To get really good as a freelancer, you need to do one thing:

Work on your business.

Not just in it.

Sure, there are exceptions.

Of course you have clients to serve.

Deadlines to meet.

Busy seasons.

But if you want to move away from just trading time for money, you NEED to step back.

Get off the hamster wheel and start looking at your business as a business.

Because it is.

You are not a remote employee of your clients. You are a business owner.

When you start looking at it as a business, you can start treating it like a business.

Here are three areas you can focus on to start with:

1. Streamlining for growth

What are the main things businesses do to grow?

Here are three things you need to start doing if you’re going to act more like a business and less like a squirrel:

Outsource

Are there tasks that someone else can do faster, better or more cost-effectively than you?

Outsource them.

To make this work as a business model, sell to clients in first-world countries, and outsource to freelancers in third-world countries.

Example:

You sell X for $3,000 - $5,000 and you outsource it for $1,000.

I explain in depth about this business model (and others) here.

Delegate

Get out of your own way.

Stop being a one-man show and delegate tasks you don’t need to or (honestly) shouldn’t even be doing yourself.

Hire a VA.

Build a small, streamlined team.

Automate

Take an audit of all the tasks you do in your business.

Look at which ones you repeat often.

Look at which ones can be systematized.

Then put a system in place to automate them.

Examples:

- Email templates

- Proposal templates

- Client onboarding

- Invoicing

And if you want software to help you with this, try ClientManager.

2. Finances

Are you accurately tracking your revenue and expenses?

For example, do you know how much money you spend on software subscriptions?

If not, use tools like SoftwareSubscriptions.com

Do you have an accounting tool?

If not, use tools like xero.com

Do you put money aside (even if it’s small) for annual and rainy-day expenses?

If not, start.

Manage your finances or it will manage you.

3. Project Management

I’m sure you don’t enjoy being a squirrel.

Manage your projects and clients, or they will manage you.

Use tools like ClientManager, Notion, or Trello.

And stop working harder.

Work smarter.

It's time to start working ON your business.

...not IN it.

Takeaways

• Work on your business, not just in it.

• Treat your freelance work like a business, not just client work.

• Outsource tasks that others can do better or cheaper.

• Delegate tasks to a VA or small team.

• Automate repetitive tasks with systems and software.

• Track your finances accurately and save for future expenses.

• Use project management tools to stay organised.

Have a good one, and chat to you next week!

Thanks for reading!

-Kyle