When you first get started freelancing, it can be a world of flowers and unicorns. Someone’s actually paying you to sit at your kitchen table and do something you love! You feel like the cat that ate the canary. For some folks who’ve come into a freelance writing career after being laid off from their first career, it seems like a true Godsend.

Still, there are some stark realities you’re going to have to face, and fast. Here are some that tend to hit the hardest, and that you need to be ready to face:

If you don’t work, you don’t earn

That basic principle of sowing and reaping applies to your freelance writing business. If you don’t write, you don’t make any money. Some people start out with a client like Demand Studios or a blog network, and they do the math. They think they can make $40,000 or $50,000 a year. While that’s technically true, there still has to be enough work to do and you have to actually do it.

You don’t have a work-at-home job, you have a home business

A lot of folks start out in the freelance writing business with the “work-at-home” attitude. You need to disassociate yourself with that mindset. You don’t have an employer, you have clients. You don’t work at home, you have a home business. These distinctions are important on several levels, and I won’t get into all of that here. Suffice it to say that you’ll never grow your business if you don’t see it as a business in the first place.

Businesses have expenses

Every small business has expenses, including yours. You’re going to need to shell out some cash here and there. You’ll need a good computer, an Internet connection and some office supplies. You need to spend some money on marketing, or else you’ll never grow your client base. The old adage about spending money to make money is true. Even if you don’t have a lot of working capital to start with, as soon as gigs start coming in you need to be reinvesting some of your money.

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If you’re serious about your freelance writing business, you need to know that it’s going to take some serious changes to your life to be successful at it. Whether you’re coming into freelance writing from another career, or whether you’ve been a work-at-home mom or dad, it’s a whole different ballgame.

Not only are you going to need to make some adjustments, so is your family. To make the transition easier on everyone, here are some basic things you can do:

Talk with your family

Let them know what kinds of changes are coming. If freelance writing is, initially, going to reduce your income, let them know that they’re going to have to tighten their belts a bit. If it means schedule changes or if it means that daddy spends Saturday mornings in his office, they need to know that. Let the conversation be a positive thing, and encourage your children to ask questions.

Coordinate your family schedule

My wife and I like to sit down on Sunday nights and go over the week. We have a pretty good idea of what each day entails already, but it’s important to factor in special events. For example, Monday is voice lessons, Tuesday is grocery shopping, etc. By taking 15 minutes on Sunday to project the weekly schedule, you can save all sorts of frustration later.

Be a partner with your spouse

Even if your spouse isn’t involved directly in your business, they’re still your partner. Don’t try to go it alone. Ask your spouse to help pick up the slack here and there, and be upfront about what kinds of things you’ll need from him or her. Listen to your spouse, too, so that you can hear your spouse’s needs.

Make family time sacred

Schedule in regular family time. While the phrase “quality time” is overused, the reason it’s overused is because it’s a darn good idea. Making specific times in your schedule for your family helps them feel valued.

Find ways for your children to help

Your six year-old isn’t going to be writing web copy. I get that. But you might find ways your kids can be involved in your business. For example, we hired my 15 year-old to upload articles to a client’s website. The main thing here is to always double-check their work and to make them feel valued at the same time.

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You know, the more I talk with freelance writing business owners, the more I realize we really are a diverse bunch. There are stay-at-home moms, out-of-work factory rats, English majors and just about everything in between. Education levels go from High School grad to Ph.D.

It’s not only backgrounds that differ, though. The vision of the future that freelance writers have can vary greatly from one to the next, too. What I hope my freelance writing business looks like in five years may be vastly different from what you hope yours looks like.

I, for example, like the path I’m on. I relish in the entrepreneurial aspect of things. I like to find new areas of business and sell something truly valuable and unique to my customers. I also like the idea of growth, and as I contract more and more work out to others I realize that the structure of my business is changing into what i want it to become.

Five years from now, I imagine providing a substantial amount of work to half a dozen or so other writers. I envision a steady income from residual projects (from blogs that I run to affiliate sales to other streams of ongoing income).

My vision, though, isn’t everyone’s vision. One freelance business owner I know wanted to be the “McDonald’s of web writing,” meaning that she’d provide low-cost but quality writing to vast numbers of clients on a quick-serve basis. There’s nothing wrong with that particular vision, but it’s not mine.

I know some freelancers, though, who are just happy to be working. There’s nothing wrong with that, either. For a new freelance writer to sign up with Demand Studios or a similar company, and hope to spend the next two or three years earning a fair wage is a reasonable vision. It’s not the one I have, and it’s not the one I’d recommend, but it’s reasonable.

What’s my point here? I have two. First, don’t assume other freelancers want the same things you do. Even when you read the advice on this blog and elsewhere around FWJ, your goals might be very different than the writer’s. Keep that in mind, and adapt the advice to your own vision.

Second, don’t assume that your vision is, necessarily, better than someone else’s. Maybe you have no desire to pump out vast amounts of copy in a fast food type fashion, but that doesn’t mean McWriter has a bad idea. Same goes for looking down your nose at those folks content to work for $10 an article.

So, what does your dream business look like?

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Freelance writing businesses fail. Take any dozen freelance writers starting out their first year of business and line them up. Half of them won’t make it through their second year of business. Half of those remaining won’t make it to year five.

It isn’t that the folks that fail aren’t talented. Many of them are amazing writers. But it takes more than the ability to string words together in a pleasing way to stay in business. It takes things like desire, tenacity and business sense.

In short, it takes something special to succeed. While the details can differ from one case to the next, over and over again there are common characteristics you’ll find among successful freelance writing business owners:

A successful freelance writing business owner is motivated by personal and family concerns.

Many folks start out as freelance writers because they want the flexibility that running a small business affords. This, in part, explains the proliferation of work-at-home moms in the business.  The other side to this is a desire to work for yourself, to not be beholden to a corporation or to a boss.

This isn’t to say that someone motivated by other things won’t be successful as a freelancer, but it’s these personal issues that tend to make the difference, rather than a desire for profits.

A successful freelance writing business owner is dedicated to the business.

To make this whole thing work, you kind of need to eat, sleep and breathe freelance writing. Yes, you have the kind of flexibility you need or want. But to be successful in the long run, you’re probably going to work more hours in a given week than an employee somewhere else. Yes, you should do what you can do work smarter and not harder, but growth and success take elbow grease.

A successful freelance writing business owner plans.

I’ve harped on this before, but it’s worth repeating: you need to have a business plan if you’re going to be successful. You need to know where you’re going, and how to get there. Your business plan will change as time goes on, but if you don’t have one at all you’ll find yourself flailing around in the ocean, tossed about by every wind that comes along.

A successful freelance writing business owner reacts quickly to change.

You need to be able to think on your feet. Change, whether it’s the loss of a client or a new trend in web writing, affects the small business much quicker than it affects larger business. You need to react quickly to make the best of new opportunities and to guard against threats to your business.

A successful freelance writing business owner projects confidence and competence.

I had an experience just yesterday that illustrates this point. My wife and I visited a local dining establishment for lunch. I ordered the Tuna Melt, which is typically a toasted tuna salad sandwich on rye with a slice of cheese (melted, of course). When the server brought the sandwich, I saw it was missing the cheese. When I asked the server whether the sandwich should have had cheese, she wasn’t sure. Minutes later, she brought out a small plate with a single slice of cheese on it. She explained that the cook (who was also the owner) forgot the cheese, but here it was if I wanted it.

Now, this wasn’t a major setback for me, but I can tell you this: the server didn’t know the menu. The owner didn’t know how to make a common, basic sandwich. The server had no clue what kinds of food she was selling. I’m not especially confident in this business. I think the odds of getting the wrong order again are pretty high, unless I order the daily special. I won’t be back.

A successful freelance writing business owner sticks to it.

In many cases, lasting those first few years as a small business are just about tenacity. Being dedicated enough to do the job and do it well, and having enough financial security to handle those famous “famine” portions of the “feast or famine cycle” is essential.

The good news, which I can tell you from personal experience, is that as time goes on there is a lot more feasting and a lot less famine. As you build up a solid client base, you get to the point where your freelance writing business is relatively safe and there’s enough work to keep the doors open.

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I want to share some things with you all that I’ve learned about running my freelance business. Specifically, I want to look at this whole freelance business in the context of working at home, and some of the pitfalls inherent in that situation.

Contrary to what you read on the sales page, being a work-at-home freelancer isn’t a walk in the park. It is, however, extremely rewarding if you can be successful at it.

Think of this list as some of the most common mistakes that work-at-home freelancers make, and some ways that you can avoid them.

1. Thinking too big

If you listen to what the advertisements say, you can earn hundreds of thousands of dollars a year part-time as a work-at-home freelancer. The fact is, though, that the vast majority of part-time work-at-home freelancers don’t make one hundred thousand dollars in three years. If you want to get rich, find another profession. You’re not working at home because you want to be a millionaire; you’re working at home because you want to be there for your family when they need you.

2. Thinking too small

Just because you’re a work-at-home freelancer doesn’t mean you have to make pennies a day, either. It is possible to make living in freelancing. I’m living proof of that, and so are a lot of my readers.

The products or services you offer have value. There are people who want those products or services, and it’s just a matter of finding them, of opening those doors and walking through. Did you make $50,000 last year in your particular niche? Shoot for $75,000 this year. Don’t be afraid to set goals, even goals that seem unreachable at times.

3. Forgetting why you choose to work at home

When those orders are pouring in, when you have a huge project with a quick deadline, or when your editor has given you a drop-dead date, it’s easy to get consumed with your work. Even during a “normal” week, many work-at-home freelancers spend more time working than people who work outside of the house. Sometimes, though, you’ll have a snow day, or a sick child, or just a child that wants a grilled cheese sandwich. Sometimes, you’re going to have to set work aside to take care of life, and that’s all right. In fact, it’s probably why you work at home.

4. Entertaining your distractions

Anyone who’s been working at home for any amount of time knows that it’s nearly impossible to turn the television off during the work day, once you turn it on. But, distractions like that are the easy ones to avoid. On the other hand, it’s all too easy for a work-at-home freelancer to spend time on a message board (or a blog, like this one) with other freelancers talking about the issues they face. Activities like these can be beneficial to a work-at-home freelancer, and can be extremely motivating. They also don’t put any money into your checking account. Make time for these activities, but only a certain amount of time. Recognizing distractions for what they are and refusing to let them interfere with your work is key to your success.

5. Ignoring your options

Sometimes, you’ve got to be willing to change directions mid-stream. There are a huge number of opportunities for work-at-home freelancers out there if you’re willing to explore them. If I would have been content with my career in the IT field, I would never have gone back for my Master’s Degree. If I hadn’t gone back for my Master’s, I probably wouldn’t have started writing. Each of these choices has enhanced my career, in the long run. Not every change has been good, but every change has, at a minimum, taught me a lesson.

6. Dwelling on failure

Everyone fails sometimes. Clergy, politicians, doctors, business folk, and even work-at-home freelancers. You’re going to fail, too. Count on it. But, when you do, pick yourself up by the bootstraps, stare your failure in the face, and declare to yourself and the world, “I’m back, and no one, not even myself, is going to stop me.” Learn the lessons that your failure has to teach, but then leave it in the past where it belongs.

7. Going it alone

No one is an island, especially not the work-at-home freelancer. You need a support structure. You need to be able to count on your family for help and encouragement. Some folks are more blessed than others, in this regard. You might have to seek out that help and encouragement among your friends. You might have to go out and make new friends that will be helpful and supportive. But you can’t do it all by yourself. There hasn’t been a soul born yet who can.

8. Working smarter, not harder

Working smarter isn’t all it is cracked up to be. Alone, it won’t guarantee your success. Yes, efficiency is important. Yes, if you can delegate, you ought to. Yes, if you can accomplish a task in 10 minutes using a specific tool that would take you 30 without it, you should use the tool. But being a work-at-home freelancer still requires all of the hard work and dedication you can muster.

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Freelancing can be a great move to make. It can change your outlook on life, improve your financial situation and give you more freedom. It can also open up opportunities that you didn’t have access to previously, like traveling to new places or maybe a book deal.

But freelancing also can be a bad move, in some circumstances. Many people get desperate and throw themselves into this line of career without thinking and planning. The result? You’re worse off than you were when you started.

So when is the right time to move to freelancing? Is it a good decision for you? Will it be everything you hoped for? Read on.

Are You Emotionally Ready?

Cons: Freelancers take some hard emotional knocks. Rejection is common, and so are revision requests. You might hear, “This isn’t what I want,” or, “I don’t like what you’ve written,” often. You’ll need to be able to distinguish and separate your work from your self-worth. You may feel like clients boss you around, and sometimes clients can be rude or blunt.

Pros: Moving towards self-employment and a freelancing career can make you feel better about the work you do and your contribution to the world. You might feel more valued, as if your writing makes a difference. Your self-esteem could rise substantially, and your confidence as well. You could even feel relieved, now that you’re away from employment you found oppressive.

Tip: Learn that rejection and revision requests are no reflection on who you are as a person. Writing is very subjective, and some people will like what you do. Some won’t. That’s okay – you’re still a great individual with plenty to offer the world.

Are You Financially Ready?

Cons: If there’s one thing that freelancing doesn’t offer, it’s a stable income. You may not get paid every week, and you may ride an income roller-coaster of great highs and terrible lows. You’ll need to invest money into improving your business or skills and have cash available for expenses. A cushion of savings to fall back on when times are tough is crucial.

Pros: Preparing to weather highs and lows means you have good plans in place to ride out tough times. A cushion provides financial security, so you’ll feel more comfortable. You’ll be able to adjust your rates and schedule to find the optimal income flow that meets your needs. Learning to budget effectively also tends to improve your financial situation overall.

Tip: A proper plan for marketing your services helps you keep income flow steady. Market steadily, whether you have plenty of work or none at all, to make sure that you never have an empty plate. It’s better to have a waiting list than have no work at all.

Are You Business Ready?

Cons: Freelancing often equals freedom, but that doesn’t mean freedom from paperwork, business plans, proper accounting systems and more. Launch yourself into your career, and you’ll discover you’re not set up to accept payments, keep track of income and expenses and show banks you have a serious business. The result? Improper business planning can cost you an organizational mess and extra expenses down the line – sometimes to the tune of thousands.

Pros: Plenty of online sites and offline organizations provide help and advice, checklists of ‘must haves’ and resources to set you up with your business needs. By preparing up your business properly before starting, you’ll reduce wasted time, eliminate headaches and have smooth operations all the way to success.

Tip: Don’t try to do it all yourself or take on tasks that require skills you don’t have. Accounting is for accountants. Web design is for designers. Technical support is for techies. Focus on what you do best, and invest in the right people to make your business more successful.

Are you Stability Ready?

Cons: Many people turn to freelancing when the situation is desperate. They want a way out, an escape or a rescue from current circumstances. They forget to consider that switching career paths sometimes just changes four quarters for a dollar and doesn’t solve anything at all.

Pros: Rushing into anything often creates more problems than it’s worth. Yes, sometimes desperate situations call for desperate measures, but see if you can’t hold on to what you have for stability’s sake while setting up your business. Preparing for a launch over a period of six months often produces better results than a rushed, save-me decision to freelance.

Can you think of any other situations you need to be prepared for before you start freelancing? What troubles have you run into? What did you learn from your own startup? What other situations do you feel you need to be ready for before taking the plunge?

Want to learn more ways to prepare yourself for a damned fine freelancing business? Get The Unlimited Freelancer and tap into secrets the successful freelancers use to get ahead.