How to survive your first year freelancing
Starting out as a freelancer is an exciting time, but it comes with some nail-biting moments. You’re learning how to market yourself as a business, navigate client relationships, and manage your cashflow. Here are some common challenges freelancers face in the first year of business, and how you can overcome them to survive and thrive.
Have a plan
You want to get clear on a few things including what you’re good at, who your target audience is, how you are going to reach them, and how you are going to help them solve their problems. This is pretty important to get right because no clients equal no sales. Take time to write it down. Don’t be afraid to go narrow with your audience and solve a specific need—that’s going to make communication clearer and sales flow more easily.
Keep a list of things you’ll need to do as a freelancer. You will have to wear many hats, so if there are things you’re not so strong in, consider outsourcing it to free you up for the things you love that only you can do.
Find a support crew
Freelancing can be lonely sometimes. The good news is there are plenty of people who have walked that path ahead of you. Learn from others in your space online, attend networking events online or in person, join Facebook groups, join a coworking space either in person or digitally (like Cool Wow Collective’s Virtual Coworking Club). These relationships you make with fellow freelancers will give you someone to lean on when you need it (and trust me you’ll need it). They may even end up sending work your way in the future.
Set a schedule
Being a successful freelancer is about discipline. That first year especially can mean some long hours until you’re established and up and running. But also try not to make work your 24/7. You need to carve out time for client work (that will pay the bills), time to grow your business (marketing yourself) and time to recharge (it’s essential for creativity).
One idea is to leave Monday’s for working ON the business so that you can start the week looking after your finances, marketing, or anything else that will help you grow. Then leave the rest of the week to work on client projects. If you start with this habit early on, it will serve you well in years to come. Learn more about setting boundaries with clients as a freelancer here.
Market yourself
There’s no time to be quiet and humble as a freelancer. Sure your amazing work may speak for itself, but to survive, you need to get it seen by the right people. It’s incredibly important to your survival and success. So know what makes you unique to others out there and be confident in how to communicate that so that potential dream clients get it too.
When you know how you help someone, get out there and share it. Put it on your website homepage, your instagram bio, write some guest blogs or become a guest on an aligned podcast, create your own blog, YouTube or IGTV series, go out and network in person or online. There are many ways to market yourself, but you need to know what unique value you offer first so you can communicate that clearly.
Side note, you may NOT want to call yourself a freelancer on everything. You may choose to set up as a brand name or simply your personal name e.g. Amanda Jane Photography. While attitudes are changing, there can be some old perceptions of unprofessionalism associated with the term freelancer. Learn more about choosing the right name here.
Overdeliver
Your first clients will make or break your business because reputation is everything when you are self employed. Do an amazing job and you’ll have a happy repeat client telling their friends about you. This word-of-mouth marketing is invaluable in growing your business.
Once you have some happy clients, ask for testimonials and reviews to share on your website amongst other places. This is proof that you can do a great job and will enhance trust with other potential customers.
When I say overdeliver, I don’t mean bend over backwards and do things that are out of scope or without integrity. I am talking about always delivering to their expectations, doing what you say you will and paying special attention to the details. Overdelivering may simply mean bringing enthusiasm and professionalism to every conversation or email, remembering personal details about your clients family or pet, staying open and clear on communication so that they’re never left wondering when they’ll hear from you. That is what makes a memorable client experience.
Stash some cash
Cashflow is everything. If you have the luxury of saving some money before starting out (perhaps you’re in a job right now), it’s generally recommended to save at least 3 months of your living expenses before taking the leap. If you’re already in it, make sure you are putting aside approx 30% of every invoice for taxes. You don’t want to have a good first year only to end up with a lofty tax bill to pay at the end of it.
Over to you…
If you’ve already made it past your first year of freelancing, congrats! What helped you most in surviving? Or if you are just starting out, what’s your biggest challenge so far? We love to chat, DM or tag us at @coolwowcollective on Instagram.