What works for small projects does not necessarily scale up for big ones. I know freelancers who quite happily keep everything in their head and rely on their memory to keep track of work ideas, contact information, and lists of things to do. Others have piles of notes on their desks or in drawers. This approach is tricky even on small projects: one little detail missed or a note misplaced can prevent you from satisfying clients. When you move on to bigger projects, there’s no way for this sort of approach to scale. You need a robust system.

Your personal systems

Once you find yourself doing repetitive tasks such as sending the same types of email, updating databases, creating documents, or other batch processing tasks, it is worth creating systems to streamline this effort. Creating templates may seem like a chore but it will save time in the long run and will help you achieve a universal standard for your work that will make you look more professional. Even organizing your online filing systems and updating them can help you store your documents in a way that reflects your changing business: what worked for you five years ago might not be fit for purpose now. Having style guides and templates to fall back on is very helpful whenever you start something new. Good organization is key to managing a challenging workload.
All large businesses have their own project documentation and this is essential for managing projects. Creating standard documents will help you communicate with your team, stay on track with your work, and ensure that you have completed all the processes you need to go through for handling this volume of work. The larger the project, the more helpful it is to have documentation to help you work through all the management elements. You’ll need to think through all the things that could threaten your project (such as illness, weather, cash flow) and how you will deal with them. You’ll probably want to publish a communication timetable, especially for longer-term projects, that set out when you will schedule meetings and updates. Dates for when you will deliver each stage of your project will have to be agreed with your client and may be shared around your team so that everyone knows what they are working towards. It may sound like a lot to think about, but having standard documentation each time you begin a new project will reassure the client that you are in control and save time and confusion later on. There are many examples online you can download and adapt for your own purposes.

Electronic systems

Having had a recent laptop crash, I can also vouch for the usefulness of being able to back everything up online. Those with folders of handwritten notes might feel smug at this point, but what if you lose your hard copy, or have a flood, fire, or break-in? A system such as Google Drive will let you upload, edit and share documents online, although problems come if you are working  offline when you won’t be able to access your documents. An alternative is something like Sugarsync, which will back up the documents on your computer as long as you are connected to the internet. The benefit with this system is that you can work on your documents when you are offline and they will be backed up automatically next time you are connected. This is better as a backup system, though, and not a tool for file sharing.
It is useful to have a document-sharing system for your project team so you can all access and edit the documents, rather than emailing around countless editions of your work. Dropbox and Google Drive are both popular with freelancers.
Unfortunately, the time taken to put everything onto a new system can be off-putting, but just think of the time you can save in the long term if you don’t have to trawl through all your notes looking for the phone number of the contact you met at the gym, or the name of the company you were going to approach for a work idea.

Choosing your system

There are plenty of dedicated project management tools, from Microsoft Project Manager for complex projects, to Basecamp for task tracking, to Astrid for easy list sharing, as well as countless more free or paid-for options. What you choose will depend on the size of your project, your budget, and how well you need to keep track of every stage. If the ability to share information is important to you, make sure you chose a system that allows you to either add others to your account or download your plan in a shareable format.
For ideas and information management, a system like Evernote works well as you can add a whole range of files to your notes for easy tracking. Once you get into multiple simultaneous projects it is vital to be able to find what you want fast.
Contact management is always important to freelancers as so much of our work depends on networking and cultivating potential clients or colleagues. Once your network starts expanding with freelancers who could be useful on future projects, keeping track of them all becomes complex. A good CRM (client relationship management) system can revolutionize your address book by allowing you to search by a range of criteria to bring up the exact list of people you are looking for, as well as being useful for streamlining your pitch, helping with estimates and aiding the early stages of working with new clients.
Don’t always assume you need to spend a lot of money; there are some great open-source options available, as well as free or low-cost basic packages that you can always upgrade later if you find you are reaching the limits of your data allowance (although with smaller projects you may find that you never need to do this). There are also usually free trials available for the more expensive options so you can see if it is right for your needs.
It is worth talking to other freelancers in your profession to see what systems and software they use. Not only are you likely to find options that suit the types of files, formats and information you are dealing with, but they are more likely to be compatible with what your colleagues are using.

Maximizing your system’s potential

A good project management system, whether it is a software program or a spreadsheet of your own devising, is an essential tool when it comes to increasing your income with larger, more complex projects. By having a clear timetable of your project, you know if you can accept more work or not. A large project may seem like it will take weeks of solid work, but a clear schedule may show gaps of downtime when you are able to fit in additional shorter pieces of work. Very quickly, you can become more efficient at fitting projects around each other for maximum effect.
Having all your contacts, ideas, and documents available at your fingertips will not only make you more efficient with your time, but will help you fill any slack time with work you have on the backburner. Personally, I have all my ideas for speculative articles, along with contacts, ready to go if I find myself with a gap to fill. It is then very easy to fit smaller pieces of work into what seems like a busy schedule.
It is important to feel in control when you are managing bigger projects and to feel like you are running the project rather than it running you. This is the crucial step towards enjoying the challenge of a larger project and not feeling overwhelmed by it.

Image by Flickr user: ntr23

If you didn’t need to do the basic administration tasks that takes up so much of our time as freelancers, what would you be doing instead? If you have a ready answer, whether it is working more billable hours, getting around to that ebook you’ve been meaning to write, investing in some new skills, or spending more time with your family or on a personal project, it might be worth considering a virtual assistant.

What is a virtual assistant?

A virtual assistant is like a regular assistant in that they provide administrative, professional, or technical assistance. The ‘virtual’ part refers to the fact that they are not actually with you in person; they could be based anywhere in the world and help with the elements of your work that are online or electronic. You do not need to employ a VA full-time; one assistant may have several clients. A VA may, for example, prioritize, send and answer emails, help with your bookkeeping, coordinate your calendar and make appointments, do basic research, or deal with repetitive tasks such as data entry or marketing calls. You can give them as much or as little autonomy as suits you. They may even provide virtual office tasks such as answering your phone if you set up a VOIP service.
VAs are often based overseas, allowing you to spend less per hour on your administration than if you employed someone locally. You do not have to provide desk space for them, and probably don’t have to offer benefits, meaning their fee is all you pay. However, there are drawbacks. If you are using someone with English as a second language there may be difficulties in verbal or written communication. Then there is the issue of timezones: your daytime might be their night so if you need someone to be working when you are this could be a problem. It may also be harder to get references and referrals from their previous clients. You may need to look into the work culture and other differences that can lead to confusion and other issues. For example, the tax year in different countries starts on different dates, and even a definition of a ‘month’ may not be the same: is it 4 weeks or a calendar month?

How to decide if a VA is right for you

You need to be sure that your virtual assistant is going to save you more than you are spending, either in monetary terms or in the quality of your time. It is up to you how much your time is worth to you, but if you could make more money through extra work in the time a VA would save you, it can make the calculations much simpler.
You will have to decide if it is worth training a VA if you are only planning on using one for a small percentage of time, however. Would you be spending more time overseeing your assistant than you save? You may also expect a high VA turnover rate, so you would have to budget extra time for the implications of this, such as re-training or re-issuing information.

Some other considerations

You need to think about your own privacy, such as the sensitivity of your emails or financial arrangements. You also have to consider your clients or freelancing colleagues: if you have signed anything preventing you sharing certain information with others you could potentially breach that agreement if you employ a VA to deal with documents. For some people, for example ghostwriters, even the names of their clients could be sensitive information.

Business expansion

A VA can be a simple way of freeing up your time, allowing you to concentrate on areas of your business that are more lucrative. Administrative work or time-intensive, repetitive tasks are an obvious part of your work that you can outsource at low cost. You may find you have a better quality of life without having to spend time on so many tedious tasks and therefore more energy to devote to the parts of your business that are financially or creatively more rewarding. Employing a VA can be the first step to expanding your business by delegating work to others.

Where to find virtual assistants

There are many online agencies that provide virtual assistant services. The benefit of going through an agency is that they will probably have done a certain amount of vetting as their own reputation is at stake if there are any issues. The downside is that they will take a cut of your fee, resulting in a higher overall price. It is worth asking around your freelancing network to find recommendations, either for agencies or for independent assistants, especially if you are concerned about sensitivity issues and want someone you can trust. A good VA will have excellent attention to detail, reliable time-keeping, good communication skills, proficiency in whichever IT software they will be using, the ability to listen to instructions, and an overall professional manner. Be sure to ask about these attributes when discussing recommendations.

Image by Flickr user: Mark Strozier

You win the contract for a large project… and suddenly you’re not simply a freelancer, you’re a project manager. The idea may be a little intimidating at first – it might be more responsibility than you’re used to – but with some careful planning and good communications, there’s no reason why you can’t bring your first big project in on time and on budget.

Communication is key

Most problems encountered on large projects come down to ineffective communication rather than the quality of the work. This is even more likely if you are working with freelancers that you trust or have worked with in the past; they might have a good reputation but problems can still arise if they misinterpret the brief or fail to update you on any difficulties they hit.
As project manager, your job is to accurately interpret the brief for each member of your team. Remember that game you used to play as a kid where you sat in a circle and pass a whispered message around until it reaches the start and bears no resemblance to the original? The larger the team, the more chance there is that the brief can be interpreted numerous ways, or that people’s roles can get confused. You need to be sure from the very beginning that everyone knows what they need to produce and by what deadline.
To decide what other freelancers to use as your team you will need to break down the project into what you will do and what work you will pass on to others. Once you have a list of what you need to subcontract, you can start to look at what skills you are looking for in your subcontractors. For some projects, this will be very obvious, for others you may need to talk to a few freelancers first to understand what skills and expertise they provide. When you have decided what each freelancer will contribute, you will need to give them a personal brief of their role in the project.
When issues arise, you need to know about them as soon as possible so that they can be dealt with before they turn into problems. Many project managers agree a weekly (or bi-weekly, or monthly) update with their team so that they can keep track of progress. This saves you having to chase people up when you haven’t heard from them in a while, which is stressful for you and irritating for them. This works both ways; having a regular update for your client can help them have confidence that you are doing your job well and keep things on track if you hit any stumbling blocks.
When you do find any difficulties – and even the most experienced project managers will – the most important thing is that you deal with them promptly before they escalate. The larger the project, the more a problem can become magnified. This may involve going back to the client to ask how they want to handle a situation (remember, it may not be your fault: weather, the economy, or current affairs can all affect projects) or talking to your team so find out how they want to proceed. Don’t panic: effective and prompt communication can solve most dilemmas.
Remember: keep communication regular and effectual, both with your team and your client.

Scope and scope creep

Defining the scope from the beginning comes back to communication again, but it is vital to get this nailed down early on and put it into writing. You might be the one who has to take the financial hit if your client wants more to the project than you were expecting.
‘Scope creep’ is something that can hit any project, no matter how big or small. You’ll probably have experienced it already with what you think is a standard project: the client keeps coming back with ‘minor’ changes and before you know it all your time has been eaten up by something that was supposed to be simple. With a larger project, scope creep can become a serious issue, and you’ll need to get the project parameters set down in writing so you can be sure what you are obligated to provide. It can also help to set out the costs involved in making changes so you don’t need to re-negotiate rates halfway through the project should the client wish to change something.

Planning

Good planning doesn’t have to be complicated but it is essential to the smooth running of a large project. A project plan becomes your guide to the day-to-day running of your project and gives your team confidence in you when you can give them all the information they need as they need it.
You can use project management software or even a good spreadsheet. You may wish to share all or part of it with your project team from the beginning, and it can be helpful to send around a rough draft for your team to comment on before you finalize it. This means that if you have underestimated the duration of a task then the person responsible for it will pick up on it before it throws all your deadlines out.
Essentially, the project plan puts dates to all of the tasks, and shows who is responsible for each one. A good idea is to show when a task needs to start as well as finish: if someone tells you that it will take them two weeks to design a logo, put the start date in the plan too. This helps to keep everyone on track.
Your plan doesn’t need to be complicated, and an easily-sharable format can be helpful if you need to send it to your whole team.

Finally, remember to say thank you!

Positive feedback can make all the difference to a team, especially during a long project. Say ‘thank you’ when people send in work on time or update you promptly. If you are respectful to your team and tell them that you appreciate the quality of their work, they are more likely to want to work with you again in the future.

Image by Flickr user blog.amc.bz

Estimating projects is a balancing act: you want to win the bid but don’t want to work at reduced rates to do it. With larger projects you need to also take into consideration the rates of your team and other overheads; there’s no point in bidding for larger contracts if you end up worse off than as a lone freelancer.

First principles

Estimating a larger project isn’t that much different from what you are already doing to estimate the projects you are currently working on. You may find that with your experience you essentially do the process in your head at the moment, but for larger projects you’ll need to use either a spreadsheet or dedicated project management software to show how you will break down this project, both for yourself and perhaps for your client too.
Estimating projects comes down to putting a time and cost value on its constituent parts of the project. With experience, this becomes easier and more accurate, which is why you probably don’t need to spend much time calculating a project for work you do often.

Be specific

As with all projects, you will need to know exactly what is involved before you can give an accurate estimate. Don’t be afraid to ask questions of your client to learn more about what she is asking for, as well as asking questions of the freelancers and contractors you might be taking on.. Asking questions at this stage can save a huge amount of wasted effort down the line.

Break it down

A large project can seem overwhelming, or deceptively simple. Breaking down a project into tasks can help you think through exactly what will need to be done, and who to involve in your team. Project management software will include a task list to help you think through the stages of your project, but you can use a spreadsheet to create a list if you prefer.
It will help to put the list in order so you can start getting an idea of the timescales involved, and to start assigning tasks to the members of your team so that you are able to give them a good idea of their role.

Involve your team

Once you have a rough idea of the work that needs to be done, you can talk to the members of your team to check that you understand how long it will take them to do the work, as well as any additional costs. You will need to decide who is going to pay for these costs (you, the client, or your team member) before you make any formal agreements.
Talking to your team is essential for estimating their time and fees for their work, and this will feed back into your quotation for the project as a whole.
Remember to check their availability of everyone in your team. It sounds obvious, but if everyone else’s work is dependent on one person finishing their part, any delays will hold up the whole project.

Putting together your estimate

By now you should have a good idea of the timeframes involved and the fees for your team. You will be able to estimate your own part of the project based on your experience, but don’t forget the time involved in communicating with your team and managing the workflow. This can really add up, so be sure to factor it in and put a cost value to your role as project manager.
You can make your estimate as detailed as you want. Some people prefer to give an overall figure, while some like to show the client exactly where their money is going. You don’t need to show how much you are paying each person. After all, if you were a company you wouldn’t show the salaries of everyone who contributes to a project. You may wish to break it down in a way that gives the client options to expand or contract the project as they choose: giving several options may mean the client still takes you on for part of the project, if not the whole thing.

Investing now saves time later

This process may sound like a lot of work, but giving accurate estimates will help your business in the long run as clients know they can trust your timescales and cost predictions. It will also mean you don’t lose out personally: if costs start to spiral part way through a project the likelihood is that these will come out of your share.
A good, professional estimate will reflect well on you and will go a long way to helping you attract new clients into the future.

Image by Flickr user H is for Home

Whatever you choose to call it – outsourcing, cross-sourcing, delegation, contracting out, subcontracting – the question of bringing in other freelancers to help you take on larger projects is one that divides freelancers. In one camp are the purists who believe that you should stick to what you’re good at and grow your business by building your expertise and charging higher rates on the back of this. In the opposite camp are the freelancers who believe that if you are serious about growing your business, outsourcing is a key step you will need to take to take on bigger projects and earn more money.

How does outsourcing work?

You take the lead in the project, which means also taking the responsibility for the work quality and completion. You will need to take on freelancers who you trust will do the work to the standard you expect and who you know you can work with.

Why would I want to take on that sort of responsibility?

Although it is more accountability than you may the used to, the rewards can be worth it. You will obviously need to pay your team, but you are in control of how much you charge for the project and how much you pay your contractors. You may be able to earn more this way than charging fees for solo work as it is up to you how much or little of the work you do yourself. You may be able to take on more projects than you could alone or charge higher rates for more prestigious projects.

Are there downsides to this way of working?

Certainly. You are responsible for the overall quality of the work, so you may have to proof other people’s work or assume responsibility for their mistakes. You are also responsible for contracts with your team: if you don’t receive your fee, you are still obliged to pay your subcontractors. Managing a project can be time consuming in terms of communication: as well as your own communication with the client, you will have to manage your team and make sure everyone has the same interpretation of the brief. If you’ve ever been in the situation where you and your client have had different ideas about what was expected, imagine that confusion multiplied several times over.

How do I find other freelancers?

Bear in mind that you will need to be able to trust the quality of work from everyone involved and be able to work with them on a professional level. Many freelancers choose a team based on personal recommendations, word of mouth, or using people they have worked with in the past.
The hiring process will be much the same as when you work with your own clients – except that you are now on the other end of it. You will want to see portfolios and ask about fees or quotations, as well as maybe conducting interviews.

Professional benefits to outsourcing

If you want to work on larger projects and be involved in a wider range of work, while still retaining your specialization, outsourcing could work well for you. Collaboration is a great way of getting your name known among a wider network of people (both clients and other freelancers) who could refer future projects your way.
Larger projects can be higher profile and may be an opportunity to raise your rates, as well as working with more prestigious companies, if that is a direction that appeals to you.
Once you move towards contracting out, suddenly you aren’t a freelancer so much as a business or consultancy. Your skills include project management, people management and handling larger budgets. These skills are highly sought after and will help you grow your business into the future.

Creative benefits to outsourcing

Your job as a freelancer isn’t all billable hours, as you well know. You might find that taking on bigger projects and turning to outsourcing gives you an opportunity to start contracting out the more tedious parts of the project, leaving you free to concentrate on the parts of the job you enjoy.
You may also find that taking on bigger projects even helps you to specialize further, as a greater number of projects open up to you.

A word of warning

Although it can be exciting to agree to take on larger projects, make sure you have the systems in place to handle the project management before you begin. There is a multitude of software options available to help you keep a handle on your work: time management, contact management, budget management, and communications management are all vital to the successful delivery of your project.
Even before you begin you are going to need an effective way of estimating the project time and costs otherwise you can end up either short-changing yourself, missing out on the bid, or overshooting deadlines and damaging your reputation.

Work your way up

You can always start small by partnering with other freelancers on projects: if you are a web designer you might have an arrangement with a copywriter to put together a website package, for example.
You can work your way towards larger projects as your partnering networks grow, moving towards projects with first two, then three, then more people involved. Once you feel you can trust your freelancing colleagues you will feel more confident in using them for larger projects in the future.

Image by Flickr user JF Schmitz

You might think that you would need to be an established business to land a big project, but there’s no reason a freelancer can’t win a large contract as long as your pitch is strong.

What the client is looking for

In a word, the client is looking for confidence. They don’t necessarily want to know how you are going to produce results, just that you are going to deliver them.
To give a client confidence means a strong pitch with the right information. While they don’t need to know all the details, they do need to know you are going to deliver the project on time, on budget, and to the quality they expect. If your pitch can convince them of these facts then you have a good chance of landing the contract.

Let’s talk numbers

Often the deciding factor in choosing who to award a contract to will be the quote you provide. The client won’t necessarily go with the lowest quote but may take into consideration time frames, availability, recommendations, expertise or the quality of your work — most of which come down to the numbers you make available to your prospective client.
Giving the right quote is a good place to start, and you may find that as a freelancer you may not have the overhead that more established businesses have to consider, such as office costs and full-time staff. This might mean you are able to provide a very competitive quote which will stand you in good stead when your client makes a decision.

Playing to your strengths

Just because you aren’t a big-name agency doesn’t mean you can’t use your own reputation to help land a big contract. If you have great testimonials or some prestigious former clients, use them to help persuade a new client you are able to provide the standard of work they are looking for. If you have a team in mind to help you handle the large workload, you could use similar testimonials or samples from them to help persuade the client that you can provide a high-quality all-round service.
As a freelancer, you may have a wide contact list of other freelancers: being able to hand-pick the right team for the right project can give you an edge over a company with full-time employees. Even if you can’t handle every aspect of a project yourself, you certainly can put together a dream team for each project.

Flexibility can work well for you

Being a freelancer can work in your favor because you can pick a team who are all available at the right time: being able to offer a prompt service can mean you may beat a company which isn’t able to take on the work so quickly.

Your pitch

If you don’t have the credentials of a more established company then your pitch really has to shine if you are going to compete with rival bids.
It is vital that you do your research and find out exactly what is involved so you can persuade the client you are the right choice for the project.
You need to consider your budget, your time frame and how you are going to deliver the work.
Your budget needs to take into account your own overheads and costs, plus those of hiring in or sub-contracting to other freelancers. You need to think what sort of profit you are looking for, as well as what you would consider offering to your team. You may need to give several quotes for different options; being able to offer a flexible service with a budget, a standard, and a luxury choice may appeal in some circumstances.
When considering your time frame for the project, remember to consider your team’s availability as well as your own. You may have to do some planning for a more complex project as you may need different collaborators at different stages, so you would need to work out a timeline in advance.
As a freelancer, you have probably had the experience of quoting for a piece of work only to find the client wanted something else entirely. For larger projects it is even more vital to pin down the brief before you commit to a quote and a time frame; it can be worth talking through with the client exactly what they are looking for so you can give a comprehensive pitch that covers all the aspects they expect.

Your image

It may be worth researching your competition in the field so you can project the image your client expects. What sort of first impression do you give? This may vary depending on your profession: will your client meet you in person or look at your website first? Or would they come to your office?
Giving your website an overhaul needn’t be expensive but can go a long way to giving you a more professional edge. Having some good testimonials or materials to download can give a potential client confidence in your professionalism. Remember to check out our website module for more information.
If you work from home it can be worth hiring a workspace for meetings. This can be a low-cost and flexible alternative to a permanent office and means you have a professional space to meet with clients.

Gaining confidence

With a well-researched pitch and a professional approach you are in with a good chance of winning the confidence of a new client. Your flexibility and low overheads count in your favor when it comes to giving a competitive quote, and your (and your team’s) reputation can give you a competitive advantage: good testimonials can go a long way to winning a client’s confidence.

Image by Flickr user: flik

Freelancers can find that once their businesses has reached a plateau they are faced with two options: to carry on comfortably working with clients and charging a set rate, or to break out of the ‘freelancer’ mentality and move towards running a larger business.

What is the difference?

Freelancers usually work on a project-by-project basis and can spend months or years building up a client base to the point they are working full-time and charging the rates they would like. For freelancers who are rarely working at capacity or who feel that they are under-charging to land enough work to pay the bills, this would seem like an ideal situation to be in.
There are limitations to this model. Once you have reached capacity and feel that your rates have hit a ceiling, the only way to progress is to change your business model and move towards a more entrepreneurial mindset.
Freelancers who have made the move and broken away from the constraints of a set-pay-for-a-set-project model have branched out to offer products or to manage a project that is bigger than they can handle without help. This may involve managing others, sub-contracting, or putting together a team for the project.

The challenges

If you are an artist, a photographer, a software engineer, or a web designer, you may have little or no experience in managing people or a larger workload. You may be hugely talented when it comes to your own work, but have less confidence when it comes to the challenges of overseeing a larger project.
To win larger contracts, you need to have confidence that you can manage something larger than yourself, that you can estimate the time frame and budget accurately, and that you can put together the right team to complete the project. You need to know what resources are available to you and where to find the support you need.

There’s always help available

The great news is that there are all sorts of tools and resources to help you achieve your goals. You can find project management software, communications tools, websites dedicated to finding other freelancers, and time management or work management assistance if you need it.

The rewards

Breaking out of the freelancer mentality means that there is no limit to your earnings. Once you can charge for larger projects you have made the move towards a business that isn’t dependent just on the number of hours you can put in. If you have the confidence to take on projects that need more than your own skills you can take your business in all sorts of exciting directions.

Knowing which direction to take

You may feel so overwhelmed by the number of ideas you have for your business that you don’t know where to start, or else you can’t imagine what you could do with your skills that you aren’t doing already. Picking the path that’s right for you can be difficult.
Finding a mentor or asking for help from a business professional can be one place to turn. If you have someone you feel comfortable discussing your business and asking for advice, you could work together to put a plan into place for how you are going to move forwards. If you don’t know anyone who could mentor you then you could consider asking a business or life coach to talk through your options. Getting an outside professional opinion could open your eyes to possibilities you wouldn’t have thought of on your own.
Alternatively, there may be someone or several people in your field who have already made the transition from freelancing to running a bigger business. Finding out about their business journey (they may have a blog or book you could read) can be hugely inspirational and set you thinking about ideas for your own business.
Another option is to think about the questions that clients have asked you and base a business around services you know there is demand for. If you write website copy you may have been asked whether you know any web designers; if someone is putting together a new website, could you offer them a whole package rather than one part? An event planner might be able to offer different services including catering, photography and decor.

Getting started: in ten minutes you will be an entrepreneur

The moment you start thinking bigger than just yourself you have taken the first step towards building a business beyond freelancing.
Take ten minutes to brainstorm some ideas of where you could take your business. Who could you work with to provide a more complete service to what you currently offer? Where could you take your ideas if you could work with a bigger team? What products or services could you deliver if it wasn’t just you?

Image by Flickr user 401(K) 2013

Martha Retallick — who I would like to note is a member of EnhancedFreelance.com — recently wrote a new ebook: Finance for Freelancers. This ebook is a crash course in the financial matters that the average freelancer faces on a regular basis.

Starting with the differences between bookkeeping, accounting and business funding, this ebook provides a to-the-point approach to business finances. Make no mistake — freelancing requires just as much financial management as any other type of small business. Without it, it’s easy to wind up in a position where you know you’re making money but you can’t figure out where that money has gone when it’s time to pay the bills.

I would say that this ebook may be more useful to a newer freelance, but only because after you’ve been freelancing for a while, you tend to learn a lot about financial issues the hard way. Finance for Freelancers can jumpstart your course in the school of hard knocks with walk throughs of key tasks. Retallick also makes it clear why freelancers need reports: little details like knowing how much you can expect to bring in during the upcoming month can dramatically change where you’re focusing your energies.

Retallick even included a full section on business funding: while getting a bank loan or other external funding to help start up a freelance business is rare, it still happens. Funding can also be crucial to growing your business. The ebook walks you through figuring out your initial finances, as well as crafting a business plan.

I would suggest that you pair this ebook with a trip to a financial professional and some research into your local tax obligations and other financial details. While Retallick covers options for banking, insurance and investments, every freelancer does have a unique financial situation and you’ll want some personalized attention. But as a starting point, a read through of Finance for Freelancers will definitely get you going.

It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day running of your business, but by stepping back and doing an in-depth analysis of your service offerings you will be able to spot patterns and trends. From what has been most profitable for you, to the questions you get asked most often by clients, to the aspects of your work you would most like to pass on to someone else, performing a critical analysis can help you focus on where you want to take your business into the future. Analyzing your work in this way can help you plan how products can fit into your business as it expands. Developing a product can be more than just a way to make extra money: it can raise the profile of your business and help you to increase your potential in new areas.

What you enjoy… or don’t enjoy

Is there an aspect of your service that feels more like a chore to you than a pleasure? Maybe it is something very repetitive or mindless, or something clients always ask for but you don’t enjoy providing. Rather than rolling your eyes every time you are asked for this, you could see whether you could develop some kind of template, information pack or teaching tool that allows the client to do this part themselves. By empowering the client you are effectively passing that part of the work back to them, without having to spend the time on it yourself. What would you do instead with your time if you could offer a product rather than having to manage this yourself? Creating time-saving templates for the client can mean that you have more time to grow the parts of your business that you find fulfilling, and clients don’t necessarily mind doing the work themselves if they can save money n the process. Not to mention that you are essentially turning a chore into cash.

Your focus

Spending some time going through what you offer and breaking it down can help you find a new focus to your work. Whether you want to be known for a particular niche to win new clients, move into a more lucrative field, or else build a reputation to get more speaking gigs, developing a product can be a great way to achieve this. Whether it is sales of ebooks, teaching guides, or a killer piece of software, concentrating on what you want to be known for is a great basis for focusing your product.

Regular questions or advice

Rather than punching your email inbox every time you get asked THAT question again, what could you offer that answered clients’ common queries instead? You know there’s a market already because you’ve been asked how to create a contact form on a website at least nine million times. What else do you get asked? If you compile a list of common queries, could you turn this into some sort of guide? It could be in the form of a downloadable PDF, audio guide or web tutorial. Products that help with common problems can have an extensive existing market – with a bit of research you can see what already exists on a similar theme and make sure yours is tailored to your specific niche or customer.

What makes you money

Analyzing your business can help you see what the most lucrative parts are. Is there something you can churn out very quickly but still charge the same price as for something that takes you far longer? Is there a service you charge extra for? Do you work with a particularly wealthy client type and would like to design something to appeal to more customers from their industry?  Or do you have a great core business but you have to turn clients away – could you earn far more if you could offer them something off-the-peg?
Once you’ve identified what makes you money you can start to think of ways to create a multiplier effect. Basically, is there some way to mass-produce what you do? If you make most of your money designing bespoke websites, could you offer a cheaper template version to appeal to more customers? If you provide consultancy services, could you distill some of the advice you give into some sort of guide or ebook that would appeal to a similar market? If you make good money working with the hospitality industry, could you create apps, plug-ins or templates that you could market to the hotel trade?

Standing back from your business and taking a good look at what you offer right now can help you decide how you want to move forward. Don’t always think in immediate monetary terms, there might be other rewards, such as landing lucrative speaking gigs or building the reputation to offer new services, such as consultancy, which can make developing products worth the time and effort you put into them.

Image by Flickr user marcomagrini

When you are earning a decent income as a freelancer, the thought of putting time and effort into creating a product on top of your day job can seem like just too much work. But there are some very good reasons why selling a product alongside your regular service can be beneficial for your freelance business, as well as being personally fulfilling.

Breaking from your reliance on clients

Freelancers are generally dependent on working with clients for their day-to-day work. Although the freedom of freelancing is what attracts many people to it in the first place, this dependency can mean that you end up taking on projects that you are less than enthusiastic about: most of us don’t have the luxury of turning away work. Offering products can ensure that you have another income stream separate from your client work, and your extra income may mean that you can be pickier about which projects you take on. You may also find that you enjoy working with some clients more than others and having more freedom to pick and choose your work means that you can move towards only taking on the clients you would like to.

Work patterns

Unless you have regular, long-term clients, you may find yourself going through dry spells when work is harder to come by, particularly if your work is more seasonal, or if your clients’ workflow slows down over holidays. If you work on larger projects you might have to wait until the client has signed off on your work before you get paid, which means irregular income for you. It can be useful to have the reliability of a separate income stream to tide you over when work is harder to come by, or for when you are waiting for your next check to come in.

Breaks the hours for work model

For freelancers at the top of their game, increasing your income once you are already charging top rates can be difficult; there just aren’t any more hours in the week. One option is to create something that you can sell alongside your regular services, and break the model of working set hours for a set rate. Although you may not be able to increase your income from your freelancing, selling products can naturally scale up far beyond this, especially if you have a wide market.

Filling a need

One designer I spoke to about the book and videos he is in the process of creating said that part of the reason he took the plunge was because so many people came to him asking him about the techniques he had developed; there was a clear need out there to learn his techniques, and his How-To series was a logical step for him. When you are a leader in your field you soon become aware of gaps in the market that you could be well-placed to fill.

Professional reputation

Having a product can open doors for you. No matter how long you have been in your profession, if you are the author of a book, sell an instructional video, have created a piece of software, or host a paid-for video cast, you are one step closer to being regarded as an ‘expert’ in your field. Your professional reputation can benefit hugely from offering something alongside your services: you may find it easier to get speaking gigs, collaborate on wider projects, or find that your product brings you increased business. You may even find that you are able to charge higher rates even if you thought you had reached your ceiling.

Doing something for yourself

Many freelancers choose this way of life because it enables them to work on projects they are passionate about, but some find that often they are forced to compromise and take on projects they would rather leave but which pay the bills. If you are in the latter camp, creating a product can be one way that you can do something for yourself that you love, and that you can make money from without giving up your day-to-day income.

Cementing yourself in your niche

If you have trouble finding enough projects to take on in your desired niche, you may find that having a product helps to get you more widely known as the ‘Beach Wedding Photographer Guy’ or the ‘Theater Website Designer Woman.’ A product can be great advertising, not only for your business, but your specific niche.  It can also be a way of raising your profile in a crowded niche: if you feel that you are fighting for customers and have to keep your rates low to compete with others, growing your presence with a product can really help you get noticed, and even allow you to raise your rates.

Whether you want to raise your profile, increase your earnings, create something that fulfills you, or advertise your business more widely, offering a product is one way that you can expand your service offerings. You may find that your product ticks several of these boxes at once or even opens doors for you that are completely unexpected.

Image by Flickr user Olivier