Born Free Start freelancing what you used to do as a full-time job.
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Entrepreneur magazine, May 1999
Q: As an administrative assistant, I never thought I'd do anything entrepreneurial. But my boss is relocating and has asked me to stay on with him here, although he won't need a full 40 hours of work. How might I freelance my services to other companies? Are there any resources to help get me started? Sherri Chockley, Nashville
A: You've been presented with an opportunity to establish your own office support service. A Yellow Pages ad is probably the best way to line up additional clients. Of course, the Yellow Pages only come out once a year, so in the meantime, respond to help-wanted ads and offer to provide what they need as an outside service. You can also network among small-business organizations or with other secretarial or office support services for whom you could do overload work. An excellent resource is the Association of Business Support Services International Inc. at (800) 237-1462. Their monthly newsletter and manuals provide pricing, marketing and other how-to information.
Small-business experts Paul and Sarah Edwards recently released their second edition of Getting Business To Come To You ( Tarcher).