You might have heard numerous ways concerning how to grow your business, which include but are not limited to paying for advertisement, blogging, and so on. There's business advice all over the Net, but if none of these have worked so far, perhaps it's time to up your game a bit and think of more creative ways to promote your business. Although this strategies might not seem the most obvious ones, sometimes you need something completely creative and out of the ordinary to get your business off the ground.
If you want to grow your freelance business, you might want to consider offering a new product. Although you might already be used to perfecting your skills to ensure that the services your offer are competitive in the today's market, perhaps it's time to add something new to the mix.
A product puts something tangible and immediately useful into the hands of clients or potential clients. This product could be an e-course, ebook, or even a series of how-to videos. Regardless of which product you create, it needs to be useful, easy to use and one of the highest quality.
If the problem is not creating product but how to fund it and you don't want to get a traditional loan, then you might want to try crowdsourcing. After outlining a visual plan and your vision, share it on Moon$hot Stories, a P2P platform created by Moonlighting, aimed at connecting freelancers and small business owners with potential business donors. Either to purchase equipment, pay for advertising or hire additional help, these funds can be used in many ways to get your freelance business off the ground.
From our inception, Moonlighting has always set out to help people launch their dream business or career, said Jeff Tennery, founder and CEO of Moonlighting. With Moon$hot Stories, we can go a step further and help first time entrepreneurs raise the necessary funds to build their own version of the American Dream.
Moon$hot makes it easy for start-ups as it doesn't require a minimum donation and there's no deadline to meet. This is an important source for growth for freelance business, as they are not usually on the radars of traditional investors.
You might also want to expand your services. Think about it this way, you might be offering one or two core services, but you might want to add some complementary services that will make you look more appealing. For instance, you might be a content writer but can you offer SEO writing as well? Or if you work in PR, can you also offer content marketing. You might already posses this skills, but they might need some dusting. You can boost your expertise and knowledge by doing some training and online research.
Another way to reach out to a relevant audience and start building relationships is by teaching a class. At least you can be certain that your students are at least interested in what you have to teach them and what you have to offer.
There are many ways to teach a class. You can either create an e-learning class that people who visit your website could log into periodically, or you could deliver lectures in person. Finding a place to give class is not an obstacle. You can either do it at your local chamber of commerce or even a college might be happy to give you space and your audience space for your class.
One last resource could be creating an online posting on Meetup.com or on a Facebook group of local entrepreneurs and then you can ask them if they'd like to attend an in-person workshop. You can do the workshop either at a coffee shop or a library.
Although as a freelancer who is just starting out, you might feel like you always have to say yes to all clients, this is actually a trap that might hinder your growth. What you should consider is to focus on higher end clients and those that speed up your growth. Create a list of standards that must be met before you accept work, and play a bit hard to get. Better clients lead to other great clients and they all lead to better income. This is how you create a name for yourself.
For instance, don't accept any project you are given right away. This might make you look like you are desperate for work and will leave no room to negotiate a price. You might also want to check the company's credentials and ask for a sample of their product.