Want to know how to scale a freelance business?
Below, we’re going to discuss what scaling looks like and how you can go about it.
What Does Scaling Mean for Freelancers?
Scaling in the context of freelancing entails growing your capacity to operate while increasing profits. This means increasing your ability to manage clients and improving your skills and focus.
What’s the difference between growing and scaling a business?
Growth is increasing revenues through increased cost investments (hiring more people, renting a larger space, buying more equipment/software, etc.)
Scaling refers to increasing revenue without substantial cost investments or even reducing costs. This can look like improving your mastery of your current skillsets and tools. Another way involves upgrading your tools to broaden your capacity to serve clients.
You can also scale by training in all new skills or skills that complement your current offerings. This might look like a writer learning SEO so they can help pages rank better. A video editor might also learn audio engineering so they can become a one-stop-shop for clients.
Key Indicators That It’s Time to Scale
What are some signs your freelance business is ready to scale?
- You see a gap or opportunity that you have the time and energy to fill.
- You consistently deliver services efficiently and excellently.
- Your clients ask you often if you offer additional services related to their projects or if you know someone who does.
You shouldn’t bite off more than you can chew. Taking on more work when you aren’t confident you can deliver quality service is like stepping on cement that hasn’t dried yet. You could get stuck, get in trouble, and create a mess someone else has to fix.
Even if you notice an opportunity to help clients further, don’t jump on it immediately. Instead, take some time to evaluate your current client base and workload. Ask yourself first if investing in expanding your offerings will benefit you only with this client, or your business as a whole.
If you truly believe you can manage it, take the time to grow your skills. Only after this step should you consider pitching the idea to your clients.
Preparing for Growth
Setting Clear Goals and Objectives
Ambition is a great trait, but without an organized, clear vision, it spells trouble.
Creating a roadmap for your scaling strategy will help you see the journey in more realistic terms. It will also help you break down the strategy into smaller, actionable, and achievable steps. This way, you increase your chances at a successful expansion and decrease the risk of implosion or overwhelm.
Your roadmap should consist of an overarching goal, long-term, and short-term goals. These smaller objectives or milestones can serve as checkpoints to confirm that you are on track or if you need to re-center and re-evaluate.
Streamlining Your Processes
One of the main things when considering how to scale a freelance business is streamlining what you do already.
You can improve your workflows through personal development and technological help.
By personal development, we mean improving the efficiency and effectiveness of how you work. You can do this by learning different organizational methods or productivity techniques.
A lot of self-improvement includes improving your self-control, work ethic, communication/people skills, patience, resilience, and more.
Technological assistance involves digital solutions like cloud based storage, and automations. If you can save even an hour each day by setting up automated tools, that’s worth it in our books.
There are the tools and software you can use to enhance your productivity. These include productivity trackers, email automations, bookkeeping software, and project management software.
Building a Strong Personal Brand
Freelancing can be an oversaturated market. While the large global talent pool is great for businesses looking to outsource. We cannot say the same about the other side of that coin.
As such, you need to implement strategies that help you to stand out from the rest of the pack.
You can do this by investing in creating a strong online presence. This can range from social media pages to websites and less traditional things like online courses, podcasts, and YouTube channels.
You can enhance your brand visibility by/through:
- Posting regularly
- Investing in ad and marketing campaigns
- Content marketing and SEO
- Engaging with audience and pages, and being active in popular forums
Expanding Your Team
Identifying Tasks to Outsource
Just because you’re a freelancer, that doesn’t mean you work alone all the time. Freelancers often outsource to other freelancers and build partnerships all the time.
Some of the most commonly outsourced tasks include administrative tasks, bookkeeping, customer service, email management, and social media management.
Outsourcing is actually very key when learning effective strategies for how to scale a freelance business.
What are some benefits of outsourcing for freelancers?
- Creating networks so you can cast a wider net
- Opportunity to grow together
- Allows you to focus on improving your core skills
- Leaving the time-consuming tasks to another individual so you can focus on making money
Hiring Virtual Assistants
When it comes to finding reliable team members, look for qualities you value.
Check their resumes and portfolios, but also make sure to conduct thorough video interviews. That’s how you can find the right fit for you and your clients.
Streamline communications with your remote team through project and team management software and collaboration tools like Trello. Make sure you choose your main communication channel whether that’s email, Discord, Slack or others.
Leveraging Freelance Platforms and Agencies
As a freelancer, you probably already know which places helped you find clients.
We recommend checking out sites like LinkedIn, Upwork, and FreeUp.
Agencies can also help in your journey of how to scale a freelance business by providing hassle-free hiring and management. Not only do agencies already vet their agents, they also make it easier to communicate and manage relationships.
Enhancing Client Relationships
Delivering Exceptional Value
When you provide excellent service and do so consistently, you create a reputation. At the beginning, exceeding your clients’ expectations is important in order to make an impression.
Remember, though, making a good impression also sets the expectation. Make sure you can deliver the same, if not better, quality service moving forward. Otherwise, you’re only setting your client up for disappointment.
Strategies for Delivering High-Quality Work
If you want to deliver high-quality work, give yourself a timeline. This is where you have a chance to look over the work and check that you are delivering the best output.
It’s not only about delivering results fast, it’s delivering results that produce results. This means creating something that will best help your client achieve their goals. This could be more impressions, satisfied customers, better CTR, better branding etc.
You should also focus on continuing education and skill development. This involves leveraging the advantages of top freelancer tools to boost efficiency.
Building Long-Term Partnerships
If you want to foster this level of client loyalty, you simply need to deliver on what you promise. Some freelancers even give discounts to additional services.
Financial Management for Scaling
Pricing Strategies for Growth
Some may wonder how to adjust pricing as you scale.
In the first place, you should set clear expectations for work and let them know the boundaries of your offerings.
Scale depending on scope and complexity of services.
Some lay out their services in a tier structure. You can also do that.
When it comes to value-based pricing, consider what skills are closely related and you can do relatively quickly.
Managing Cash Flow
Cash flow management is about having enough cash or liquid assets to meet any debts or obligations like your rent and utility bills. Good cash flow helps keep yourself and your business afloat.
The interconnected relationship of freelance business and personal life makes this even more important.
Tips for maintaining a healthy cash flow:
- Set payment terms
- Prepare invoices ahead of time for quick sending
- Plan ahead, create forecasts, and projections
Marketing and Sales Strategies
Expanding Your Marketing Efforts
Digital marketing strategies are key for how to scale a freelance business quickly. The most popular include social media marketing, SEO, and content marketing.
Content marketing and SEO are particularly important because they drive organic traffic. Quality content builds trust and can show a sneak peek of your expertise.
Enhancing Your Sales Process
Techniques to improve your sales pitch:
- Give real life examples from previous experiences.
- Reframe their problem and communicate your ability to solve it.
- Start with the most obvious problem and upsell.
Customer relationship management software and tools can help you manage your leads and clients. They help you organize this information in one place so you can make better business moves.
How to Scale a Freelance Business Sustainably
Maintaining Work-Life Balance
Your ability to work is your ability to eat. Burnout occurs when you focus on the what more than the why. Take time to recenter, refocus, breathe, and do things you love.
Be disciplined with your work time as well as your leisure time. Try to avoid bleeding work and life together by setting boundaries for yourself like resting on the weekends.
Continuous Learning and Adaptation
Industries and technology are growing rapidly. You need to keep informed of the growing trends so you can stay on top.
Scaling relies on your ability to improve something. It doesn’t just have to be hard skills. You can work on soft skills like communication, self-control or organization.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the first steps to take when planning to scale a freelance business?
Evaluate what you can do in your current state and if you can expand without compromising quality.
How can freelancers ensure quality while outsourcing tasks?
Choose a partner wisely. Create a system to update and manage their projects and partnerships.
What are the common pitfalls to avoid when scaling a freelance business?
Spreading yourself too thin too quickly can destroy your business and reputation.
How can freelancers effectively market their services as they scale?
Social media, websites, and content are great ways to promote and improve visibility of your brand.
What role does technology play in scaling a freelance business?
Technology can save time and effort so freelancers can hone in on the real money-making skills.
What Is Outsource School?
Outsource School helps you to unlock the potential of virtual assistants and accelerate your business growth.
This is the exact system Outsource School’s founders, Nathan Hirsch and Connor Gillivan, used to go from zero to 8 figures and 40+ virtual assistants with an exit in 2019.
Since being founded in 2020, Outsource School has helped 1,000+ business owners hire 2,000+ virtual assistants for their companies.
Schedule a free sales call to learn more
Free resources you might like:
- Outsource School Case Study: How We Scaled to 45+ VAs and 8 Figures in Revenue
- Free VA Calculator | See How Many VAs You Can Afford
- Free Training on 5 Keys to Working With VAs
- Learn Outsourcing 101 | Guides, Downloads, and Checklists
Conclusion
Learning how to scale a freelance business is not a light feat. You need to plan ahead and create a strategy before you can take on more clients. Streamlining your current processes is the best way to prepare.
You don’t have to scale alone, either. You can work with virtual assistants and outsource several tasks so you can focus on your core competencies. Whether you offer new services, or improve on old ones, make sure that you can still deliver quality service on time.
