STARTING YOUR FREELANCE CAREER - Your Freelance Home-Based Small Business is a Balancing Act

By Marilyn Crain

"John, you don't have a real job so why can't you run the car wash fundraiser on Friday?" "Jennifer, since your schedule is so flexible can you organize the pet show for us?" Sound familiar? Do you too often get "volunteered" for all kinds of jobs because everyone you know thinks you don't work regular hours?

A successful freelance career is a balancing act.

You must develop a strategy to handle all the outside demands on your time. If you don't know in advance how many projects you can take on you will lose before you even suspect you're in the game.

To help you maintain control of your time and balance your freelancing priorities consider:

· Be pro-active.

Don't just let things happen.

· Make considered decisions.

Weigh the pros and cons of each potential outside project.

· Choose to spend your time on the things that you consider important.

· Family Members Should Understand That Your Run a Real Home-Based Small Business, and it isn't a Hobby.

Be sure that your family and friends understand that even though you don't go to an office for eight hours a day you still have a schedule and deadlines to meet. If you respect your job commitments then others will too.

· Don't automatically say yes to every request to donate your time.

Give yourself permission say, "I'm sorry but I just can't handle anything else right now." Then let go of the guilt for not "doing it all."

· Don't always respond negatively to pleas for help.

Remember your priorities. If one of the reasons you decided to start a freelance career was so that you could be more active in the lives of your children, then consider rearranging your schedule temporarily to take on a project that benefits them.

· Remember to sometimes contribute time to projects just because you want to.

It's a wonderful rejuvenator to be involved in something that makes you feel good, a cause you are passionate about. You can make a difference for your family and community--ultimately in the world without sacrificing your career.

So you see, it's all about balance. Don't over-extend yourself, but never cut yourself off from the joy of being involved. Only you can decide what works best for you. You won't get it right every time. The most important aspect of walking this fine line between too much and not enough is to be active in the process, instead of a passive bystander. With thought and strategic planning it is possible to balance family, work and community.

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Marilyn Crain

Marilyn Crain is a freelance writer with an extensive background in human resources, information systems and performance improvement. Most of her writing has been in these business fields, but she is now expanding her horizons into other areas.

She has had a lifelong love of reading and writing. Among her many passions is sharing history with children through her developing series of children's historical fiction soon to be out on www.ezetta.com.

She is a partner in the e-newsletter/e-marketing site evoicenewsletters, as well as, the soon to be launched eZetta.com, author's site devoted to e-book publishing and decodiva.com, a site filled with beautiful living resources. She is co-publisher of two newsletters, The eVoice and The Freelance Life. You may contact her: marilyn@smartwriters.com.

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Marilyn Crain

Marilyn Crain is a freelance writer with an extensive background in human resources, information systems and performance improvement. Most of her writing has been in these business fields, but she is now expanding her horizons into other areas.

She has had a lifelong love of reading and writing. Among her many passions is sharing history with children through her developing series of children's historical fiction soon to be out on www.ezetta.com.

She is a partner in the e-newsletter/e-marketing site evoicenewsletters, as well as, the soon to be launched eZetta.com, author's site devoted to e-book publishing and decodiva.com, a site filled with beautiful living resources. She is co-publisher of two newsletters, The eVoice and The Freelance Life. You may contact her: marilyn@smartwriters.com.