The First Step To A Successful Freelance Business

Be Your Own Boss!

That’s the dream and goal of every aspiring freelancer.

To be the one who decides how you are paid and the hours you work. WHEN you want to work.

But is freelancing only about achieving work-life balance and controlling your time, money and lifestyle?

To be perfectly honest…

It depends on you.

What do you want to achieve for yourself?

You see, many aspiring freelancers and entrepreneurs rush into starting their own business without a clear direction of what they want to achieve.

They rush head-in to business without knowing what’s lying in the dark waiting for them.

And the reward for their efforts?

They find themselves burning precious resources chasing after their dreams. No, I’m not talking about burning their savings… I’m talking about the one resource more import than money…

Time!

The hours they could have put aside to hone their skills. The days they could have put aside to gain more knowledge and experience. The months they could have earned a decent income from active employment.

So Why Do Most Freelancers Struggle In Their Business?

They didn’t build their marketing story. A message that positions them as an authority in their industry. A story that makes their prospects yearning to work with them. They haven’t built their prestige.

This is a strategy, business experts Al Ries and Jack Trout call…

Positioning: The Battle for your Mind.

Although published some time back… the key concept is still applicable in today’s market. (even if you’re a one-man show or a solo-preneur)

Inside the authors explained why having a strategic positioning in your business.

To capture the very limited attention space in your prospects’ minds.

This is where most new entrepreneurs get it wrong. They look at their product and offer and think of creative ways to make their prospects buy.

Instead it should start with looking at your prospects’ minds.

What are they thinking of, what are their desires, and what problems do they need help solving.

How Freelancers Can Build Prestige With Positioning Strategies

If all these sound new to you, it is perfectly normal at this stage. But that’s the beauty of this strategy.

Because most new business owners (and many experienced businesses) don’t invest time to build up their brand prestige…

There is plenty of opportunity for those who do.

If you’re a graphic designer, how do you position yourself to your clients?

Do a quick search for graphic designers in Singapore and you’ll find sites offering a whole range of services.

Things like branding, events design, online marketing, prints, adverts, web design and so on.

In fact this is one of the most common positioning many business owners try to adopt… a one stop hub for all design services.

Sure it could work for a bigger company with lots of resources… but if you were operating on your own or working with a small group… you also need to think of your available resources.

Contrast this with a designer who is more specific.

For example let’s look at a designer who focuses on FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) design work. By showing case studies and portfolio of work she has done for businesses in this industry, her clients are more likely to engage her services.

She understands the challenges businesses in the FMCG industry face and she has the answers they’re looking for. In their minds, she has authority, she has prestige.

This is why…

Specialists ALWAYS Charge & Earn More Than Generalists.

Think of your doctors. Between a surgeon and general practitioner… who charges a premium?

Would you prefer to go to an ear specialist or your local G.P for hearing problems?

Point proven!

So if positioning is such an important strategy for businesses…

Why aren’t more entrepreneurs and freelancers applying positioning in their businesses?

2 simple reasons…

The first is that they were never taught positioning. No one had ever taken the time to point out such a critical strategy for their business.

The second and more common reason is…

Many entrepreneurs are afraid of “limiting” their customers.

By specialising in one area, they fear that they are pushing potential clients away.

But here’s the thing…

This is your marketing message. Your story.

By positioning yourself as an expert, you become more desirable. In fact, you get to earn PREMIUM PRICES!

Sure you may lose a few prospects but the amount you can now charge will easily more than make up for it.

Think about it…

Would you rather work yourself to the neck every month earning a certain amount or would you rather earn the same amount doing half the work?

That is the true power of positioning.

So if you would like to start seeing the influence positioning will have for your business…

I encourage you to grab a copy of Positioning and start reading every word of it. (It will give you the winning edge over your competitors)

And if you’re on my list… I’ll be referencing some of the strategies from this book quite often so you definitely don’t want to miss out.

But in any case… here’s a couple of questions to help you think of your business positioning…

1. What do your customers think about when they hear your brand/name?
2. How is your brand/name/story different from your competition?

Think about these 2 questions and if you’re on my list, we’ll dive into them again. (If you have not already registered, you might want to do so here)