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For many freelancers, moving from freelance to business owner might be something they’ve thought about occasionally. What might it be like to have a few staff members? How to make a business run without needing to work on it five days a week?
What is the transition from freelancer to business owner? Is it costly? And how can you tell if you are ready to make the transition? It is important to know that you never need to move from freelancer to business owner with staff if that isn’t what you want to do.
Outsourcing using remote workers and a virtual assistant means that you can take on larger projects when you want to and smaller ones when you feel like it.
But for those who are thinking about it, here are some considerations and tips.
What is the difference between a freelancer and a business owner?
People use the terms interchangeably, but when we think about business owners, we usually think about people who have staff and office and aren’t always the face of the business. Using logos, branding, and everything else, we might associate with brands like Nike or Zara.
Whereas freelancers are considered to be 100% the face, they work on and in the business, and they are the source of the labor. Freelancers do all of the work associated with being a business owner so it can come down to mindset, too.
Have you got leadership qualities?
Your own daily schedule is neat; you plan ahead, and you handle clients, invoices, and issues all yourself. But what if you have other people in the mix? Could you still handle that?
Being a good leader isn’t telling people what to do; it is giving them the tools and leading by example.
Vision is a key part of moving from freelancing to business owner – you need anyone you hire to understand what you are trying to achieve, how, and why, and it should be inspirational enough for them to deliver the high standards you usually do.
Your actions as a freelancer and a business owner will be similar but not the same. For example, you must consider more than just yourself when accepting clients and looking at profits, projects, and finances. The right actions are what sets the tone for the best performance from your team, even if that is just one person for a while.
Many people freelance for years without setting a vision or a goal for what they want to achieve, whereas business owners need these documents and ideas to move a business forward to grow and succeed.
Is going from a freelancer to a business difficult?
There are plenty of resources online that can help you make the move, but you’ll need more than a new email address and a change of logo. One of the biggest transitions and the most difficult is going from ‘Me / I’ to ‘We / Us.’ The mindset of being a freelancer to a business owner can be tough, and you might find it takes more than a little practice to get it right.
Unlike many new businesses, though, you have the skills and have been using them to make money for your years as a freelancer. New businesses often fail when it comes to making a profit; you’ll be doing what you are already doing but on a larger scale. It is a good idea, though, to take a short course or find a business coach who specializes in helping people transition from freelancers to business owners.
Is your current business scaleable?
Freelancers are usually very good at one or two things, and it is those things they specialize in. Businesses tend to offer a wider range of products and services. Is what you do truly scalable? And then, say in two years, is it scalable again? Could you continue to grow the business?
It is a good chance to take a look at your business and decide if you are ready to grow; More Power To You And Your Business.
Who are your clients?
Look at the people you currently offer a service to; it is probably pretty broad unless you are very niched down. The same companies and people you currently solve problems for will still have those problems whether you are a freelancer or a business.
What it boils down to is your current clients can stay your clients when you make the change to having more people on your team; the difference is you can attract more of the same client at the same time. Having three people on your team working on multiple clients at the same time is going to be seen in the profits.
So take a look at who you are solving problems for, and consider how many more clients you can solve the same problem for.
Preparation
You might need to take a look at how your current legal setup is; some people register as a solo person business when you move to a business, you’ll need to get the right legal setup. It is important to get advice on which option is the right one for you.
Owning a business is not an extension of being self-employed; there are many more responsibilities you have.
One of the first hits is usually when your earnings take a hit – because there is staff to pay and bigger overheads, it will stabilize though. You’ll also do well to look at software and tools that can help you streamline the changes and help with managing employees. You’ll need to make sure you understand how to make a timesheet reminder, schedules, distribute workload, write job descriptions, workers’ rights, and more because it is no longer just you.
Breaking it up into stages will give you time to change all of the ‘you’ focused parts of what you do to a business mode. Often, the point people consider switching from freelancers to a business is that they have more work than they can handle and are consistently hiring freelancers to cover the gaps.
Services / Products
Perhaps one of the most exciting things about moving from freelancing to a business and having more hands on deck is that you can take a look at your offerings. For example, if you are a freelance writer but have always wanted to extend that and do full content packages – with more people on hand, you can offer that. What makes more services and products interesting is not only the scope but also the ability to command a lot more cash.
Take a look at what you currently offer; how can it be modified and improved?
Mindset
Freelancers don’t typically think about growth because they have a set bandwidth that they can handle at any one time. Instead, it is about maximizing money for the time spent. Business owners seek bigger profits, more interesting clients, bigger projects, and growth. While the term ‘growth mindset’ is often thrown around with fast-talking hustlers, it makes a difference to the freelance-to-business transition.
Long Game
Switching from a freelancer to a business is a long game, and long-term planning becomes more critical. And while the preparation takes long enough, the payoff in the end is monumental.
Brand
Most freelancers don’t have a brand, although it is becoming more common for this to be the case. When you switch from freelancer to building, it is your chance to create a brand based on your values as a freelancer and how you see your business growing over the next few years.
And finally, if you have decided that you want to make the switch from freelancer to business owner, a little bravery and risk-taking is par for the course.
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