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The Principles of Successful Freelancing
To start your own SWOT analysis, list all of your strengths and weaknesses—these can be thought of as the internal elements, over which which you have some degree of control. Continue by identifying all of the opportunities and threats that you can—these are generally external forces, such as competitors and the industry at large. Then, look for ways to use your strengths, improve on your weaknesses, exploit the opportunities available to you, and fend off the threats.
A SWOT analysis certainly doesn’t need to be as long-winded as it may sound; I have found some of the most useful SWOT analyses are those that fit onto a single page. By way of example, let’s look at our very own Jacob and Emily.
Jacob has put together the beginnings of a SWOT, which looks like this:
| Strengths | Weaknesses | Opportunities | Threats |
|---|---|---|---|
| natural networker (great with people) | small savings, and has never run a business before | knows the industry, has a good understanding of market | many freelancers work nearby |
| fantastic portfolio of work | not proficient with code | has many contacts who may be prospects | larger firms offering a similar service |
Emily, on the other hand, has put together a SWOT that is more like this:
| Strengths | Weaknesses | Opportunities | Threats |
|---|---|---|---|
| has a wide range of skills | not very good at planning | only web developer freelancing in her local area | other people becoming freelancers |
| very hard working | perfectionist; sometimes takes more time to complete projects than she intends to | has a contract or two already lined up | lack of clients in small city |
These examples are only a few lines long, but you can easily extend them to a page or more. The concept is really a succinct and useful method of establishing your pros and cons.
Establishing Goals and Milestones
All this talk of business-planning documents and SWOT analyses may be making your head spin, and you’re forgiven if you find yourself glossing over them in your rush to make a tangible start on your own business. However, I strongly suggest that you take a moment to write down some simple goals and then define some milestones.
Goal-setting helps filter all of the thousands of thoughts and ideas you have into a list that’s far more manageable. High achievers in every field from sports to business consistently suggest that goal-setting is an invaluable part of the process. Goals can help you define your objectives, help you to understand what’s important to you, motivate you towards achievement, and build your self-confidence.
I find goal-setting is most helpful in distinguishing what’s important and what’s irrelevant. This helps me concentrate on what really is crucial to me, and gives me the freedom to spend less time on the rest.
Many people use the acronym SMART when creating goals, as well as for other project management methods. SMART stands for:
- Specific: is the description of the goal precise?
- Measurable: do you explain how you will measure results?
- Attainable: is it possible to achieve, with some effort?
- Realistic: do you have the power to control the results?
- Timely: do you have a deadline for the goal?
The reasoning behind SMART holds that a vague goal is an almost useless goal. As an example, say I needed to win more projects; I could define a goal as, “Get more web site projects.” Sure, this is better than nothing, but how much more inspiring would it be if I changed it to say, “Win five more web site projects this quarter.”
See the difference? I’ve been specific (I want to win more projects); I’ve been measurable (I want five more in the next three months); my goal is attainable (who couldn’t win five projects in three months?); my goal is realistic (I know I can deliver five projects within that time); and it’s timely (it has a three-month deadline).
Setting a great goal should challenge and stimulate you. If I downsized my goal to winning one project in the next two months, I’d be more likely to slack off. It also needs to be realistic, though, so some impossible expectation of getting ten projects in three months would set up almost certain failure. It’s a good idea to limit yourself to just a handful of short-term and medium-term goals—writing an exhaustive list of everything you would like to complete prior to your death is a sure way to demotivate yourself.
Tip: Goal-setting Help
You may have heard of the popular Web 2.0 application, 43 Things. This site presents a great example of goal-setting at work—try listing your goals on 43 Things, or simply use a text file or whiteboard, and see how you go!