How to Have a Rockstar Freelance Writing Business

The majority of small businesses fold within two years of opening. It takes five years, on average, for a small business to show a profit. If you’re within the first five years of your freelance writing business, chances are pretty good you’re still struggling quite a bit. While there are no magical cures, there are some things that exponentially increase your chances of success.

Here are 10 ways to push your business through the roof:

1. Plan

I’ve said it before, and it bears repeating. You can be a great writer and a kickass salesperson, but if you don’t plan it out right, you’re going to fail. You need to have a clear idea of where you want your business to go and how you intend to get there. You also need to be flexible enough to change course if your plan isn’t going well.

2. Know Yourself

You need to get a handle on what it is you do. You need to understand what your job entails. You’re not a tortured novelist. You’re not even really a writer much of the time. You’re a small business owner. That means you market, you do bookeeping, you administrate and you might even supervise personnel. Occasionally, you even write. Figure out the parts of small business that you’re good at, and the ones you’re not. Either get good at them or hire someone who is.

3. Know your Customer

Give your customer what she wants, not what you think she wants. If you do, she’ll come back and buy from you again. Yes, you can offer advice and enhancements to improve on what she’s asking for, but if it doesn’t work, she’ll know who to blame.

4. Know the Freelance Writing Business

You can’t get a competitive edge if you don’t know the business. Know the industry. Know what kinds of writing people buy and why. Figure out exactly where in that business environment you fit.

5. Develop Your Brand

Your brand is an important part of your marketing effort. Your potential customers create their perception of your business from your brand. Make sure the message is consistent, from your blog to your Twitter account to your Facebook page to your Elance profile.

6. Price for Profit

If you’re writing $5 articles that take you an hour to complete, you’re better off flipping burgers. Same holds true if you’re writing $10 articles that take you an hour to complete. For every hour you spend writing, you need to spend a certain amount of time in bookkeeping, marketing, sales and the like. That amount of time likely varies from one freelance writing business to the next, but I like a 1:1 ratio.

7. Keep Good Records

If you don’t know where your money is coming from, you can’t go back and ask for more. Good records are like instruments on an airplane. Without them, you’re flying blind. With them, you know which way to turn in order to move toward success.

8. Learn from the Pros

Look, you’re talented. That’s cool. But there are people who have been doing this gig for a long time, who can tell you some seriously important things if you’re willing to listen. They can save you a heck of a lot of headache. Listen to them. Take what works for you and ditch the rest.

9. Follow Up

Repeat business is the key to long-term success. Build up a solid client base, do outstanding work for them that helps their business grow and they’ll come back to you again and again and again.

10. Don’t Give Up

Good old-fashioned stubbornness is a virtue you must have if you’re going to make it in the freelance writing business. The reason so many small businesses close their doors within two years isn’t that they weren’t good at what they did; it’s because they couldn’t tough it out.