Is it realistic?

This isn’t about gazing into the future and predicting the success of your new venture. What you want to try and establish is whether there’s the demand for the services you’re going to offer.

Get on Google and see what other freelancers in your industry are doing:

  • How do they offer their services: is each quote individual or do they package their services up?
  • What are their rates like?
  • Do rates fluctuate depending on location?
  • How long have they been in business?
  • What’s their USP?
  • Who is their target customer/client?

This isn’t an exhaustive list, but answering these questions will give you a rough idea of the landscape you’re entering. It won’t give you the whole story – you don’t know how these businesses are performing – but you might notice some useful trends.

For instance, you may find there are lots of providers and each has their own specialism. That could suggest there’s such demand for services in that sector that freelancers can afford to specialise (or need to, to stand out).

If you’re struggling to find businesses doing what you’re offering, that could indicate a few things. Perhaps:

  • There isn’t a demand for those services
  • You’re searching for a term that isn’t widely used or the service is too specific
  • You’ve discovered a niche!

Discovering a niche could be a great thing! It might also mean more work is needed to get up-and-running and more time with clients helping them understand why they need what you’re offering.

This research isn’t necessarily a dealbreaker, but understanding the lay of the land could give you some useful insights.