While freelancing does provide you control and flexibility, to take your business to the next level, you need a plan. A strategic business plan will help you to get yourself organized, set you straight with your goals and work efficiently.
Though freelancing is seen as a somewhat ambiguous way to make a living, treating it like a business is the only way to ensure your financial stability.
Below are 10 steps that you should take to write a successful freelance business plan.
1. Define Your Freelance Services
The first step is to pinpoint what services you plan on providing. Write the exact segment you like to work on. As a graphic designer, writer, and web developer you will also be able to attract the right clients based on your services.
Key Considerations:
- Write about your services.
- Do you have secondary/complementary services?
- In simple words, is your service required widely?
Right away, what tutoring services are most valuable to families? This is the foundation from which everything else builds.
2. Identify Your Target Market
It is essential to know who your clients and consumers are. Research Your Target Audience and Think about who is going to benefit most from what you provide- and how to get in front of them! Should you be targeting startups, small businesses or enterprises? With a market in mind, freelancers can uniquely craft what they offer and to whom.
Key Considerations:
- Where are the applications in the industry?
- Are you serving a local client or an international company?
- What are the pain points of your targeted audience and how to solve them?
3. Set Clear Business Goals
You have to create straightforwardly measurable goals to be able to measure your advancement. Whether you want to reach a particular income, achieve X number of clients or offer new services — setting goals is essential.
Key Considerations:
- Which income level do you hope to achieve in 6 months, a year, or five years out?
- How many customers are you going to have to generate an income?
- Thinking of going from a freelancing business to an agency?
4. Conduct Competitor Analysis
The very first thing you should do is to understand your competitors. Comparing yourself with them helps you to position yourself differently and efficiently in the market. Check out other freelancers or businesses who are providing similar services and find what makes you unique.
Key Considerations:
- How much are your competitors pricing themselves for similar services?
- How Do They Brand Themselves?
- What type of value would you provide that stands out from others?
The more familiar you are with your competitors, the easier it is to position yourself and what you offer to draw new clients.
5. Define Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
This is also known as your U.S.P (Unique Selling Proposition). That is what sets you apart from everyone else, why clients pick you and not some other guy. Everything from your website to your proposals is to be communicated in a way that tells people exactly how you are different from everyone else.
Key Considerations:
- What makes your skills or business superior to that of your competitors?
- Do you provide higher client service, more quick processing, or experience in a particular area of law?
- Don’t harp on the negative, express your stronger points to clients.
This will help you get noticed in a saturated freelance market.
6. Determine Your Pricing Strategy
Freelancer services pricing can either make or break a freelance business and is therefore critical to have an appropriate pricing strategy. Ideally, you want to price your services profitably and attractively enough to ensure that people will hire you. Ask yourself whether you will be billing by the hour, project rate, or on a retainer basis.
Key Considerations:
- How much do freelancers in your industry usually get?
- What are you trying to make and how much does that require you to get paid?
- Are you going to provide various service packages?
A solid pricing strategy keeps you from selling yourself short.
7. Create a Marketing Plan
Best freelancers in the world will not succeed without clients, so need to have a marketing plan. Your marketing should keep the services you offer in front of your ideal client. Think of both online as well as offline ways including social media, email marketing, SEO and networking.
Key Considerations:
- Where will you advertise your services on social media?
- What kind of marketing method will you do; paid or organic?
- How are you going to use this information to establish and foster relationships with prospective clients?
A solid marketing strategy guarantees someone will find their way to you, no matter the type of freelance business you are in.
8. Set Up Your Financial Plan
A full business plan will have a financial plan with your revenue, costs, and profit projection. Business expenses, such as taxes or software subs, and marketing do not occur to freelancers. Put your financial plans in place so that your business can continue being profitable.
Key Considerations:
- What are your fixed and variable overheads?
- But what will you pay in taxes?
- Are you going to save any for investing in new machinery/software etc?
A financial plan is vital so you can make educated choices about your freelance business.
9. Plan for Growth
Your freelance business will change with time, so growth and scalability need to be in the planning. Consider how you can add to your services list, and possibly justify a raise in price per hour or hire subcontractors or employees.
Key Considerations:
- In the future what are some new services or products that you could add?
- Want to move into new markets or industries?
- Are you going to turn into a freelance agency or stay solo?
A growth plan keeps you in motion and your business evolving with the market.
10. Review and Revise Your Plan Regularly
After you generate your freelance business plan, it must be reviewed and revised over time. You should create a plan that will grow with your business and change as the real estate market changes. Stay the course: Put reminders in your calendar to review your goals, financials and strategies at regular intervals.
Key Considerations:
- Mark Bradbirds and ProperNicks split over how often to look at your plan. (Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Annually?)
- Does this show you are on target to meet your goals or do you need to make a change in what you do?
- How has your industry or market shifted and what are you going to do about it?
On the flip side, a flexible business plan provides you with the opportunity and ability to respond well to any change or challenge.
Conclusion
Creating a solid freelance business plan can be daunting, but taking this step is crucial if you want to do more than just survive as a freelancer.
If you just implement these 10 steps, your freelance business will be successful. No matter if you are starting for the first time, or want to go to the next level as a freelancer, a solid copy of your business plan is what allows success.