As 2015 creeps upon us (O.K. Who am I kidding? It’s not creeping, it’s coming at us like a rushing bull at the rodeo!), I’ve been putting thought into what I want to accomplish in my solopreneur business in the New Year. I’m guessing you’ve been thinking about ways to boost your business, too.
It’s no easy feat to grow your business when your income is very much tied directly to your time spent. And one thing I’ve talked about with my colleagues, mastermind partners, clients, and friends for the past year or so has been finding ways to scale my business.
What do I mean by scaling my business? Simply put, increasing revenue with minimal cost and without substantially increasing my workload.
Despite my best intentions, I haven’t implemented scaling as I’d hoped to. As a professional services solopreneur, scaling doesn’t come easily.
It can be a problematic notion for a services provider. In my case, as a freelance writer, my clients rightfully expect me to personally do the work they hire me to do. Sure, I’ve streamlined my professional process a bit by bringing on a virtual assistant (Rose Boettinger) to do research, periodically do administrative tasks, and proofread some of my work before I send it to clients.
That’s alleviated some stress and has helped me take on some additional clients and work. But I realize I need to utilize her more—and in different ways—to really grow my business.
The trick will be to set new expectations for “Dawn Mentzer Freelance Writing” as a team versus a single writer who does content writing. That will take some time—and some strategic thinking.
If your clients view you as a “one man (or woman) band,” you’ll also need to carefully consider how to manage client expectations—and uphold your quality standards—while contracting the time and talents of others.
We’ve all got 24/7 at our disposal to accomplish what we need to do professionally and personally. No more. No less. And we—well, at least, I—don’t want to spend all of my days and hours working. Technology tools to boost productivity, add efficiency, and streamline processes can help. I’ve used several with success, but know I could do more with them.
Evernote, Quickbooks, Toggl, LastPass, Trello, Canva, Quote Roller, Hootsuite, and Google Apps. These tools help minimize time spent saving and retrieving information, tracking and collaborating on projects, creating proposals, issuing invoices, logging into websites, and monitoring and posting to social media networks. When you save time on administrative tasks, you have more time for billable work. That enables you to scale to some degree without outsourcing your work.
As I contemplate what my expanded solopreneur business will look like, I’m wondering what plans for growth you have either on your brain or in active execution. Are you looking for ways to scale your small business?
If yes, I found a few articles on the topic that I believe you might find particularly helpful. Check them out, and please leave a comment on this blog with any tips you have that might help our fellow solopreneurs and small biz owners grow their businesses.
7 Points To Consider Before Scaling Your Small Business via Synnovatia
From Solopreneur To Company: How To Scale Up Your Organization via Firepole Marketing (Although not my ambition, it might be yours. The article shares some helpful pointers.)
6 Steps To Scaling Your Freelance Business via Envato Studio
Beyond Freelancing: 4 Models for Continued Business Growth via Bidsketch (This one touches on the topic of turning some element of your business into a product you can sell. For example, an e-book or a training course, etc. that will generate passive income. )
By Dawn Mentzer
I view my role as more than an independent contractor for hire — I become a part of your team. You’ll find that I dig into the details to understand what’s important to you — and your customers. I embrace collaboration, communicate openly, and craft content to help you achieve your marketing and business goals. Read More...
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