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When will you get all of this done?
Hello,
Welcome to the final lesson in this Freelance Foundations course!
LET’S PUT IT ALL TOGETHER
In the previous lesson we looked at the importance of defining your ideal client.
It’s something I’ve been working on for all of my freelance life, so don’t worry if you feel like you’ve still a long way to go to have won your dream clients!
I hope you managed to find a moment to try the exercises so far – it’s so powerful having short tasks to focus on that give your freelance business the right foundations.
To recap, we’ve talked about:
- Why you went freelance in the first place
- What you’re going to deliver and how you’ll stand out from the crowd
- Who inspires you and the client relationships you’d like to develop
- The tools and resources you have at your disposal right now
I hope you’re feeling that bringing these lessons into your work and freelance life is achievable and that the barriers you might have thought were stopping you aren’t as big as you thought.
Now let’s work out how we’re going to combine these lessons into a single plan and work out when you’re going to fit in all of the amazing ideas you have for your freelance business around the work you actually have to deliver.
TODAY’S TASK: CREATE A 6-MONTH PLAN
Today I’d like you to combine everything that we’ve covered so far and put into a 6-month plan.
Plan ahead to a time to a moment when you will likely be able to take a look back and see what progress you’ve made and if you’re on track – and make adjustments if you’re not.
Bear in mind that you’ll need to adjust how far ahead you’ll plan based on where you are in your own freelance journey all important natural light, so think about the best timespan for you.
Think of the following things you’ll need for your freelance business to be a success and plan when you’re going to have these things done by:
- Buy a domain name (Namecheap is a good option)
- Setup email (Have a look at Gmail for a free option)
- Setup a website (I recommend Squarespace or Carrd.co)
- Hire an accountant or buy an online accounting service (try FreeAgent, Xero or Quickbooks)
- Define your services and add to your website (you’ve done this already, right?)
- Gather case studies and testimonials to prove you can deliver on what you promise
- By the right tools and products that will help you do your job effectively
- Let friends, family, ex-colleagues and your wider network know you are freelance, what services you offer and how they can refer you new business opportunities
- Draw up a list of people to meet with to pick their brains about freelancing or how to win new clients
- Update your LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media profiles with your new freelance business details
- Research networking events and meetups to attend
- Join Freelance groups (like the FreeTrain community), Slack channels, email newsletters and other online communities where your peers and potential clients hang out
- The list could go on!
It may seem like a lot of work, but plotting the things you want to achieve into a timeline will help you to keep focussed on improving your freelance business.
And you can always adjust the plan if you find that you’re too busy or realise you don’t need to do something any more.
You don’t have to share your whole plan with the FreeTrain community, but what else would you add to the list?
TAKE YOUR LEARNING FURTHER
I hope you’ve enjoyed this course, and are now inspired to continue with improving your freelance business!
I run FreeTrain with a team of experienced freelancers and together we run several online courses that extend on what we’ve covered here and go into much more detail.
And, if you run a freelance business or are thinking of start one the FreeTrain community might be for you. As well as helping you with your freelance work we will also help and inspire you to grow your business with online courses, live Q&As, projects and tools.
I hope to see you in class soon!
Ben