few things I’ve learned about what actually matters when you’re becoming a freelancer:
1. Do Start Freelancing Before You Quit Your Day Job
The biggest mistake new freelancers make is diving in headfirst without a safety net. You think quitting your job will force you to succeed, but all it does is add crushing financial pressure.
Build your client base while employed. Take on evening and weekend projects. Test your pricing. Learn how long projects actually take. Figure out your invoicing system. Make your rookie mistakes while you still have a steady paycheck.
Save at least three months of expenses. Six is better. This buffer lets you say no to nightmare clients instead of accepting every project out of panic.
Transition when you hit consistent income. When I began freelancing, I started with nights and weekends. Then I asked my employer to go part-time. From there, it took about 6 months before I went full-time.
The freelancers who start this way build sustainable businesses. The ones who quit first usually end up back in full-time jobs within a year, convinced freelancing doesn’t work.
2. Do Set Clear Work Hours and Stick to Them
Freelancing gives you flexibility, but that flexibility will devour your life if you let it.
When you work from home without boundaries, you never stop working. You check emails at 10 pm. You take client calls on Saturday. You convince yourself that working 70-hour weeks is just part of building a business.
I remember hearing someone on “Shark Tank” once say that solopreneurs will work 80 hours a week to avoid working 40.
Define your work schedule upfront: Decide when you start and when you stop. Communicate these hours to clients from day one. Set up an autoresponder outside business hours. Turn off notifications after your workday ends.
Protect your boundaries like your career depends on it because it does. Clients will push. Some will expect instant responses at all hours. The ones worth keeping will respect your boundaries.
Schedule breaks and actually take them. Lunch away from your desk. A walk in the afternoon. Real weekends where you don’t touch work.
Your best work doesn’t come from grinding yourself into dust. It comes from being rested, focused, and mentally present.
3. Do Raise Your Rates When You’re Busy
If you’re constantly slammed with work and turning down projects, you’re undercharging. This feels counterintuitive because you’re making money, but you’re leaving a fortune on the table and burning yourself out in the process.
High demand is a signal. The market is telling you your work is worth more than you’re charging. Most freelancers ignore this signal until they’re exhausted and resentful.
Here’s what to do instead:
Increase rates for new clients immediately. Not by 5%. Not by 10%. By 25-50%. You’ll be shocked how many people say yes without blinking.
Implement the increase within 30 days of feeling overbooked. Don’t wait for the perfect moment. There isn’t one.
Existing clients get a rate increase notification with 60 days notice. Most will stay. Some will leave. The ones who leave weren’t paying you enough anyway.
Raising rates does two powerful things. It filters out the price-shoppers who would’ve been nightmare clients, and it creates breathing room in your schedule. You make the same money with fewer projects, which means better quality work and a life outside your laptop.
4. Don’t Give Up During the Slow Months
Every freelancer hits a dry spell.
The slow periods aren’t failure. They’re part of the cycle. Freelancing has natural ebbs and flows. The designers who make it are simply the ones who push through the dips instead of interpreting them as a sign they should quit.
When work slows down:
Double down on outreach. Reach out to past clients. Update your portfolio. Engage on platforms where your ideal clients hang out. Slow periods are for building the pipeline that fills your next busy season.
Use the time to improve your skills. Take that course you’ve been putting off. Experiment with new techniques. Build spec projects that showcase the work you want to get hired for.
Remember that feast and famine is normal for the first two years. As you build a reputation and a base of repeat clients, the cycles smooth out. But only if you stick around long enough to get there.
Consider a passive income stream. When work began to slow down during the pandemic, that’s when I launched my travel blog, which grew to nearly 6 million annual page views.
5. Don’t Limit Yourself to One Skill Set
You might start as a logo designer, but if that’s all you offer three years later, you’re capping your income and your opportunities. The freelancers who build six-figure businesses are the ones who expand strategically.
Clients don’t want to hire five different people for a brand project. They want one designer who can handle their logo, their website mockups, their social media templates, and their pitch deck. Every additional skill you master makes you exponentially more valuable.
Identify adjacent skills your clients keep asking for. If logo clients always need business cards next, learn print design. If web design clients need illustrations, add that to your toolkit.
Pick one new skill every six months and get proficient. Not expert level. Proficient enough to deliver quality work and charge appropriately.
Package services together for higher project values. A logo by itself might be $1,500. A brand identity package with logo, color palette, typography system, business cards, and social templates? That’s $5,000-$8,000.
Expanding your skills also protects you from market shifts. When one service becomes commoditized or demand drops, you have other revenue streams to fall back on.
Stay curious. Stay learning. Your skills are your business assets, and assets should always be appreciating.
6. Don’t Stay Silent When Projects Go Off Track
Bad clients don’t usually start as bad clients. They start as decent clients with unclear expectations, poor communication, and a freelancer too afraid to speak up when things go sideways.
Scope creep happens when you let it happen. Missed payments happen when you don’t enforce your policies. Endless revision rounds happen when you don’t set boundaries in your contract.
Address issues immediately: Client asks for work outside the agreed scope? Stop and have a conversation about a new quote before doing the work. Payment is late? Send a professional but firm reminder the day after it’s due.
Use contracts. Your contract protects both parties and makes uncomfortable conversations much easier.
Be professional but direct. You’re not being difficult by enforcing your boundaries. You’re running a business. Clients respect freelancers who respect themselves.
The freelancers who get walked all over are the ones who stay quiet and hope problems resolve themselves. They don’t. They multiply until you’re working for free and hating every minute of it.
Going freelance in 2017 taught me that success isn’t about being the most talented designer. It’s about making smart operational decisions that protect your time, your rates, and your sanity. These six rules kept me in business when most of my peers quit and went back to agency jobs.
You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to be strategic about the decisions that actually move the needle. Do that, and you’ll build a freelance career that lasts.
