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How to Market Yourself as a Freelancer

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article | FreelancerIf you have a talent in a particular industry and you have the determination required to work for yourself successfully, then there are plentiful opportunities in the freelance sector at the moment. Freelancing has several advantages over setting up a business, because it requires a far lower level of investment and you don’t have to employ anyone else. All you need are the skills, computer facilities, and the will to succeed.

There are many jobs that lend themselves to freelancing; in fact, there are very few specialties that don’t have some kind of online application. For example, even the most practical, hands-on jobs such as construction, teaching, and medicine, all need web-based services such as training and consulting. If you have the urge to go it alone, there’s very little holding you back – but the critical difference between success and failure will be your ability to market yourself effectively.

Why marketing matters for freelancers

You may consider marketing to be more appropriate for a small business than a freelance enterprise, especially if you have good contacts and can start off with some ready-made clients. While it’s always advantageous to have a couple of clients on your books before you take the plunge into full-time freelancing, there are a couple of points you should bear in mind.

Firstly, if you’re planning to take clients with you from your present job, you could be heading for trouble. Somewhere in your employment contract, it will probably say something along the lines of employees aren’t permitted to poach clients from the business if they leave for a period of six months or so. You may not have such a clause, but it’s still considered underhand to take contacts with you if you leave a business.

Whether you have such a clause or not, you may feel that there’s very little your previous employer could do anyway once you’ve left, but regardless of whether they seek to claim damages against you, which they could well do in some instances, they do have the power to sully your reputation. Businesses live or die on their reputation, and if you become known in the industry as someone who can’t be trusted, your future will be bleak.

Furthermore, you can’t rely on the handful of clients you start with to keep you going or generate new business for you. To build up a sound, stable business, you need to master the art of marketing yourself.

You are the product

In a business, you’re selling a service or a product, and while you would do well to include yourself as a valuable part of the package, you wouldn’t necessarily be the focus. However, if you’re a freelancer, you need to be selling yourself – in effect, you are the product. The only difference between you and all the thousands of other bookkeepers, writers, tutors, or whatever you specialize in, is yourself. All the other freelancers in your sector will be offering broadly similar services, so the only way you can stand out from the crowd is to promote the benefits you offer potential clients.

Some people have no problem with this at all, and happily talk themselves up; others find it hard to sell themselves and promote their abilities. Being over-confident can be off-putting, as you can come across as arrogant; but failing to market yourself as one of the best in your field isn’t likely to impress prospective customers. A middle ground is usually the best approach, showing confidence in your skills without being too full of yourself. If you do struggle with self-confidence, it doesn’t mean you can’t succeed as a freelancer, but you’ll need to put a concerted effort into learning how to present yourself in your marketing.

Marketing tools for freelancers

Many freelancers underestimate the importance of having a website. If you think it’s a bit over the top to create a website just to promote yourself, think again. A website impresses potential clients and reinforces the idea that you’re a serious, committed expert in your field. You can use the website to provide full details of the services you offer, host a portfolio of previous work, and display customer testimonials. It’s a good platform to introduce yourself and help clients get to know you as a person so they make a connection with you, and it’s invaluable for being found in web searches.

If you’re not sure how to create an effective website, find out more about using a design service to create the optimum site, and compare the pros and cons of using a website builder compared to a design service. Your site doesn’t need to be expensive or complicated, just well designed, easy to use, full of relevant information, and updated regularly. In addition to your website, listings in directories not only make your business easier to find, but improve your rankings in search engine results lists too.

Social media can also be a powerful tool if used regularly, but don’t overwhelm yourself by signing up to every possible platform. Have a look at the usage statistics for each one and select one or two to start with. You want to get the hang of posting regularly and managing your accounts effectively without having too many different ones to worry about. Once you get accustomed to writing a daily FaceBook post, or tweeting a few times a day, you can always expand onto other platforms. You should also look at specialist websites and publications that focus on your field of expertise, as a presence in these will be perfect for reaching your target customers.

Many people make a very decent living from going freelance, and have a better quality of life working for themselves. Some go on to establish a fully-fledged business based on their freelancing, but you can follow whichever path appeals most to you. The important thing to remember is that you need to sell yourself, and take the task of marketing yourself very seriously if you want to bring in the right clients.

Proven Methods For Maximizing Business Efficiency

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | Business EfficiencyIn order for any business to reach its potential, it will need to be operating at maximum efficiency. The company will be held back if the business processes are not as streamlined and efficient as possible, but identifying ways in which you can improve the efficiency of the company is a huge challenge, particularly when it is a complex operation. It can also be hard to judge when it is your own company, but there are a few ways in which you could identify areas and make improvements which could help your company to improve efficiency and find greater success.

1. Analyze Each Process

First, it is a good idea to look at each process in the business and identify if there could be ways to improve. List every process no matter how big or small and carefully consider if this is the most efficient way to perform this task.

2. Speak With Staff

It is also helpful to speak with your staff about areas in which there could be improvements made. It is the employees that know the challenges of the operation better than anyone else as this is the work that they are doing each and every day. Listening to your staff and making their role easier can also do wonders for morale and job satisfaction.

3. Upgrade Technology

Due to the rate that technology evolves, the majority of businesses are operating on technology which is not top of the range. Upgrading your tech can significantly increase the efficiency of your operation and maybe even improve the quality of the product and service that you provide.

4. Delegate

When you set up a small business, it is understandable that you want to retain control over each aspect of the operation. Ultimately, this is not the most efficient way of working. Instead, you need to put trust in your staff to handle responsibilities through delegating. This can be effective as it frees up more time for you to focus on areas to improve the business.

5. Outsource

Following on from this, there are also business tasks which should be outsourced to experts to improve efficiency. The best example of this is accounting as this is a highly critical area of business. Using a recognized firm like Del Real Tax accounting services can improve efficiency while maximizing profits for the company. It could make a big difference in the success of your company.

6. Look After Staff

Efficiency will always come down to staff productivity, so you need to identify ways to keep morale high and incentives your employees. This could include positive feedback, rewards for hit-ting targets, company events and offering training and development for staff.

When a business can find ways to improve their efficiency, they can go on to maximize profit while simultaneously making work easier and more enjoyable for staff. It can be a big challenge to improve efficiency, especially for large, complex operations, but the above are all highly effective methods to use which could transform an entire business when used in combination together.

Become A Master Entrepreneur With These Tips

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | EntrepreneurshipBeing in charge of your own company is a thrilling experience, but it also brings a lot of challenges with it. Know that with a little extra effort and focus you too can become a master entrepreneur and improve your leadership skills.

Your business will thrive and you’ll have a much more successful career when you take your role seriously and are always working on advancing your abilities. If this has always been a dream of yours then commit to working hard and stopping at nothing to watch your business develop and grow over the years. Enjoy the ride and remember why you entered the industry in the first place when you experience any obstacles.

Follow Your Passion

You’re more likely to become a master entrepreneur when you follow your passion and are doing what you love. You want to wake up each morning with a positive attitude and outlook and be excited about taking on the day ahead. This is your chance to create a unique and rewarding path for yourself and work a job that actually satisfies you. It won’t be worth it if you’re following someone else’s dream or aren’t fully dedicated to and believe in your products or services. Ask yourself a few questions to help you determine if it’s the path for you:

  • Does it make me happy?
  • Am I solving a problem?
  • Can I see myself doing this every day for the rest of my career?
  • Have I always wanted to be my own boss?

Create A Plan

You’ll be much better off as an entrepreneur and business owner when you create and follow a plan of attack. Trying to wing it and make decisions based on your emotions will likely backfire on you in the long run. It’s important to document your goals and strategies for how you’re going to achieve your objectives. Keep in mind that you can always alter your approach or make changes as time goes on and you notice changes in the market or business landscape.

You’ll thank yourself for having these details recorded down when you get busy and become distracted and need to refer back to them. Stick to the strategy when you’re dealing with uncertainty, and you’ll be likely to dig yourself out of a hole quickly without much trouble. Use your plan to help you stay on track for the future and make sure everyone on your team is working toward the same end goals.

Find and Engage with the Right Customers

You can also become a master entrepreneur when you take the time to find and engage with the right customers. If you’re unsure of how to approach this endeavor, then consider working with a company that can help you achieve your goals in this area. Go online to learn more so you can better target buyers and understand their behaviors and intentions in greater detail. Wasting your time going after those who aren’t truly interested in spending their money with you is only going to hurt your business over time. You need to be sure that you’re attracting and engaging with the right customers on a regular basis. Be glad to know there are methods out there that can help you do this the correct way, so you get the results you desire.

Learn to Problem Solve

You can’t always be looking to others for answers when you’re in charge of your own business. Being an entrepreneur will require you to problem solve and come to conclusions all by yourself. Master your role as a business owner by thinking through what’s in front of you and avoiding assuming or relying on others to always give you advice. You’re going to be faced with a lot of different dilemmas as an entrepreneur and will want to have the confidence to work through these complicated matters on your own time and be able to apply your analytical thinking skills.

Get Involved in the Hiring Process

It’s not a wise idea to get so busy building your business that you don’t make time to insert yourself in the hiring process. This is your business, and you should want to be involved in and feel assured that you’re bringing the right people into your company to help you. Take time to read through resumes, ask the right questions in interviews and gather input from your other teammates before extending an offer. Become a master entrepreneur by building a successful and engaging company culture and team of people who can identify with your vision and goals.

Take Calculated Risks

Part of your job as an entrepreneur will be to not always feel comfortable or play it safe. Unfortunately, you should get accustomed to experiencing uncertainty and having to spend time figuring out your best calculated risk depending on each situation that you’re faced with. Become a master business owner when you can quickly determine which approach will be best for your business at the time given all the facts and possible outcomes. It may feel strange to get in the habit of having to make decisions without feeling completely confident you’re making the right move, but the best you can do is simply to go for it and learn from your mistakes going forward.

Address Complaints and Issues

Looking the other way assuming all is going well when it’s not will likely cause you more headaches down the road. Become a master entrepreneur by addressing complaints and issues as they arise and don’t put them off for another day. Your job as the leader is to practice honesty when it comes to your workplace and your company, and to figure out a game plan for how you can tackle any setbacks in a timely and professional manner.

Train your employees to notify you when problems arise that need to be properly managed. Also, gather feedback from your customers about how you’re doing as a business with addressing their issues and work to take care of them even faster and better going forward.

Streamline Your Business to Make it More Efficient

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business ArticleNo matter how well you set up your business, there are always opportunities for you to improve the way you do things. After a little while, as your business starts to grow, and you begin to add more staff, you may need to think about changing the way your business works. To do this, you need to think about streamlining the processes and the way that you will deal with customers and clients. Here are some ideas to get started.

Review Your Procedures

Before you start embarking on any type of streamlining mission, you need to think about what you need to do, and the areas in particular that require work. To do this, you need to look at your procedures and the way you are dealing with customers and staff. Set up a team to review everything within your company, and see if there is any way that they can make the procedures more efficient. It is important that this team looks at all areas of your company. That way, they will be able to help you save more time and money in the long run.

Involve the Staff

Whenever there is the talk of streamlining within a business, staff always start to become very upset and worried about their future. To allay their fears, it is essential that you involve them from the beginning. Set out in detail what you want to achieve and include them in the process as well. Ask them if there’s anything about the role that they can do more efficiently. If there is, perhaps you could also give them an incentive to come up with a better solution. You can even make it a competition with the winner receiving a prize.

Dealing with Customers

Customers are the life force of your company; without them, you would not be able to run your business. It means that any way which you can make the processing of your products easier will be better for your customers and will encourage them to shop more often with you. To achieve this, why not think about adding an online store to your website and making customer service easier to contact.

Dealing with Clients

In the past, you may have dealt with clients by visiting them in person. This used to be the best and most effective way of dealing with clients and encouraging new contracts. However, there are now many other ways to do this efficiently. For example, you can find the best free conference call online that can allow you to speak face to face with your clients or via a telephone link. Doing so will save you a lot of time traveling and will also reduce your expenses by quite a substantial amount.
By looking at what you are already doing and by involving your workers, you can achieve a more streamlined and efficient company. This will enable you to compete against your competitors and build a company that will grow into the future.

7 Tips To Make The Most Of Tech

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What is a business without proper technology?

It’s the eternal question that every new entrepreneur faces. The answer often reopens the typical debate about technology; namely should a business invest in tech or should it instead focus on other factors of success such as hiring the right team, keeping track of the trends on the market and managing your brand reputation. In reality, every business knows that there is no growth without modern technology to sustain it. You wouldn’t consider keeping your business afloat without a website or an email address, for instance. However, skip back to the 1990s, and you’d be surprised to know that most companies refuse to move with their times, finding a paper-based and one-to-one approach more suitable to their markets.

While nowadays the question of whether you need a website or not is not relevant anymore, the decision approach when it comes to technology follows similar patterns. Many companies are still hesitant about the tech they choose and how to use it effectively in their everyday business. From cutting down unnecessary tech costs to ensuring you select the most relevant addition for your company, these few tips should help you to make the most of your tech day after day.

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | Business Technology
 
1. Find affordable equipment

First of all, it’s fair to say that for start-ups and small companies, investing in new technologies is not a decision you can take lightly. Indeed, for a lot of businesses with a limited budget, even the choice of the most necessary equipment can prove a huge and sometimes insurmountable expense. However, a business can’t do without the equipment that defines its day-to-day activities. From a small farming business to a family construction company, each piece of equipment demands substantial funds. When buying new is not a financial option, you can find the right auction online to get the best second-hand machinery for your activities. Ultimately, buying the previous tech generation at a low cost is often a preferable solution to breaking the bank for the latest generation of gadgets.

2. Make the most of your tax deductions

Nobody likes to pay taxes. But small companies often forget that they can take advantages of numerous tax regulations to maximize their access to technology. Indeed, the Section 179 deduction now allows small and mid-size business to take a first year deduction of up to $1 million on purchases of relevant and qualified equipment. You can also add the depreciation allowance to all the second-hand equipment that qualifies for your company. Ultimately, you can use tax deductions to increase your purchase power, which can help you to invest in new tech for the company. Similarly, you can also combine equipment deductions and energy-efficiency, for the purchase of tech that supports a green strategy. With a little bit of tax know-how – or the help of a certified accountant – you can be in a better position to afford the tech you need to grow your company.

3. Train your employees

Bringing new tech into the office is an essential step to maintain your agility on the market. Indeed, by keeping your production faster and more effective, you ensure your company the advantage of a competitive edge. At least, that’s the theory of it. In practice, new tech is pointless if you fail to train your team to use it. Indeed, you want to not only maintain the tech excitement but also maximize it for your organization. What this means is that you can’t prepare new tech investments without planning for training at the same time. As the two processes are intertwined, you can’t expect your tech to serve any purpose without delivery the appropriate training first.

4. New equipment means new risk assessment audit

With the introduction of new machinery and industrial equipment to your company, you also bring new risks. Indeed, industrial equipment requires high level maintenance and maneuvering to delivery the best possible performance. Failure to stay on top of your maintenance schedule or to follow the operational instructions for the machine can affect both your production and the safety of your employees. However, it’s important to note that each work environment presents unique circumstances that can also increase risks for your workforce. Consequently, if you want to ensure the positive impact of each piece of equipment, you need to work closely with a risk assessment auditor first. The consequences of ignoring risks can be dramatic for the company and the individuals employed within it.

5. Manage maintenance costs and schedule

The latest cyber attack on the British national health system, the NHS, has demonstrated the importance of staying on top of your maintenance schedules. Indeed, many NHS centers were forced to reduce tech upgrades in an effort to save costs. As a result, many IT security systems continued to be used even though they hadn’t been upgraded to the latest standards. By taking advantage of this tech flaws, cyber criminals hacked their way through the NHS systems and infected more than numerous computers all over the UK. The ransomware attack revealed that 97% of NHS centers didn’t use the latest safety procedures.

6. Ensure innovative tech doesn’t lead to disruption

There is a fine line between innovative tech that creates a positive disruption of an established process and new tech that affects the safety and effectiveness of existing operations. Indeed, exploiting tech development to offer better services or outputs can dramatically transform the customer experience. However, disruption requires a thorough understanding of the new patterns of risks and liabilities that are being created in the process. You need to research who is affected by the exciting novelties before launching a full-scale adoption.

7. Buy what you need, not what you want

Start-ups are the first to test out new tech. They love the excitement and value they get from new items. However, not everything that shines is precious. While it can be tempting to indulge in the purchase of the latest gadgets for the workplace, you need to question the strategic purpose of your tech in the business.

From a waste of money to a waste of resource, poor tech implementation can affect your business growth at many levels. Ensuring you can use technology as a boost on your way to success, instead of an obstacle, is the number one priority of all entrepreneurs.