Always wanted to take your freelance business and turn it into something BIG? While there are numerous ways to be a freelancer, whether it be full-time or part-time freelancing, if you want to be able to control the freedom and flexibility of your business, and earn six or more figures a year, then you must think about scalability.
In this episode of ‘Raising the Bar’, Matthew Mottola, author of The Human Cloud, explains what scaling your freelance business actually means, traps to avoid while attempting to scale, and what you should be doing to make it a reality.
Watch the full episode below!
Before we get into what steps you should take to grow your business, let’s first dive into the definition of scalability.
We often hear the word “scale” when it comes to all things business, but what does it actually mean for entrepreneurs like you?
While everyone has their own personal definition, according to Mottola, scaling your business means that you can allow yourself to create a financial safety net for yourself and that the money that you need, you have the channels for without having to work 100 hours a week, creating more flexibility and control in your career.
In terms of how you actually scale, here’s how you definitely do NOT scale.
Scaling your business doesn’t mean you need to work overtime or lose sleep to achieve your goals or see results. In fact, if you just end up working until you’re sleep-deprived you’re going to be doing the opposite and you could see a negative impact.
You may think you need extra hands on deck, but when trying to scale your business in the beginning, don’t just hire a bunch of employees for the sake of hiring.
Instead, it’s important to know that the best and most successful freelance businesses have three things: a great network, a strong product, and a strong process. Below, we’ll go over how you could turn your dreams of scaling your business into a reality and take more control.
Make sure you have core and complementary people in your network, possibly around 15-50 freelancers. Core meaning that they do the same thing you do, but perhaps at a cheaper offering and they’re possibly at a more junior level, and complementary, someone who adds to your product and has an advanced skill set.
Determine what you do, what’s the benefit or value of your product, the cost and how long it will take to make progress. Then, create your low, medium and high offerings, so you’re always prepared to offer something to a potential client.
Whenever you gain a new client, instead of telling them that you’ll forward over a proposal the next day, you should always have one handy. What you should do is edit about 20% of your proposal and email it to them at that same moment.
So, how do the best freelancers gain control of their career and scale their business? As mentioned above, they have a strong network of freelancers, a strong product, and a strong process. Now it’s your turn to go out there, build your network, determine your levels of offerings, and standardize your offering process.
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