[Charles Freeborn]

As a 35 year veteran of self employment here are some things I can say with authority.

Write a business plan. Put it all on paper - every nickel. Health insurance, home office utilities, taxes (including local business) - everything. Do it in spreadsheet format and constantly re-visit and update as hard data is available. The math is pretty simple - your cost of living divided by the number of weeks you plan to work divided by the number of hours you plan to work. There's your hourly.

In a 40 hour work week you'll be lucky to get 30 hours of billable time in. The rest gets chewed up with admin, errands, interruptions, etc etc. This is the time suck that most first timers in self employment don't get. I'm pissing away time right now...

It's ALL about building a network and being known as reliable, personable and cost-effective. Strike one and you'er out. Period.

If you can find a branch of your current skill set that you can find a niche in you'll already have some built in network to explore. Maybe it's tech support or sales - you never know where it could lead.

Have a clear description of what goods or services you're offering. No wishy washy " well I think I can do that for you..." You must exude confidence.

I have never gotten work through advertising - it's always been referral from existing happy customers. Social media as an effective advertising platform is a myth. It's all tire kickers.

Whatever you estimate it will cost to do a project - even getting yourself set up and running, double the cost and triple the time - that's what it will come out at.