6 Critical Lessons for Beginners to Create a Successful Freelance Business
Save years of wasted effort and failure.
When starting a business, it’s important to know what to do and it’s even more important to know what not to do.
Because every step in the wrong direction will just take you further and further away from your goals. Worse, you’ll get frustrated, quit, and blame it on entrepreneurship when, in reality, it’s only because you had a bad strategy.
Over the years, I built a successful freelance business that allows me to do the work I enjoy, help great clients, and live the lifestyle I want. But it took countless hard lessons from my (many) mistakes and learning from people way smarter than me.
I want you to have an easier path than me. No matter what industry you’re in — food, fashion, coding, daycare, consulting, etc. — or how “experienced” you are, I am very confident these tips will help you tremendously.
Don’t Sweat the Details
Years ago, I met someone who was building a website and they told me they were busy trying to write their blog, write a business plan, design business cards, and craft freelancer contracts (despite having zero employees).
Then, they asked me if I had those things in my business—and I said no. “You really should,” they replied.
I just laughed.
Because none of that stuff impacted my success.
Maybe at a certain point, those things could possibly be important. But when you’re starting out, those are the little details you should not bog yourself down with.
It’s like people who worry about having a great SEO strategy… when they only have 17 website visitors a month. (And 16 of them are just bots.)
Instead, remember the 80/20 Rule: Focus on the 20% that’s going to get you 80% (or more) of your results.
At the start, you should only focus on finding your customers, getting people to buy, and making a profit.
If you can do that, you’re doing better than most people who “want” to start a business.
“…avoid time-wasters that allow you to ‘play business,’ but don’t really affect your bottom line… when you eliminate these useless tasks that drive no real business value — you’ll have more time to focus on the areas that matter…”
— Ramit Sethi
After all, you can build a very profitable business without having a website, business cards, or even a lawyer-approved contract.
Remember, don’t “play business” (i.e. play a make-believe game where you feel like you’re running a business, but you aren’t doing anything). Focus on what really matters.
Ask For Money
Here’s a problem I see far too often: Someone will have a business idea and everyone will reply, “Wow, that is a great idea! Sounds awesome! You should really do that!”
Then that person gets excited because it seems like their business idea has a lot of potential.
Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but all those compliments are utterly worthless.
Judge by action, not by words. You cannot take what people say on faith. A lot of people will say those things because you’re their friend and they want to spare your feelings or make you feel like they’re supportive of your dreams.
The only way to actually know if your business idea has any potential is to directly ask for money and directly receive money.
Until that happens, their “interest” is not validated.
Until that happens, your idea is not validated.
But once it does happen, then you can be confident your idea has actual potential — not fake potential.
Ideas Are a “Dime a Dozen”
Having ideas is great. But ideas are a dime a dozen.
People have hundreds and hundreds of ideas but very few of them will actually be viable.
I’ve had many ideas I really liked, but when I tested them, they just didn’t work — but that’s OK. Because, to me, every “no” is bringing me closer to a “yes;” every bad idea is bringing me closer to an idea that succeeds.
Also, make sure you don’t fall in love with your ideas. A lot of people are really infatuated with their business, but it prevents them from being rational, unbiased, and honest with themselves.
“Entrepreneurs can easily become infatuated with their ideas… They fall in love before they’re even out in the marketplace with it. This is a huge danger. Then these love-struck entrepreneurs bypass a step that’s absolutely crucial when introducing any new idea into the marketplace: Test your idea on check-writers, those who will actually like your product enough to pay you for it.”
— Dan Sullivan
The hard truth is most of your business ideas will flop so don’t get too caught up in them. Instead, take a scientific approach and test them as quickly and cost-effectively as possible. (More on that later.)
For example, when I was 23, I launched a clothing company with a friend. But rather than going all-in, buying tons of inventory, going to a lot of events, etc. I made a small batch to gauge interest.
Eventually, it didn’t work out, but I only lost my small initial investment — from there, I could move on to my next idea.
It’s all about balance: Passion leads to ideas and purpose, but objectivity leads to wise decisions and sound judgment.
Surround Yourself With The Right People
How many of us hear comments like:
- “95 percent of businesses fail within five years.”
- “Your idea is too risky.”
- “Following your dreams is selfish.”
- “But what if you fail? What if it breaks? What if you get robbed?…”
Worse, how many of us — after years and years of listening to people like that — start to think the same exact way?
When you’re going for a big goal like starting your own business, you must surround yourself with people who align with your dreams. Befriend people who can see your vision and support you as you move forward, not people who create a ton of extra (and unnecessary) anxiety and worries.
Remember: People often project how they feel onto you so don’t listen to the noise.
To transform your business life, transform your “social” life. Look at the five people you spend the most time with. Do they push you forward in life or do they pull you back?
Be honest with yourself.
If you’re not spending time with the right people, it’s going to hurt your abilities to grow your business. It might not seem like it would — because they’re not your customers or your employees — but the psychological influence that your social circle has on you cannot be underestimated.
Start Small and Test
Years ago, I had a personal training client who wanted to start a business for doctors. He spent over $30,000 to hire developers to build a website with all the bells and whistles.
By the time he launched the website, he realized that no one wanted to buy anything and that the entire plan was a bust.
His failure proved a very important lesson.
Sure, you hear plenty of stories about people who put a second mortgage down on their home and went all-in on some huge crazy idea and made it work — but that’s the exception to the rule.
If that’s how you want to do it, that’s fine; but to me, that is far too risky.
While we often think of entrepreneurs as brazen risk-takers, interestingly enough, successful entrepreneurs are actually risk-averse. What they actually do is do the research and testing to stack the odds in their favor and then they take a calculated risk.
So before you go crazy and buy up a ton of supplies and inventory, put hundreds of thousands of dollars down, quit your job, etc., I recommend a different strategy.
Start much, much smaller and test if your idea has legs. If you can make a profit or if you’re building a buzz, that’s a good sign that you can take the next step and scale bigger.
But if that doesn’t happen and you find out your idea is a flop, then you can cut your losses at that small test run and move on to your next idea. The only thing you lose is maybe a couple of hundred dollars and a few weeks of your time.
No matter what your idea is, always find ways to test the viability with a minimal investment. Even if you want to open a restaurant, what’s the smallest way you can test it? How about doing a pop-up event? How about catering an event? That way, you can test your menu and see what people think before getting a loan and building an actual brick-and-mortar.
Get Started Today
I’ve saved the best for last. This is the single most important lesson you can possibly learn if you want to start a successful business:
Stop fucking thinking about it and start fucking taking action.
Too many people comfort you, soothe your feelings, and give you a digital hug — but none of that will help you make your first dollar.
Instead, I’m going to tell you the hard and honest truth:
Stop bullshitting around and just do it.
In my life, I have met so, so many people who want to start a business. Yet the one thing that unites them all is that they never do it.
It’s just some dream they constantly talk about but never follow through on.
They wait until the perfect moment or until they’re finally “ready” — but that never happens. Like I said, everyone has ideas, but it’s only a very select few people who actually turn their ideas into reality.
Even if you have an idea that could sell millions, it’s still just a thought in your head until you actually do something about it.
Another similar problem is when people get so wrapped up in making sure everything is perfect before they launch their business that they delay themselves from just making progress (or “failing forward”).
They worry about if their emails are perfect, if their website is perfect, if their SEO strategy is perfect, or whatever. But it’s a self-defeating pursuit. (And again, working tirelessly on a website that no one has seen yet is “playing business.”)
Avoid this hamster wheel.
If you have an idea, just go for it. Take the first step. Even if that means messaging your own friends and asking them if they want to buy, that’s okay too.
You have to start somewhere.
You don’t need to have everything figured out right now. You just need to get to the next step and, from there, you can learn what you need to get to the following step (and so on).
Good luck.
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