On your mark-

Only a handful of weeks remain until my current contract is up, and I launch my freelance business.

Three years of freelancing prior to said contract taught me everything I can imagine about what not to do. The biggest lesson learned is that good work does not guarantee success. You have to define what ‘sucess’ means to you and how that will develop. I’ve had to educate myself on contracts, sell myself, and not neglect ‘business’ maintenance.

Suffice it to say that I never imagined writing a business plan when studying theatre. I’m starting to wish I did. I wonder if theatre students were forced to figure out how to put on a show without losing money by writing a basic business plan, young-ish / new / independent theatre professionals would enter the industry empowered with the skills they need to make a show viable.

Until realizing that everything is ‘business’, I hated the mention of the word. To have a livelihood that enables you to pay the bills and afford a place to live requires one (or most) to partake in business. What I’m starting to love are the numbers. Once you wrap your head around the numbers, or at least get over your fear of them, creating, growing and maintaining a business becomes more and more a challenge of creativity and determination.

Working on a business plan forces you to ask questions every time the optimist’s voice sings ‘It’ll work out’. It won’t work out unless you work it. Apparently, all businesses are a risk – no matter how small. Freelance writing fortunately requires little overhead, but there are still many cracks to fall into as you go.

It’s going to be difficult, but I’m energized.

First Step – evaluate strengths and weaknesses