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Few freelancers have a business plan. This is like setting out on a voyage without a destination. You need a business plan, because your plan will tell you not only how much you will earn in a given year, but also how you will earn it. Without a plan, you’re floundering aimlessly, drifting hither and yon, wherever the prevailing winds and currents take you.
Please don’t freak out on me. 
Your freelancers’ business plan isn’t complex (although if you’re very logical, you can make it as complex as you please.)
Let’s look at a minimalist business plan you might create for 2007.
How much will you earn in 2007?
Firstly, how much do you want to earn? If your writing business is a sideline, and you’re already working at a full time job, aim low. You can always exceed a low amount. A high figure will just make you frustrated. If you’re writing full-time, work out how much you need to live in the style you currently do, and add 25 per cent.
How will you earn it?
Freelancers earn their income in a wide variety of ways: writing for the Web, writing magazine articles, copywriting (writing for business), and writing novels and nonfiction books.
When you’re starting out in a new writing area, estimate that it will take you a year to get up to speed. I’ve always said that it takes around three months for any consistent marketing that you do to have an effect to the stage that it’s generating solid returns. So expect that if you’re new to writing for the Web, or to writing articles, that it will take around three months for you to start making decent money.
Estimate how much of your chosen writing you will need to do. If you’re writing for magazines, for example, how many articles do you have to write and sell?
If you’re new to freelance writing
If you’re a new writer, take 2007 to find your feet. Make a business plan, but realize that you don’t have the experience to estimate precisely how it will all work out. Each month that you work, will give you a broader experience, and you’ll be able to make a targeted plan in 2008.
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Angela Booth
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