Here is an ebook explaining the steps you can take t begin working for yourself on exciting jobs as an expert industrial maintenance or repair expert.

1. H O W T O
B E C O M E
A N
I N D U S T R I A L
F R E E L A N C E R
F A C T O R Y F I X . C O M

2. Companies are finding that many of their engineering
and industrial automation projects are relatively short in
duration. While the extra work might require hiring more
engineers, the short­term nature of the work means that
hiring permanent staff can be too expensive, especially
if the projects tend to come in groups. Several of those
engineers would be idle for stretches of time until
another batch of projects showed up, which wouldn’t be
cost­effective. Instead, companies have increasingly
turned to industrial freelancers for these projects, which
could foretell a bright future ahead for those willing to
work on a contract basis. Becoming a industrial
freelancer may take some work, but once you have the
basics in place, you have an opportunity to attract more
and more projects, making a name for yourself among
companies.
Practical Basics
Ensure your skills are up to date. If you’ve been
working in a regular engineering job and want to
moonlight or leave to start contracting full­time, you
should be fine to start. However, you should still review
your skills and continue to learn new systems and
techniques on a regular basis. If you have not been
working for a while, you may want to double­check with
engineering organizations about taking continuing
education classes to ensure you can handle any
projects thrown your way.

3. Marketing
Word­of­mouth is invaluable, and your contacts in
manufacturing may be able to help you find a lot of
work. Relying solely on friends and former co­workers
to provide you with work, though, is risky. Not only does
that limit the potential market for your skills, it also
leaves you high and dry if someone else hears about
you and wants to know more about your work. You
need materials that can show how good you are and
that make it easy to contact you about potential
contracts.
Traditional forms of minor marketing, like business
cards, are still advisable. There are web­based services
that will print up bulk business cards, letterhead, and
other marketing materials for a reasonable cost. You
should also create a website for your business
(because that’s what freelancing really is, a business).
Have contact information on each page, and give
readers detail about what you can do, what your
training and job history are like, and what your fees
might be, if you feel it’s appropriate to list them.
Your website should also contain a portfolio section.
Even if you have other sections for job history and
skills, you need a specific section where you can send
interested people who want to see what you’ve done.
Keep the portfolio updated constantly as the more work
you can list there, the more interest you might generate.
You can have your website professionally designed or

4. upload your information to one of many cloud­based
sites that offer templates and platforms.
Take the website design seriously. This should project
a professional image. While some industries, such as
writing, consider terms like “freelancing” to be standard,
other businesses consider “freelancing” to be less than
professional. If you have to assign a description to
yourself, “contractor” is better. Do not say in your About
section that you are moonlighting, and do not use
casual terms. Being friendly is good, but you also need
to show you are a businessperson who will get the job
done correctly and who your clients can trust.
Do network. Carry your cards with you. If you meet
potential contacts at parties or through Chamber­of­
Commerce get­togethers, tell them what you do —
create a short elevator speech for this — and give them
your card.
Don’t forget social media. Even if all you do is post links
to your website occasionally, your account’s header or
About section is an excellent place to state that you’re
an engineering contractor, and hey, people can contact
you to discuss projects and bids. This is a good addition
to your marketing arsenal if you prefer to remain low
key.
Finally, get active in web forums related to your field.
Build up a consistent web presence; if you post to
several forums, try to use the same ID name so that

5. people begin to recognize you. Gaining a reputation as
a solid engineer with a level head and high intelligence
makes people in those forums remember you. If one of
them has a job lead, you might be the beneficiary.
Sample forums include SME.org, FactoryFix.com,
MachineDesign.com, and Manufacturing Business
Technology. Once you register, post in the introductions
section (most forums have these), and then hang back
a bit and see how people interact. Once you get a
better feel for the forum’s environment, start adding a
few comments each week. You’ll eventually get to the
point where you are posting on a regular basis.
Legal Preparation
Address three legal issues before beginning your life as
a freelance industrial engineer.
One is your business status. Will you be a sole
proprietor only, or will you incorporate instead? If you
plan to incorporate or form a limited liability company,
speak to a lawyer about the requirements for setting
those up. Each has its own benefits, so you have to
decide which one you want to head towards.
The second issue is liability insurance. No matter what
your business status, a lawsuit against you could create
some very big problems. Depending on your status, the
person suing you could go after your personal assets.
Even if your business status protects those, if you lose
your case and end up having to pay a large penalty, the
financial hit could ruin your business. Liability insurance

6. helps protect you against that possibility.
The third legal issue is general business license. Many
cities and counties require business licenses for even
independent contractors working as sole proprietors
under their own name. In other words, even if you sit on
the floor in pajamas doing your work on a laptop from
home — the classic freelancer stereotype — you would
still be required to get a business license. The names of
these licenses can vary (business license, business tax
certificate, and business registration are but three
potential variations), but your city or county’s business
administration office will be able to point you in the right
direction. Fees for these licenses are often very
reasonable.
Looking for freelance job leads
While websites like FactoryFix.com can keep you busy
most of the time, you may also have to go out and look
for leads yourself. While forums and professional
organizations can help, you also have to look at
crowdsourcing sites. These are websites where clients
list opportunities that contractors can apply for. The
sites often have an interface where you can submit bids
in hopes of winning a contract. The projects on these
sites range from simple designs to longer projects, so
you have your choice of work. Do be aware, though,
that if you are interested in manufacturing work
specifically, you might not find a lot of that on
crowdsourcing sites.

7. If you do take the plunge into crowdsourcing, keep your
expectations in check. The pay for many of these
projects can be lower than you’d receive on a private
project. Still, these are very good places to pick up side
work, increase your portfolio, and gain more general
freelancing experience. If something sounds
interesting, or even just easy, take a look at the
proposed project, the amount of work it would require,
and the proposed pay. If you think you can do the
project within a relatively short time, thus increasing
your hourly pay on that project, you may want to give it
a shot.
Also be aware of what some of the clients on
crowdsourced sites can be like. Not all of them are
professional companies who just need some quick
work. Many of them are new to product development
and manufacturing and give you unrealistic
expectations. Sometimes they have no expectations,
and you (or whoever gets the job) gets to help them
figure out what they really want. One particular problem
has been the increase in amateur inventors and
developers who have access to something like a 3­D
printer. Because it’s so easy now to print out a visual
sample, it’s also very easy for the client to gloss over
exactly what it would take to make a working model of
whatever they printed. If you encounter clients like this,
be honest. Be nice, of course, but be honest about how
long it might take to actually make something
resembling what they want, and be honest about
whether the item would really work. Also talk to them
about testing. If they’ve been playing around on a
printer, they may not have considered that they need to

8. have products tested in the real world.
Becoming an industrial freelancer is often well worth
your time. It does take work, and if you can get any
assistance with that work, take it. For example, when
setting up your website, you might want to start with
one of the cloud­based companies that offer templates.
Plug in your information, and you’re off and running
until you are more established later on and can move to
your own domain. Freelancing can be competitive, but
with the right preparation and support, you’ll be able to
build a healthy business.
A P P L Y N O W !