How to make freelance work easier and more profitable
Do it right, and freelancing can be a great way to earn money on your terms, and work for an interesting array of clients. Find out how to make it easier and more profitable.
It’s easy to assume that freelancers have it easy when you’re looking in from the outside. After all, they just sit around all day, drink coffee and surf the internet while completing the odd piece of work here and there, and watching the money roll in, right?
Of course, the truth of being a freelancer is very different – and often quite tough. After all, you don’t have a guaranteed pay check every month, nor holiday and sick pay, and other employment benefits. You also need to work out and pay your own tax every year, and find and invoice clients.
In fact, when you take all the above into account, being a freelancer can seem quite a chore. However, the good news is there are actions you can take to make things easier and more profitable for your freelancing career. Here are some suggestions.
Always think about taxes
To make your life easier as a freelancer it can help to remember that your taxes are not a separate thing. Instead, they are intrinsically linked to just about everything you do. For example, every time you increase your profits it will affect your tax. Similarly, every time you buy supplies or resources for your business you should be deducting these from your expense allowance.
With that in mind, it’s best to not just put off doing your taxes to the end of the year. Instead, it will be much better to keep a keen, but consistent eye on your income and spending and how these relate to your tax return.
The good news is that you can do this fairly easily with modern account software. Indeed, many accounting programs now offer an integrated tax summary that you can update as you go, which will allow you to keep a much closer eye on how your business dealings will impact your end-of-year tax return.
Invest in the best equipment
If you want to make your life easier and more profitable as a freelancer then investing in the best equipment you can afford is a must. In particular, choosing equipment that will make your business tasks easier, and cut down the time and effort involved is the best approach. This is because you will be able to work smarter and not harder while still increasing your profits.
Of course, the type of equipment or software tools you will need to invest in will differ from business to business.
For example, a grooming business could benefit from buying an electric or hydraulic dog grooming table, as this will not only save the groomer from having to bend down all the time but also make the whole grooming process faster. However, a freelance illustrator would most benefit from digital software and hardware like a tablet that makes their drawing process faster and more efficient.
Remember that finding clients is also part of your job
To keep your days as easy, and profitable as possible as a freelancer, you need to keep in mind that completing the contracts you have on your books is only half your job. The other half ( and the one that many people struggle most with) is finding and booking clients. Indeed, if you don’t have enough clients on your books you will struggle to be profitable at all.
Fortunately, there are some things you can do to make landing clients for your freelance business that much easier.
One is to set up a sales and marketing funnel that helps draw customers in organically. Another is to run advertising campaigns like PPC which can be very reasonably priced and offer a great ROI while helping you to fill your calendar with customers that can’t wait to work with you.
Photo by Önder Örtel
