Brittany

Your Guide to a Successful Web Design Business Without Sacrificing The Life You REALLY Want

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Doing business doesn’t have to be stressful. We hear new designers talking about their “hustle” all the time and how hard being in business is. While we do know there are challenges we face as business owners, we also see all the benefits. Because of this, we wanted to provide a new perspective on designing businesses that create a life well-lived.

People often think about starting their own freelance design company because they love working independently but don’t like giving up personal time in order to get ahead financially. The reality is, most freelancers burn themselves out trying to keep up with client requests while also making sure their “real” life isn’t completely neglected.

Our philosophy is that you CAN have a life you love and a business that supports it. Business is about making healthy strategic decisions and not allowing stress and pressure to kill your creativity. So today we are going to talk you through some of our favorite tips for keeping your business in the inspiration zone and still living a life that leaves you fulfilled and happy!

#1 Create a life you love each day

You can’t create the business of your dreams if you don’t take time for yourself and do the things that make you happy. By creating a daily rhythm and putting things in your schedule that make you feel fulfilled, you are giving your mind the time and space it needs to move from stress and pressure to creativity and inspiration. Make sure to carve out space in your day for physical activity. Things like walks, yoga, meditation, or anything else that puts a smile on your face. Whatever it is, find what works best for you and then prioritize accordingly! Remember, that the more you invest in yourself the better version of yourself your clients will get!

#2 Focus on how to run your business with less stress.

Outsourcing repetitive tasks (like invoicing) can free up more time in a small way so that you can so focus on revenue-generating activities. Next look at your SOP’s (standard operating procedures) – are they efficient? Is this particular process necessary at all? These can help you actually hire more help for your business as you grow and help decrease the learning curve for anyone you add to your team! Finally, ask yourself “How much does (insert activity here ex: Instagram Posting and Engagement) cost me?” Keeping in mind that costs can be time and monetary as well. Sometimes you have to “pay” for your freedom a little bit with business. If it’s costing too much time or money and not giving you a great ROI, it may be time to cut it out!

#3 Plan some vacation time for yourself

It can feel overwhelming or impossible to take time off when you are “Flyin’ solo” The good news is that the team at Weeknight Website has been doing this for a while now. We have some super helpful tips on how to schedule time off so that your clients are well taken care of and your business stays strong while you are away. Check out our blog post below to learn why your business will thrive when you take time off. It’s filled with practical tips you can use to take a vacation without worry!

Learn to Plan a Biz Vacation

#4 Follow the flow of the year

This post is all about planning for your year as a freelancer. It will help to plan ahead and avoid getting into too much of a rut, or not having the time you need to devote to your business because you were busy with other things.

There are some really good points in this article so make sure that when you read it, take notes on what works well for you! You may just want to review this at different times throughout the year (perhaps around tax season) so that there’s plenty of time to plan and it can encourage you that the trends in business you are seeing are completely normal.

Read the blog

#5 Set good boundaries for your client work

Most of owning and running a successful service-based business is about creating clear expectations. If you are not clear with your clients from the start about what they can expect it is bound to get messy.

If you find yourself in “hustle mode” all the time, you may need to set some more clear client communication boundaries. Even though we live in an always-on world, you should be clear with your clients are at least certain hours during which you don’t answer email, calls, or texts.

Learn to set good boundaries

#6 Scale your business by creating new offers

It’s a good idea to have some clear goals for what you want your business to accomplish each year. So what happens when you have a client that loves you, but you don’t have anything else to offer them? Create something new specifically for them.

This is one of the easiest sales you will ever make. Simply create a list of clients that could use your new offer and pitch it to them. Create an email about how you can help them with their goals. Be specific, give examples, and show some results from other people they know who’ve worked with you before.

Check out this blog for our best tips for scaling your business easily with existing clients

Read Now

User Spotlight: Magdalena Grgić

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We love our users here at Weeknight Website. Like we reeeeeaaaallllyyyy love our users. Because of this we want to share some cool peeps that are doing awesome things with the Weeknight Website platform and making big moves in their online ventures!

Today we are talking to Magdalena Grgić who is all the way from Germany and offers amazing VA and online marketing solutions for her clients.

Hey Magdalena! Tell us a little bit about your business. 

I run a service based online business called Your Virtual Solutions, offering virtual services/solutions in Project Management, Online Marketing and Business Operations. My aim is to help businesses and business owners to free up their time, work more structured and more efficient with the help of me and my services. Right now I am targeting mostly customers in the German speaking area, which is why my site is in German for now. In the future I do plan to offer my site and services in English as well.

What made you want to start your business?

Just my inner drive for independency and freedom. I just wanted out of the 9-5 madness, of traffic jams, packed subways and other limitations that are connected to a regular employment. Prior launching my online business I was working as a consultant which quite often meant long working hours, stress and actually not loving my job at all. I didn’t see the purpose behind all of it and knew, that I didn’t want to spend my years till retirement working like this.

What lights you up most about what you do?

Well, I just started out, so it’s still a way to go. But even if I have longer and challenging days, it’s just a different feeling, because you are doing it all for yourself. There’s just a different drive and motivation behind all of it. I know that there are businesses out there, who I can help with my expertise and it’s just great to see how far I’ve already come and how step by step I am paving my own path and reaching my goals.

What’s something unexpected about you?

Hmm.. here are a few things people find interesting about me.

  1. I have a twin sister and we don’t look the same AT ALL. I pretty sure there are ppl in my building looking more like her than me. 🙂
  2. I am Croatian and have lived in 4 countries so far, currently living in Germany.
  3. I’m a salsa dancer (not a professional one) and have been dancing for almost 14 years now.
  4. I don’t drink coffee.

Who inspires you most right now and why?

Mostly all the other women who have gone or are going the same way as I am right now. Just seeing them succeed and seeing that it is possible to build a job around your life and not the other way around is a huge inspiration and keeps me going.

What did you find most fun/surprising about building your website?

Realizing that I actually like it and am able to do it. 🙂 It was a lot of fun playing with the colors, fonts and different modules and being able to customize everything and in this way building a unique site. This is my first website EVER and even though it was challenging, I feel proud of myself seeing the final result.

Checks out Magdalena’s Website

Why did you choose Weeknight Website as your building platform?

I completed the Bucketlist Bombshells Technical Skills Course where Weeknight Website was taught. At the beginning it was really challenging, cause I have never seen the backend of a website before. But with time and a few nervous breakdowns 🙂 I learned how to work with it and liked how step by step there was an actual website coming to life. When it was time to build the site for my own business, I was first looking into some other options, just to be sure, I am making the right decision. But in the end I decided to go with Weeknight Website, cause that’s where I knew my way around it. I love that the hosting and plugins are already included and I don’t have to worry about that. Also the support is great, I even got a whole video with the review of my site which was amazing and helped me a lot.

What’s something exciting you’re working on right now?

As mentioned earlier, my online business is only two weeks young, so I’m still in the phase of promoting myself, looking for potential clients and networking. I have a few potential jobs in my pipeline, but nothing is official yet. 🙂

Make Money Selling Your Design Templates

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A few years back I had a friend that loved to buy furniture from yard sale sites and then flip it to make a profit. She was one of those creative handy people that made it look easy, you know…

Meanwhile, I was on the couch with my laptop trying to figure out the latest design trend and wondering how she made a $20 bookcase look like it was worth $150.

Recently I was thinking about this again and wondering how I could do the digital equivalent of this and it hit me… Beautiful and easy to use design templates for my design clients would be rad and I have lots of clients that would love this from me!

You Can Watch this Webinar OR Read it Instead! 😉

Templates are a Great Passive Income Maker! 

Whether you are creating social media graphics, printable art, or digital downloads design templates are a great way to create a stream of recurring revenue. You make your design one time, set up the marketing, and let it go! Once your marketing is established, these design templates can bring you sales month after month with only a little marketing effort needed.

If you have never considered creating and selling your own design templates, allow me to walk you though it!

As an added bonus, I will be linking our members-only tutorial on how you can do this same thing to sell website design templates for even more cash flow!

Let’s talk Design

It’s super important to research the market before you jump into designing templates. There is a saying “the riches are in the niches”. This saying is so true! Before doing all this work, it will pay off to do your research and find out what designs people are currently buying, which templates they’re asking for (that they may not have access to), and what designs would be most helpful for them. If you can create something people already need and want, you will be right on target to making a killer profit from your shop!

When you are starting out, make sure to use free or personally made elements in your designs. You have to make sure you have the rights to resell designs if you are using elements from other sites! It is a great idea to include a static design file (like a .jpg or .png) as well as an editable file. This comes in handy when you are creating mockups to help sell your designs.

PRO TIP: You don’t have to use fancy software and complicated tools! Canva Pro is easy to use and free for your customers. It gives you the ability to share editable template files and sell high-quality graphics by making a copy of your design to their account once they purchase access.  

Create a Place to Sell Designs

Once you’ve done the research and created your products, it is time to show off your designs and set up shop.

An important sales key is having a product mockup. Product mockups give people a visual representation of what they are purchasing. It shows them the results they will achieve from buying your template.

The next thing you want to do is think about pricing. You’ve done all the research and invested time in your designs, so make sure you feel good about the price of your product. Remember to view it as if you are dividing the price amongst all of the people that are going to purchase it. This allows you to price it a little lower upfront in order to get more customers, and then you have the flexibility to increase your prices in the future.

Growing your business initially is going to be more focused on gaining loyal customers so that they trust your products once the prices go up. 

Obviously, we always recommend you shop is something you personally own. If you have a shop on a social network, Etsy, or another reseller marketplace, they have the power to take your site down and you are stuck starting over. If you own your site and customer email lisst, they will go with you no matter where you go!

We recommend our Weeknight Website + Shopify Lite subscription for your own shop. You have the design power of Weeknight Website and the selling power of Shopify Lite (which is only $9/month).  

Bonus tip! Creating an additional shop on Etsy is a great way to increase sales when you are starting out. It has established buyers and traffic so you can grow a following there as you build traffic to your own website and shop. 

Market your templates!

Create some appealing mockups and exciting visuals that will draw people in and upload them to Pinterest and Instagram. Doing your research and hashtagging things properly can help you show up at the top of the search results. The next thing you want to do is offer one of your templates to build as a free download in order to build your email list. If they love your free template, they are likely to love other templates that you sell as well. 

You will be able to send them out to your email list and generate sales. Another super effective way to generate sales is to branch out to paid ads on social media. Paid ads on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook paired with good pricing can create a lot of success. I would encourage you to save up a little bit of money to purchase ads and get your products in front of more people. Weeknight Website has seen lots of success with Instagram by creating animated stories, and they have been very popular. For marketing and paid strategy, I prefer instagram and Facebook over promoted Pinterest pins. There are many different ways you can market your templates through other social media platforms, like Tik Tok, depending on your audience.

Pro Tip:  When you sell your template, create a video to show your customers how to edit the designs! Loom is an amazing tool to create video tutorials, and you are able to easily share the link to the video with each purchase because they are saved on your Loom account. This is a nice little touch that you can include in an email for your customers!

Create a Template Package to Maximize Revenue

A while back Kristen did a webinar just for our Weeknight Website members on how you can make and sell templates using Weeknight Website. Combined with this tutorial, you have the power to can offer a whole experience for your customers which will increase the value of your sale.

Packaging website templates and other commonly needed design elements can make your templates more valuable and create a need for customers to come back.

Make sure you are signed up to be a Weeknight Website affiliate to increase your bottom line. As you sell your beautiful custom designs, people will need to sign up on Weeknight Website to actually use the templates you’ve designed, and we will slide you some cash for the promo. 🎉

What Makes a Good Website (Designer Secrets for Websites that Sell)

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Ever started thinking about your website and gotten overwhelmed before you even begin? We know, we have been there before too! As veteran website designers and developers here at Weeknight Website, we know what makes a good website. 

A good website is a central piece of your marketing and is important for making your business a legit profit turning machine. Fun Fact, according to this article, 57% of internet users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed website. (source: https://www.sweor.com/firstimpressions)

This means that even if you have amazing products and outstanding service, people will not recommend you if your website is dated and old. People want the fresh new thing. They expect a good user experience and they will not come back if they don’t get it.

The secret to what makes a good website

Even though we talked about stats above, it’s important to remember that websites are more than good pictures and trendy animations. The key to what makes a good website is connection. Your website is meant to make your customers feel an emotion. When this happens, the connection to you and your product (or service) is a stronger one, which leads to more trust and, in turn, sales. 

Think of it as inviting someone into your home. It may not be the most trendy, but if it feels like YOU and it feels well taken care of and clean, your friends will be at ease. 

Now imagine your home is warm, clean, filled with the magical scent of warm baked cookies, and has the most beautiful and current interior designs, people will not only love coming over, they will tell all their friends and family about your home and their wonderful experience visiting. 

So what can you do if you have a dated website (or no website at all) and little to no design experience? How can you conquer the basics of what makes a good website and design something that people will share for you, helping you grow your business? 

So what’s the silver lining about learning to make a good website?

It’s not as hard as it sounds. 

It’s not even as expensive or difficult as a home reno. (Whew!) 

via GIPHY

There are some very basic and simple things that anyone can do on their website right now to create stellar customer experience and increase sales. Websites are not meant to be overly complicated and time consuming. They are also meant to be living and breathing things that we nurture and add to on a regular basis! 

How to start making a website you can be proud of! 

Knowing Your Target Audience 

This is essential to establish before you begin designing even one thing. If I were building a house for my friend, I would likely be using a completely different style than if I were building for myself. My style and what makes me comfortable might be completely different than that my friend loves and finds comfortable. While we may be similar in taste, I want to make sure that once the house is built, my friend absolutely loves it for years to come. 

Building a website for your audience is just the same. As much as this is your website, it is not about you. It is about your audience. When you make everything you do about THEM they will become your biggest champion and they will love you for it. 

If you do not already know your audience, download the PDF below to identify and target the right customers! 

Begin with A Plan

Just like anything else we do in life, if we fail to plan, we plan to fail. Having a clearly laid out plan is essential to website success. Rather than getting frustrated, designing each page from scratch, changing your mind about the goal on each page, and getting so worn out you never finish, we want you to start and END STRONG when building your website. 

via GIPHY

Now there are some essential things we need to include in our planning phase that will help the design part of building the site easier. 

Step 1: 

Make a list of the pages that you need on your website. Do you need a portfolio page? Are you going to have a shop? What about a blog? Thinking about these things in advance helps you to determine what is most important and where things should go in the order of creating an outline. (We will get to more about that later on in this post.) 

Step 2:

Find examples of other sites you love and see what they have on their site that may be a good idea to include in your website. There are a couple of things to note here. Do not start comparing yourself to other people. You are just starting out and they are established in their website design, content creation, and website style journey. Do not be intimidated out of going forward with your project. That being said, the flip side of this advice is do not copy someone else. Other than being icky and downright illegal, it will also make YOU appear behind the times and unoriginal. If you see something you like, you can emulate it but make sure that you put your own spin on it. This is what will win your audience’s heart. 

Step 3: 

Decide the action you want people to take. Why does this even matter, you ask? Because if YOU can’t decide what the customer should do, then your customer will never be able to make a decision. Remember, a confused mind always says “no”. Just remember that for your whole website there should be one main action. And each page should have one main objective as well. 

Step 4: 

Decide on the second and third actions that need to go on the home page. These will be further down the page and will have clear calls to action that we will talk about later on in this blog post. These things can be actions such as:

  • Joining your mailing list 
  • Blog 
  • Shop 
  • Booking form 
  • Music player
  • Gallery 
  • Calendar

These are a few examples. Keep in mind that all the content should be pointed toward one singular direction and business. Don’t try and build multiple business sites on one domain. The result will be messy and complicated for users. Not to mention your statistics will be completely convoluted, making it hard to do advertising and analytics tracking later on. 

Pro Tip: One Website = One Mission / Brand / Topic

Step 5:

Decide what should go in your navigation menus. Your main navigation should be reserved for those core offers we talked about in step #2. The footer navigation should include things that you need for legal reasons such as a privacy policy, terms and conditions, and if you are a shop based website, we would also recommend including your shipping and return policies. 

Use a Proven Homepage Framework

Now that we have determined the items for what makes a good website, now we need to establish what framework those items we are going to use. 

The key here is to keep your direction strong and clear for your audience so that you never confuse the buyer’s mind. 

This is one place that we can help you speed along your process. Instead of researching for hours and getting that FOMO feeling each time you see a site more beautiful than the next, let us take some of the pressure off! 

We have a list of the 7 best Homepage Outlines you can steal based on our research on over 10 year of design and marketing experience. All you have to do is add your email below and snag it! 

Perfect Homepage Cheat Sheet

Build Trust with Your Audience

This is such a common mistake when people don’t understand what makes a good website. Remember when we were talking about connection and building a home for your online visitors to feel comfortable in? Well friends, this is the part of the process where the rubber meets the road. 

There are tons of ways that you can prove your authority and experience in a niche, even if you are just starting out.

Testimonials 

These are the lifeblood of any website that wants to make sales (so, yeah, all of us.) If you don’t have any yet, we recommend reaching out to your past customers that loved your product or service and asking them for an image and a short review. This will lend credibility to your product or service. No customers yet? No worries read on for ways you can build trust till you get your first paying customers! 

Show your process

This is for our services peeps in the house, Don’t be shy. Tell people about how you are going to deliver on your promises. Give them an overview of what to expect from you and how long things generally take. It may seem silly, but when you do this, you give the customer confidence to book with you. 

Case Studies

These are a more data heavy and results driven approach so they are naturally harder to get, however, they can also lead to BIG profits! These are among some of the most important types of proof and data that you can acquire for your business, so as soon as you can, make this a priority. 

Story

Again, we are going to use emotion to connect with our audience here. Tell them why you do what you do or what inspired the products you are selling. Let them feel the heart of your mission and let them connect with you and your mission. This is one of the strongest forms of trust building you can do, especially with a new audience. A great place to do this is on your “About” page. 

Need help writing a killer “About” page? Download our free fill in the blank PDF with the perfect About Page Formula! 

About Page Formula

The most important secret about what makes a good website

via GIPHY

If you get nothing else form this blog post, please know that THIS is the make or break moment for any website. 

85% of adults think that a company’s website when viewed on a mobile device should be as good or better than its desktop website. (Source: https://www.invisionapp.com/inside-design/statistics-on-user-experience/)

This website statistic tells a clear story. If you don’t have a mobile-friendly site you are leaving money on the table and possibly throwing money away. This is something that no one can afford to ignore in the online climate of the 2020s. The good news is that with the right builder for your website, mobile-friendliness is not a hard or arduous task. You can build websites that are absolutely stunning no matter what device they are on with a little bit of forethought and planning. 

Want to Learn 3 More Secrets for What Makes a Good Website?  

Learn our best designer’s dirty little secrets in our new webinar, 3 Website Must Haves to make you look legit online.

This webinar is devoted to helping you build a website that will make sales and build your business. 

YOU’RE GOING TO LEARN…

  • The one-page website structure that will get your business going fast
  • The mistake you’re probably making on your site that is repelling the right people
  • Tricks you can use to improve your online street cred and look legit!
  • How to make your site one that gets you paid, without you needing to pitch, email or call anyone!

Register for the LIVE webinar here!

Join The Webinar

How to Create a Polished YouTube Channel

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Looking for a way to grow your online presence and keep people engaged with you even when they are NOT on your website? YouTube could be your secret sauce, my friend. In 2020, YouTube has reported 2 billion unique visitors every month according to this article.

That is a whole lot of eyeballs peeps! However, it’s not as easy as just making a video and simply posting it. You have to make it LOOK great too! Read on (or have a watch party 👇) to find out how to make your YouTube channel polished and profesh. 

Why Video?

If you were not convinced already, you should know that “YouTube reaches more U.S consumers between the ages of 18 and 49 than all cable TV networks combined” (source).

Ummm, can we say WOW? Basically being on YouTube these days is like being on TV in the ’80s. No need to stalk the news reporters as they film their segments to get on channel 5. Just put up a Youtube Channel and start your film career now! 

So the real question is why are videos so much more powerful than other types of content? Because video is personal. People love to connect with a person; someone they can see, hear, and get to know. Video gives you that on a large scale without having to find each person individually. 

I know right about now you are getting overwhelmed and feeling camera shy, but we have an awesome blog post on creating amazing promo videos that can be applied to really any video you make. We offer you some advice on equipment for getting started and editing tips too so you get a polished video at the end that would impress anyone! 

Check Out The Post

The other reason that you need video is that YouTube is actually a search engine tool and Google uses it as a ranking indicator. So if you want to dominate the search results in a really competitive market, creating YouTube videos can help you get there. 

Breaking it all down:

In the video above, Kristen, breaks down the pieces of highly successful YouTube Channels and specifically takes a look at Marie.TV which is Marie Forleo’s channel for her business. 

Some of the pieces that we recommend from this video are:

  1. Channel Banner 
  2. Thumbnails
  3. Video Intros
  4. Video End Screen creation

NOTE: We highly recommend using Canva to give you a boost without having to learn Photoshop or something else that feels more intimidating. Using Canva Pro gives you access to some really cool features such as the background eraser tool, the ability to add custom fonts, and being able to create branded graphics in a snap!

Check out Canva Pro

Creating Beautiful YouTube Channel Banners: 

Having a polished banner helps you to brand your channel so that when people land on it, they see what type of content they can expect and most importantly, they can begin to feel like they belong. If they feel like you are their type of crazy design nerd with an amazing portfolio and great advice for designing well, those people are going to WANT to work with you. This all starts with identifying your target audience and speaking to them graphically and immediately through your banner.

Get the Step-by-Step from this timestamp (6:50 to 12:05)

Creating YouTube Thumbnails

Consistency is key for this section. If you do not already know your branding, you should make sure to use the same fonts and colors throughout your web presence so that people can see you from a mile away and still know it’s you, boo! 

Video thumbnails should have a clear, legible title that gives the searchers an idea of what your video is going to be about. This will be the make or break for making sure that you get more video views on your content. Think about the fonts you choose when branding and making graphics to help it all feel really pulled together with your website and other social content.  

Pro tip: When you are uploading videos make sure you are aware of the keywords you are using and think of Youtbe as a search engine. 

Get the Step-by-Step from this timestamp (13:32  to 16:50)

Designing a Killer YouTube Intro

Making your video branded and fun to watch is easier than you may think. Having  a short intro for your video can help people connect with not just the video content they are there to see, but also to the larger scope of content you offer. If you are all about Makeup, show off some of your best looks and tell people who you are. Introduce your channel and don’t forget to tell them how to connect with you. (ie. Subscribe to my channel and hit the notification bell so you never miss another video!) 

Also be sure to check out our helpful blog on creating a killer YouTube Promo Video which can be applied to any of your videos!

Get the Step-by-Step from this timestamp (16:50 to 17:49)

Making a Sweet YouTube Outro

You know, binge watching is the name of the game with YouTube! The more views you get the more likely your content will show well on other search results and be recommended to people who are watching vids on the internet.  You can also use this as a place that you can connect people to your websites or socials. Again, make sure it all feels consistent for your brand so that people connect with you and your style. People are attracted to things that visually appeal to them, and the same goes for your videos and thumbnails! 

So how do you get those fancy screens on the end of your YouTube video? 

Get the Step-by-Step from this timestamp (17:49 to 22:44)

How to Think Like the Boss that You Are!

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If you are new to the freelance world, or even if you have been doing this for a while, but find yourself feeling overwhelmed or having lots of client issues, you might need to make a mindset shift. No worries, we got you boo!

When you are self-employed you ARE the boss. That can take some shifting in the way you think, and the way that you respond to clients. Want to know the dirty little secret of being a killer boss? Be good to your employees and they will work better and harder. That means being nice to, well… you!

Setting boundaries and priorities are the most important skillset that you will need in your career as a business owner and “no” is sometimes the key to success!

How to Know if you have an Employee Mindset or a Self-Employed Mindset.

Employee: Waits around for new tasks, opportunities, and instructions.

Self-Employed: Takes initiative based on the greater goals of the project or mission.

Employees have the benefit of knowing exactly what they need to do on any given day. They do the tasks assigned and they may have periods of free time in the workday to do things that are not productive or helpful. As the boss of your own business, you are always the person pushing the needle forward on the missions so you take the initiative to meet the deadlines that you are committed to.

If you are finding yourself in a waiting pattern take the opportunity to grow you own business and work on projects you want to do for yourself.

Employee: Lets someone else tell them when and how much they are going to work. They allow for “emergencies” on their schedule.

Self-Employed: Creates a schedule based on priorities and fits tasks into that schedule.

Prioritization is everything when you are the keeper of your own schedule. Letting clients know they are not allowed to impose deadlines on you that are not going to work with the plan you have already set forth for the project is a vital step to schedule success.

Pro Tip: If someone reached out with an emergency and you have time to take a look go ahead and let them know you charge a rush fee for emergencies and then help them out!

Employee: Checks email and slack all day and night and allows interruptions.

Self-Employed: Has clear boundaries and rules around communication times and sticks to those rules.

We have all been there. It’s 5 pm and time to “start your day” because all you have done is reply to each ding and ping hitting your inbox. That, my friend, is a recipe for disaster. Setting clear times so that your clients know when they can reasonably expect a response from you can help you keep the notification madness to a minimum. Schedule in “focused work blocks” throughout the day and allow them to be uninterrupted blocks of time where you are just working on moving the needle for YOU!

Want more help with this? Check out our video on beating the summer haze (which is packed with productivity hacks. You’re welcome!)

Beating the Summer Haze

Employee: Says yes to anything that comes their way as long as they are getting paid.

Self-Employed: Has a clear vision for how they want their schedule to look and says no when it doesn’t fit.

If there is one thing you take away from this blog, please let it be this. Don’t just say “yes” to everything. Sometimes, “No” is a magical word that can hold the keys to your best life.

Imagine, you say “yes” to those few projects that don’t bring you any life. Then your dream opportunity comes along and you are left having to say “no”. You do NOT want to be stuck missing out on your dream project because you said yes to a paycheck.

Employee: Hopes they are given what they need to finish the project on schedule.

Self-Employed: Sets clear deadlines and lets the client know when their is action needed.

This is one of the biggest mistakes new business owners make. Proactive communication can be the make or break in a project going really well and a project that ends up being a nightmare for you and your client. Outlining deliverables in your contracts, setting clear expectations for the project, and then letting your client know how you are doing is a huge key to keeping clients happy and can lead to great reviews and referral business.

Pro Tip: Schedule check-in’s with your clients OFTEN. This helps keep you accountable to the timeline and lets them know when things are not being done within timelines.

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Employee: Blame “others” or forces beyond your self when business is slow.

Self-Employed: Innovates and reaches out with new offers when they want new business.

If you are going to be self-employed, you have to learn to innovate and be motivated to get things done and bring in new business. Think outside the box. When things start to get slow, because they always do, have a plan in place for something you can offer that will bring in new revenue.

Are you an online freelancer? Check out this blog for planning your year!

Plan Your Year as a Freelancer

Employee: Hopes to get paid sometime soon.

Self-Employed: Has a payment schedule set before beginning work.

When you are starting out on projects it can be tempting to forgo the awkward payment talks, but let us encourage you, this is how you get paid as a freelancer without losing your mind. When you are setting up a project, have clear payment deadlines and when payments stop, so does the work. It is a hard thing to stick to sometimes, but it is SO worth it. This will lead to more predictable payment schedules and making sure you can pay your rent and buy puppy treats. #dontjudge

Pro Tip: Don’t tie your project payments to milestones. Tie them to specific dates on a calendar and this will help you stay motivated to move the project forward, without tying your paycheck to someone getting you that one last image they can’t find.

Employee: Spends every penny that comes in.

Self-Employed: Sets aside money for growth and expenses.

When you are an employee training and taxes are covered most of the time. As a self-employed person, you are responsible for yourself. Some of the best money you will spend is on training and resources that help move you forward in business. Learning is a lifelong pursuit and it will keep you relevant for your clients, and your own company, if you invest wisely in resources and tools to grow your skills and save you time.