So you want to be an freelance indexer. The idea of being paid to read is alluring, or you need a more flexible job that will fit around the rest of your life, or you just want to work from home. Whatever your reasons, welcome!

But how, you ask, do I become a freelance indexer? Or a freelance anything? Where does the work actually come from? Is there enough work out there for me, and for everyone else who is also freelancing?

The answer is yes, I do believe that there is enough work out there for all who want to freelance. And yes, initially finding that work will probably be difficult. It will take effort to connect with the people who need your services, and it may take time before those people are ready to hire you. I have heard it said, and found this true for myself, that it takes about three years to build up a business to the point where you are consistently working full-time. Freelancing is not a quick fix for a sudden financial crunch. Successful freelancing is a long-term endeavour.

But still, how do you start? Because we all have to start from somewhere.

In his book The Art of Work, Jeff Goins discusses the concept of building a bridge to achieve your goals. In this way of thinking, you work systematically towards your goal instead of taking a drastic leap. You do not need to do everything at once to achieve your dream. Instead, you are always asking yourself, what can I do next? In freelance terms, this likely means preparing to freelance prior to quitting your previous job. It means that you have certain conditions in place that give you the confidence to freelance, because you have already done some of the work, and what you have done leads naturally to the next phase.

For me, I was confident about quitting my in-house publishing job and starting to freelance because I had learned how to index while working in-house, I already had some guaranteed work from previous employers, and I had some money saved which I could live off of for the first few months. This was my bridge that allowed me to build a freelance business. Was it enough to provide me with full-time work when I first started to freelance? No, I was only working part-time, at best, in my first year as a freelancer. But I had enough to pay the bills, and I had enough to build upon, which was what I needed.

So what can you do to build your bridge? We all start from different places, so your bridge may look different from mine. Here are a few suggestions, though, for where to start. How many of these you need is up to you.

• Learn how to index. You can take a course, you can teach yourself, or you can learn while working in-house for someone else. But your first freelance job, working under a deadline, is not the best time to learn. 
• Moonlight. If you have a full-time job, start freelancing part-time on the side. This will give you experience and you can start to build your client base. When you do decide to freelance full-time, you will probably have to expand your client base, but that should be easy compared to starting from scratch.
• Secure promises for work. Do you have an employer or previous employers who can send you work when you switch to freelancing? Do you know of other potential sources of work? Talk to them now. The best piece of advice I received when I started is to have some work already lined up. This alleviates the financial stress of not knowing how you are going to pay your bills in those first months. It also gives you a portfolio right from the start that you can show to other potential clients.
• Build a financial cushion. As mentioned in the previous point, stressing out about how to pay your bills is not fun, and is not conducive to the mental and emotional space needed to build your business. Also keep in mind that clients usually pay after the job is completed, so even if you do have work lined up for when you start freelancing, it will probably still be a couple of months before you see that money. If you can, save some money to live on for those first few lean months. 
• Network. Even if your previous employer can send you work, you will likely need a larger client base than that. Are there local publishers that you can contact and ask to visit their offices or meet for coffee? Are there local editor and author groups that you can join or visit? Are there relevant conferences that you can attend? Can you get to know other indexers? Finding work is about connecting with the right people. Start building those relationships now, so that you are not completely isolated when you start to freelance. 
• Create a plan. What kind of indexing do you want to do? How much money do you need to make? How do you define full-time? How are you doing to market yourself? Where are you physically going to do the work? You do not have to implement this plan before you start to freelance, and the plan will probably change over time as you gain experience and as circumstances change, but having some amount of plan will help tell you what the next steps are, and will help to give you a sense of momentum.

Starting your own business is never going to be easy. It will always carry some risk. I do believe, however, that it is possible to manage the level of difficulty. If you can think of launching a business as a series of smaller steps, some of which can be done prior to launch, you will be setting yourself up for a greater chance at success, and an easier, less stressful beginning. That is what building your bridge is about.

If you have already launched your freelancing business, what steps did you take to ensure success?

The Freelance Career Launch Series is a set of posts about how to start your freelance career. The focus will be on indexing, because that is what I do, but the principles are universal.