10 Tips for Running a Freelance Business (Part 5)
Another 10 freelancers share the advice they would give others
Ever wished you could get experienced freelancers to give you their top tips on running a freelance business? You’re in luck! As part of my Freelance Insights series, I ask freelancers from a range of industries the same five questions, including what one tip they would give other freelancers about running a freelance business. I’ve compiled some more of their answers in this blog post. Happy reading!
1) Be spontaneous when starting out
This might be a bit of a wild card, but when you start your business, it’s really important not to have too much structure in place. Allowing yourself the potential to try new things and be spontaneous can be great for your creativity and finding what works for you. You can always put in that structure later, but I find that not being too rigid helps you to be creative and keep the joy in what you’re doing.
2) Make business owner friends
My main tip would be to find other business owner friends who you can use as a sounding board. Often, it’s really easy to allow things about your business to spiral in your own head. My business owner friends have become my colleagues, and it’s so nice to be able to send them a voice note and receive feedback on an idea or advice on a problem. They’ve become such a source of support for me.
3) Listen to yourself
Listen to yourself and allow what you hear to be heard and acted on. I work with a lot of people with mental health issues or different neurodiversities, and lots of us who tick those beautiful boxes have been taught or told that we shouldn’t do something a certain way or that we need to do things differently. You don’t need to. You need to work in line with how you think, feel and are motivated.
4) Know your numbers
Know your numbers. It took me way too long to start paying attention to my profit and loss statement and to understand the data from Google Analytics. When we have questions about our business, the answers can usually be found in the numbers. You need to couple them with creativity, imagination, and qualitative data from listening to customers, but you can learn a lot from trends and figures.
Latasha James, marketing strategist & content creator
5) Don’t force things
I would say not to force things. If your gut tells you there’s something that doesn’t feel right, you’re allowed to not go through with it or pursue it. It’s completely your choice. Allow yourself to make changes. You don’t have to stick with anything you’ve set out to do if it isn’t a good fit. At the same time, I’d recommend saying yes to opportunities that do present themselves and that feel aligned.
Laura Plummer, Instagram strategist & educator
6) Be mindful
Be mindful of every decision you make. I mean this in terms of your finances, your marketing, the clients you take on, the projects you do or don’t accept, whether you work weekends, and whatever else you decide. Since we often go with the flow at the start of our freelance careers, many of us forget to be mindful. But by learning from others, we can grow and find different ways of doing things.
Delfina Morganti Hernández, transcreator, copywriter & SEO marketing specialist
7) Focus on one thing
I would say to focus on one thing. It’s very easy to feel like you have to do everything, running your own business and dealing with the demands of your personal life. If you try to do it all, you end up doing a bit of everything but not necessarily doing it well. Instead, in your business, try to focus on one thing only at a time. By leaning into it, you’ll start to see results and the confidence will come.
8) Don’t be afraid to invoice upfront
I would obviously say to sort the legals out! Because of the economic climate, I’m hearing of more and more people not getting paid. So one thing I’d recommend is to not be afraid to invoice people upfront. It’s your business so you get to decide. Take control of the client relationship. I’d also suggest having a variety of income streams so that not everything is reliant on you as an individual.
9) Time-block your day
Choose the time you want to work during the day and block out that time in your calendar. If you don’t need your phone, put it on a timer so you can’t use it. I use the Forest app, and I love it! Having a timer and time blocking my day is something that’s really helped me. It helps you prioritise the things you need to get done, like the tasks that actually bring in the money as opposed to all the other ones!
Rachel Emma Waring, creative consultant
10) Stop overthinking things
There are a million things I could say, but the one tip I’d give is to stop overthinking things, which is something that tripped me up in my early freelance career. We can get tied up in knots about the smallest things, to the extent that we create blocks for ourselves and don’t end up taking any action. My advice would be to always take the messy action, and don’t worry about what anyone else thinks!
Ceels Lockley, business mentor
Found these tips useful? All the freelancers featured are part of my Freelance Insights series, where they’ve also provided access to a free resource for your benefit.