The figures once charges are counted, the thresholds to watch, and when not to leave your job.
What counts is recurrence
Three figures, and they matter more than the annual total.
The number of clients who have ordered at least three times.
The share of your turnover done with them.
And the number of consecutive months that income has repeated.
One good isolated month says nothing. Six months in a row above your floor, with three different clients, say everything.
What to put in place beforehand
Five elements, and they take two to three months.
A reserve covering six months of fixed charges, calculated as above.
An accountant, chosen before you need one.
Professional insurance suited to your activity: your personal cover does not carry the professional risk, and that point is checked with your insurer.
Standard contracts and a written rate card.
And a separate bank account, fed by an automatic transfer on every payment received, for charges and taxes.
What changes in the work
Three realities, and they surprise almost everybody.
Production takes up less than half the time: the rest goes into prospecting, coordination, administration and waiting.
Income arrives out of step: a September job is paid in November, and that gap is permanent.
And isolation becomes a real subject: nobody reviews your work, nobody tells you a decision is bad, and that has to be organised deliberately.
The signals saying it is too early
Four, and each one is reason to wait another quarter.
One client accounts for more than half your income.
Your best months correspond to exceptional, non-repeatable orders.
You have not yet turned down a badly paid job, because you could not afford to.
And you do not yet know the exact amount of your monthly floor.
What you need before taking the step
| Marker | Comfort threshold | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Regular clients | Three at minimum | One departure does not sink the month |
| Cash ahead | Six months of costs | Payment terms are long here |
| Visible pipeline | Six weeks ahead | The next quarter has started |
What is set up in the same month
The legal status, professional insurance, a contract template and a page explaining data handling. Those four are expected from the first order.
What to ask a professional
The status to choose, the contributions, the tax question and social cover, to be confirmed with an accountant.
The gradual transition
The method that fails least, and it takes a year.
Step one: four to six months of production in the evenings and at weekends, to establish recurrence and build the reserve.
Step two: reducing employed hours if possible, keeping the cover and the base income.
Step three: the jump, when independent income exceeds the floor for six consecutive months, the reserve is built and two regular clients are on the books.
One last rule, truer there than elsewhere: never resign on the promise of a big contract to come. Wait until it is signed, the deposit is banked, and the second client exists.
Sources
Checked on 4 September 2026. Thresholds and rates change: where this guide and the official source disagree, the official source is right.
