Freelancing? Think Like a Business Owner

Timeless tips for boosting your income and managing your work load

learn more about Michelle Goodman

By Michelle Goodman

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

So you've had enough of your rotten boss or the hideous job market and decided to give freelancing a whirl. Congratulations. But before you settle into your SpongeBob slippers and turn to the day's project deadlines, ask yourself this: How's business? Be honest. Are you bringing in enough work? Making enough money to meet your expenses--and your saving goals? Happy with your current client lineup--or frantically nabbing any project within spitting distance for fear it will be your last?

If your freelance business has yet to meet your expectations, don't fret. With a little strategy and planning, this could be the year you get there. Here's how.

Track Your Time
Sure, many freelancers get paid by the project, day, week, month, word, session or click. But it's helpful to do the math and see what your efforts are yielding per hour. This applies to all indie workers, whether you're a writer, designer, photographer, programmer, bookkeeper, virtual assistant, social media expert or project manager. If you're scarcely clearing minimum wage for that client you thought was such a coup, Houston, we have a problem.

Happily, the web is rife with free tools you can use to track your time per project. Examples: myHours, Slim Timer and Toggl. If the hours show that you're grossly underpaid, you have two choices: ask for more money or replace the client with one that actually pays a living wage.

Raise Your Rates at Least 50 Percent
Time-tracking aside, if you've been self-employed less than a year, I can almost guarantee you're not charging enough. You might think $40, $50 or $60 an hour sounds like a lot. But factor in taxes, business expenses, health insurance, retirement savings, vacation days and the fact that you're hustling for work 5, 10 or however many unpaid hours a week, and you're lucky if you take home $20, $25 or $30 an hour.

To determine what you need to earn per hour to cover your costs, draw a salary and make a profit, try FreelanceSwitch's hourly rate calculator. Obviously you need to take into account the market rate for your profession, industry and experience level too. If everyone can afford you, your rates are too low. If no one can, your rates are too steep. You know you've hit the pricing sweet spot when about 20 percent of your prospects can't afford your services.

Invest in a Standard Contract
Although freelancers do it all the time, accepting a project on nothing more than a handshake is a bad idea. If you don't specify in writing every last parameter of the gig--from revisions and copyrights to deadlines and payment dates--you might find yourself negotiating various minutiae throughout the course of the project. Worse, if your contact leaves the company, you'll have no proof of the terms you both agreed to.

It's worth hiring a lawyer who caters to small businesses to draw up a contract or review one you've cobbled together from the web. For those on a limited budget, many law schools and legal organizations offer clinics that serve small business owners and artists. Professional associations like the National Writers Union, Graphic Artists Guild, and American Society of Media Photographers also offer their members contract assistance. And the legal advice clearinghouse Nolo sells affordable books on the topic as well as contract templates you can download.

Get an Accountant Already!
Hopefully you've heard the basics of freelance tax law by now: save at least 20 to 25 percent of your income for Uncle Sam, pay the IRS directly each quarter, track deductible business expenses and so on. You're bound to have questions about all this as well as city and state licensing and tax regulations--questions your equally green freelance friends won't be able to answer.

For this reason, I suggest hiring an accountant who specializes in small business ownership. And I suggest you do it now; any accountant worth his or her salt will be slammed come late February. Besides helping you navigate the minefield of ever-changing tax laws--and thus avoid penalties--a good accountant can help save you money on your tax bill. Don't be the freelancer desperately scouring the web on April 14 to see if she's eligible to write off her home office or claim a portion of her last vacation as a business expense.

Get Out of the House
I know many new freelancers think the way to market themselves is to slap up a website, open a Twitter account and scour sites like Elance, oDesk and Guru for gigs. I couldn't disagree more.

Yes, a website is a must and Twitter is a fantastic schmoozing tool. And yes, some freelancers swear by sending their resume into the anonymous void on those job bidding sites (not this gal). But if you can't list 75 people in your industry you know well enough to invite to coffee--freelancers and staffers alike--you're missing a critical component of small business marketing.

Biznik--a community of freelancers and entrepreneurs--makes jumping into the face-to-face fray a cinch. So do the happy hours, workshops and other events sponsored by countless professional associations and co-working spaces. Most successful freelancers land a majority of their client introductions and gigs through their professional network. Isn't it time you joined them?

Michelle Goodman is a freelance business writer and author of My So-Called Freelance Life: How to Survive and Thrive as a Creative Professional for Hire and The Anti 9-to-5 Guide: Practical Career Advice for Women Who Think Outside the Cube. Her weekly career column appears on ABCNews.com. Visit her at Anti9to5Guide.com.

Michelle Goodman

Michelle Goodman is a Seattle-based freelance journalist and author of The Anti 9-to-5 Guide.

Related Topics

Editor's Pick

This 61-Year-Old Grandma Who Made $35,000 in the Medical Field Now Earns 7 Figures in Retirement
A 'Quiet Promotion' Will Cost You a Lot — Use This Expert's 4-Step Strategy to Avoid It
3 Red Flags on Your LinkedIn Profile That Scare Clients Away
'Everyone Is Freaking Out.' What's Going On With Silicon Valley Bank? Federal Government Takes Control.
Leadership

How to Detect a Liar in Seconds Using Nonverbal Communication

There are many ways to understand if someone is not honest with you. The following signs do not even require words and are all nonverbal queues.

Celebrity Entrepreneurs

'I Dreaded Falling in Love.' Rupert Murdoch Is Getting Hitched for the Fifth Time.

The 92-year-old media tycoon announces he will wed former San Francisco police chaplain Ann Lesley Smith.

Leadership

How Great Entrepreneurs Find Ways to Win During Economic Downturns

Recessions are an opportunity to recalibrate and make great strides in your business while others are unprepared to brave the challenges. Here's how great entrepreneurs can set themselves up for success despite economic uncertainty.

Business Ideas

55 Small Business Ideas To Start Right Now

To start one of these home-based businesses, you don't need a lot of funding -- just energy, passion and the drive to succeed.

Starting a Business

Selling Your Business? Do These 6 Things Right Now.

If you want the maximum price you need to make these moves before you do anything else.

Business News

'Invest In That Future Now Before It's Too Late': Bill Gates Calls For Global Pandemic Response Team In Op-Ed

In the same month that the World Health Organization called the coronavirus a pandemic three years ago, billionaire Bill Gates reiterated his call for a "fire department for pandemics."