The Common Sense Post on Building a Freelance Business
Posted June 6, 2010 in Business, Getting Started
New freelancers who have never owned a business before often get overwhelmed after a short while. That’s because there’s much more to running a web design business than designing or to running a writing business than writing.
In short, there’s a business aspect to freelancing that most of us aren’t used to. Even the best designers and programmers often don’t understand some basic business principles when they start. That’s understandable, because running a business is usually not the primary focus of a freelancer. Most of us became freelancers because we love what we do, whether it be writing, programming, or designing.
However, if a freelance business is to succeed eventually the freelancer must learn some basic principles. To an experienced businessperson, these principles may seem like common sense. For that reason, these principles are often overlooked in articles and blog posts.
Here at Freelance Folder we’re not going to overlook these so-called common sense principles. We don’t want anyone to fail at their freelance business. That’s why we’ve created this common sense post on building your freelance business for new freelancers or for those who need a refresher.
Four Common Sense Business Principles to Follow
Here are four common sense business principles that every freelance business person needs to understand in order to run a successful business:
- A Business Produces Something Clients Want–I’m often asked by hopeful would-be freelance writers if I know of a market that buys poetry. While there are a few organizations (such as greeting card companies) that do purchase poems, I don’t know of a whole lot of companies that engage freelance poets. The same is true for artists who create art for its own sake–sometimes these folks can find a buyer (depending on the quality of the work), but often there is no demand. That’s why the first common sense principle is that a business produces something clients want. If you can’t find anyone who wants what you do, you can’t have a business.
- A Business Earns a Profit–After expenses are paid a business has money left over. That left over money is called profit. Often beginning freelancers do not know how to track and calculate expenses. Expenses are everything that you spend to run your business, including your salary. Expenses could include the cost of software package that you use to create designs, the cost of your Internet connection, or even the PayPal fees that are deducted from the pay you receive from clients. If this second common sense principle of earning a profit isn’t being met you may initially get customers, but eventually your business will fail.
- A Business Delivers to Clients–One of my long-time clients recently made a surprising comment to me. She said, “of all the freelancers I’ve hired you’re the only one who takes deadlines seriously.” I couldn’t believe it. While I’m sure that there are many freelancers who do take deadlines very seriously, I also know that my client was serious in her complaint. There’s no doubt in my mind that she has had trouble in the past finding a freelancer who would met her set deadlines. Reliability is an important aspect of doing business. It should be common sense that a business delivers to its clients on time and as agreed upon on.
- A Business is Courteous–Professional courtesy has become scarce in today’s super-competitive marketplace. It seems like everywhere you look you can find freelancers complaining openly airing complaints about their clients and even naming those clients that they are upset with (which could harm their online reputation). While I’m all for exposing obvious scams that target unsuspecting freelancers, most client disagreements are not scams and should be handled privately. Treat your clients courteously and with respect, both in your communications to him or her and in your conversations with other freelance professionals.
But, you might be thinking, I don’t follow any of these common sense business principles and I still get clients.
That may well be the case…for now. Just getting clients, though, does not mean that you are running a successful business. Beware. If you don’t observe these business principles eventually your sloppy practices will catch up with you.
What Do You Think?
I’ve shared some very basic business principles. For a lot of you who are experienced freelancers this post may have been a review.
But, we get also get some readers who are new to freelancing. For their sakes, I hope this post has highlighted some aspects of business that they haven’t thought much about.
Do you agree with these common sense business principles? Why, or why not? Would you add any business principles to the list?
Share your thoughts in the comments.
Image by joeshlabotnik
Related posts:
- The 8 Most Common Freelance Questions (With Answers)
- Gardening Tips That Can Grow Your Freelance Business
- Building a Business Not Monetization
- 12 Common Photoshop Mistakes, Misuses and Abuses
- 10 Common Mistakes of The Beginning Freelancer…
About the author: Laura Spencer is a freelance writer from North Central Texas with over 20 years of professional business writing experience. If you liked this post, then you may also enjoy Laura’s blog about her freelance writing experiences, WritingThoughts. Laura is also on Google+.
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34 Comments
Jordan Walker
June 6th, 2010 at 10:34 amCommon Sense – by Laura Spencer
These business objectives should be ingrained into every freelancer running his or her own business. What has helped me the most was a BS from a Business School. You truly do not know the ins and outs until you can see the whole picture – supply chain
Freelance FactFile
June 6th, 2010 at 10:46 amHere are my thoughts on how to build a successful freelance business:make sure you make yourself indispensable to clients; always do a brilliant job; become part of their team; never miss deadlines; come up with good ideas; show you’re prepared to be flexible – ongoing repeat work is worth the occasional weekend working; make yourself available at short notice. And remember that the client is always right.
Johnny
June 6th, 2010 at 11:42 amAnother thing to add is a business should continually grow and evolve. Not just to make more money but keeping up to date on your market and skills. Much of freelancing work is based on trends and new technology at the moment so, not keeping up, means you can become outdated rather quickly.
Freelance forums
June 6th, 2010 at 12:19 pmExcellent points. We are indeed working in non-fixed ways, with “free” schedule etc. And our business is less “limited” than a normal one. And still we need to realize it’s a BUSINESS after all. Even if I design sites in my pajamas, it doesn’t mean I am not doing a business. The fact I work from home or from a distant island, when taking time off scuba diving still means I have CLIENTS who have to get serviced delivered to them in a timely manner. We’re not the “corporate” looking businessmen, but we’re businessmen and should treat our activity like that.
Laura Spencer
June 6th, 2010 at 1:38 pmGreat additions to list, everyone.
While a lot of these points may seem like common sense, some beginning freelancers are distracted by the lifestyle and fail to consider these basics.
Jordan, a business degree is definitely helpful.
Freelance FactFile–You have some great suggestions that will help freelancers retain clients.
Johnny, Growth is important too. What worked five years ago won’t necessarily work today.
Freelance forums–That’s exactly what I was getting at. :-) You may be freelancing, but you’re also running a business.
Krysha
June 6th, 2010 at 4:28 pmThis is an excellent article and I think that it’s something that all new freelancers should read before they begin anything else. Freelancing, above all else, is a business out there to earn a profit!
Sharon Hurley Hall
June 6th, 2010 at 7:03 pmGreat list, Laura. The one thing I’d say is that while I agree that client disagreements should be handled privately, it can be useful for others to know how you handled a situation. I sometimes describe real situations on my blog, but I don’t name names and focus only on the key points.
Men's Online Magazine
June 6th, 2010 at 8:38 pmYou definitely have to deliver a product that people are looking for
DazzleCat
June 6th, 2010 at 8:46 pmAn excellent primer guide for all new freelancers or those requiring ‘refocusing’
Stephanie
June 7th, 2010 at 6:40 amGreat article for those hoping to start their own freelance business. :) I totally agree with the bit about reliability as an important aspect of running a business. If you can’t provide what clients expect of you, especially after promising him/her that you would at first, you not only lose those clients but ruin your reputation as a business.
Web Design Kent
June 7th, 2010 at 1:43 pmDoes what the title suggests, a good common sense guide and an enjoyable read
LloydBurrell
June 8th, 2010 at 2:44 amHi,
this article is very instructive because, even if any freelancer can deduce these principles for him or herself, there are a few who take them for granted and apply accordingly from the beginning. As for professional courtesy, this is probably the first thing freelancers learn. How to cope with and stick to clients’ needs is undeniably the second.
Lloyd Burrell
Publisher
officedeskreviews
Diana Schneidman
June 10th, 2010 at 3:09 pm5. A Business Requires Eternal Marketing
You can’t afford to abandon marketing simply because your plate is currently full.
As you build a clientele, more of your marketing efforts may be directed at current (and past) customers rather than introducing your business to new leads. Marketing will require your time and attention till the day you close your (virtual) door.
Diana Schneidman
http://www.StartFreelancingAndConsulting.com : How to take control of your life and make great money quickly as a solopro
Salman
June 22nd, 2010 at 12:33 pmDear Laura
Point 3 is the most important. In today’s climate if you just take care of that, repeat business will never be a problem. Great Post. One of my school teachers had a pet dialogue which he would say repeatedly ” Common Sense is the most uncommon” :-)
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