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About the Author
Brendon Sinclair
Brendon is an Australian-based marketing consultant with business interests across a range of industries. He runs Tailored Consulting, is very good at marketing, and not so good at golf. Brendon wrote SitePoint's The Web Design Business Kit.
Take the Leap: First Steps in Freelancing
Very few people will ever achieve their greatest life goals. How many people do you know who have achieved their dream?
People fail to achieve their goals for many reasons, but the most common explanation is that we simply don't try. Why not? Trial naturally involves the risk of failure. A lot of people believe it's safer never to try; that way, they'll never fail.
The same can be said for taking the plunge into business, doing it on your own. Who doesn't long to be their own boss, but feel safer with the devil they know? Throughout the course of this kit, you'll often be prompted into action, to try. After all, you'll need to have a shot, to take risks, if you're ever to escape wage slavery.
In The Web Design Business Kit 2.0, from which this chapter is excerpted, I'll show you how to start, build, and expand your own freelance or small web business. We'll meet some interesting characters by way of anecdote, and, at times, deal with less-than-glamorous topics -- unless you're someone who finds breakeven analyses glamorous! You can download this chapter -- along with three others -- for offline reference.
Now, you can simply read this information, absorb it, and mull it over, or you can take action -- immediate action -- while it's still fresh and inspiring. Many people will simply read it and pop it on their bookshelf. But others, like the steady stream of people I've had email me over the years to thank me for writing the first edition of kit, will implement what they've learned and reap the rewards.
Here's one of the first notes of feedback I received about the kit when it was published in 2003:
Example 1.1. First Edition Feedback
"You wouldn't believe the impact The Web Design Business Kit had on our business. The first month we had the kit, our business income was double what we've made at any time in the last three years of business. We achieved this success by simply implementing a few of the business strategies on pricing, presentation, and follow-up we read in the kit."
The key point of that snippet of feedback is the simple implementation of a few of the business strategies. It really is all about simply implementing, so don't just read this kit, put it away, and gradually forget about it. Write notes to yourself as you go through the chapters. Detail how you can apply the lessons I've learnt to what you do. Most of all, put the ideas into practice -- action will lead to success. There's no time like the present to ramp up your business, and this kit will be there to help you each step of the way.
You'd like to be one of the special few of the population to achieve your life's greatest goals? Carpe diem! Let's make a start.
Why Be your Own Boss, Anyway?
Just why are you starting out on your own? Think about this question: your answer is important.
Why do you even work? All we really need is a couple of decent meals a day and some shelter, and we'll be just fine. Why, then, do many of us put in long, hard hours trying to build a business? Is it to have a bigger house, a better car, and more jewelry than the Joneses? If you answered "Yes," then that's fine. Is it to save for the future so you can enjoy a nice lifestyle one day? That's fine too. Is it because you simply enjoy what you do, and putting in a good day's work nourishes your soul? That's great.
It's important that you identify the reasons why you want to go out on your own before you begin. If you know from the start why you're freelancing, you'll be in a better position to assess whether your efforts have been successful later on. You'll also have that bit of extra motivation to get you through the tough times -- and tough times come to us all as we struggle to bring the cash in the door.
So, what is success?
Defining Success and Failure
I have a friend who runs a small Internet business that sells one product. He spends an hour a day on his business. Sometimes he misses a day ... or three. He basically works whenever he wants. He lives in a modest two-bedroom unit about 50 meters from the beach. He plays golf three times a week, and enjoys a long, leisurely lunch on Fridays. He takes himself off to sporting events whenever he feels like it, and he travels quite a lot. He always has enough money in his pocket to buy a beer.
Is he successful?
I have a client who owns a spectacular business that turns over many millions of dollars each year. He employs a staff of 35 and is setting up for international expansion. He drives the latest Porsche, stars in his own TV commercials, and is well recognized for his wonderful business achievements. He works extraordinary hours, but he loves what he does.
Is he a success?
I manage a business that has a few divisions. We do quite a lot of web development, market plenty of businesses, manage athletes, and own and manage a number of web sites. I start work at about 8.30 each morning, and finish at midday. I then go to my local pool and swim a mile or two, after which I go for a run or a bike ride. I might then spend an hour at my local beachside café thinking through a few business ideas that we might have on the go.
Am I successful?
These are three very different businesses. Each business owner leads a very different lifestyle. So, just what is success?
Success is whatever you want it to be. Yes, that's a thoroughgoing cliché. But, like all cliches, it became a cliche via its essential truth.
When I was a young fellow of 21, my ambition was to make a million dollars by the time I was 30. Then I hit some tough times where I struggled to pay the bills and put food on the table. All of a sudden, my definition of success went from earning millions to simply being able to feed my family. Now that I'm older (and, hopefully, a little wiser), my definition of success has shifted. I still run my own business -- I have for over a decade -- and with large numbers of small businesses folding within their fledgling years, I think that means I'm successful at what I do. Goals change -- and your definition of success can change.
My friend with the Internet business makes enough money to have a comfortable lifestyle compared to many people. I call him successful. My client with the Porsche, the large business and the long hours he loves, would also be a success in many people's eyes.
Success isn't merely financial surplus, though. This is an important distinction to make: it might be your definition of success, but it doesn't have to be. If you're currently stuck in a boring, low-paid job that takes an hour's drive to reach each morning, then running a freelance web development business from your spare bedroom that provides you with the exact same income might be your definition of success. Working from home, spending time with your family, running an interesting business, making a few dollars, and having fun? What could be better than that? Making $10 million a year might seem a bigger deal, but then that comes with its own issues, too.
Remember that only a tiny fraction of the population will achieve their dreams and major goals in their lives. Many people just hang around waiting for success to come along and smack them in the face. Well, it's so unlikely to happen as to be out of the question. You have to get out there and grab life, reach for success. No one else will do it for you -- it's completely up to you!
What Business are you Really In?
Are you the best web designer around? The best graphic artist? Maybe the best copywriter? Great! So that means truckloads of business, a fabulous income, and regular attendance at industry awards nights where you invariably pick up the biggest prize. Right?
Er, no, actually. It means nothing of the sort.
Let's banish this first misconception right now. The fact that you're a wonderfully skilled designer or programmer or writer will not, by itself, determine your ability to achieve success. It's your clients' perceptions of those abilities that dictates whether you sink or swim as a freelancer -- and even then, they're not the sole key to your success.
The best designer I've met in ten years of doing web development went out of business recently because he couldn't generate enough profit to keep the business afloat. He told me a few months later that he'd analyzed his profit for the previous two years and found that he'd been working for less than $5.00 per hour. It so happened that I subsequently picked up one of this designer's old clients, who said to me, "I can't believe how cheap they were and I can't believe how slow they were at asking for payment." We recently redeveloped the client's site and charged five times what that great designer had charged -- and the client didn't bat an eyelid.
You see, it's not enough to be a great programmer or designer or whatever -- there's a lot more to it than that. So if you're not in the web design and development business, what business are you in? You're in the same business as every other businessperson on the planet -- the business of selling!
Realizing that you're In the Business of Selling
When you begin to freelance, you'll find yourself competing against others with the same or very similar skills. What determines who wins the job?
Your sales skills. You need to sell better than the next person -- it really is as simple as that. Now that we've established that you're in the business of selling, let's ask the question: "Why are you in business?"
First, have a think about what you're selling. Most people believe they're in the business of web design or development. Some take it a step further, and say, "We're in business to provide solutions for businesses needing a web presence."
Here's the first hint that will help you become more productive and win more jobs by changing the way you do business. It is a very simple thing. Your business exists to help your clients make more money. That's the only thing you must be thinking about. The sites you design and the solutions you build must have a single aim -- to help your clients to prosper.
They might accomplish this aim with your help by providing ecommerce functionality, or they might achieve it by reinforcing offline brand campaigns. Regardless of the nitty-gritty of each project, the objective you must have for all the work you produce is to help your clients make more money. If you don't help your client make more money, then they won't want to work with you.
This is the first realization you must make to survive as a freelance web designer or developer. Let's look at some others.