Growing Your Freelance Business

When trying to grow your freelance business, it’s important to understand that there is no magic pill or quick solution. There are a lot of factors that go into your business including your online presence, your first impression with potential clients, your professional network, and your relationships with current clients. 

So, if you’re ready to put in the hard work to grow your business and freelance services, keep reading. 

To really grow a freelance business, you need more than just great business skills. (That’s why, in our courses, we teach our students not just how to do the work, but how to get the work, too — because being successful involves so much more than hanging a sign on the door that says “Open for Business.”)

So what do you need to grow? We’ve narrowed it down to 4 key recommendations to become a successful freelancer (whether you are interested in becoming a proofreader or just working a few side hustles)

1. Never Stop Learning

To reach your business goals and continue to attract your ideal clients, you need to commit to being a lifelong learner. We are ALL works in progress, and despite how old you are and how much experience you have, no one knows it all. 

Great proofreaders, for example, know that language evolves and punctuation rules can change. To have an edge, we need to be on top of those changes.

You start by reading motivational books, investing in courses and seminars, following blogs, and visiting forums — anything you can get your hands on to improve your skills and gain knowledge will help you grow.

You can also add additional revenue streams by learning complementary skills that will attract prospective clients. Taking courses and being a part of the freelance community can also help you to grow your personal network.  

Books to Grow Your Business

Books are an excellent, low-cost way to keep learning! Here are some of our favorites:

Books for Professionals

• Leveling Up 12 Questions to Elevate Your Personal and Professional Development by Ryan Leak: One of the best ways to become aware of your own capabilities and shortcomings is to ask yourself questions. In this book, you are encouraged to explore your own personality, professional style, and relationships to find areas of growth and improvement. 
• That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea by Marc Randolph: An incredible true story about ideas that go against the grain and challenge our idea of what is possible. This book is a must-read for all aspiring entrepreneurs. 
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey: A classic must-read for professionals and freelancers. This book will not only help you to question your behavior but also encourage you to consider the way that others treat you and what that says about your relationships. 

Books for Proofreaders

• The Best Punctuation Book, Period. by June Casagrande: An excellent tool for understanding the differences between sets of punctuation rules in different industries. It does not go into punctuation for court reporters; however, it sheds light on the fact that punctuation is an art, and *GASP* no one knows everything about it 🙂
• The Elephants of Style: A Trunkload of Tips on the Big Issues and Gray Areas of Contemporary American English by Bill Walsh: I love this book for the same reason I love the one above, Bill Walsh acknowledges the gray areas!! There’s a reason English classes in school are now called Language Arts (and not Language Sciences).
• A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of Punctuation by Noah Lukeman: I love how this book, again, likens punctuation to art: in particular, a symphony! Lukeman has a knack for helping punctuation make sense in people’s heads, and I especially recommend his book to anyone who struggles with the less common punctuation marks, such as the dash or semicolon.

RELATED: 21 Motivational Books

2. Market Your Business (and Yourself) 

Marketing is an ever-evolving beast. What works one year may not work great the next year. What works in one industry will flounder in another. That’s just life, and we’ve got to grow and change with it if we don’t want to be left behind.

For example, social media is constantly changing and it’s essential to know your audience and have a sustainable posting strategy to keep up a steady stream of potential clients. In our course, Ideas to Impact, we discuss how to make social media work for you (even if you aren’t an internet expert). 

For business marketing, LinkedIn is actually growing and becoming one of the best places to market yourself to a list of clients within the professional sphere. You can build client relationship and get recommended while using LinkedIn. 

Fellow super-nerd Melonie Dodaro (author of the #1 best-selling social media book The LinkedIn Code) is one of our go-to gurus for mastering LinkedIn. In fact, when our founder, Caitlin Pyle, took Melonie’s master class, she learned four major mistakes she was making on her LinkedIn profile. 

While marketing can feel uncomfortable for most beginner freelancers and small business owners, it is essential for building a sustainable business that can grow and improve with time. When in doubt, try taking a marketing course or reading up on marketing strategies. 

3. Build Your Web Presence

For building a business in the Internet age, you simply need to have a website. Social media profiles might help you reach new customers, but you need to have somewhere to send them so they can learn more about you, contact you, and recommend you in the future.

If you want to grow a business, there are no excuses for not having a real website. It’s not hard, and it’s not expensive to build a good-looking one. A website adds credibility to your business and to you as a professional. In the online world we live in, it’s really become common courtesy to have a web presence.

Do I Have to Pay for a Website?

Technically, no.

You can build free websites that have subdomains (like caitlintheproofreader.wordpress.com), but bear in mind: that these are free for a reason. The subdomain does detract from the professional look, plus you’re left with a very visible ad for the website builder on your page: two things that, for a very reasonable cost per year, can be gone completely.

In fact, a real domain costs between just $10 and $20 per year to own and hosting is between $5 and $50 per month. And in a market where it pays to stand out, it’s important to look as credible and professional as possible. We recommend Bluehost for web hosting and domains. Their 24/7 customer service rocks, and their website builder is so easy to use.

Check out our easy, step-by-step guide to building a professional website on the cheap! If that totally freaks you out, Elegant Themes can help you create a professional-looking website — even if you have no prior technical website-building knowledge. 

4. Make a Plan for Success

We’ve all heard the saying, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

Well, it’s true! Setting goals is not only important for your business but for your own personal growth. Being able to check off your own achievements will help you feel more confident in yourself and your future. 

Some examples of reasonable achievable tasks can be: 

• – Proofread 100 pages before 2 pm

• – Write 1,000 words for a new article

• – Create 3 new images for your blog

• – Film a new tutorial video for a skill that you teach

• – Reply to 10 important emails before 10 am

Assigning yourself just one of these tasks a day helps you avoid becoming a workaholic — there’s no reason you need to force myself to do all four of those tasks in one day.

Doing too much too fast can negatively affect your mood and your work quality. If you’re in the zone and can do all four tasks in one day, great. If you can’t, don’t beat yourself up. 

Another thing that can help you stay on track is a business planner. What we love about this particular planner is that it helps you to be honest with yourself about what you want to happen with your business, and it guides you in determining the action steps you need to take to get there. Of course, it keeps you organized too. 

How Do I Set Financial Goals

The first step in setting financial goals for yourself and your business is to understand exactly where your money is coming from and going. We recommend Freshbooks because it allows you to send invoices to clients, track your spending, and manage receipts for later tax deductions. 

Just checking your business bank account isn’t enough. You need to have accurate stats on all of your finances so you can see where you can improve, expenses you can cut, and ways you are already succeeding. 

Get Started

If you want to start growing your freelance business, make sure that you start TODAY. Putting off your marketing efforts or client acquisition will just push you further away from achieving your goals. 

So, grab a piece of paper (or open a Google Doc) and start writing out your biggest goals, brainstorm some actionable steps, and make due dates for each of these steps. With the energy that you’re already putting in, you can slingshot yourself toward future success and effort. 

We believe in you! 

P.S. If you’re looking for a freelance course to help you start your business or learn the skills that you need, check out Freelance Formula, General Proofreading, and Transcript Proofreading! We also offer amazing Freelancer Resources!