Freelance Writing As a Business

You’re a freelance writer, and perhaps you have never considered yourself to be an entrepreneur. That doesn’t matter at all.

All freelancers can benefit by planning and analyzing business ideas and plans the way any good entrepreneur would. There are successful entrepreneurs in every line of business, including freelance writing.

What they all have in common is the ability to come up with a good business idea or opportunity and then act on it to start and grow a new business.

Successful entrepreneurs are creative or innovative and they have the ability and insight to be able to market, produce and finance the services or products they will be offering. They also have the ability to take calculated risks. For a writer entering the field of freelancing, the “risk” could be giving up a full time job.

But entrepreneurs are not stupid or irresponsible about what they do. I am willing to bet that if you talk to any successful entrepreneur you will find that they planned their business carefully before launching into it.

There are several useful tools that you can use to do this including:

• feasibility studies,
• viability studies,
• SWOT analyses, and
• formal business plans.

In essence, when you come up with what you think is a good idea, you need to make sure that it is feasible and that you will be able to put your idea into practice.

As a freelance writer you will need to identify the service or services that you will offer and be relatively sure that there is a market for these services. Ideally you will be able to come up with an idea that is either different or better than existing freelance writing businesses you know of.

If you are convinced that the idea is feasible, you then need to make sure that the business will be viable. Having determined that there is a need for your service, and that you will be able to attract worthwhile customers (from individuals wanting web site copy to established publishers), you need to calculate the income that you can make from the service. Your business idea will not be viable unless you can manage it for a period of time, usually at least two years.

A SWOT analysis is often included in viability studies to more accurately assess the strengths and weaknesses of the person who is starting up a new business, as well as opportunities and any external conditions that may be regarded as threats.

So for instance you might know that you are a talented writer who is able to stick to deadlines, but a weakness might be that you are not good with finances. In this instance you will be well advised to take steps to find somebody to help you with your books, whether it is a qualified accountant or simply a reliable bookkeeper.

Opportunities might include potential clients who have expressed a willingness to work with you, or perhaps the opportunity to sign a contract to write a book.

Threats could be anything from strong competition from other freelancers, to a depressed market where people are struggling to get good writing jobs.

Just remember that it is essential to approach any SWOT analysis honestly otherwise it will be of no value at all.

Last of all, you should draw up a thorough business plan that shows how your business will operate. Business plans are vital if you are applying for finance. But even if you don’t need to raise money, a business plan will present the blueprint for your business and you can use it as a flexible planning document.

Decide how you plan to grow the business and decide what you want to making from it in a year’s time. Be sure to include scheduled tasks that will ensure you reach your goals.

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