It's typically a lot of hard work to become self-employed at any stage in a career. Some people luck out and get a sweet consulting gig, or an ideal “work-from-home” situation lands in their lap. But for the most part, it takes a while to build up a client base, and a while for that client base to be lucrative. If you're hoping to be a self-employed journalist or writer, or course it helps to already have that initial experience under your belt.

If you do have that experience, you need to be persistent in your search. Reach out to people you've worked with at past jobs. Don't leave any connection unprobed. Dissect online forums. Check out your favorite magazines, websites, blogs and papers and find out what they're requirements are for their writers.

If you're new to journalism and to professional writing, as with anything you'll probably have to start at the bottom and work your way up. This sometimes means starting out doing unpaid work – paying clients will want to see published clips and many times they won't pay until you have these things. As I've mentioned before in past posts on what to expect when you land your first job, it's similar for what to expect when you're getting your first self-employment gigs. In many situations, you'll have to start with lower-paying assignments, doing work that may not be specifically what you want to do.

How quickly you want to become self-employed may also determine what types of jobs you take. If you're willing to be patient, you can afford to be pickier. If it's important to you to work for yourself as soon as possible, you'll probably need to take just about anything you can get.

It'll probably be slow going, but don't get discouraged. If you want to own your own time, it will be well worth it.

(www.10thfloorpr.com)