Whether or not you set new year resolutions for your freelancing business, it’s time to reflect on how you can take your efforts to the next level in the coming year.
For freelancers, it can be hard to figure out what to do next to boost your business. After all, sometimes it feels like you’re just, well, freelancing. You do the work, you get paid. How do you take that up a notch?
If you’re trying to figure out how to make things better in the coming year, here are three ideas that can help you on your way.
1. Negotiate Higher Rates
First of all, go to your current clients. Find out if you can negotiate your rate. You don’t need to double your fee for your clients. Instead, see if you can get a 10% raise on your work.
Next, revisit the rate you quote new clients. If you haven’t raised your rate on new clients for a while, think about it. Also, when someone comes to you offering a rate, consider negotiating something higher.
The ultimate goal with a freelancing business is to get to the point where people ask for your rates, rather than tell you what they will pay you. You can get to that point by developing your portfolio, boosting your reputation, and negotiating higher rates whenever your services are requested.
Don’t forget to look for bigger clients while you’re at it. These are clients more likely to offer you higher rates, or even ask what you want to be paid. If you find yourself working with smaller clients without the budget for your rates, look for the bigger clients who can afford you.
2. Invest in the Right Tools
If you want a better freelancing business, you need to make sure you have the right tools of the trade. A couple years ago, I switched to a business internet package. This meant faster internet, which was great for when clients wanted me to do video meetings. It also helped with the podcasting aspects of my business.
Another move I recently made was investing in different plug-ins for my blog. These help me with SEO and other tasks. It’s important to have the right tools to increase your efficiency. From getting the right invoicing software to make things go smoother to making sure you have the right desk and chair in your home office so you work better, the right tools are vital. Invest in them and you are likely to see better returns.
3. Hire Someone to Help
Once you get to a certain point in your freelancing business, it doesn’t make sense to do everything on your own. Hire some help. You can use this help to take on some of the writing workload or just do some of the research you need for some assignments. It’s also possible to hire someone else to take care of mundane tasks like posting on social media or optimizing past posts on your blog.
Depending on what you do in your business, it can make sense to get someone else to help you with your freelancing. This is especially true if you decide to start a creative agency and you want to go beyond your own services.
Carefully think about what it would take to level up your freelancing business in the coming year, and then take steps to make it happen. You might be surprised to see the results.
