12 Steps for Preparing to Quit Your Day Job & Work from Home Full-Time: Part 2

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Do you really, really want to work from home full time, but you don’t know how to make this happen? Do you want to be your own boss and be in charge of your financial future?

We’ve got you! What you need is an action plan, and we’ve got one right here. Sagan Morrow, a Work-At-Home School contributor, is back on the blog today to break down the exact steps you need to take to make your work-at-home dream a reality.

This is Part 2 of a 3-part series on how to (successfully!) prepare to work from home full-time… and say “goodbye” to your 9-to-5 life. Check out Part 1 here. 

Want to finally quit your day job? Here’s how to do it.

Step 5: Set weekly goals for yourself

In Part 1, we looked at putting together a three-month plan of action. In this step, review your plan of action and identify what exactly you want to accomplish each week for the next twelve weeks. Take into consideration where you need to be three months from now and what you need to do to get there. This will help you identify which tasks need to be completed… and then you’ll be able to see what weekly goals you want to accomplish. All of your little tasks should fall under those broader overarching goals. 

When you have weekly goals organized for yourself, you can focus on each goal one step at a time, and focus your tasks for that week on accomplishing that particular goal.

Step 6: Find work and get clients

I encourage you to get clients before you quit your day job for a number of reasons, including that then you’ll at least have a bit of a client base so you won’t have to worry about not bringing in an income when you first start to work from home full-time. It will also help you to see how effectively you communicate with clients, what you need to work on to improve your skills at it, how much you enjoy the services you provide, and whether the people you work with are actually your ideal client. 

Over the next few months, by getting work with clients, you’ll be able to determine if you do in fact want to go in this particular direction with your business, or if you want to make any changes to your business plan and business strategies. You can almost see it as a trial run of working on your business over the next few months.

Here’s exactly how to identify your ideal client.

Step 7: Improve your skill set

This is about doing professional development, getting certifications, that sort of thing. Brushing up on your skills will give you more legitimacy in your field when you work from home full-time. Being able to show you completed a particular program or that you have a degree or certification in your industry will make clients that much more receptive to hiring you. 

Plus, improving your skill at the service you offer will increase your confidence, which can make a huge difference to getting paid what you’re worth! If you don’t have much experience in your industry, then this is something you will REALLY want to work on. Spend some time improving your skills each week for the next three months and you’ll improve dramatically. 

The other side of this coin is to get your own experience in the skill. Perhaps you don’t have the funds to be able to take a diploma program. That’s okay! Focus on building up the skill on your own.

Step 8: Request testimonials

Testimonials are another valuable way to increase that sense of legitimacy and help prospects decide whether or not to hire you, and why you’re the right person for the job. Here, reach out to anyone you’ve ever done work with who you trust to provide you with a sincere testimonial. 

It’s important to be specific on exactly what you want to get from the testimonial and what you’ll be using it for when you send testimonial requests. There is definitely a “right” way to get the perfect testimonial! That’s why we go over a sample testimonial request you can copy and paste for yourself, plus a breakdown of each element for the perfect testimonial request, in Goodbye 9 to 5.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of this series! In the meantime…

Get the inside scoop on how to (finally!) quit your day job—forever—in the Goodbye 9 to 5 masterclass.

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Sagan Morrow has a decade of experience as a freelance writer, editor, and social media manager. She loves being able to pass on what she’s learned over the years with other freelancers, in between doing her client work. Learn more and get additional business tips & resources at SaganMorrow.com.

 

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Note from Caitlin: Goodbye 9 to 5 is included in Work-At-Home School. However, Work-At-Home School is closed for enrollment right now, so if you’re itching to get started, check out Goodbye 9 to 5 right now!