5 TIPS FOR GROWING YOUR FREELANCE BUSINESS With an increasing number of businesses shedding in-house workers in favor of a more streamlined business model, the freelance workforce is growing. Here are five freelance tips to help you grow your business. TIP # 1: BE PAID, WELL There is nothing “free” about being a freelancer. Carefully evaluate your rates on a regular basis. Does a particular job make you feel a little short-changed every time an invoice is paid? Do you put in overtime work, for part-timer pay, just to appease an insatiable client? Nothing will derail your career as a freelancer like allowing your morale to suffer due to a disjointed client/contractor relationship. Of course, carefully considering pricing is something you should do in your initial business proposal, but do not feel obligated to remain locked into a certain price, unless you are contractually bound to do so. Even then, upon the completion of a project, re-assess your pricing before accepting another one. TIP # 2: KEEP GROWING YOUR BUSINESS A wise freelancer is always looking for his or her next job. That does not mean that you are going to lose an existing client in unpleasant circumstances. Continual growth means continual work. Ask yourself, “When was the last time I submitted a business proposal?” Has it been too long? Have you been keeping all of your eggs in one basket long enough to feel uneasy about it? As a freelancer, you want to avoid feeling that way. Your next job does not have to take the place of an existing one; it can be an addition to your existing workload. Taking on small, add-on projects is not only a great way to build your freelance business, but it is also a way to add extra income. You never know when a small, add-on customer will turn into a major source of income. TIP # 3: ESTABLISH CLEAR GOALS Your freelance occupation is a business. That means you need to engage in goal setting just like any other business. In fact, you might say that everything that applies to a typical startup, with the exception of capital investment and a few other points, is relevant to your freelance career. You need to evaluate the costs involved in running your freelance business, account for the time it takes to complete a project, and how much income you generate on a daily basis. You need a plan, up front. How much income does it take to sustain our lifestyle and meet your financial obligations? How much would you like to profit, to put back for savings? You need to answer these questions and shape a freelance strategy around the answers. Simply put, these are your goals and they help you assess your success as a freelancer. TIP # 4: BE SMART WITH SOCIAL MEDIA When you start working as a freelancer, it becomes hard to separate your work life from your personal life. This is a bad idea. You should maintain separate social media profiles for business and personal matters as much as possible. You may want to say something to your friends that you would never want to say o your customers – even if it is not offensive. You may simply want to share some fun pictures of your kids on Instagram. If you post work-related images on Instagram, do it on an account dedicated to that purpose. These days, many social sites (especially Facebook) are taking action to prevent people from having redundant personal accounts (for a variety of reasons), so make sure you choose to have a business account or page when possible, just to keep everything on the up and up. TIP # 5: FOR THE HOPEFULS… This tip is especially for all you freelance hopefuls out there considering taking the plunge into the freelance marketplace. The best piece of advice is this: Get stared! There has never been a better time than right now to get started with freelancing. With economic recovery purportedly underway in many parts of the globe, why wait? You will never know if freelancing is truly the right path for you if you do not try it out. Get started at a place like Elance or Freelancer, or any one of the other freelance hiring marketplaces on the Web. Make sure you fully complete your profile. From there, simply pick a job that fits your skill set, and give it a go. IVY. Islamabad
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 10:21:43 +0000
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