Take Control of Your Freelance Business (7 Key Areas)
by Andy Strote
If you want your freelance business to thrive, you have to be in control of seven key areas. Otherwise, you’ll waste time and energy, make yourself crazy, and not see much progress.
There are two distinct aspects of your business that you need to control. The first is the “inner business” of your company, in other words, how you run the business.
The second aspect is how you manage and work with clients. Together, they make up the seven areas that you need to control.
Let’s start with the inner business of your company.
1. Define Your Deliverables, Learn When to Say No
When you started your freelance business, you might have had some idea of the types of work you wanted to take on.
For example, you may be a freelance copywriter with a focus on writing blog posts.
But then a client asked you to write some Facebook ads for them, which soon became other social media ads. Another client wondered whether you could write a video script for them. A third client has an e-book they would like you to write.
You can see where this is going…
There is no single answer for how you define what you’re doing. Some people want a very narrow focus. In this case, a copywriter might say I only write blog posts. That’s fine.
Others are comfortable expanding from where they started.
The key is this—you need to define, at least for yourself, what you’re willing to do.
Where do you draw the line and say, no, that’s not for me?
This is also important when you promote yourself. What services do you offer on your website? What types of projects are in your portfolio? What types of projects do you have client testimonials for?
Spend some time thinking about it. Go for a walk. Mull it over. Focus on what you most enjoy and what is most profitable. Ideally, they're the same thing.
2. Think About Your Niche and Start Pursuing It
Once you decide WHAT you’re delivering, consider WHO you’re delivering it for.
Caveat: Don’t think about niches too much when starting out. In your first few years, work for anyone who will pay you for what you do. You need the experience, the money, and the opportunity to build your network.
But once you’re established, maybe in your third year, think about the work you’ve been doing and who you’re doing it for. If you look at your clients, can you group them into niches of similar types of businesses? Are there some types of clients you enjoy working for more than others?
These are the ones you want to build on. If you work for a few clients in an industry, start looking for related clients. For example, they could be suppliers to your clients. They might be your client’s customers. The point is that you’re already familiar with the industry. Make an effort to spread yourself out within that sector.
More on the best places for freelancers to find new clients here. Hint, it’s in the niches you already work in.
If you’re looking for a niche, here’s how to pick a high-paying niche.
3. Take Control of Your Project Management and Processes
Now that you’ve figured out WHAT and WHO, it’s time to look at HOW.
How you do your work is the difference between a smooth-running operation and utter chaos.
Project management is about following defined processes for all stages of a project. That includes how you take in the project, how you manage it through the various stages, and finally how you deliver it to your clients.
You must define these steps and then communicate them to your client. For example, you should get a written brief from your client. This could range from a simple email to a very detailed document.
Why written? Writing a brief forces the client to think about what they want. It also gives you the chance to review it and ask questions to clarify it. Once you agree you have all the necessary information, you can write an estimate.
Here is how to write estimates that win projects.
If the project starts to change (typically with additions), you have the original brief as a reference. If you get additions, you can add them to your estimate. Or let the client know you'll make the changes in a further phase of the project.
As part of your process, you have to let the client know that you expect a written brief. They may not have thought of that.
Your project management should also incorporate calendars. When discussing a new project with a client, you need to know when they expect you to deliver it. Then, working backward, you can figure out a calendar to meet the delivery date.For a simple project, let’s say writing a blog post, your calendar would include:
A date for submitting your first draft
A date for the client’s feedback
A date for you to return the copy with feedback incorporated
Final approval
The date when it’s published
The importance of the calendar is to hold both you AND the client to your promises. I see many tweets from creators about clients who take forever to provide feedback and expect an immediate turnaround. You and the client should agree on a calendar at the beginning of the project, and then both stick to it.
4. Take Control of Managing Your Growth
As you become more successful, you’ll have to think about managing your growth. Remember, you only have about four productive hours in a day, with the rest reserved for admin, etc.
At some point, you’ll get overloaded and have too much work. What do you do?
There are four basic choices:
You can fool yourself that you’ll work longer hours. That might work once or twice, but it’s not a real plan.
You can turn down the work or see whether the client can delay the due date.
You can refer the work to a colleague and hope they do a great job.
You can grow by teaming up with one or a few others. Here’s a way to do it by forming a virtual agency. Or you might decide to formalize it and go from freelance and start your own agency.
It’s worth considering how you’d manage your growth before it becomes an issue. Which one of these choices works best for you?
5. Define Your Future Now
Related to managing your growth, look into your crystal ball and uncover what you hope to see in five or 10 years.
You don’t need a detailed plan, but thinking about it could help clarify a few things.
Depending on your thoughts for the future, you may want to improve or add to your skills. You may want to add to your deliverables. Perhaps you’ll think of other ways of marketing yourself.
Next time you’re out for a walk or sitting on a beach, daydream a bit about your business. More of the same, or something different?
6. Take Control of Managing Your Clients
This is hard for some creatives, but you must find diplomatic ways of letting your clients know how you work and what you expect of them.
That means taking control and not sitting back and waiting. For example, let’s say you’ve sent a proposal to a prospective new client. You put a lot of work into it. You wait a day and hear nothing. Three days, five days, and more, and you’re still waiting. Sound familiar?
Don’t do it that way. In your discussions, before you send the proposal, let the client know how and when you expect feedback. Understand whether that’s a problem for them. Is there any reason they can’t give you prompt feedback?
When you bring it up early, there’s no issue yet. You’re letting them know, diplomatically, how you work.
So, when you send the proposal, tell them you’re going to follow up with them in two days. Then call them. The key is, be in control.
Similarly, when you’re in the middle of a project. You’ll need feedback before moving to the next step. If you’ve agreed on a schedule beforehand, you and the client will know when the feedback is due. Again, this should be part of the discussion before the project begins.
You’ll also want agreement on how many rounds of revisions you've included in the project and what you’ll charge extra for. Learn more about terms and conditions for freelancers here.
7. Take Control of the Payment Terms
Here is where you have to be confident. You should bring up payment terms before you spend the time to write a proposal. You need to discuss your payment terms.
What are you expecting? A retainer? 100% payment upfront? 50% upfront?
Whatever it is, have the discussion early. Don’t slip it onto the last page of your proposal, hoping the client sees it and agrees to it. They may not say anything but have no notion of sticking by those terms.
You have to take control of that conversation.
Payment terms are part of the bigger money talk you have with clients about budgets and deliverables. See whether this helps: How to talk to clients about money.
How do you find these ideal freelance clients? Here’s how to find the best clients for freelancers.
Learn more about taking control of your business in my book, How to Start a Successful Creative Agency. It’s the essential business guide for graphic designers, copywriters, filmmakers, photographers, and programmers.
Buy the Book Here
Over 300 pages and 23 chapters, available at Amazon (Paper & Kindle), Kobo (ebook), Apple Books (ebook), and Gumroad (PDF).
The book is packed with useful information to help creatives start and grow their business.
Learned More From Andy Than Anyone Else
“I can honestly say, I’ve learned more from Andy than anyone else. Working with him has undoubtedly been a contributing factor in my own success.”
Simon Burn, sdbcreative.com
Want a free taste first?
Sure! Sign up below to get a free PDF of Working With Clients, which is Chapter 14 of How to Start a Successful Creative Agency.
This chapter covers essential areas such as Clients vs. Projects, Corporate Clients vs. Small Business Clients, How to Create an Opportunity Document, Benefits of Finding a Niche… and much more.
Questions? On Twitter, I’m @StroteBook. D.M.s are always open. Ask away.