I have never pursued Freelance full time, but I've been given an opportunity to do that because my boss is moving out of state and is referring some/all of her local clients to me. Please advise.

So, the small firm (very small, it's just me and the owner that work there) that I work for currently has recently decided that it's moving out of state. It's a family decision that was a long time in the works, so I totally respect it and am happy for them, but I'm losing my position there, obviously.

Boss has accumulated a few pretty big clients that are the money-makers. She's going to keep them because they are big enough that either her being out of state doesn't affect the relationship, or that it would be worth the cost of traveling back into the state a few times a year for meetings.

She's also accumulated a grip of smaller/more local clients that she doesn't want to take along with her as it just wouldn't be a viable relationship from that distance.

In any case, and here is where I need advice, she has offered to refer all of those clients to me if I'd like to take them on in a freelance capacity. It's a fair amount of clients, but the jobs they need are not all that regular or that big (updating biz cards, minor website management, the occasional poster) but the amount of clients might make that worth it overall.

But here's the rub, I've never freelanced myself out save for a few illustration projects that I sought out.

What am I even looking at here? Is this something that I should take on or would my time be better spent finding another gig at another firm?

I have my boss, before they leave the state, as a great resource for a lot of the things that I don't know how to do currently, and she's happy to help me with as much as she can. But I know that there will be things that I couldn't possibly even know to ask about.

Do I need to brand myself as a "company" or do I just go with my personal branding that I use on my portfolio and things like that?

It's just such an open and wild opportunity and I want to do it right, even if that means accepting that I'm not ready to take it on and declining the referral.

My gut says that I can do it, and I've gleaned a lot in my years of working that makes it seem possible, and I've been reading about freelancing for years as a daydream. But the reality of this, the potential for it to turn into a small business endeavor (Long-shot, but still) is also very exciting.

Perhaps I just need to study and it's mostly a confidence issue that I'm having. I don't know.

If any of you have any experience with this, or just advice in general about freelancing, I'd very much appreciate it.

TL:DR current job is dissolving, I've been offered to be the referral service for over 30 local businesses at least, I've never pursued freelance in a serious capacity as a designer and I'd love some advice/guidance.

Thank you!

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100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People (Voices That Matter) Submitted February 23, 2017 at 01:41PM by bearcat42 http://ift.tt/2lOoU8K