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pIf there is one thing I miss about working in the corporate world, it is having teams of people working in the background that I can call on for any type of support my business may need. /p
pHave a legal question? Dial the extension to get someone in legal. Marketing? They are also at the touch of a button. HR question? Their extension was one number away from marketing. IT? Who else literally comes running when your computer network dies and you are on deadline?/p
pBut now that I am a freelancer, my entire team consists of me, myself, and I. Which means that I needed to cobble together a team to back me up and?surprise?most of them are freelancers too. Here?s who you need on your back-up team:/p
h21. Lawyer/h2
pWhile you probably don?t need one on retainer, it is a good idea to find a lawyer that you can call on if you need help. The type of lawyer that you will want to meet (and interview, as many provide free initial consultations) could range from one who specializes in copyrights and patents to business law to contract law. /p
pRemember, legal advice is worth what you pay for it, so posting a problem on a website instead of hiring a lawyer to save money and getting free feedback is worth?about what you paid for it.span id="more-27076"/span/p
h22. CPA/h2
pAgain, hiring a CPA can be kind of expensive, but they are worth what you pay them. A good CPA can do your taxes in a way that is least likely to get you audited (a common occurrence for freelancers, especially if they write off their home office), discuss the positives and negatives of changing from a sole-prop freelancer to a full-fledged C Corp, and give you good advice about the financial aspects of growing your business./p
h23. Mentor/h2
blockquote class="pullquote pqRight"pActually, as a new freelancer, you probably need a mentor now more than ever./p/blockquote
pJust because you are out of the corporate world, doesn?t mean you don?t need a mentor. Actually, as a new freelancer, you probably need a mentor now more than ever. /p
pChoose someone in your field, or a similar field, who is doing what you want to be doing in five or ten years. /p
pMeet up with them, buy them coffee, and ask them to be your a href="http://freelanceswitch.com/start/5-tips-for-freelance-mentor-relationships/"mentor/a. A mentor is an excellent person to toss ideas around with, as they have probably been right where you are now at some point in their life. They can also be great at driving business your way, and helping you with problems that come up.!--more--/p
h24. Banker/h2
pWhile my motto is to pay cash for everything related to my business, I still keep a good business relationship with my a href="http://freelanceswitch.com/the-business-of-freelancing/banking-for-freelancers/"local banker/a. I prefer a credit union over a mega bank, but the choice is up to you. A banker can be particularly helpful if you are scaling up your business quickly and need a loan to cover expenses (or just some good financial business advice from someone who runs, well, a business)./p
h25. Doctor/h2
pFor freelancers, if you are out of commission for a while because you are ill, your business could be DOA by the time you recover. Having a doctor on your side who helps keeps you healthy is a huge asset./p
h26. Insurance Agent/h2
pI love my insurance agent. Besides being a very nice lady, and providing really great insurance rates because I have been a customer for ages, she also dispenses very good advice. When I wanted to cancel my car insurance because I would be traveling for a year she pointed out that I would then not be covered by insurance for any car I decided to drive during the trip (like a friend?s car or a rental car). Duh. I hadn?t thought of that./p
pAn insurance agent who knows you can also advise you about when you can adjust your coverage based on your changing life circumstances, tell you what the industry standards are for insurance (different industries require different liability coverages), and can also provide you discounts on multiple policies./p
h27. Group/h2
pWhether you join a Mastermind Group or your local writer or hacker group, having people around you that are in your industry can both challenge and inspire you; this can have an amazingly positive impact on your freelance career./p
pIf you want to be a speaker join Toastmasters. If you are an artist, join a local artist group. The idea is to get ?in the loop? so to speak with others who are doing similar things to you so you can network, share information, learn together, and have people push you who know what you are capable of./p
h28. Friend/h2
pSometimes you just need someone to be nice to you after a particularly difficult day or project. For me, it?s the hubby. I can rattle on about my code being a freaking disaster or lament the horrid drivel I wrote for a book I am putting together and, while he has no idea what I am talking about, he will be 100% supportive nonetheless. Friends are good to help cheer you up and clear your mind when you hit a rough patch./p
h29. Assorted List of Useful People/h2
pWhen I worked in the non-profit world, I literally kept a list of about 40 people#8211;all with different talents and skills?that I could call on for help. Of course, I made sure to tell them that they could call on me anytime they needed help as well. /p
pFrom this list I could come up with a congressman, a computer whiz, a guy with a truck that could move things on a moment?s notice, the president of a college, a handful of lawyers who specialized in various areas of law, a social worker who was more like a miracle worker, a fundraiser who was also more like a miracle worker, and a person that could fix any problem that didn?t seem to have an answer. It is a good idea to develop your own list of people that you can call on for random bits of help, just be sure to return the favor. /p
pAs a freelancer, you are faced with a whole bunch of challenges that your corporate counterparts don?t have to deal with. Take the time now to put together a back-up team that can help you through these challenge./p
pemPhoto credit: a title="Attribution License" href="http://photodune.net/wiki/support/legal-terms/licensing-terms/"Some rights reserved/a by a href="http://photodune.net/item/successful-business-professionals/656927"Yuri_Arcurs/a/em./p
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