How to Successfully Turn Your Freelance Career into a Business CareerMetis.com

How to Successfully Turn Your Freelance Career into a Business If you have a budding freelance career, you may be wondering how to shift it from being a lucrative hobby into a full-fledged business.Here are some stats that can help you to get a better picture:According to the Small Business Administrations, there are 28.8 million small businesses in the United States which accounts for 99.7% of all the business in the U.S.On average, small business owners require about $10,000as the startup capital.42% of the startups fail because of a lack of market need. That’s the no.1 reason for failure.evalThis article provides 6 strategies that any freelancer looking to start a business can benefit from.1) Come Up with Your Selling PointsevalUnless the product or service you offer is truly one-of-a-kind, you’ll likely be competing with hundreds or even thousands of other freelancers and businesses. Therefore, it’s important to identify why you are worth hiring over your competitors, according toThe Muse contributor Kate Kendall. To help in this proce ss, Kendall recommends figuring out what your strengths are.Specifically, Kendall advises considering your experience, pricing, likability, and current partnerships as potential selling points. You can also use this as an opportunity to identify a specific niche you will operate in.Here are a few ways that can help to brainstorm your unique selling points:Identify what you can offer, the experience you have or the geographical advantages that your competitors cannot imitate.Search and compare the skillsets you have with your direct competitors and identify the benefits that set you apart.Try to put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Scrutinize what your customers really want and what could convince them to buy your service.Additionally, if you don’t have a portfolio of work samples, now is the time to build one. Curate a collection of your best work and be ready to provide it to clients who ask to see what you can do.2) Build Your Online PresenceThe selling points you come up wi th will be a huge part of another important ingredient: your online presence. These days, any business without a thriving digital identity will likely fall behind its competition.Over at Forbes.com, entrepreneur Andrew Gazdecki recommendsthe following strategies for building an online presence:Be present on multiple channels. That means creating an attractive, up-to-date, highly usable website. It also means being active on social media platforms. You don’t have to post 20 times a day, but you do need to be active enough that people regularly see updates from you.Target specific customers with search engine optimization For instance, if you have a very unique partnership with another business, posting about that can be a way to show off your partnership to potential clients. If you absolutely nailed a project and the client is comfortable with you showing it off, then do so.3) Consider the Financial ImplicationsYour specific financial picture will vary depending on how much saving s you have to lean on, how much your business projects to earn per month, and what expenses you have. However, you should make sure you have enough savings to sustain your new business through any early rough patches.Stats have shown, only half of the small businesses will survive 5 years or more and approximately one-third will survive more than 10 years If you truly want to turn your freelance career into a sustainable business, you must know how and where to spend your money.For example, before you launch a project, you need to estimate the cost of all the individual activities involved and the timeline to complete. After you have the details, add all the estimates cost together to have a complete picture. Then ask yourself, are you willing to take this risk?evalAdditionally, you may also need to figure out if your payment structures need to change.For example, Entrepeneur.comcontributor Michael Luchies started out with a business model of charging clients by the article, but he found more success after switching to monthly packages. Even though his number of clients dropped, the new setup was better for his business.4) Keep Taxes in MindIf your transition from occasional freelancing into full-time business-running goes well, it’s likely that you’ll begin to pull in more money. That’s great newsâ€"but it also means your tax responsibilities will go up.Your specific tax liabilitieswill depend on what type of business you operate as. You may also want to make your new business official by setting it up as a legal entity. This can have several benefits. For example, as Priyanka Prakash explainson Fundera.com, legally registering a business can provide protection for your personal assets by separating your personal and business identities. For example, if someone sues your business, your personal assets won’t be on the hook. Two options for this include limited liability companies Those are just the broad strokes of the steps of setting up your business as a legal entity. Be sure to research each one to make sure all of your paperwork is in order and your needs are covered.6) Network ConstantlyAccording to The Balance contributor Jen Hubley Luckwaldt, networkingis a huge part of making it as a freelancer. Luckwaldt advises that networking is important both to prevent isolationâ€"because you won’t have traditional coworkersâ€"and to build up a client base. She recommends using social media to boost engagement, make and maintain connections.If you have created an online presence for your freelance business, like what I’ve mentioned earlier, it’s the time to utilize it. Besides showcasing the previous work you’ve done, you can share or mention others’ work in your website.Setting up a blog section for networking purposesis the cheapest way you can begin with.Here are some tips where you can grow your network with a blog:When you write a topic, you can mention and link to others that are related. You can feature their advice and tips in your blog post. When your post is published, let them know that you have included them in your article.You can invite someone you know to write an article on your blog. Most likely they will say yes to your invitation. Not only you can get new content from a different perspective, but you can also build a deeper relationship with the person.You can hire someone to do an interview post with the “expert” you know. From there, you can learn so much about the person and their business. It may sparks ideas where you can collaborate with them in the future.Besides, professional associations are another great way to stay on top of news in your industry and expand your network.evalOther avenues for networking include in-person events and volunteering in your community.No matter your method of networking, be ready to talk about your business with an elevator pitch and provide your contact information, for which business cards can be helpful.ConclusionChances are that if youâ €™re a freelancer, you already like what you’re doing.Turning your freelance career into a business can be a way to make your part-time gig your full-time dream job.To make it a reality, identify what you’re good at and build an online presence to show off your skills, accomplishments, and resources. Keep your tax payments, insurance policies, and paperwork in order and in good standing, and be sure to continually network to build valuable connections.