Starting a freelancing career is a big step and not one to be taken lightly. It does offer some benefits, such as being your boss and setting your hours, etc., But it often comes with some significant downsides, such as a lack of consistency in gigs, no benefits, and more. Therefore, before you start your freelancing career, you need to look at the start-up costs.
Many of these might be obvious, but some aren’t, which is why anyone thinking about a career in freelancing needs to take a long in-depth, and hard look at the start-up costs. After all, most of the time there’s going to be some costs that you’ll overlook when thinking about it. That’s why we’ve collected some of the biggest start-up costs you need to be aware of before considering freelancing.
For example, you’re going to need a desk, office chair, and a computer, at a minimum. The chances are that you’ll also need a multi-function printer as well, for creating hard copies of invoices and receipts, as well as whatever else may come up. Setting up your office space is mandatory, as you’ll often be taking calls from clients, and some of these may be video calls. You’ll need to look professional for these, so the need for proper office space is undeniable.
If you don’t know what you need, think about what you had in your old office; most of the stuff you had there will be required in your freelance career. You may have taken most of these for granted, but once you become a freelancer, you realize just how important they were. This expenditure is probably one of the most significant start-up costs for freelancing, but in most cases, it’ll be a one-time investment.
For writers, the software could be as simple as a copy of Microsoft Office, but for designers, it could mean a whole lot more, such as Photoshop, InDesign, Lightworks, and others. Bought in packages, they can be affordable enough, but it is indeed one of the major costs while doing settling your freelancing career. Because they’re important, they’re not something that you can put off while your freelance career develops. However, there is free software out there that you can use, such as Google Docs and Drive, which may help allay some of the initial costs of freelancing.
Some people might also want to consider a type of accounting software, in order to create professional invoices using several invoice template and manage all of their books, payments, and expenses. While this isn’t mandatory, but it could be extremely beneficial in the long run, especially when it comes to paying taxes.
When you’re working in an office, it’s obvious that you’re not at home using electricity, heat, etc. However, once you’re working in a home office, you can expect that bills are going to increase noticeably, but it’s an unfortunate and unavoidable part of freelancing. Like was stated earlier, these are one of the hardest costs to predict, as it comes down to your usage of electricity, air conditioning, phone, etc.
There’s also the issue of spending more on food, as you’ll now be eating more of the food that you have at home.
Save some money and get a bookkeeper or an accountant. This employee may be a start-up cost, but it’s is going to be a major ongoing payment; it’s something that’ll end up becoming necessary, especially as your business grows. That’s why it’s imperative that you start saving for it as soon as possible. The accounting software will only get you so far, so the sooner you begin to save, the better.
Freelancing is the primary point of developing entrepreneurial skills. Think of it as an opportunity to pursue your dreams in the future.
Outfitting Your Office
This one is probably the most obvious in terms of costs before attempting a career in freelancing. After all, how can you do freelance if you’ve got nothing to work with? While exactly what you need depends on what type of work you’re planning to do, such as designer, writer, blogger, etc. There are some things that every freelancer needs.For example, you’re going to need a desk, office chair, and a computer, at a minimum. The chances are that you’ll also need a multi-function printer as well, for creating hard copies of invoices and receipts, as well as whatever else may come up. Setting up your office space is mandatory, as you’ll often be taking calls from clients, and some of these may be video calls. You’ll need to look professional for these, so the need for proper office space is undeniable.
If you don’t know what you need, think about what you had in your old office; most of the stuff you had there will be required in your freelance career. You may have taken most of these for granted, but once you become a freelancer, you realize just how important they were. This expenditure is probably one of the most significant start-up costs for freelancing, but in most cases, it’ll be a one-time investment.
Get the Software You Need
The kind of software depends on what kind of freelancer you’re looking to be in the future. After all, a designer’s needs are different than a writer’s. Here you will need to purchase these stuff on your own so that is definitely an extra cost since in the office you had access of these for free. You might have taken office supplies for granted in your old job, but they’re crucial for freelancing.For writers, the software could be as simple as a copy of Microsoft Office, but for designers, it could mean a whole lot more, such as Photoshop, InDesign, Lightworks, and others. Bought in packages, they can be affordable enough, but it is indeed one of the major costs while doing settling your freelancing career. Because they’re important, they’re not something that you can put off while your freelance career develops. However, there is free software out there that you can use, such as Google Docs and Drive, which may help allay some of the initial costs of freelancing.
Some people might also want to consider a type of accounting software, in order to create professional invoices using several invoice template and manage all of their books, payments, and expenses. While this isn’t mandatory, but it could be extremely beneficial in the long run, especially when it comes to paying taxes.
You Could Have Higher Household Costs
Household costs definitely increase after you settled at home and start performing your tasks. These are costs that are going to exist no matter which stage of the freelancing you’re at. The exact amount is difficult to put a dollar figure on.When you’re working in an office, it’s obvious that you’re not at home using electricity, heat, etc. However, once you’re working in a home office, you can expect that bills are going to increase noticeably, but it’s an unfortunate and unavoidable part of freelancing. Like was stated earlier, these are one of the hardest costs to predict, as it comes down to your usage of electricity, air conditioning, phone, etc.
There’s also the issue of spending more on food, as you’ll now be eating more of the food that you have at home.
Finance & Its Interest- A Major Cost
These costs might mean that you’ll need to take out some loans to purchase everything, even if it’s just a small one. After all, if you don’t have the money to start freelancing, you can’t start freelancing. For some people, a small business loan might be the best thing you can do to start your freelancing business. If you are looking to start small and don’t want to have too much financial burden than 24-hours emergency finance or personal loan would be a path to go.Accountants
We mentioned accounting software already, but at some point, if you’re successful, you’re probably going to need to get an actual accountant. While accounting software can help put this off for a while, it’ll eat your time as a freelancer, and as someone who hasn’t done accounting for a living, you could end up making some costly mistakes.Save some money and get a bookkeeper or an accountant. This employee may be a start-up cost, but it’s is going to be a major ongoing payment; it’s something that’ll end up becoming necessary, especially as your business grows. That’s why it’s imperative that you start saving for it as soon as possible. The accounting software will only get you so far, so the sooner you begin to save, the better.
Final Words
Freelancing is undoubtedly a way to get some peace of mind along with some handsome amount of money if you get to succeed at last. In the beginning, these costs seem a lot and might discourage anyone but believe or not, it is worth of risk. A successful freelancer does things that are hard to think of while doing a regular 9-6 Job with a monthly fixed payment.Freelancing is the primary point of developing entrepreneurial skills. Think of it as an opportunity to pursue your dreams in the future.
Ashutosh Jha
Ashutosh Jha is a professional blogger, Blog and IT Consultant. He writes about Blogging, SEO, Making Money, Internet Marketing and Web Design.
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