In 2017, the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) reported that 34% of the U.S. workforce was working as freelancers or contractors, many of those people working from home. Enter the pandemic—by early April 2020, more than 30% of employees had shifted to remote work. Meanwhile, the BLS estimates that some 40% of American workers could telework permanently.

Anyone who has tried the work-from-home lifestyle for a while — either as a freelancer/contractor or as a remote employee — will be quick to point out that organization is key to staying productive, on task, and in sync with teammates and clients. But how do successful freelance workers do it?

How to achieve freelance success

If you’re looking to transition to freelance work or need some help getting your freelance projects in order, here are some things to keep in mind:

• Maintain a schedule. Set working hours for yourself each day. Try to pick ones that align with the normal business hours of your clients or the clients you hope to have. This will help you maintain a consistent workflow and keep you on track.
• Don’t take on more freelance contracts than you can handle. It’s good to keep a steady flow of business, but don’t overdo it. While more contracts are nice, overloading yourself can make work stressful and less manageable.
• Create a personal brand image. You don’t need a designer on staff to create professional-looking templates for the documents you use and share regularly. With a PDF editor like Nitro PDF Pro™, you can easily insert your logo, watermark, or other personal flairs into your reports, business communications, and freelance contracts.
• Be strategic about the work you take. You don’t need to accept every freelance project that comes your way. Focus on closing contracts with clients that want help on long-term projects as opposed to one-off gigs.
• Invest in an eSigning solution. Having an eSigning tool will help simplify the process of issuing contracts to clients and getting them signed. With a tool like Nitro Sign™, you and your customers can fill out and sign contracts on any web browser or device.
• Don’t forget the financials. If you’re not great at managing budgets or bookkeeping, consider hiring a contractor of your own to handle financials for you. And always look for opportunities to streamline your workflows. Being more efficient can result in substantial cost savings over time.

Freelancing offers a ton of flexibility and the opportunity to start your own business. We hope you consider these tips as you kick off your freelancing journey!