Freelance and beyond

[Andy Black]

Someone asked this a while ago in a Facebook group I'm in:

When you were a one-man-show, how did you manage (website) projects so as to not overwhelm yourself?


My answer:

I've a dozen monthly recurring clients on the go at the moment. I'm creaking at the seams but welcome it.

I want to get to a hundred+, but I'm not rushing because the high friction of working at the coal face means I get to polish my people, processes, and technology.

Your infrastructure is your people, processes, and technology. It's important to think of all three.

I also think hiring great people is the most important thing at the start. As you develop your processes, and then technology, you can hire or outsource to people who want to follow processes rather than create them and move on.

Be aware that some people prefer moving forward, others prefer doing the same thing daily and going home (employee mindset).

...

Remember this young guns:

"You can go slower than you think."

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Most importantly, you've chosen to overcome this hurdle. That's THE most important step. Some people prefer to keep the same number of clients, but to go upstream and charge more. That's a great strategy.

Me personally, I want to go downstream and have more clients. So the problems I choose to solve are to do with scaling, rather than selling higher ticket etc.

...

What I am building to sell is my business, not the products or services I think I sell.

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Process improvement happens when we take them through this lifecycle:

1) Ad-hoc (first few times doing it).

2) Defined (I keep doing this - better add it to my list of processes to improve).

3) Documented.

4) Repeatable (it ain't Repeatable till someone else can follow it).

4) Automated (as much as possible or sensible).

5) Optimised (as much as is sensible).

...

I keep filling up my schedule until:

a) I am forced to do things differently. Like drop stuff I was doing that clients don't gaf about anyway (AKA focus on billable work).

b) I find stuff that is low maintenance and try to get people onto that.

I WELCOME the new problem of too much work. A new problem means you're making progress. No new problems means you're stuck.

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Be aware of the potential sliding scale you may wish to follow:

Employee
... to Freelancer
... to Agency Owner (bespoke)
... to Agency Owner (cookie-cutter)
... to Productised Service
... to Platform

I'm constantly trying to work out how to move along this sliding scale.

I don't think we can skips steps. I think we have to engage the market in hand-to-hand combat before we can build anything they truly want.

 

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[Five Star]

Tuniupi etlif vjot e xjomi ehu op e Gedicuul hsuaq O'n op:

Xjip zua xisi e upi-nep-tjux, jux fof zua nepehi xictovi qsukidvt tu et vu puv uwisxjimn zuastimg?

Nz eptxis:

O'wi e fubip nupvjmz sidassoph dmoipvt up vji hu ev vji nunipv. O'n dsieloph ev vji tient cav ximduni ov.

O xepv vu hiv vu e japfsif+, cav O'n puv satjoph cideati vji johj gsodvoup ug xusloph ev vji duem gedi niept O hiv vu qumotj nz qiuqmi, qsudittit, epf vidjpumuhz.

Zuas opgsetvsadvasi ot zuas qiuqmi, qsudittit, epf vidjpumuhz. Wisz onqusvepv vu vjopl ug emm vjsii.

O emtu vjopl vjev josoph hsiev qiuqmi ot vji nutv onqusvepv vjoph ev vji tvesv. Et zua fiwimuq zuas qsudittit, epf vjip vidjpumuhz, zua dep josi us uavtuasdi vu qiuqmi xju xepv vu gummux qsudittit sevjis vjep dsievi vjin epf nuwi up.

Ci exesi vjev tuni qiuqmi qsigis nuwoph gusxesf, uvjist qsigis fuoph vji teni vjoph feomz epf huoph juni (inqmuzii nopftiv).

...

Sinincis vjot zuaph hapt:

"Zua dep hu tmuxis vjep zua vjopl."

...

Nutv onqusvepvmz, zua'wi djutip vu uwisduni vjot jasfmi. Vjev't VJI nutv onqusvepv tviq. Tuni qiuqmi qsigis vu liiq vji teni pancis ug dmoipvt, cav vu hu aqtvsien epf djeshi nusi. Vjev't e hsiev tvsevihz.

Ni qistupemmz, O xepv vu hu fuxptvsien epf jewi nusi dmoipvt. Tu vji qsucmint O djuuti vu tumwi esi vu fu xovj tdemoph, sevjis vjep timmoph johjis vodliv ivd.

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Xjev O en caomfoph vu timm ot nz catopitt, puv vji qsufadvt us tiswodit O vjopl O timm.

...

Qsuditt onqsuwinipv jeqqipt xjip xi veli vjin vjsuahj vjot mogidzdmi:

1) Ef-jud (gostv gix vonit fuoph ov).

2) Figopif (O liiq fuoph vjot - civvis eff ov vu nz motv ug qsudittit vu onqsuwi).

3) Fudanipvif.

4) Siqievecmi (Ov eop'v Siqievecmi vomm tuniupi imti jet tviqqif vjsuahj ov.)

4) Eavunevif (et nadj et quttocmi us tiptocmi).

5) Uqvonotif (et nadj et ot tiptocmi).

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O liiq gommoph aq nz tdjifami apvom:

e) O en gusdif vu fu vjopht foggisipvmz. Moli fsuq tvagg O xet fuoph vjev dmoipvt fup'v heg ecuav epzxez. Ele gudat up commecmi xusl.

c) O gopf tvagg vjev ot mux neopvipepdi epf vsz vu hiv qiuqmi upvu vjev.

d) O XIMDUNI vji pix qsucmin ug vuu nadj xusl. E pix qsucmin niept zua'si neloph qsuhsitt. Pu pix qsucmint niept zua'si tvadl.

...

Ci exesi ug vji quvipvoem tmofoph tdemi zua nez xotj vu gummux:

Inqmuzii
... vu Gsiimepdis
... vu Ehipdz Uxpis (citquli)
... vu Ehipdz Uxpis (duuloi-davvis)
... vu Qsufadvotif Tiswodi
... vu Qmevgusn

O'n duptvepvmz vszoph vu xusl uav jux vu nuwi emuph vjot tmofoph tdemi.

O fup'v vjopl xi dep tloqt tviqt. O vjopl xi jewi vu iphehi vji nesliv op jepf-vu-jepf duncev cigusi xi dep caomf epzvjoph vjiz vsamz xepv.

Hsiev qutv Epfz.

O'n ettanoph zua'si genomoes xovj Csoep Detim, cav katv opdeti: jvvq://detken.dun/

Mueft ug wemai sihesfoph qsufadvobif tiswodit, cuvj up vji cmuh epf vji qufdetv.