FREELANCING 101:

TURNING YOUR SIDE HUSTLE INTO CASH

with Andrew Whelan

BONUS MATERIALS
FREELANCER’S WORKBOOK
 FREELANCING 101: TURNING YOUR SIDE HUSTLE INTO CASH
WORKBOOK CONTENTS:

Getting Started Checklist

Freelance Plan of Action Questionnaire

Freelance Plan of Action Worksheet

Developing Your Network Worksheet

Brand Worksheet

SWOT Analysis

Competitive Analysis Worksheet

Customer Analysis Worksheet

Basic Budget Worksheet

Business Expense Worksheet

Time Commitment Worksheet

FREELANCING 101 // ANDREW WHELAN

 GETTING STARTED
CHECKLIST
Complete these items to begin
your freelance career!

Plan of Action

Network

Brand

Research Market

Determine Pricing

Test, test and then test again

FREELANCING 101 // ANDREW WHELAN

 FREELANCE PLAN OF ACTION
QUESTIONNAIRE

1. What is my idea of success?

2. What are my goals?

3. What can I do to reach my goals?

4. Actions:

5. What am I willing to sacrifice?

6. What am I willing to compromise on?

7. What resources do I have?

8. What do I need help with?

9. Who can help me?

10. How much am I willing to spend?

11. How much time am I willing to invest?

12. When do I plan to reach these goals?

TODAY’S DATE:

FREELANCING 101 // ANDREW WHELAN

 FREELANCE PLAN OF ACTION
WORKSHEET
GOAL MEASURES OF SUCCESS

ACTION STEP RESOURCES COST DEADLINE

FREELANCING 101 // ANDREW WHELAN

 DEVELOPING YOUR NETWORK
WORKSHEET
BUSINESS

NAME CONTACT DATE CONNECTED RESULT

CLIENTS

NAME/TITLE COMPANY DATE CONNECTED DATE FOLLOW UP

FREELANCING 101 // ANDREW WHELAN

 BRAND WORKSHEET
Brainstorming
My greatest strengths are:
My greatest weaknesses are:
My most marketable skills are:
The most unusual aspects of my background or experience are:
People often ask me about:

Questions to ask friends and old co-workers

How do others describe you/what are your strengths?
What are 3 words they would use?
If you didn’t already know what I’m looking to do for a living, what would you guess?
What are my blind spots?

Tying it together
What adjectives, both positive and negative do people use to describe me?
What aspects about my brand are most frequently talked about?
What skills do I have and lack?
Are any aspects of my brand cited as unique or unusual?

ACTION STEPS TO CREATE A BIO

Write down your explanation - no more than 2 sentences - about what you offer that is relevant to
your career and what you offer that will emotionally conntect to your clients. What’s the value you
bring? Write down 1-2 sentences identifying the unique knowledge or skills you have that others in
your new domain might not.

Find your common thread. You’re not rejecting one identity in favor of another; you’re transitioning
and linking your old and new brand. How can you articulate that commonality?

Practice telling your story to close friends. Ask for honest feedback. Your goal is to share
something that is compelling and makes sense to new listeners.
Ask them:
Does it sound plausible?
Responsible?
Strategic?
Why/why not?

FREELANCING 101 // ANDREW WHELAN

 SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

FREELANCING 101 // ANDREW WHELAN

 COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
WORKSHEET

COMPETITOR: Website Specialization Target Audience Product/Service Similarities Differences Positioning Strategy

FREELANCING 101 // ANDREW WHELAN

 CUSTOMER ANALYSIS
WORKSHEET

CUSTOMERS:
WHO ARE THEY? GROUP 1 GROUP 2 GROUP 3

Size of group

Location

Point of Contact

Disposable Income #
Potential # they’d pay for
service
Why they would buy this
service?
How can I motivate them to
buy this service?

FREELANCING 101 // ANDREW WHELAN

 BASIC BUDGET
WORKSHEET

YOUR EXPENSES MONTHLY

Housing (rent or mortgage plus taxes and insurance) $

Transportaion (car payments, gas, insurance, tolls, etc) $

Utilities (heat, electricity, etc) $

Subscriptions (Cable, internet, mobile, gym, etc) $

Groceries $

Medical (co-pays, prescriptions, ets) $

Dining, travel, and entertainment $

Other discretionary spending (hobbies, personal care, etc) $

Debt payments (credit cards, student loans, etc) $

Savings $

Other $

Other $

Other $

Other $

Other $

Other $

TOTAL EXPENSES $

FREELANCING 101 // ANDREW WHELAN

 BUSINESS EXPENSE
WORKSHEET

BUSINESS EXPENSES MONTHLY

Office or Co-working space $

Transportaion (car payments, gas, insurance, tolls, etc) $

Equipment $

Software $

Web hosting $

Marketing $

Accounting fees $

Other $

Other $

Other $

Other $

Other $

Other $

Other $

Other $

Other $

TOTAL EXPENSES $

FREELANCING 101 // ANDREW WHELAN

 TIME COMMITMENT
WORKSHEET

ITEM ESTIMATED TIME NOTES

Client negotiations

Research

Travel

Creating

Presenting

Revisions

Invoicing/Admin

TOTAL HOURS

FREELANCING 101 // ANDREW WHELAN