Making The Transition
Don't quit your job to freelance. At least not yet.
The riskiest way to start a freelance business is with no income and no runway. Here is the case for building it on the side first.
Brendan Coots
I read a lot of social posts from people who just quit their job to build a freelance business from scratch. It sounds exciting. It is also one of the riskiest moves you can make, and one I would not recommend unless your circumstances leave you no choice.
For most people, quitting cold to freelance is the riskiest way to start. Build the business as a side hustle first, keep the steady paycheck, and bank a cushion of at least three months of expenses. Go full time when the freelance work feels steady and you no longer have hours for both.
No one aspires to launch a rickety, low-income operation that leaves them stressed and anxious all the time. But that is what most people get when they launch too hastily. If you feel urgency to generate immediate income, you will almost certainly take costly shortcuts, skip vital planning, and rush to win any client who will say yes. You put your business at a disadvantage before it has even launched, and the consequences can take a long time to overcome.
A strong freelance business takes time to build
A sustainable, profitable, enjoyable operation takes time to plan, build, and launch. It takes time to get jobs rolling in with regularity, and it can take a while to get paid on your first few. To weather that period of uncertainty and learning, launch your freelance operation as a side hustle while you keep drawing a steady paycheck.
Launch your freelancing operation as a side hustle.
You build your client base in your off hours while keeping the lights on and the family fed. Yes, it means some busy weeks and late nights, working the day job while prospecting and managing gigs on your own time. It is also a chance to bank what you earn. Even the best-run operations hit slow stretches and cash-flow gaps waiting on a client's payment.
Feast and famine cycles are common knowledge among freelancers. Winter, for example, slows many retail businesses as staff take holidays and the Christmas push ends; if your clients are retailers, your work slows with them. Larger projects create their own gaps, where you carry the cost of the work while you wait for payment to clear. Running out of money simply is not an option, and for most people it would force a return to employment, which is exactly what we want to avoid.
How much should you save before freelancing full time?
To minimize anxiety and avoid those traps, every freelancer should plan to launch with no less than three months of personal living expenses saved. That cushion smooths the feast-and-famine swings, especially in the early days, and it buys you the freedom to say no to bad clients and bad rates.
So when is it time to quit?
Honestly, I would not recommend doing it any other way unless a layoff forces your hand. The side-hustle path gives you the most solid foundation, the time to build things right, and far less stress. The moment to go full time is probably when you no longer have enough hours to tend to both the freelance work and the day job at once. If the freelance work feels steady and reliable, it is go time.
Frequently asked questions
Can you build a freelance business while working full time?
Yes, and for most people it's the smart way to start. You build your client base in off hours while your paycheck keeps the lights on, which lets you bank early earnings and weather the slow stretches every freelancer hits. It means some late nights, but it removes the pressure that forces bad, rushed decisions.
How much should you save before going full time?
Plan to leave with no less than three months of personal living expenses saved. That cushion smooths the feast-and-famine swings of early freelancing and buys you the freedom to say no to bad clients and bad rates. Six months is better if you can manage it.
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